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Even the Christians in India seem mostly unaware that the Ramakrishna Mission centers
celebrate Christmas in great style. Except for the actual Midnight Mass, many features
of the Indian Christian celebration are in evidence - scripture reading, carols,
sweets, cakes etc. This is because Swami Vivekananda and his companions, sorely
grieved over the death of their Master, had decided in a burst of inspiration (from
whom?) on Christmas Eve to give up the world and form the religious community that
eventually developed into the worldwide Ramakrishna Mission.
Jesus belongs to all
The universal fascination with the birth of Jesus is revealed in the way artists
down the ages portray the Christmas story. Each of them finds it entirely appropriate
to implant a national touch to the
picture. For instance, the simple line illustration for this website article was
produced by a non-professional Indian artist at my request on the spot in 10 minutes.
If Jesus Christ belongs to all humanity, then it makes good sense to see how the
same would look to us in India. The majority of Christmas cards in the world carrying
the nativity scene have pictures from the classics of European art. But today, say,
in Japan, Africa and India, Christmas cards are freely available portraying unmistakably
the national features.
On the other hand, the whole process of reflecting diversity through adaptation
to varied cultural ways of thinking is slower. The attempt of Christian theologians
to express the wonder of Jesus in familiar in Indian thought patterns is well under
way, even if less well known to the general public. The mental development has not
moved as fast as the artistic.
The birth of Jesus actually contains in embryo the patterns, which later emerge
in his adult life and teaching. The experience in his followers of the power of
his death and resurrection led to Jesus being accepted as the Christ, i.e., 'the
anointed one', sent into the world by the Father and alive within us through the
Spirit. Without distorting any basic facts, the common presentation of Jesus as
the 'word of God' and 'the Second Person of a Divine Trinity' is brilliant but owes
much to the way of thinking in the cultures and experiences of his early followers,
west of Jerusalem.
At the same time, one may detect in Jesus an inner life, which cannot be confined
to categories specific to any given culture. Jesus is therefore open to being understood
in an Indian way. As an Easterner who belongs to the world, he is also ours to interpret
in ways our people can better relate to.
Basic Facts; Basic Questions; Mystery
So first, let us begin with some basic facts. Jesus is a historical figure who lived
in historically identifiable times. He wrote no books and left no picture of himself
beyond the obviously personalized accounts from those who had vivid personal contact
(the gospels), or from those who experienced his living power internally (e.g.,
the letters of Paul). He had no wealth or power or position to fall back on. He
died a miserably painful and shameful death - "the only Guru who taught from a bed
of pain" (as Rajneesh puts it).
One can therefore ask some basic questions. Where does his influence come from?
What kind of 'Avatar' is he? The basic facts leading to the basic questions must
be faced before exploring how thought - patterns based on Indian Culture can illuminate
the 'mystery' of this man whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.
'Mystery' here is not used in the Agatha Christie sense. Rather it means that the
more one knows the more there is to know, and the more one loves the more there
is to love. Mystery is evident in any man-woman relationship that is deep and genuine,
for the other partner is then experienced essentially as 'mystery'.
John and Paul: Easterners
The mysterious bonding between two mysteries is the origin of each of us. The statement
'Tat tvam asi' in this context (the basis of our 'Namaskar') is clearly a profound
mystery. Against this background of mystery two passages from the Bible are particularly
important. For the first, at the end of his gospel John says: "This disciple is
the one who vouches for these things and has written them down …There was much else
that Jesus did; if it were written down in detail, I do not suppose that the world
itself would hold all the books that would be written". (John 21: 24 - 25). Is this
about knowledge or about love - or both?
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