This festive season, let us attempt to be selfless

People around the world are all set to celebrate Christmas. Enlightened beings do not come to gain money, power, fame, or possessions. They are here at the will of God to serve. The spiritual progress we make through meditation and ethical living is further accelerated through engaging in selfless service.

There is a story of a wealthy man working with his lawyer on his will. The lawyer was impressed with both the amount of money the man had accumulated and the number of servants he had. The man had many people to attend to his every need, including drivers, butlers, housecleaners and gardeners to attend to his estate. When the man finally passed on, he waited for his judgment hoping to get a good placement in heaven. When his turn came, the angel looked through the entire record and declared that he did not merit time in heaven.

“What do you mean?” exclaimed the man,” Didn’t you see how successful I was and how many people served me.”

The angel replied,” For entry into heaven, we do not keep records of how many people served you, we only record how many people you served. Unfortunately, your entry to heaven is denied, because in your life, you only served yourself.”

As we celebrate Christmas, let us live up to the example set by Christ that is one of selflessness. The sooner we become selfless, the sooner we will make spiritual progress and reunite our soul with God.