'To be reborn in who'?

Tis’ that time of Being again! The Time for Man to be Reborn... Though to be reborn in what – ‘as’ what - exactly? Surely, you expect I am referring to Jesus Christ. To He who the Christians’ call the Redeemer, the Saviour. And perhaps I am – though there is more to it. John the Apostle, in his Gospel, describes the coming of Christ as the incarnation of the Logos. This concept of the Logos existed before the dawn of Christianity as we know it. It traces its roots down to Heraclitus. It is that which the Greeks referred to as the 'Word' - the agent which generates cosmos from chaos, concordance from discordance, unity from fragmentation, Being from non-being. Such fancy words are all professing the same thing - the greatness of the Logos. And yet, what is the Logos, and what is so great about it? More importantly perhaps, what does it have to do with... Christmas?

It has all to do with Christmas; though we shall return to such question later. For the time being let us focus on the relation between the Logos and ourselves. If Christ was the Logos incarnate (as John contended), and Christianity bids us to emulate Christ, surely there must be a relation. And most certainly there is, although my intention here is analysing this Christian assertation in, as some may have it, a more pagan light. Reason being because, the concept of 'being re-born in the redeemer' - does not strictly confine itself to Christianity.

Lets' unravel this further, shall we.

In the book, 'the mind of Swami Vivekananda', Vivekananda writes,

"In the universe, Brahman or the Cosmic first manifested himself as name, and then as form, i.e. as this universe. All this expressed sensible universe is the form behind which stands…the manifester as Logos or Word. The manifester is the Logos. 'The Word was with God and the Word was God' – and the Word IS God".

What the above words are implying is that the Universe together with everything that exists as cosmos, exists precisely by virtue of the Logos. That the Logos is the that which Creates, 'informs' that which lacks a 'form'. Big claims, right? And what a bigger claim it would be to say that man has the potential to embody the Logos! Indeed, it sounds overwhelming - though had one to think about it - it also is beautiful. To be able to engender order from chaos, goodness from a 'lack of goodness', truth from 'a lack of it' - sounds aweful. That being said however, embodying the Logos is not as easy as it is great. Had it been, we all would be embodying it. Had it been, there would not be a festivity whose purpose is to remind us, every year, to be reborn in the Logos, and for the Logos to be reborn in us.

To the faithful, it perhaps sounds obvious that embodying the Logos is the purpose of us all. Perhaps not so much to those who lack faith in such a transcendent entity. Though my intention here is not converting the unfaithful. Rather, it is bridging the truths of Christianity with the human being. It is showing one that the concept of 'being born in the redeemer', in the truth, in goodness and in unity are all equivalent to embodying that which the Greeks called the Logos, and which the Christians call, Christ. Such words are all synonymous.

'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God' echoed Christ in the Desert. The Word of God, what the Hindus' call 'Om', the Taosits 'Dao', and the Greeks 'the Logos' - is that which safeguards Man from fallenness, from chaos, falsity and, fragmentation. Because the Logos is the Truth, and the Truth is that which IS, that is, Reality - embodying it would mean embodying the most Real, most True version of oneself.

And yet, why am I saying this?

If nothing, to stress the importance of speaking the 'Truth'. The importance of Goodness. And the importance of Unity. Additionally, if the words: 'the Word', 'Christ' and 'Logos' are all synonymous, then the festivity of Christmas adopts a whole new hue, most especially to those who had previously considered it a festivity for Christians - only.

Heraclitus of Ephesus called the Logos - "the Word" - "It is wise to listen, not to me but to the Word."

John the Apostle described it as - "The Word [...] made flesh"

It was made flesh in Christ. Now it awaits us to 'enflesh' it, so to speak.

And one could interpret such claim either theologically or symbolically - or both - the point would not change. The point is that embodying the Logos is possible for man. That embodying the Logos redeems Man. And this is what Christmas reminds us. It reminds us of the birth of the Logos in man, of the possibility for redemption. More specifically, it discloses to us our potential for goodness, truth and unity. It discloses to us - ourselves.

And thus, where does this leave us?

In short, we are reminded that one need not be a 'Christian' 'to be re-born in the Redeemer' - one ought to only be a human being.