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January
2009 Birthdays
The
Spiritual Significance of Birthdays
What is the true significance
of Birthdays?
"It
is truly a special day in one's life. It is one of those days
in the year when the Supreme descends into us - or when we are
face to face with the Eternal - one of those days when our soul
comes in contact with the Eternal and, if we remain a little
conscious, we can feel His Presence within us. If we make a
little effort on this day, we accomplish the work of many lives
as in a lightning flash. That is why I give so much importance
to the birthday - because what one gains in one day is truly
something incomparable. My child, it is a very very special
day, for it is the day of decision, the day one can unite with
the Supreme Consciousness. For the Lord lifts us on this day
to the highest region possible so that our soul, which is a
portion of that Eternal Flame, may be united and identified
with its Origin.
This day is truly an opportunity
in life.
It
is one of those days when the Lord Himself opens the doors wide
for us. It is as though He were inviting us to rekindle more
powerfully the flame of aspiration. It is one of those days
which He gives us. We too, by our personal effort, could attain
to this, but it would be long, hard and not so easy. And this
- this is a real chance in life - the day of the Grace."
How to spend one's Birthday?
"in finding out the
purpose of life."
Today
is my birthday. I want this day to be the beginning of a more
spiritual life and therefore something has to be done. Please
tell me what I must do.
"It
is not with the mind that one should decide what has to be done.
It should be a spontaneous movement taking place in a sincere
and constant aspiration."
What
is the meaning of one's birthday, apart from its commemorative
character? How can one take advantage of this occasion?
"Because
of the rhythm of the universal forces, a person is supposed
to have a special receptivity on his birthday each year.
He can
therefore take advantage of this receptivity by making good
resolutions and fresh progress on the path of his integral development."
- The Mother
Birthday Messages from
The Mother & Sri Aurobindo
"Let
this day of your birth be for you an occasion to give yourself
a little more, a little better to the Divine. Let your consecration
be more total, your devotion more ardent, your aspiration more
intense.
Open yourself to the New
Light and walk with a joyful step on the path.
Resolve on this day that
it may be thus and the day will not have passed in vain."
- The Mother
"Let
the new birth become manifest in your heart and radiate in calm
and joy and take up all the parts of your being, mind and vision
and will and feeling and life and body. Let each date in your
life be a date of its growth and greater completeness till all
in you is the child of the Mother. Let the Light and Power and
Presence envelop you and protect and cherish and foster, till
all in your inner and outer existence is one movement and an
expression of its peace and strength and Ananda."
- Sri Aurobindo |
