A most revered and central theme in the Ageless Wisdom Teachings is the concept of the Cosmic Christ who is the Messenger of God and the key figure inspiring all world religions, throughout time.

I wanted to write about what this means to me as we approach the Christmas Season. I will post my thoughts about what the Cosmic Christ means in the following three Blogs.

In Part 1, I want to propose having a public square or any public area that celebrates the diversity of beliefs and traditions of the community.

I am inspired to write this first part for several reasons: I heard on the news today that in one US city, some people put up a Christmas Tree, and others a huge Menorah. However, not being satisfied with this, some are complaining that the Christmas Tree is much too small compared to the 20 foot Menorah!

Well, the competition for size has already begun and we can imagine each group trying to outdo the other until everyone reaches to the Heavens and comes face to face with God! What will we say then? I wonder what He would say to the first arrivals full of self-satisfaction, or the later arrivals full of complaining and belittling? I could hear it now!

It is time that all people of all faiths just grow up and allow everyone to express themselves the way that they like. If we do not allow others to express their faith the way they want, the time will come when we also will be restricted in the same way we restrict others. God will just send us to the corner for time out and let us think about the absurdity of what we are doing.

So, I propose that we start the Holiday Season with some ideas taken from the Ageless Wisdom Teachings and allow everyone to express himself or herself.

We are living at a time where people are moving about more than ever before. We live next door to people of different color, religious tradition, culture, language and so on. There is certainly opportunity for antagonism and misunderstanding; yet there is also room for enrichment and expansion of our worldview. We cannot get away from this; it is as if God is making sure that all His children talk to each other even if He has to force us to do so! So what is one approach that would help us see each other as fellow human beings and not develop antagonisms and separatisms? What is missing from our religious discussions and considerations? What do we need to bring to the discussion table and to the public square?

My opinion is to try to understand the root of all human religions and spiritual traditions from the perspective of the One Creator and the role of the Cosmic Christ.

What we need is a discussion on how we are all one, not just the major monotheistic religions, but also all of us, modern and ancient, major and minor religions; we are all related to the One Creator. We need to bring a special chair to the table for this Creator and keep Him in mind as we have this discussion about our differences and similarities. It is really a discussion in the family, the one family.

We can start by allowing all kinds of decorations and public displays of faith and tradition. Outer demonstrations and symbols and displays are all parts of the same mosaic of life. Everyone sings, dances, wears costumes, and uses certain colors and lights and symbols to celebrate life. It is all beautiful and we appreciate it when it is confined to the home or to the place of worship.

What about the public square? I know many people who object to having religious symbols in the public square. There are others who want to ordain that the United States is only a Christian country and that no other religious symbols must be in the public square save the Christmas Tree and the Ten Commandments. Well, what is wrong with having all of the religious symbols in the public square? It could take our minds off what separates us and we may just be able to see the humanness of our faith and our practices and start to appreciate that others are just human like us.

What about having the Ten Commandments, the Nativity Scene, the Menorah, a Christmas tree, scenes depicting the life of Buddha, scenes depicting the life of Krishna, and verses depicting the basic teachings of Mohammed such as quotes from scripture and moral admonitions. What about some statues of Buddha and some Buddhist bells? Statues of Krishna would also be great. While we are at it, why not add some Native American symbols? To me, the more symbols we see from world faiths, the richer is our life and life experiences. None of this needs to take away from the particular way we believe and worship. But it will have the effect of seeing all the spiritual “flags” of the world and give honor to each of them. We honor all national flags and fly them at the United Nations, so why not let each religion display its flag with respect and honor toward all? Why not have a constantly changing display that fits the special celebrations of the community?

Or, we can honor everyone by etching in stone a few words from each sacred scripture? Tastefully done, this could be a beautiful way to celebrate humanity. I would much rather see a little bit from each faith rather than be dominated by one faith or one celebration.

I wish you cherished memories of this Holy Season. Whatever Holy Days you are celebrating, may your days be filled with the joy of love, of family and friends, and the joy of the everlasting goodness of the Creator who does have the time and heart to afford humanity the beauty of His Teachings.

Gita

**Tell us what you think. What are your most cherished celebratory symbols and traditions? What would you like to add to the public square?

**Coming next: Cosmic Christ Part 2 — Developing True Religious Understanding and Tolerance

References:

The Cosmic Christ by Violet Tweedale available from Amazon.com
The Teachings of Christ, Volume I: The Birth of Christ by Torkom Saraydarian, a beautiful new book on the esoteric meaning of the inner and outer birth of the Christ within. Available from TSG Foundation.