Easter: A Celebration of Renewal, Hope, and Digital Harmony

Easter, one of the most significant and joyous festivals in the Christian calendar, commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's a time of hope, renewal, and new beginnings. As families and communities come together to celebrate Easter, it's also an opportune moment to reflect on our digital interactions and the importance of fostering a safe, respectful, and harmonious online environment.

Digital Safety and Renewal

Easter's message of renewal can extend to how we approach our digital lives. It's a perfect time to refresh our online habits, ensuring they promote safety and well-being. Here are a few tips to consider:

Update your privacy settings: Just as you might spring clean your home, take the time to review and update your privacy settings on social media and other online platforms.
Educate on phishing scams: Holidays often see a rise in phishing attempts. Educate your family and friends on how to recognize and avoid these scams to protect personal information.

Digital Citizenship and Love

The essence of Easter—love and compassion—can guide our actions online, embodying the principles of good digital citizenship.

Spread positivity: Use your digital platforms to share messages of hope and positivity. Compliment someone, share inspiring stories, or offer support to those in need.
Encourage respectful discourse: Promote a culture of respect and understanding in online discussions. Encourage dialogue that builds bridges rather than walls.

Harmony and Respect

Easter is a time for coming together in celebration, reflecting the harmony and respect that should permeate our digital interactions.

Celebrate diversity: Use this Easter to learn and share about the diverse ways people celebrate around the world. Highlighting different traditions can foster a greater understanding and appreciation of our global community.
Support online communities: Engage with and support online communities that promote positive interactions, digital literacy, and mutual respect.

Navigating Easter Celebrations with Digital Safety in Mind

As we find new ways to connect and celebrate Easter digitally, selecting platforms that prioritize our safety and privacy becomes paramount. For video conferencing, widely recognized tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet have become staple for virtual gatherings, known for their efforts in enhancing security features and user privacy controls. Similarly, when it comes to sending Easter greetings, platforms like Punchbowl and Paperless Post are known for offering a variety of e-card options with attention to user privacy.

While these tools are popular and have made strides in security and privacy, each user needs to conduct their research based on the latest information available. Websites such as Consumer Reports, TechRadar, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation provide unbiased reviews and security insights into these platforms. Remember, our mention of these tools and resources is not an endorsement, but rather a starting point for you to explore and decide which services best meet your needs for a secure and joyful Easter celebration.

Embracing technology responsibly allows us to maintain the essence of Easter's communal joy and togetherness, ensuring that our digital gatherings are safe, secure, and full of warmth.

Easter: A Season of Rebirth and Rejuvenation

Christ figure crucified on a cross created by Swami who said “The cross is wood from the actual cross on which Christ was crucified.”

Easter has been associated with Springtime all over the world. It is a Holiday celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike. The word Easter was derived from the name of the West German Spring Goddess EOSTRE. For the Greeks, the festival was known as PASCHA, and it is also related to the Hebrew PESACH. For non-Christians, one of the most popular symbols of Easter is the Easter Bunny. The baby rabbits appearing in springtime mark the end of the long cold winter and are a sign of rebirth and rejuvenation. Each springtime chicks hatch from their eggs representing birth and the continuous cycle of life and death. Lambs, like the bunnies and eggs, are a symbol of the changing season because lambs are born in the springtime. For non-Christians, Easter can be a time of setting new goals, beginning new projects, and witnessing the new life in nature that they see all around them.

For Christians, the Season of Easter which lasts for 50 days, reminds us specifically to live with joy. The Passion and the Resurrection of Christ teach us to hold onto joy even when we are in the midst of the loss of loved ones, sadness, or illness. We are asked to live without fear, when the resurrected Christ appeared to the women at his tomb he said, “ Do not be afraid .” helping us cope with our fears and trust in God’s divine plan for us. The Easter spirit of renewal helps us see the world again through new eyes, God’s eyes.

There are several Resurrection Symbols, the butterfly, the egg, the lily which blossoms into a beautiful flower, the phoenix, which fell to earth and from its ashes, arose another bird. The peacock is another resurrection symbol. The peacock has a spectacular beautiful tail that loses its beauty during its molting season, but when that season ends, a new and more beautiful tail appears. Today people, religious and non-religious people alike may receive Easter eggs and celebrate the changing of the seasons and a rebirth in nature.

What does Swami say about the Resurrection?

Here is a story told by John Hislop, one of Swami’s American devotees. One day while walking with a small group of devotees in the forest reserve in southern India, Swami pulled off 2 twigs and held them up like the Cross. Then he asked John Hislop. “ Hislop, what is this ?” John answered, “ Swami, it is a cross". Then Swami put the 2 twigs in his hand and blew slowly 3 times and then opened his hand and the twigs had become a small wooden cross with a tiny silver image of Christ on it. The image was not like what artists have depicted but truly was the original image of Christ’s suffering on the cross. Then Swami added, “ To find a piece of wood after 2,000 years presented a little difficulty .” Could the cross actually be made of the wood from the original cross on which Christ was? John Hislop had it cross-examined by experts whose findings confirmed that the wood of the cross is at least 2,000 years old.

Swami has confirmed that Christ did die on the cross. His body went through terrible torture before and during the crucifixion. Was Christ resurrected from the tomb and was his resurrection that of his physical body or was it an astral body or a materialized spiritual body? Swami gave the answer to this question to an English devotee as to whether it was a materialized body of the spirit Christ that appeared after the crucifixion. Swami says, “ No - the physical body. No spirit materialized body. The physical.” Thus Swami stated that Christ did die on the cross and that it was his physical body that was resurrected. Swami has also said that Easter Sunday is a day that symbolizes the unity of humanity and the universal message of love, compassion, and forgiveness that Christ embodied.

We need to see beyond the religious differences to recognize the divinity in all beings. It is a day of joy, hope, and love as people celebrate the victory of light over darkness and the triumph of life over death.

As a famous American author, Helen Steiner Rice says, “Hope your Easter’s happy, hope your Springtime’s bright. Hope your skies are sunny, and hope your heart is light."