While on spiritual voyage in the land of Israel and in the hospitala of the "Essenes" where our Lord Jesus Christ was born, the cave or manger as it is popularly called in Bethlehem, a shining metal object sparkled into my relentlessly observing eyes .
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| Taiye Olaniyi in Bethlehem |
Of course, taught and tutored as a walking question mark(?), courtesy Rosicrucian Order AMORC; I realised the need to permutate and harmonise the triune concept of God the Creator, Nature in Creation imbued in Man the Creature.
Joining others to pray in the manger, the birth place of Jesus the Christ, touching the metal object, I felt the very high vibration of this sun shaped object, a life giving force with strands spreading at paced distances from the circular centre and then the prayer for my beloved country Nigeria which in 2012 December/2013 January was facing the turbulence of oil subsidy unrest.
A woman around kept conjuring fire on her husband whom according to the prayer filtering into my ears had just eloped with a more amorous lady and thus had brought wahala to the family. Hmm at the birth place of the Prince of Peace, invoking fire on perceived enemy was regarded not an abnormality to her but for me, shouldn't have been subject of prayer point.
Then came the effulgence of a pilgrimage into "Self" as to the spiritual significance of why the birth of Jesus the Christ and what relevance is this essence to the individual and especially the Son of Man.
From the superficiality of the story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, an enclave of the Palestinians, I got engulfed in the thoughts of mystical union of God with a pure being.
Not just a virgin Mary, but a holy soul personality, a vesta virgin who had nurtured sacred light and thus is ensouled to bring to the fore of mortal flesh, a life giving force that would bring into the world of man a manifestation of Divine love that neither can be measured by any human device nor stifled from existence no matter the pervading wickedness of man to fellow man.
The three wise men from the East from whence came spiritual light were no mere nomads but shepherds whose mission is to draw the humankind , the flock of humanity that in profound humility, the lowerself is subdued under the influence of knowing the King of Glory in self, the Christ consciousness in whom the triune and spiritual trinity, God, Nature and Man find unity in diversity.
Not only the date, the Natal Day of this Avatar which ritual we uphold, discard or celebrate with or without pomp or/ and pageantry that is as important, but, finding a replica of the birth of Christ in us.
Joining others to pray in the manger, the birth place of Jesus the Christ, touching the metal object, I felt the very high vibration of this sun shaped object, a life giving force with strands spreading at paced distances from the circular centre and then the prayer for my beloved country Nigeria which in 2012 December/2013 January was facing the turbulence of oil subsidy unrest.
A woman around kept conjuring fire on her husband whom according to the prayer filtering into my ears had just eloped with a more amorous lady and thus had brought wahala to the family. Hmm at the birth place of the Prince of Peace, invoking fire on perceived enemy was regarded not an abnormality to her but for me, shouldn't have been subject of prayer point.
Then came the effulgence of a pilgrimage into "Self" as to the spiritual significance of why the birth of Jesus the Christ and what relevance is this essence to the individual and especially the Son of Man.
From the superficiality of the story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, an enclave of the Palestinians, I got engulfed in the thoughts of mystical union of God with a pure being.
Not just a virgin Mary, but a holy soul personality, a vesta virgin who had nurtured sacred light and thus is ensouled to bring to the fore of mortal flesh, a life giving force that would bring into the world of man a manifestation of Divine love that neither can be measured by any human device nor stifled from existence no matter the pervading wickedness of man to fellow man.
The three wise men from the East from whence came spiritual light were no mere nomads but shepherds whose mission is to draw the humankind , the flock of humanity that in profound humility, the lowerself is subdued under the influence of knowing the King of Glory in self, the Christ consciousness in whom the triune and spiritual trinity, God, Nature and Man find unity in diversity.
Not only the date, the Natal Day of this Avatar which ritual we uphold, discard or celebrate with or without pomp or/ and pageantry that is as important, but, finding a replica of the birth of Christ in us.
This is the mystery of our being, the purpose and beauty of this day. According to Master Jesus, " Unto you is given to know the secret of the mystery of the kingdom of God".
Similarly our Lord Jesus Christ once affirmed what significance the birth of Christ in Jesus and us all can offer, "I and my Father are one". Further to this he affirmed, "That same Father is in you and greater things you can do". Meaning Christ could be replicated as birth in us.
This birth of Christ initiates the way, the truth and the life. It is that mystical approach to "Christ consciousness," the spiritual significance of the birth of Christ in one's soul personally; by "Having a personal and intimate awareness of God within the domain of self" simply gets heightened and spiritualized in Christ's birth in us.
We can decide to sermonize, flaunt our being born again by eloquence in quoting tons of biblical passages but without our inner internalizing the spiritual kernel of this day, of Christ's consciousness In our beings, this Christmas will amount to mere external mode of worship which in Islamic mysticism is "O will the wisp".
Permit me to quote one of the sacred sayings of the mystic sage when they observe how humankind trivialize the beauty inherent in mystical approach to life:
"The overwhelming misfortune of man is not that he is ignorant of the existence of truth but that he misconstrues its nature. "
So, our Lord Jesus Christ whose birth we are celebrating today enjoins, "Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.".
A mystical approach to Christmas goes in the words of Geoffrey Parrinder, "To study different religions need not imply infidelity to one's faith, but rather it may be enlarged by seeing how other people have sought for reality and have been enriched by their search."
May we at this sacred day and time, as Nigeria is undergoing its own portion of tumultuous time, as humanity is now at the crossroads and messages and good tidings are flowing worldwide, may this season unfolds into our consciousness the Light, Life and Love of cosmic Christ.
May Peace Profound brings us into the fold of Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
*Contributed by Taiye Olaniyi, former Public Relations Manager at NIPOST Headquarters in Abuja
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