January 1: the start of a new year and a time for resolutions for self-improvement. How often have you set far-reaching goals for yourself only to watch them fall away as your determination waned over time?
There is another approach that might prove more helpful. One of my favorite songs during Christmas is “Little Drummer Boy.” It tells the story of when the Three Wise Men brought great gifts to lay before the newborn Christ. The little drummer boy watched sadly, because he had nothing of value to offer. Then, as the song goes, the little drummer said:
“Little Baby, I am a poor boy, too. I have no gift to bring that’s fit to give a king. Shall I play for you on my drum? Mary nodded. I played my drum for him. I played my best for him. Then he smiled at me, me and my drum.”
If every day we can give the best we have within us and offer it at God’s feet, we will receive His smile in our heart. It may not be as grand as what others have to offer, but God watches the heart. Our humble gifts given wholeheartedly to God are perhaps the most precious to Him.
Master said, “O Lord, I don’t want position or honor. All that I do, I do to please You. I shall labor in ditches if You want me to, but You must promise that You will be always with me.”
Finally, the last lamp we can light during this sacred season is on Master’s birthday on January 5. By deepening the guru-disciple bond through continually offering our love at our Guru’s feet, we draw the grace to strengthen the light of the other lamps about which we’ve talked.
These beautiful words are part of the Discipleship Vow written by Swami Kriyananda:
“With loving faith now I seek Thee
Through the ray of Thy light that Thou hast offered me.
I will ascend to Thee not by my power alone, but by the power of Thy infinite love.”
It is this love that’s at the heart of the guru-disciple relationship. Our efforts to meditate more deeply, to live in attunement with the Christ consciousness, and to offer to God the best that is in us—success in all these is possible due to the grace we draw from our Guru.
May these divine lamps illuminate the new year before us, so that God’s light shines more brightly throughout the world.
Nayaswami Devi
