Amma and her children from across the world came together in Amritapuri to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It was a truly beautiful Christmas united with interfaith performances, devotional singing, and Amma’s uplifting message.
She shared how mahātmās like Jesus arrive in our world to spread love and light among the ordinary people. Śrī Rāma, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Buddha, Christ and the Prophet—all became immortal by facing severe challenges. That is their greatness.
Amma prayed that even after the celebrations end, may their light continue to shine within us and illuminate both our paths and the paths of others.
The celebrations concluded with the tradition of Amma cutting the Christmas cake and the distribution of prasad to all.
Excerpts from Amma’s 2025 Christmas Message
Festivals hold a special place in life. They arrive bearing messages of meaningful values that help shape and build our lives. While the outer celebrations are important, it is their inner spiritual messages that should touch and awaken our hearts. They are reminders for us to pause a bit, reflect and renew our inner journey.
The lives of mahātmās give us strength
Festivals gain greater importance when they are connected to the lives of mahātmās who spread love and light among ordinary people. Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus, is such a festival.
Christmas is a festival of love, joy and compassion. But love, joy and compassion are not like mangoes that appear only in a particular season. We need to be able to experience and embrace them at all times. Festivals remind us of the values we often prefer to forget.
Śrī Rāma, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Buddha, Christ and the Prophet—all became immortal by facing severe challenges in life. We must not forget that. They never collapsed in the face of challenges; instead, they transformed challenges into stepping stones to success. That is their greatness.
If we strive for a noble goal with the right attitude, no power in the world can stop us. That is what their lives demonstrate to us. That is why, even after thousands of years, their examples continue to give us strength and inspiration.
Let go of fear to rise in love
Fear prevents us from taking even a single step forward. We fail to awaken our potential and lose opportunities to grow and rise. Within each of us is a seed of knowledge, light and love. The lives of mahātmās who have overcome fear, doubt and inertia serve as an inspiration for us to move ahead.
Good times and bad times are like the two banks of life’s river. Mahātmās are those who flow, embracing both these banks with equanimity. They are beyond emotions and thoughts. They are connected to all, yet nothing binds them. However, hearts full of love and trust can form a connection with them.
All mahātmās remind us, each in their own way, of the importance of living every moment focused on the eternal truth, that the only constant in this world is change, that all material wealth can vanish at any moment, that all relationships are impermanent, and that we must live our lives without forgetting the eternal truth—God.
A part removed from a painting conveys no meaning on its own. Only when it is part of the whole does it have any meaning. A single line of a song may lack meaning. But when it becomes part of the entire song, it becomes meaningful. Similarly, each of us is merely a part of the divine whole that is God. Without God, our life is meaningless. The guidance of mahātmās is a call that constantly awakens us to the truth.
Humility is born in the heart
Jesus was not born in a royal palace but in the corner of a humble cowshed. This carries a profound spiritual message: Only those spiritual aspirants who practice humility and patience will attain spiritual awakening.
Where pride is laid down, and the heart is humbled, there God chooses to dwell. Humility is a healing virtue. True humility cannot just be an act. Putting on an act and actual humility that arises from within are entirely different.
As the ego grows stronger and identification deepens, the mind constantly runs outwards into the external world. Without turning inwards, we go on judging others, often passing verdicts without truly understanding the situation. When others err, we become judges. When we err, we become defence attorneys. This is the nature of the world.
When we make a mistake, we keep justifying ourselves—grasping at any excuse we can find to pull ourselves back up. When we judge people without truly understanding them, our judgments go completely wrong. Because of this tendency, we never grow—and worse, we end up hurting others too. Jesus said to his disciples, “Judge not, lest you be judged.” The less we judge, the more we can love.
Reaching selflessness step-by-step
For self-sacrifice to become our nature, it must begin with small sacrifices. Only one who has crossed a river can cross an ocean. So, start by doing some small service for half an hour everyday—maybe make something small and sell it and use the money to help others.
If someone gets angry at us today, don’t react in anger. Develop a heart that can listen. Cultivate a mind that can accept. No one comes into this world drinking tea or coffee. We have made it a habit by drinking it daily. Similarly, we must train ourselves in small acts of self-sacrifice.
When we start giving love freely from within, it takes root and spreads its fragrance everywhere. In time, this giving becomes a habit; the habit becomes our nature. And that very nature quietly leads us, hand in hand, towards God—the most direct path to the Divine.
The truly poor are those who cannot give
It is said that the truly poor are not those who ask for help, but those who are unable to give it. The true beggars are not those who ask for love, but those who cannot share it—because in their hearts there is no space for anyone but themselves.
How can such people experience love, happiness or peace? Their world becomes dry and narrow, and God remains forever distant to them. When we see the suffering of others, it is not enough to merely feel sympathy. We must also think about what action we can take.
A light that always shines within
Beyond its rituals and ceremonies, Christmas carries a silent yet powerful call. Christmas calls us to live with awareness, to love more deeply, and to act with greater kindness and compassion.
When forgiveness replaces criticism, compassion replaces indifference, and hope replaces despair—when these qualities reflect in our words, looks, and actions—then the radiance of our inner light increases.
May the lives of mahātmās renew our minds and make us messengers of peace. Even after the celebrations end, may that light continue to shine within us and illuminate both our paths and the paths of others. May divine grace bless us all.
॥ ॐ लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु ॥
Om Lokah Samasthah Sukhino Bhavantu
May all beings everywhere be happy and free
