the key message of jesus

The root cause of all difficulties experienced by man is forgetting his spiritual reality and identifying himself with his body. The body is only the vesture of the Indwelling Spirit. By immersing himself in body-consciousness, man develops egoism and possessiveness, which result in promoting many bad qualities. He forgets his inherent divinity and fails to use the senses and organs he is endowed with for the purposes of the Divine.

Two different characteristics are to be found among men. One characteristic, which is rather common, is for one to delude himself that he is a good man, with many virtues, intelligence and talents. The other quality, which is rare, is recognition of the good quality in others, their merits, abilities and good deeds, and appreciate their ideals. Jesus belonged to the second category. He saw the good qualities in others, rejoiced over their virtues and shared his joy with others.

In his twelfth year, Jesus and his parents, Joseph and Mary, happened to go to a Jewish festival in Jerusalem. In the jostling crowds Jesus lost his parents. After a frantic search, Mary found him in a temple listening to a speech of the High Priest. When Mary told Jesus about the anxiety that they felt when they missed him, Jesus replied: "Why should you worry about me? When I am with God, who is my Father, why should you have any fear on my account?" Jesus thus revealed that He regarded Himself as the Son of God.

Jesus Prayed to God for Three Things

Jesus grew up at Nazareth till He reached thirty. After Joseph's passing, Jesus sought His mother's permission to embark on His Divine mission. He got baptised by John, the Baptist, and spent forty days in penance in a forest. During the penance, He prayed to God for three things: One, He should be blessed with the quality of loving equally everyone; Two, He should have the strength and forbearance to suffer patiently any indignity or persecution that He might be subjected to by anyone; Three, He should be enabled to use his God-given body wholly in the service of God.

After forty days, Jesus emerged from His penance with the faith that His prayers had been granted. Jesus encountered the fishermen, at Galilee, who became His first disciples. He told them that He had come to establish the reign of love on earth and they would be His helpers in His mission. He spoke to them about the preciousness of human birth and urged them to seek the Kingdom of God within themselves.

By the way of illustration, Christ told them the following parable: In a river, when the water is flowing in a swift current, the tiny fish are able to swim in it and move about merrily. But a huge elephant is caught in the rapids and is likely to get washed away or drowned in spite of its enormous size. Whatever be the speed of the current, the small fish are able to swim freely in the river and enjoy themselves. But an elephant is unable to survive in it. The reason is: What you need for survival in a river is not bulk but the ability to swim. Likewise man who is caught up in the ocean of worldly existence (Samsara) needs, not so much metaphysics, scholarship or detachment, as the grace of Divine love.

Without Faith, No Bliss

Without any knowledge of Vedanta (scriptural scholarship), if one is blessed with God's love, he can surmount all problems of life. Without faith in God, all scholarship, wealth, name and fame are of no avail. He cannot experience bliss. Christ also taught that the body should be used for recognising the Indwelling Spirit and not to protect itself. It is the mark of ignorance to pamper the body and ignore the Spirit within.

If a tiny sugar crystal is mixed in a heap of sand, even the most intelligent person will not be able to separate the sugar from the sand and recover it. But without any extraordinary intelligence, an ant is able to make its way to the particle of sugar in the sand heap and relish its sweetness. The ant is aware of the sweetness of sugar and is able to get at the sugar even in a heap of sand.

Likewise, man should seek to distinguish between the permanent and the transient, and realise what is everlasting. Man is endowed with the capacity to discriminate between the permanent and the evanescent, but unfortunately instead of using this capacity he is caught up in the delusions of the phenomenal world and is wasting his life.

"You must adhere to truth and not succumb to falsehood or unrighteousness. You must face with courage the vicissitudes of life. You must love even your enemies. Universal love transcends all other virtues. Love is the supreme virtue," declared Jesus.

Only Love of God is Real Love

Jesus taught that God is Love. Instead of recognising this basic truth, men are allowing hatred, envy and other evil qualities to pollute their love. Man is gifted with the quality of love not to express it for selfish purposes but to direct it towards God. Jesus declared that there was nothing great about returning good for good. They should do good even to those who harm them…

Love is the means of developing devotion and achieving liberation, apart from other things. Only the love of God is real love. It is the royal road for man to realise the divinity in him and in everyone.

- Divine Discourse on Christmas Day, 1988