by Swami Ramananda and Prajna Lorin Piper
Throughout history, a few saints and prophets so powerfully articulated and embodied the spiritual Light within, that an entire religious tradition grew up around them and their teachings. Now, as we enter this season of holy days and cultural celebrations in honor of the spirit – Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza – we can appreciate and celebrate the sacred in all of them. These celebrations group around a time of year that is related to the light, a time that could be considered sacred with or without a religion – the winter solstice, when the light of day decreases to its smallest point and then turns again to increase.
It’s natural at this time of year, as the days grow shorter, to both turn inward, reflecting on our inner life, and then turn outward, sharing the renewed light of the season. Tidings of comfort and joy, sharing our blessings, prayers for peace and a reverence for the magic of the season, songs and special meals, decorated homes where we welcome family and friends – these are all the outward part of how we celebrate the sacred.
Celebrating the sacred as we see it depicted in various faiths does not discourage us from going deeply into our own spiritual path – quite the opposite. Whenever we quiet all the conditioning of the ego mind and open our hearts, we find the same natural sense of contentment and connection with the entire web of life and we realize for ourselves the oneness behind all the different forms.
The symbol of light is found in many of this season’s stories and traditions. The three wise men in the biblical story of the birth of Jesus Christ, were guided by a bright star shining in the east. Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of a light burning in the temple and Kwanzza features a seven-space candle holder called a kinara. The festivals and rituals of this time have celebrated the renewal of the light for as far back as we can see, beyond history, back through many different cultures, continents and faiths. At heart, they are talking about the same inner Light.
We can make a practice of seeing all the faiths as different expressions of one underlying truth. This is one of the primary teachings of Sri Swami Satchidananda and the reason he built the Light of Truth Universal Shrine at Yogaville. In the early 1980s, when the shrine was under construction, he appointed two representatives for each major religion to learn the teachings and traditions of that faith and teach them to the rest of the Ashram residents. He wanted us to understand and appreciate the way each tradition honored the divine.
By celebrating the sacred in many forms instead of acknowledging only one path, we learn to see the unity behind the diversity and to appreciate each person’s faith rather than discourage it. We can be inspired by all of the different teachings that guide us ultimately to the same place.
We celebrate the sacred by respecting each moment, by cultivating presence with what is rather than what we think should be. We celebrate it in the simplest of ways, by meeting both the pleasant and the unpleasant with kindness and an open heart. We celebrate the sacred by cherishing the beauty in the natural world around us, seeing the wholeness in each other alongside the fragmented and wounded, and touching the unchanging Peace within. We need to keep touching that Divine Presence within, in whatever way we know how, to bring that spiritual light and energy into expression, and dispel the darkness of ignorance that divides us.
Please join Swami Ramananda for Winter Solstice Meditation Tue. December 21 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm PT as well as other end of year holiday workshops and events.
And join Prajna monthly for Deepening into Meditation Wed. January 19, 2022 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm PT (every 3rd Wednesday)