Jesus in India and the Far East
Jesus in England | Jesus in India | Reincarnation |
1. Introduction
Mystery surrounds the life of Jesus Christ between the ages of 12 and 30. Nothing of substance can be found within The Bible relating to these years, especially when historians go searching, forgetting as they do that that text is not a history, but rather, a transcript of teachings, lessons, parables and ideologies. If they look beyond The Bible, there is much to be found. There is also a belief outside of Europe and the Middle East that Jesus survived his crucifixion and resurrection in and went on to live to the age of 125 in Kashmir. The Catholic Church position is that prior to his years preaching between the approximates ages of 30 and 33, and as outlined within the New Testament, he worked as a carpenter with his father Joseph, and that he died around AD30 and upon his resurrection his body ascended into Heaven. However, various manuscripts and physical evidence point to his traveling to Persia, India, Kashmir, Tibet and Japan during his lifetime - between the ages of 12 and 30, and after his crucifixion - accompanied at various stages by his mother Mary (18BC-48AD), John the Baptist (d.30AD), Joseph of Arimathea and his brother the apostle Thomas. All of this is subject to conjecture due to the dearth of precise biographical information on Jesus Christ and his family, and despite his status as perhaps the most famous individual in all of history.
The following is a chronological listing of material and information relating to the life of Jesus beyond the traditional brief scenario present by the Catholic Church. It is, of course, widely rejected by Biblical scholars and the Church itself, though strongly supported in India and beyond, and increasingly within Western society. It should be pointed out that the sources cited do not contradict the basic Christian belief that Jesus Christ was the Son of God who appeared on Earth and preached to the masses throughout his life. The only apparent conflict is in regard to the Resurrection and a physical role on Earth thereafter. Once again, there is no real conflict between Christian religious belief and historical reality as presented in the documents cited. They merely extend what we already know about the life of Jesus on earth. A similar article listing resources dealing with Jesus in Great Britain prior to his Indian period is also available and linked above.
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2. A brief outline of the Life of Jesus
The following is a chronological summary of the life of Christ as presented in the documents listed below. It has been calculated that he was born around 6BC and was crucified around the age of 33, around 30AD.
Birth - Jesus is born in Bethlehem. His mother Mary and father Joseph are members of the Jewish Essene sect. Three Wise Men from the East attend the family within the first two years, having become aware of the significance of the birth, in a manner similar to the process of identification of a reborn Tibetan Dalai Lama. It is suggested that subsequent to his birth, a close watch was kept upon his upbringing and time as a child by people from the East.
12 - At the age of 12 Jesus appears in a temple in Jerusalem and lectures to the priests. This points to his advanced spiritual development by that age and likely tutoring prior to this. As the Son of God, such development is to be expected. It did not suddenly appear when the accounts of his later life are presented in the Gospels of the New Testament.
14 - Following public pressure to marry, and opposition arising out of his exposure, Jesus is secreted away from Palestine to the East to continue his studies and teaching. He remains there for approximately sixteen years and is most commonly known by the name Issa.
16-22 - Jesus studies and works in India amongst the poor and in and around Jagannath.
22-27 - Jesus studies Buddhism in Nepal and at Lhasa, Tibet.
27 - Jesus leaves India and begins to travel back to Palestine through Persia.
29 - Whilst returning to Judea from the East, Jesus rests near a pool in Kabul, Afghanistan.
30 - Jesus returns to Palestine from the East. He commences preaching there and this is recorded within the New Testament of the Bible.
32 - Jesus is crucified. Following his Resurrection / recovery he escapes to India with a small group of family and friends, including his mother Mary.
33 - Jesus takes up residence in Kashmir, where he is known as Yus Assaf / Youza Asaf, meaning 'Leader of the Healed ' or 'The Shepherd'.
121 - Jesus meets King Salivahana near Srinagar, Kashmir. This encounter is recorded in the Bhavishya Mahapurana, the 9th book of the Hindu Paranas.
125 - Jesus dies in India. His body is placed in a tomb in Kashmir.
The references cited below include more fulsome descriptions of these and other events related to the life of Jesus Christ.
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3. Records of the life of Jesus / Issa
c. 30AD
The Life of Saint Issa - The Best of the Sons of Men, is recorded. The surviving record includes two manuscripts in Tibetan translated from the original Pali. Copies are located in Hemis Monastery, Leh, Ladakh, India, based on originals once held in the Dalai Lama's Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet. The account was taken from travelling Indian merchants shortly after the crucifixion circa 30AD. Elements of the manuscripts were first transcribed and published in English by Nicholas Notovitch following his discovery of them at Hemis during 1887. That text comprises 244 paragraphs in 14 chapters, arranged by Notovitch in a roughly chronological order from the dispersed original manuscripts. A copy is reproduced at the end of this chronology.
