Amid the sound of jingle bells, let us reflect on the three teachings of Jesus Christ. 

Sujit De

Peace. 

Jesus Christ said, "For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace." (1 Corinthians 14:33 KJV). We get strength in peace. This is the reason why William Shakespeare said, "Our peace shall stand us firm as rocky mountains." In peace, we feel the magic of egalitarian divine love that rains cutting across social divisions just like the love of the sun. The sun's egalitarian love ensures a bigger share for the have-nots than the haves. 

 

The problem arises when we equate laziness with peace and thus give peace a bad name. But static inertia must not be passed for peace. Sri Aurobindo said, "In a certain sense this inertia and the peace are the bright and dark counterparts of each other, tamas (darkness) and śama (equality) - the higher nature finding repose in peace, the lower seeking it in a relaxation of energy and a return towards the subconscient, tamas."  

 

There is a conflict within us. The psychic energy in us wants peace not for lying in bed but for moving forward physically or mentally. On the other hand, the matter in our body seeks peace to enjoy material comfort and rest. But the latter takes us to the deceptive quicksand of the status quo. 

 

It discourages us to attain inner peace. When we feel thirsty, we fetch a glass of water and drink. The activity of taking a glass out and drinking water, gives us satisfaction without which we cannot attain peace.  

 

My mother used to say, "sukher cheye shanti bhalo." It is a Bengali saying which means peace is better than material comfort. As a matter of fact, the unending desire for more material comfort cannot give us peace. Rather it destroys the calm without which it is impossible to acquire inner peace. "Peace," said Sri Aurobindo, "is a calm deepened into something that is very positive amounting almost to a tranquil waveless Ananda." 

 

Secularism. 

Christmas also tells us to be secular and to keep religions totally out of the domain of politics. According to Mark 12 : 17, Jesus Christ said, "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." Here Caesar means government. This is a clear message in favour of a secular government which is not connected to any particular religion. Had we always followed this teaching, we could have stopped Rasputins from enjoying political power. 

 

History witnessed big and small Rasputins doing a great damage after coming out of an unholy alliance between religion and politics. So we need to be very cautious about the tendency of political leaders to use religion as a diversionary tactics to hijack our rights and freedom. 

 

Fraternity 

Jesus Christ said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:37 - 39). History shows that hatred and its product divide and rule spell disaster for a country. Today living amid rat race, many parents brainwash their children into thinking that conflict instead of cooperation would make them more competitive and smart. This wrong notion is the driving force of machismo, incidents of ragging and behind the story of many action movies. But this is absolutely a bogus idea. Can anything survive without cooperation? If various parts of our mobile phone start competing among themselves then we have to take it to a mobile care shop. Cooperation is the key for survival of everything be it a simple or a complex machine and similarly be it a rural or an urban society. Many advertisements pamper this popular misconception of giving priority to hate and envy in order to achieve success in life like a TV advertisement which used to say "neighbours envy, owners pride". But we must understand that it is a fallacy. All of us should not aim for neighbours envy but try to be His pride by spreading His egalitarian love. Merry Christmas!