There was a study done in the 1960s which illustrates the nature of left-sided, right-sided and centred tendencies in children. The study, called “The Marshmallow Test”, was intended to shed light on the nature of emotional self-control. Initiated by the psychologist Walter Mischel, the study involved a number of four-year-old children.
Each child had a marshmallow put down in front of them. They were allowed to eat the marshmallow when the experimenter left the room, but if they waited until his return, they could have two marshmallows! The experimenter then left for up to twenty minutes. A number of the children were simply unable to hold out, and ate the single marshmallow. Others, however, were able to delay eating it, in favour of having the double treat upon the experimenter’s return.
What was remarkable, however, was that, twelve to fourteen years later, the children who were unable to hold out had developed many traits of the left side. They tended to shy away from social contacts, to be indecisive, to be easily upset by frustrations, to see themselves as unworthy, and to still be unable to put off self-gratification.
Of the children who resisted the temptation of the single marshmallow, we find two distinct groups: those whom we would call right-sided; and those who were more centered. Those of the right side, when tracked down in adolescence, were characterised by self-assertiveness; they embraced challenges, pursued goals, were quick to take the initiative and were often aggressive. Those who were of the centre, who were also able to withstand temptation in the Marshmallow Test, were characterised as self-reliant, confident, trustworthy and dependable.
Where the left-sided child is simply unable to resist, and the right-sided child has to exercise strong self-control, the centred child remains detached, distancing himself or herself for as long as is required, doing so with little effort. Such a child neither implodes nor explodes in the face of difficulty, but responds to it with an appropriate attitude that best serves themselves and those around them.
Brian Bell
So today we are talking about Christ. He is sitting in a position of Agnya Chakra, controlling pineal and pituitary. By that He controls our conditioning. If we follow Him then we cannot be conditioned by anything, because He talked of Spirit only.
– Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Christmas 1995.
While Lord Jesus was actually born at the the time of Diwali (the Festival of Lights), the date on which we celebrate Christmas, December 25th, also has significance in relation to Christ. The early Roman Christians, perhaps not knowing the true date, decided to celebrate Christ’s birth at the time of the mid-winter solstice (shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere), the date on which the pre-Christian god of the Sun, Sol, had been invoked to lengthen the duration of daylight so that Spring could return. According to one scholar writing in the twelfth century:
It was a custom of the Pagans to celebrate on the same 25 December the birthday of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in token of festivity. In these solemnities and revelries the Christians also took part. Accordingly when the doctors of the Church perceived that the Christians had a leaning to this festival, they took counsel and resolved that the true Nativity should be solemnised on that day.
Several early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus. Cyprian observed:
O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born … Christ should be born.
Shri Jesus is the Lord of the Agnya Chakra, which corresponds to the Sun. In Christian icons Christ is often depicted making a gesture of blessing identical to the Surya mudra (see illustration), a symbolic hand pose in which the ring finger is touched by the thumb. The significance of this is that the ring finger corresponds, in ancient traditions as well as in Sahaja Yoga, to the Sun and the Agnya Chakra. The early Christians seemed to want to make a connection between Jesus and the pre-existing mythological tradition of solar deities, who also had virgin births and were resurrected. Hence Sunday is the Christian holy day.
Sunlight is important for the Agyna Chakra, which governs the pineal gland in the centre of the brain. The pineal gland is much bigger in children: it shrinks at the time of puberty. It is controlled by the innocence of Christ. The pineal gland synthesizes and secretes the hormone melatonin, an important regulator of mood, that communicates information about environmental lighting to various parts of the body, and establishes bio-rhythms such as the conditioning of sleep and waking. The light-transducing ability of the pineal gland has led some to call the pineal the “third eye”.
Patients with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a regular recurrence of depression during autumn and winter, caused by a drop in melatonin levels in the brain, often improve after basking under bright light, a technique known as phototherapy.
I am the Light of the World.
-Lord Jesus
Graham Brown
A poet named Soordaas lived in India a few centuries ago. He was blind. Soordaas worshipped Lord Krishna. Even though he was blind, it was always his wish and faith that one day he would see Lord Krishna.
One day while walking in the village where he lived, he became disoriented and as a result he fell into a well. Being a wise man, he recognised his predicament and that he was likely to drown in the well. As he floated in the water he started to pray to his beloved Lord Krishna, saying, “O Lord, I am not worried about dying, but my desire to have Your Darshan will not be fulfilled in this life.”
A voice called from above the well, “Hold my hand and I will pull you out of the well.” Soordaas held on to the offered hand and was pulled out of the well.
Soordaas’s benefactor said, “Now that you are out of the well and you are safe, please let go of my hand”. Soordaas replied, “No, Lord Krishna, this is not an ordinary human who can reach into the well to save me. This can only be My Lord Whom I have been seeking all my life. I will not let go till I have your Darshan.” Thus the devotion and complete surrender of Soordaas was rewarded with Lord Krishna’s Darshan (Divine presence).
Avtar Sodhi