78AD
* King Kanishka of Kashmir issues a coin in association with the 4th Buddhist Council. It shows both Jesus (Youza Asaf) and Buddha as equivalents.
* King Raja Shalewahin visits the Himalayas where he comes across a dignified saintly looking person of fair complexion wearing white robes. Shalewahin asked him who he is. He replies: "Know me as the son of God (Ishputram) and born of a virgin. I am the preacher of the Mlechchh religion and a follower of the true principles." On being asked what his religion was, he said: "Rajan, on the disappearance of truth and the destruction of traditions, I appeared there, and through my work the wicked and the guilty suffered, and in turn, I also suffered at their hands." When again asked to further explain his religion, he said: "It is love, truth and purity of heart, and for this I am called 'Isa-Maseeh' (Jesus Christ)." The king returned after making his obeisance to him. (Vedvyas 115AD, Dixit 1985)
c. 87AD
* Acts of Thomas / Gospel of Thomas, manuscript in Syriac, circulating prior to 240AD (Wikipedia). Apocryphal gospel account of preaching in India by the apostle Thomas and the teaching of Jesus Christ. This may have been a rewriting of The Life of Saint Issa, or an account by Jesus himself.
115AD
* Maharshi Vedvyas, Bhavishya Mahapurana, 115AD. Refer under 78AD above for a quote from this text.
c. 150AD
* Bhavishya Maha Purana, the 9th book of the Hindu Paranas, circa 150AD. Sanskrit treatise, one of eighteen major paranas. Includes references to Jesus.
c. 960AD
* Sheikh Al-Sa’id-us-Saliq (died 962AD) writes the Ikmal-ud-Din, which refers to the life of Jesus (Yus Asaf) in Kashmir. Published in 1782.
1417
* Mir Muhammad Bin Khawand, Rauzat-us-safat, Persia, 1417. Records a visit of Jesus and Mary to Nasibain, Turkey. Published in Bombay during 1852.
1472
* Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, Kanz-al-Ummal [Treasures of the Doers of Good Deeds], 1472-1567. Collection of 46,000 hadith - the sayings of Mohamed - some of which refer to the travels of Jesus in the East. c.f. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (2003).
1497
* Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ [The garden of purity in the biography of the prophets and kings and caliphs], 8 volumes, Persia, 1497. An historical account of Persia which includes references to the travels of Jesus there.
1782
* Al-Shaikh Al-Said-us-Sadiq Abi Jaffar Muhammad Ibn-i-Ali Ibn-i-Hussain Ibn-i-Musa Ibn-i-Baibuyah al-Qummi, Ikmal-ud-Din, Kamal-ud Din wa Tmam-un Nimat fi Asbat-ul-Ghaibat wa Kashf-ul-Hairet, Syed-us-Sanad Press, Iran, 1782, 357. Refers to Yus Asaf as Jesus and the Sower parable which also exists in the Bible.
1854
* Mrs Juliana Hervey, The Adventures of a Lady in Tartary, China and Kashmir, volume II, p.136. Apparently mentions the Issa manuscripts at Hemis monastery, Ladakh. This reference has not been verified by the author.
1887
* The Russian Nicholas Notovitch visits India during October - November 1887 and is presented with manuscripts which refer to the life of the prophet Issa, who the Tibetans tell him was Jesus Christ. The account deals with his life between the ages of 12 and 30 in the East, prior to circa AD30 and death in that year.
1890
* Nicholas Notovitch, The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ / The Life of Saint Issa: The lost years of Jesus Christ in India and the East, Paris, 1890. This work is subsequently republished in various languages and attains international notoriety. Notovitch later included in the publish edition a rebuttal of claims of fraud.
1894
* An English woman visits the Hemis monastery and is apparently told that the Notovitch account is not true, or is not there. This would occur on a number of occasions, as the monks sought to deny the existence of the manuscripts in order to protect them.
* F. Max Muller, The Alleged Sojurn of Christ in India, The Nineteenth Century, 36, July-December 1894, 515-522. Refutes the claims of Notovitch.
1895
* J. Archibald Douglas visits the Hemis monastery and is told by the chief abbot that the Notovitch account is not correct or does not exist.
1896
* J. Archibald Douglas, The Chief Lama of Hemis on the Alleged 'Unknown Life of Christ', The Nineteenth Century, 39, January-June 1896, 667-677.
1899
* Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Jesus in India, Qadian, Panjar, India, 20 November 1908. This book was completed on 25 April 1899 and published posthumously in part during 1902-3 and in full during 1908. It refers to the Jesus tomb in Rauzabal, Khanyar, Cashmere [Srinigar, Kashmir]. It rejects the claims of Notovitch and argues that Jesus only came to Kashmir after the crucifixion of 30AD, and not to India during the missing years of his youth. Its conclusions are subsequently rejected by Grönbold (1985) and Klatt (1988). The first English edition appeared in 1944, followed in 1951. For an updated edition see under 2003.
