JESUS CHRIST
GREAT AND POPULAR QUOTES
INTRODUCTION
Some men exercise extraordinary influence on Human life, centuries after their departure from earthly life.
Krishna, Buddha, Christ and Muhammad are foremost amongst them.
There are also other ALL-TIME greats like Guru Nanak, Mahavira, Confucius etc whose followers are enthralled by the wisdom given to them by these Gurus.
KRISHNA :
Krishna (You can spell it, if you like, as CHRISTNA) is the Oldest amongst these all-time greats, being 5000 years (at the least) before our time.
He was born in a prison in secrecy, when his father and mother were in Jail. The king of the land (a daemon king) had forebodings that the God incarnate was being born to these parents who were in the prison and their child was the chosen one to kill him and end his cruel rule. He therefore killed all the children born in the city (many) and in the prison (about seven) mercilessly.
Readers can find similarities in this event with that of the birth of Jesus. When Lord Krishna was born finally, his father took him out of the prison, with divine assistance, to a Cowherd’s house far away and lodged him there. Krishna grew there in the Cowherd’s family and loved to be a cowherd, just as Jesus loved to be a shepherd.
Lord Krishna taught love and non-violence of a very rare nature. He himself condoned hundred sins committed (against himself) by chis sworn opponents, despite being the greatest warrior of his times. Likewise, he took part in the Mahabharat war, as a charioteer of his friend and disciple, after assuring both the warring sides, who sought his support, that he will not touch a weapon or kill a person in the war on either side.
His Bhagavad Gita is an extraordinary exposition of Life in all of its aspects. It is at the least, over 5000 years Old. Whether it is Karma Yoga (the science of action), Dhyana Yoga (the science of meditation), Jnana Yoga (the science of wisdom / knowledge) or Bhakthi Yoga (the science of surrender and love), Lord Krishna expounded all these sciences in a masterly fashion and commended them to humanity as the most scientific methods of living. His followers like Mahatma Gandhi have given the contemporary world a new way of life and a new definition of love and non-violence (in line with the teachings of Lord Krishna) and that continues to exercise significant influence on the way the world lives today.
BUDDHA :
Buddha, the second in this chronological order, was born around 565 B.C. He had enthralled his followers with his extremely simple, sensible and highly logical preaching. His four great truths, his eight fold path and the path for Nirvana (liberation) that he enunciated continue to be followed in their pristine purity by the Buddhist monks to this day. In a world where money, power and other worldly pleasures hold so much sway, we find Buddhist monks smiling all the time and emitting the radiance of the Buddha. Other Religions like Hinduism accept Buddha as a personification of the almighty, in line with Lord Krishna’s Gita saying, “ I will take birth, from time to time, to bring back righteous living and end unrighteousness”. Buddha’s followers like the Dalai Lama continue to be an inspiration for West and East alike in simple living, high thinking and enlightened spirituality.
JESUS CHRIST:
The third in the chronological order is Jesus Christ, who lives in the hearts of humanity till this day, for over 2000 years. We will see more of him through his great sayings in this Blog post.
MUHAMMAD:
The fourth in the chronological order is Prophet Muhammad, regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of God. Prophet Muhammad had a profound civilizing influence on a war torn people and brought them into a highly disciplined and virtuous life. The five times a day Namaz itself, just as a piece of illustration of his contribution to humanity, is an extraordinary way of remembering God and remaining human all through life. It is difficult for any one, living or dead, to command so much obedience to his sayings, from so many Crores of men and women around the world, so voluntarily.
Thus, all these four great men had an extraordinary, civilizing influence on mankind. Theists and atheists both cannot ignore their contribution in the process of civilization.
The context for this Blog Post is however the 25th, December of this year, which is celebrated as CHRISTMAS, the day of Birth of the Christ. Christians view him as the Messiah, foretold in the Old Testament and as the Son of God, who provided salvation and reconciliation with God to humankind by dying for their sins and then rising from the dead.
As we all know, Christ was born into a family of very humble origins. He was born when ignorance, superstition, greed, hatred and hypocrisy were prevailing at his birth place. His birth and the surrounding events are themselves magical and divine. It is significant that Lord Krishna born over 5000 years ago in a jail, was also brought up in a very humble, cowherd’s family. Krishna loved to be a cowherd. And, Christ loved to be a shepherd. The then King was afraid of the birth of Krishna and killed a number of children at that time to prevent the birth of Krishna.
