MAN is made in the image of God, so the Bible states. How is it then possible that Man separates himself from God? Man is God and He exists in us and we in Him.

Christmas is not the incarnation of God for how can God be incarnated when God is beyond birth and death? Christmas is the celebration of Man's realisation that he is not the limited, feeble body of flesh, which is merely a dream, but the ever-expanding consciousness that pervades the entire Universe.

"I and my father are one, yet my father is greater than I"

Every single being is part of this Great White Spirit, the Atma. This is in reference to the Father. Not one single thing or particle in this Universe is not from this very divine light. While un-individualised energy substance is pervasive, which is the Father, yet sparks of consciousness that constitutes the Father is individualised, and therefore, "I and my father are one, yet my father is greater than I". The "I" refers to the limited ego existence.

"In my Father's house are many mansions."

These are the different states that Man moves from time-to-time. There is no physical mansion that awaits one when one reaches heaven. The mansions exist NOW, at this moment, accessible at any time. This is the un-individualised potential universal force, yet to be shaped by the Mind. Each time this potent fluid substance, consciousness, is shaped by the Mind, it becomes one of the many mansions in  "my Father's house".

Everything in this universe exists first as an idea. The Mind is nothing but a bundle of thoughts, which projects itself upon a canvas called the Universe. The entire creation is nothing but the objectification of ideas. The very chair that you sit on today owes its existence to an initial thought. So is the bed, the table that you use, the lamp that you switch on and off every single day, the car that you drive, the roads that you use... Every single thing that you perceive with your five senses are but the manifestation of that very potent force, consciousness, Christ, God, Atma, Bhagavan or whatever you want to call it, projected by the Mind.

The whole world is governed by the Law. You are an immortal being passing through the different states of the Mind. Each state is a mansion in your Father's house.

Christ is within. In fact, to say that Christ is within also paints a false image because Christ is all there is. Consciousness is all there is. All that appear to the senses are mere fleeting shadows that move in and out of form temporarily. Knowing this, you will then accept that life is only the movement between mental states.

Christmas is not an annual celebration confined to the 25th of December. Christmas is the awakening of Man. Everywhere we go and everywhere we look, we see advertisements propagate that "Christmas is the season of giving". This calls one to question if the season of giving is only confined to every December? So, should one only focus on giving one day in a year and forget about the act of compassion on the other 364 days? Who benefits when people go out and buy gifts in big bulks during festivals? Commercial businesses! These are ideas clearly propagated to motivate consumerism. All these were commercially motivated.

Giving is good. Though beautiful, Christmas is however not about the Christmas tree standing in one's living room. It is not about the presents all nicely wrapped and tucked underneath the tree. It is not about the big-bellied man dressed in a red suit ringing his bell and bellowing, "ho ho ho". Christmas is much more than that. Christmas is the awakening of Man!

More valuable than physical presents, gift another being the gift of love, compassion and wisdom. It is a false notion to think that giving requires 'money', a form that Man created a long, long time ago, to allocate power to certain portion of society. From then, people have segregated themselves, labelling and resigning themselves to being either poor or rich. Again, being "poor" or "rich" is but a state of Mind. It is all Man-made. You are all sons of the most high! You are ever abundant! That is your very Nature!

You can give and empower another without 'money' as the medium. You can truly GIVE another what s/he wants without even needing to transact a single cent. This is only made possible with the power of your Mind! If you have a friend who is currently unemployed, but wishes to be employed, meditate in your Mind that s/he is already employed. To meditate on an idea is to completely surrender the idea of him/her being unemployed and to firmly tune into the state that s/he is happily employed.  After all, as I've mentioned time and time again, life is merely the manifestation and objectification of one's ideas. I tell you if you can hear him/her rejoicing in happiness for being happily employed in your Mind even when the world of Caesar still denies it, s/he will eventually bring the picture in your Mind's eye into being. Each seed has its own appointed hour.

If you can be faithful to your vision, you are sure to reap what you've sown in the divine garden of your Mind. This is Law; an infallible Law that allows you to give others what you would like for yourself 24/7, 365 days a year.  When you can utilise the Law so perfectly well, you will begin to realise that you are more than mere flesh and blood floating in this universe; waking up in the morning, going to work, filling your stomachs, finding leisure and sleeping. You are all immortal beings. In fact, you are all immortality itself. Tat Tvam Aasi (Thou Art That - that which is beyond any name or existence). If I were to reword it, I would just say "Thou Art" because the only God there is, is the "I AM" latent in all as stated in the Bible.  Now, that's Christmas forever.



Transcribed by sister Rowena Bailey.

Discourse delivered by Master Genevieve Tan Shu Thung on December 21, 2015 in conjunction with the Christmas celebration in Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA. 

Source: Sandhya Maarga Organisation (http://www.sandhyamaarga.org) 
Copyright © 2015 Sandhya Maarga Mission