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A QUIZ ON Divine Christmas Discourses



Right answer on your 1st attempt
3 Points
Right answer on your 2nd attempt
2 Points
Right answer on your 3rd attempt
1 Point

Christmas has been celebrated in the Divine Presence of Bhagavan Baba for nearly four decades, and every year it has been a revealing and riveting experience. For, in His Divine Discourses on this day, Swami has enlightened devotees with rare and profound insights into the divine personality of Jesus and His Gospel. As you try the ten questions below, you will get a few glimpses of these divine revelations.

1. In the 1972 Christmas Discourse, Swami said that Jesus Christ made an announcement about the Advent of Baba by declaring: "He who sent me among you will come again! His Name will be _____." What Name did Jesus prophesize?




2. In His 1978 Christmas Discourse, Swami enlightens us by saying: "Jesus was honoured by the populace as Christ, for they found in his thoughts, words and deeds, no trace of ego. He had no envy or hatred, and was full of love and charity, humility and sympathy. Jesus' original name was _____." What was Jesus' original name?




3. In Swami's 1986 Christmas Discourse, He declared the true meaning of Joy.

"Jesus advised one of his foremost disciples, Peter to live in love, for Love is God. Man can experience God only when he becomes the embodiment of Love, which doesn't seek anything or expect even gratitude in return, Love which becomes sacrifice and service, spontaneously. When Peter listened to such exhortations from the Master, he found a new joy welling up within him and a new meaning in the word joy. 'J' meant Jesus and the letter directed him to love Jesus first. 'O' meant others who must be loved, next…."

What significance of 'Y' did Swami give?




4. In His 1998 Christmas Discourse, Swami enlightened us about some of Jesus' earlier years. "Jesus grew up at Nazareth till he reached thirty. After Joseph's passing, Jesus sought his mother's permission to embark on his Divine mission. He got baptized by John, the Baptist, and spent some days in penance in a forest.

"During the penance, he prayed to God for three things: one - He should be blessed with the quality of loving equally everyone; two - He should have the strength and forbearance to suffer patiently any indignity or persecution that he might be subjected to by anyone; three - He should be enabled to use his God-given body wholly in the service of God."

For how many days was Jesus in penance in the forest?




5. In His 1992 Christmas Discourse, Swami reveals the genesis of the custom of putting up a Christmas tree: "Jesus was crucified on a Friday and He rose from the tomb on a Sunday. That is why Sunday is taken as the day of worship and service in churches. Catholics gave importance to Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ, while Protestants gave importance to the birth of Christ. Catholics celebrate Christmas by worshipping Mary on the evening of 24th and Protestants celebrate the birth of Christ on the 25th. There is a custom of putting up a Christmas tree on this day and worshipping it."

To which country was this custom of putting up a Christmas tree traced to?




Israel

6. Just like the three stages of achieving Divinity in Hinduism, Jesus underwent three similar stages before He achieved Oneness with the Divine: "I am the Messenger of God" [Messenger and master, the two are basically separate, and so this stage is one of dhwaitha (dualism)]; "I am the Son of God" [The son and father, though two separate entities, are bound by affection and kindred feelings and attitudes. They are like the whole and the part, the body and the limb. This stage is called visishta dhwaitha (qualified nondualism)]; and finally "I and My Father are One" [Son and the Father are One; the stage is of adhwaitha (non-dualism)]. In His 1988 Discourse, what realization did Swami tell us that Jesus came to after reaching the final stage?




7. Over the years, Bhagavan has given a lot of insight into the teachings of Christ. He has also spoken about the life of Christ and what Christ stood for. One memorable 1996 Christmas evening, during the course of His discourse, Bhagavan said, "There is a book compiled in Britain around 1530 A.D., containing all the information about Jesus gathered during the preceding centuries which is preserved in a place on the Black Sea Coast …." Who preserved this small book?




8. In His 1993 Discourse, Swami explains: "Whatever the God you worship, adore Him with Thadhaathma bhaava (a sense of oneness). Bodies may be two, but the heart is one. This is the feeling with which God should be worshipped. Only then you reach the state when you can declare: "You and I are one." How this state is to be realized is illustrated by a biblical episode. Once St. _____, while walking along, saw an angel reading a book. He asked who she was and what she was reading. She replied that she was an angel and that she was reading a book dealing with the doctrine of love. He asked for the book and the angel gave it to him, but said: "You must eat this book. When you are consuming the book, its taste will be bitter. But after you have eaten and digested it, it will become very sweet." Which one of Jesus' disciples was Swami referring to?




St. Luke

9. Christmas means the Mass that is held on the birthday of Christ. It is fundamentally a sacred religious rite. In His 1990 Christmas Discourse, Swami taught us: "The Christmas festival is celebrated in many countries with a lot of fanfare, merriment and riotous festivities. You should note one thing. Nowhere in the world is Christmas celebrated in the manner in which it is done in Prashanti Nilayam. People belonging to different countries, different faiths and different cultures, coming together to adore God and celebrating this festival in such a holy atmosphere cannot be found anywhere else. This should spread to all countries. Christmas is celebrated in America, Germany , Italy and other countries. But in what manner? By sumptuous eating, drinking, dancing and wasting time. Here also you indulge in drink. But what is it you are drinking? You are drinking _____."




The blessed water of Prasanthi Ashram.

10. In His 1984 Christmas Discourse, Swami teaches us: "As messengers of God, you have to demonstrate to the world the Purity, the Truth and the Love that the Divine symbolizes. When you lead a life of purity and morality, you are entitled to regard yourselves as "Sons of God." God is the Embodiment of Love and you should not do anything which is contrary to the love that God represents. You should develop those good qualities which can make you worthy "Sons of God." In the Bible it is recorded that Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. When they asked Him why He was doing so, Jesus answered: "I am washing your feet as your servant, so that you may ______."


.

Dear Reader, did you like this quiz? Is it too difficult? Is it interactive enough? How does it help you? Please tell us at h2h@radiosai.org.

-Heart2Heart Team


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Vol 5 Issue 12 - DECEMBER 2007
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