Compare this with the following incident as stated in Wikipedia web site, “King Herod hears of Jesus' birth from the Wise Men and tries to kill him by massacring all the male children in Bethlehem under the age of two (the "massacre of the innocents").[78][Mt 2:16-17] The family flees to Egypt and remains there until Herod's death, whereupon they settle in Nazareth to avoid living under the authority of Herod's son and successor Archelaus.[Mt 2:19–23]”
Krishna and Christ both chose a life and death according to their own wishes. There are many similarities in what they taught to the world. Both signified the dawn of a new era in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi says of Christ, “A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world..”. Gandhi followed Krishna, as much as he followed Christ. So do many in India and other countries. As in the case of Buddha, most Indians do believe that Christ was born just as the saying of Krishna goes, “ I will take birth, from time to time, to bring back righteous living and end unrighteousness”.
I will now present some of the most popular quotes of Jesus Christ below :. ~
GREAT QUOTES FROM JESUS CHRIST
1. Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
MY COMMENTS : (i) Jesus himself has shown, how to ask, what to ask and when. (ii) Likewise, his life is example enough of what we must seek. (iii) Whose door shall we knock?? Is it not of the one, who says, I am the way.
2. What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul.
MY COMMENTS: Buddha also says in a similar vein: All of our life, we are gathering all forms of dust of the earth – until we become the dust our self.
And, Jesus says – do not lose the soul in your search for profit in the world.
3. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
MY COMMENTS: All law, all Justice, all Dharma is summarized in this one, short sentence. Any law, rule or proclamation which violates this cardinal principle violates God’s own Law for mankind.You do want others to like you, love you, help you..then, do the same to others...love begets love..
4. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
MY COMMENTS: A rich man can’t leave his earthly possessions so easily. He earns them with great attachment and the attachment does not leave him even on his death. How does he then enter the Kingdom of heaven. In a similar vein Lord Krishna advocates Non-attachment as the principle requirement for salvation. Buddha too advocates the same.
5. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
MY COMMENTS: If you, in your opinion, exalt yourself, your pride will be humbled by the lord. But, if you remain humble, you will be exalted by the lord and placed nearer to himself. It is in a way, similar to the previous (4th) quote.
If you are attached to your earthly possessions, power and knowledge and take pride in them, the lord smiles and says – none of these are yours. Your only wealth is my love. Did you earn that?? The humbler you are as a human being, the more of his love will you earn.
6. Yes I am with you always, until the very end of time.
MY COMMENTS: HE is with us and within us – always. Do we experience his presence right now?
How long will he be with us? Until the very end of time – which means, forever.
7. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
MY COMMENTS: Of the many quotes, this one takes the cake – for our every day conduct. You can’t criticize another – until you wipe out all of your sins. Perhaps, Not even then. You must be totally sinless. And, who can be like that? Only the Almighty himself. Therefore, Do not criticize. You have all the right to love – but not to criticize.
8. No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.
MY COMMENTS: Unless you light a lamp, you will be in darkness. And, when you light a lamp, not only you, but others also will benefit. You be the lamp that brightens the whole world and spread your bright smile every where.
9. Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence. Love others as well as you love yourself
MY COMMENTS: Love the God with all passion, prayer and intelligence. Your thought, emotion, word and deed must all converge in your love of God. Your Love for others must be as deep as your love for your self. It is almost a continuation of quote.3-Do unto others as you would have them do unto you..
10. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
MY COMMENTS : Jesus says - Live in me, let me live in you, says the Lord. Let us remember, God is LOVE. Love is GOD. If we keep the love of all in our hearts, we live in him and he lives in us too.
11. If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.
MY COMMENTS : What must be within us is already clear. Love of all must fill our hearts; but, that is not enough. You must bring forth and spread all around you, what is within you. The love you spread around, the kindness you display will save you too.What does not come out into the open, disappears within too. If your love does not find expression – it will slowly die out within us too. Where LOVE is not, GOD is not. Where God is not, there, the opposite of LOVE creeps in and destroys you.
12. Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for "of such is the kingdom of heaven."; Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for "of such is the kingdom of heaven.
MY COMMENTS : Heaven is of children. Be child like –as smiling, loving and playful. You have earned the right to enter heaven.13. Love thy enemies
MY COMMENTS : ‘Love thy neighbor’ is a great precept. But, if your neighbor is a good, soft, lovable man, there is no great challenge in loving him.
It is normal. It is ordinary. It is nothing exceptional. But, ‘Love thy enemies’ – is the tough precept. This one really exalts you in the eyes of the Lord.
14. There are many, many adorable quotes of Jesus Christ, like the one saying, Split a piece of wood and I am there; It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.
All these quotes are the hall mark of the great savior that Jesus Christ is. This Blog wishes all readers a happy and merry Christmas on this great occasion of Christmas.
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