There’s a little bit of Jesus in every one of us.
We can choose to embody this Divine nature in any moment. And when we do, we create more happiness in our lives and in our world.
I should know.
I became an ‘accidental’ Christian at age five.
Then, I went on to become an atheist, and ultimately to discover spirituality, and through it, Christ Consciousness.
And it’s been life-changing.
But let’s start at the beginning…
The Accidental Christian
I was sent off to attend a Christian school for boys, as a boarder, when I was just five years old.
When I arrived, it seemed as if everyone there spoke English, almost all of the time.
But I knew only two words of English at the time: ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’
I was keen to learn. But for the time being, I resolved to use the two words that I did know, with as much enthusiasm as my five-year-old self could muster!
And being of tender age (and perhaps, slow of mind), I didn’t fully appreciate the consequences that the reckless use of these words would have.
It led to many calamities and hilarious situations, including my accidental conversion to Christianity…
On my first evening there, a friendly older boy asked me if I was Christian, to which I promptly replied, ‘Yes!’
I had no clue what he meant, or that I was actually a Buddhist of sorts.
But he seemed happy with my answer and I was happy to have obliged him–and in English, too.
He then pointed to some boys who were assembling at the front of our dormitory with our boarding matron and said, ‘Then go and pray’
Again, I didn’t know what that meant, but I thought I should obey. He was older after all and spoke good English. Plus, he seemed fairly clued up, unlike me.
And so, I went. And when everyone there knelt, I followed suit. When they all recited what I later learned was the ‘Lord’s Prayer’, I mumbled and played along.
It felt a bit strange, but it was ok. And so, I went to bed happy.
But Life had a small surprise for me the next morning.
It was our first day in class, and the class teacher was entering some details into her register.
Suddenly, she looked up and said, ‘Christian boys, put your hands up.’
The word ‘Christian’ rang a bell, and I saw some colleagues from the evening before raising their hands, and so I stuck my hand up as well.
A little later, the teacher commanded, ‘Christian boys, line up.’
Again, the same group of boys lined up in twos and I joined them.
Soon, under the teacher’s watchful eye, we started marching off to an unknown destination.
And still, all was peace and I was fine.
It was only when we approached the large building with a cross on top that I had the first inkling that something had gone terribly wrong.
But by then it was too late, and I was too scared to back out.
And so, for thirteen years, I attended church on most weekdays, and sometimes, on a Sunday, through school.
And I loved it!
Finding Jesus
I learned to love the prayers, hymns, parables and sermons, and I loved learning about Jesus.
I was petrified of God. He seemed so fierce, and it bothered me no end that He knew about all my wrongdoing, and that He would punish me for all of my transgressions at some point.
But Jesus was different. I learned how He loved children–and thankfully for me, I was one!
I also learned that He was big on forgiveness. Again, more good news for me!
Jesus seemed like a super hero and an all round good guy.
And I was really mad when I learned about the people who were mean to Him.
Losing My Religion
Sadly, although I continued to attended church through school (religion was compulsory), I stopped attending privately on Sundays, after I reached my teens.
This was mainly because I realised that I was regularly checking out the ‘talent’ at church. This didn’t seem at all like a nice thing to be doing in God’s house, of all places!
And sometime after leaving school, I parted ways with religion completely and became a devout atheist.
Still So Many Reasons to Love Jesus
But the older I got and the more I learned, the more I found that I actually loved and admired Jesus and everything that He stood for.
Jesus healed the sick and raised people from the dead. He helped more or less everyone who needed his help.
But Jesus wasn’t just kind. He was brave and not at all afraid to ruffle feathers–for the right reasons.
He spoke out openly against the establishment and its hypocrisy.
Jesus condemned the self-righteous and pretentious Pharisees (Matthew 23) and He overturned the tables of the money lenders and sent them out of the temple (Matthew 21:12-13).
He touched and healed a leper, at a time when no one was suppose to touch them (Matthew 8:3).
