Merry Christmas!

Hey! Did you see that man in the red dress, having a long flowing white beard, with a sack on his shoulders, singing and dancing away merrily to a familiar tune. Yeah! It’s none other than our dear Santa Claus, who’s come with loads of gifts and surprises for all. After all, it’s Christmas time! Time to celebrate and rejoice with our loved ones. But why do we need a special occasion to enjoy with our dear ones?

Although we all yearn to spend quality time with our friends and family, unfortunately things do not always turn out as we want them to be. We want to be at peace with everyone, yet conflicts invariably arise due to difference of opinions. Our inability to understand the other person’s viewpoint leads us into clashing over petty matters.

Highlighting the dangers of conflicts, Param Pujya Dadashri says, “External conflicts lasts one life but internal conflicts may last for hundreds of life times. They may even last for thousands of life times.”

External conflicts or raudradhyan means to cause any kind of hurt to others. This is caused through various ways like hurting others by our speech, taking advantage of people with lesser intelligence, being violent, etc.

Internal conflicts or aartadhyan means to hurt one’s own self. Although our innate nature is happiness, we often end up hurting our self by worrying about small things, becoming sad by comparing ourselves with others, taking unnecessary stress, or getting into self-negativity, etc.

These conflicts not only affect our relationship with others but they also inhibit our spiritual progress. Yet, from the moment we get up in the morning till the time we sleep, unknowingly, we remain engaged in either of these conflicts.

How can one avoid conflicts?

So come, on this Christmas, let us try one experiment?

Let’s decide that, ‘I do not want to get into any conflicts with anyone.’

Here are some techniques that will help you avoid conflicts –

• Harness a strong inner intention that, ‘No matter what, I do not want to clash with anyone.’ Even if you happen to get into some conflict, your inner intent should always be, ‘I do not want to clash with anyone.’ This strong resolve itself will help you remain alert during adverse times and gradually lessen the number of conflicts.
• Make an attempt to understand the other person’s viewpoint. Once you try to put yourself into the other person’s shoes, you might actually get a broader view of things and understand the situation from a different perspective.
• When someone comes to you and uses abusive language or reprimands you, be alert and avoid giving it back to him. Instead pray for him and ask for strength to avoid doing the same yourself.
• Recognize the nature of the opposite person. By doing this, you will know how will he react in different situations. This will allow you to remain stable when those situations arise.

To begin with, you can try this experiment for a week. And if it works out well, you may continue doing it for the entire year too? So, are you ready to take up the challenge?

Just as Santa Claus spreads love and joy to all, on this Christmas, let us also strive to become a Santa for our loved ones and spread joy and happiness from our goodie bags with everyone!!