Page 341 - Mystic Pathways through the Bible

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Mystic Symbolism of Christ’s Birth
The Spirit must manifest its glory through every human being. When spiritual aspiration dawns deep within the unconscious, Christ is born in the depths of one’s being. However, in the state of ignorance, the inner depths of one’s personality are dingy and dark. Midnight is suggestive of the serene and silent hours of internalization that bring about the birth of spiritual aspiration. Only those who are “simple” due to lack of egoistic complexes and “childlike” due to purity recognize the birth of Christ. As a re- sult of many good karmas of the past, an inner mys- tical movement commences in the life of an aspirant. This esoteric movement, characterized by growing aspiration, is the birth of Christ and will eventually grow into Christ Consciousness.
Bethlehem, the city of David, is symbolic of the puri ed heart of man wherein Christ is born. The inn represents an externalized mind wherein diverse thoughts of sense objects come and go. Desires, sentiments, worldly expectations and ambitions all abound in the inn. On the other hand, the manger symbolizes the internalized mind wherein the thought-waves are withdrawn. There one nds profound serenity and simplicity. The Divine birth in man is softer than the blossoming of a rose in the hours of the night, and yet its implications are more deafening than the clapping of thunder.