He forgave an adulteress (John 8 verses 6-7). And he did it by turning tables on the ‘holier than thou’ crowd when he wrote:
‘Let the one among you who is without sin cast the first stone!’
And in a similar vein, Jesus publicly forgave a prostitute (Luke 7:48).
So He didn’t just teach meekness and obedience.
He taught that it is a good thing to stand up for the truth and for justice, even when the crowds and the powers that be are arrayed against you.
Despite being the Son of God, Jesus taught that He was no different from us. He assured us that we too could perform miracles through our love and faith in God.
And not only did Jesus love and help children, He even asked us to be more like them, so we too could enter the Kingdom of God!
Even to those that hurt him, Jesus offered mercy and forgiveness.
What a class act!
Yes, Jesus was a saint, but He was also a legit badass at the same time.
How can you not love and respect someone like that? And so, I continued to do both and still do to this day.
Finding Spirituality
Many decades later, while learning about spirituality and other exciting subjects, I realised that I was no longer an aetheist.
Sure, I was not aligned with any organised religion.
But at the same time, I wasn’t happy to buy into the soulless version of reality and humanity that the materialist and reductionist scientific establishment was promoting as the alternative.
I resolved to make up my own mind about these things, instead of simply accepting any of the limited alternatives that society and the system promoted.
I felt strongly that there was a benevolent Force that provided for so many, if not all, of my wants and needs. And I was super grateful.
I also felt that it was this Force that helped many ordinary people to orchestrate miracles in their lives, and made it possible for us to help one another.
I went on to learn how all of us are much more than we have been led to believe.
And then, I came to learn about Christ Consciousness and our own Divine nature.
Suddenly, the life and teachings of Jesus took on a whole new meaning for me.
I realised that you don’t have to be Christian to understand or embody Christ Consciousness.
And I understood what Dr. Wayne Dyer meant when he said:
‘I don’t think that Jesus was teaching Christianity. Jesus was teaching kindness, love, concern, and peace.’
Accordingly, a Buddhist following the Noble Eightfold Path is doing the same work. And so it is with other religions and belief systems.
It is something that is open to all of us at any time.
Christ Consciousness in The People’s Princess?
I’m not sure if you would agree, but lately, I have come to believe that Lady Diana, Princess of Wales, offered us a further glimpse of what it meant to embody Christ Consciousness.
She was known the world over for her kind and loving nature, and for her humility and child-like ways.
But she was also a brave and courageous person who did her best to use her position of privilege to help those less fortunate.
She kissed and hugged people infected with HIV at a time when no one else was comfortable doing this.
She led a worldwide campaign against the use of landmines.
She worked to raised awareness of leprosy and also made regular visits to London’s homeless centres.
And there’s no denying that she was a devoted mother and did so much to help the children of this world.
And whether it was dancing with John Travolta, frolicking with her children, or running barefoot during a mothers’ race at her child’s school, she showed us how to have fun!
This is why she became the ‘People’s Princess‘ and the queen of our hearts.
Concluding Thoughts
We may not be Lady Diana, and we’re certainly not Jesus, but all of us can definitely learn to choose kindness, forgiveness, generosity, gratitude, fun and happiness in any moment.
And when we do any of these things, for any amount of time, we are embodying Christ Consciousness and following in the footsteps of that most Illuminated Teacher.
We are living as Charles Dickens asked us to in A Christmas Carol.
We’re feeding the noble wolf from The Tale of Two Wolves.
And we’re contributing to our own happiness and to that of everyone else in this world.
I would like to conclude this post with these words from Paramahansa Yogananda:
‘Let us meditate until we perceive the Infinite Christ reigning in our own hearts. Let us learn to love those who love us not; and to forgive those who do ill against us. Let us break all our mental boundaries of colour, creed, and nationality, and receive all-even our inanimate and animal brothers-in the endless, all-embracing arms of our Christ Consciousness. This will be a true and fitting celebration of the coming of Jesus Christ to this earth.’
