The Yoga Research Foundation warmly invites you to our annual Easter celebration on Sunday April 8th at the Miami ashram with our beloved Guru, Sri Swami Jyotirmayananda. Join us for an evening of devotional music, delicious vegetarian food, and, most importantly, a spiritual Easter egg hunt for the intellect as the mystical underpinnings of Easter, Jesus Christ, and the Christian tradition are unearthed. As a sampling of what to expect on this occasion, here is an excerpt from Swamiji’s latest book, Mystic Pathways through the Bible where Swamiji shares profound insights into the resurrection of Lord Jesus:
The Resurrection of Lord Jesus
Man’s triumph over death, though presented in various ways, is the most important theme of all the world’s religions. The resurrection of Christ celebrated on Easter Sunday is the commemoration of Christ’s triumph over death and is, therefore, an event of supreme importance for all mankind.
Through His crucifixion, Christ symbolizes the transcendence of the ego. The very being of Lord Jesus passes through the process of crucifixion so that He may be resurrected as the Spiritual Being that is one with the Heavenly Father. Spiritual aspiration grows into the state of intuitional vision, which crucifies ego-consciousness and sentimental attachments to the world and resurrects the soul from the world of death and mortality. Thus resurrected, the soul realizes its essential identity as the Divine Self and attains the Kingdom of Heaven.
Lord Jesus was established in the awareness that He was not the body, but Spirit. Aspirants become firmly rooted in this understanding when they realize that they have two types of birth. One is the normal birth, which terminates in death. The other is the spiritual birth which commences when one realizes their identity as the All-Encompassing Self. Being born spiritually, one conquers death, since the identification with the body no longer exists. This is the message of the resurrection. The potential to resurrect dwells within every human being, and every Sage reminds you of that potential. Deep within lies the incorruptible Self, the taintless Spirit, the pure Atman, and you can realize that Atman within this very lifetime.
