Following the Holy Thread

 

Jesus entering the desert

As the world and its various faiths and peoples move towards greater familiarity and ultimate integration, so too do our google calendars have a much more international and diverse flavor of celebrations. This last week has been a full calendar when it comes to holidays - the celebration of those days which are indeed holy, when we treat them as such.

First, beginning one week ago Saturday, was Valentine's day: a day for opening the heart and celebrating love and relationships, with its tradition tracing back to the martyred Saint, Valentine. Then, followed on Sunday by Maha Shivaratri, or the great night of Shiva, which celebrates Shiva on the 14th night of the lunar cycle, right before the new moon, for a full night of fasting, chanting and devotion to Lord Shiva.

Tuesday was the official Lunar New Year, the first new moon, which is celebrated in many eastern cultures, like China, and gives way to longer festivals and celebrations for the remainder of the moon cycle. 

On Wednesday was the auspicious alignment of the Muslim and the Christian worlds - with the first night of Ramadan, and the first day of Lent (Ash Wednesday), arriving on the same day. 

Aside from being a lot to keep track of (what to mention, Monday was President’s day here in the US), these Holy Days serve to provide a kind of spiritual thread of focus in our lives. Much as Sabbath does each week, the ebb and flow of the seasons and their corresponding Holiday Celebrations act as helpful touchstones for our own energy and attention.

Of particular interest to myself this week, is the seemingly rare alignment of the Muslim and Christian ‘calendar’, which apparently happens every 33 years. Though often the religions are presented in stark opposition to one another, we can easily observe that for devoted practitioners of each, there is much in common. It was nice to see the Holy See state as much in the Vatican’s message on Wednesday : “Through this shared season of Ramadan and Lent, may our inner transformation become a catalyst for a renewed world, where the weapons of war give way to the courage of peace.”

For the Muslims, Ramadan is considered the holiest season of the year. Growing up in the midwest and without much first hand exposure to Islam, I became aware of Ramadan only through infrequent news reporting about the choice made by different professional athletes to refrain from competing during this month. Such a powerful choice, and so very foreign to the worldly consciousness of man - to cease competition in order to pray? To focus inwardly instead of outwardly? 

Instead of continuing in one’s typical, outward directions in life, the customary practice of Ramadan is to fast from dawn to sunset, to abstain from sexual activity, to eliminate negativity, to increase devotions, and to aspire to keep the mind focused inwardly, in relationship with God. In other words: To follow the Holy Thread of recognizing God in our own life.

Traditionally, Ramadan is considered the month in which revelations are given from God, and specifically, it commemorates the period of time when the Quran was revealed to Muhammed. Given that this time corresponds also with last month of winter, before the coming spring when the life of God’s Creation so naturally turns outward again, it has special meaning within the greater season of life and Nature which we all share in this hemisphere; A time to keep our focus on God foremost; to strive to integrate the depth of winter and interior life, as we also prepare for the externalization of life again. 

Meanwhile, and very similarly, the Christian world recognizes Ash Wednesday as the beginning of Lent. Lent itself has been long-established to emulate Jesus’ 40 days in the desert, by the same length of time being dedicated to fasting, abstinence, penance, and prayer. Lent ultimately concludes with Easter - the Holiest of Holies, the Resurrection of the Christ. 

Indeed, the awareness of this Christian season is something which has awakened great inspiration and affinity inside of me for a few years now - appreciating more deeply the a collective unity it represents in the call to repent, and the individual aspiration to dive deeper into the mysteries and example of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. Following the Holy Thread.

In all of this, lies the potential for each of us to recognize the Holy Days of inspiration which call to us. Not that we may be merely participants in the external revelries or propagation thereof, but that they may serve as support to guide us back to our own Source of Life in the Divine. In many cases, and especially in Lent and Ramadan, this means an opportunity to observe those habits and attachments which are no longer serving us, and to release them back into God. Perhaps they are already finding you, which would align very aptly with the season. 

Master would often say that to be a follower of Self-Realization, one need not leave his religion or church; that each religion is fit for the aspirant to reach the Goal. So it is best for each devotee to engage in that which authentically and sincerely inspires the love of God.

Self-Realization itself, isn’t meant to be a sect or a new organized religion, though certainly human nature would make it one. Rather it is the sacred thread which weaves the tapestry of all religions together, as One. And as we travel that thread far enough through the religions of our own heart’s resonance, we soon find that we don’t need to stay narrowly defined by sectarian differences. That rather, in their essence and highest fulfillment, each religion is one and the same, in Truth and Love. That isn’t to say their manifestation is the same; nor that all practitioners practice them with equal devotion and universality. But rather, that as they accomplish their purpose of leading the aspirant further up the mountain, he or she can look back with an appreciation for all of them alike. Even so, in the many branches of Yogananda’s family tree of Self Realization. 

This past Wednesday, we observed that both Muslim and Christian alike, engaged in their own process of ‘following the Holy Thread’ of life, to know God. A rough estimate is that over 2 billion people will have some observance of this holy season of repentance, and revelation. 

May we humbly add ourselves to this collective, and find ourselves individually willing to follow the holy thread of our own life.

Lord, create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. 

Cast me not away from Thy presence, take not Thy holy spirit from me. 

Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold with me Thy free Spirit. 

Psalm 51:10-12