1902-3
* Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, An important discovery regarding Jesus Christ, The Review of Religions, 1902-3. Initial publication of part of the account by Hazrat written in 1899.
1921
* Swami Abhedananda visits Hemis monastery and confirms Notovitch's claims. He studies the manuscripts and produces a partial translation, similar to the Russian's. He publishes his findings the following year.
1922
* Swami Abhedananda, Journey into Kashmir and Tibet, rendered into English by Ansupati Dasgupta and Kunja Bihari Kundu, 1922. An account of his visit is later published in 2014.
1925
* Russian Nicholas Roerich, philosopher, scientist, explorer and artist, visits Hemis monastery and confirms Notovitch's claims in a number of subsequent publications, which also include additional sources.
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| Nicholas Roerich, Hemis monastery, 1932. |
1929
* Nicholas Roerich, Heart of Asia, 1929.
1931
* Lady Henrietta Merrick, In the Attic of the World, 1931. Confirms the existence of the Hemis Monastery Issa manuscripts.
1936
* Mufti Sadiq, The Grave of Jesus, 1936. Refers to the grave of Jesus in Kashmir.
1939
* Gloria Gasque and Elizabeth Caspari confirm the existence of the Hemis Monastery documents. They obtain a photograph of a monk holding the texts.
1944
* First English edition of the writings of Hazrat Ahmad from 1899.
1951
* Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Jesus in Heaven and Earth, 1951.
1959
* Maulana Jalauddin Shams, Where Did Jesus Die?, 1959.
1967
* Sir Mohammed Zaferullah Khan, a Pakistani judge of the International Court of Justice, asserts during 1967 that Jesus lived and died in Kashmir and was interred in the shrine at Rauzabal.
1981
* Arthur Hagopian, The Gospel of the Thirteenth Apostle - Jesus in India, Vantage Press, New York, 1981, 222p.
1985
* D.K. Dixit, Did Jesus Die in Kashmir?, The Review of Religions, 7 December 1985. Text:
Did Jesus Die in Kashmir? Jesus Christ did not die on the cross, nor did he rise from the dead. Instead, he survived the crucifixion, escaped to Kashmir, lived a full life there, died a natural death and was buried in Rauzabal, Khanyar, a thickly populated locality in the interior of the city of Srinagar. Sounds sacrilegious, sensational and intriguing doesn't it, this theory that strikes at the very root of the universally nurtured beliefs of orthodox Christians of the world? And yet a mass of plausible and apparently incontrovertible evidence has been collected by innovative scholars to buttress and bolster this unusual and incredible thesis in recent years. A German scholar, Andress Faber-Kaiser, in a recent published work, has investigated various facts that shed light on the mysterious aspects of Jesus's life. The author's book Jesus Died in Kashmir is meticulously researched, with a barrage of photo-copied manuscripts, translations and detailed notations to substantiate his hypothesis. His dissertation would have been easy to denigrate and dismiss, but for the overwhelming and forbidding documentation he marshalls. Recently an international symposium on this crucial and controversial subject was held in London. In the United States, the new view has triggered off an excited debate with many devout Christians.
The theory was first propounded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmed Qadiyani (1835-1908), the founder of the Ahmediya sect in India, in his book Maseeh Hindustan Main (Jesus in India) published in 1899. The off-beat opinion was further elaborated by Mirza Qadiyani's followers like Mufti Sadiq (The Grave of Jesus, 1936), Khwaja Nazir Ahmed (Jesus in the Heaven of Earth, 1951) and Maulana Jalauddin Shams (Where Did Jesus Die? 1959). The Ahmedias Mirza Qadiyani was the Maseeh-e-Mauood (the reincarnated Jesus). They do not agree with the Islamic concept of Mohammed being the last prophet, and are declared as non-Muslims in Pakistan. Sir Mohd. Zaferullah Khan, a Pakistani judge of International Court of Justice, also asserted in 1967 that Jesus lived and died in Kashmir and was interred in the shrine at Rauzabal. It is worth noting that Abadul Fazal also addressed Jesus as Yuz and Christ. The Rauzabal mausoleum, the Kashmir Muslims say, enshrines the mortal remains of Yuz Asaf.
The iconclastic account of Jesus's life, if Faber-Kaiser is to be believed, is as follows: After his crucifixion, his wounds healed, Jesus migrated towards the east with his mother Mary and his beloved disciple Thomas. Mary could not survive the rigours of the journey and died at Muree, near Islamabad, on the Rawalpindi - Srinagar route. The town, it is pointed out, derives its name from Mary and, till the turn of the last century, was also spelt as such. Thomas travelled to South India where he passed away, spreading the gospel. Sahibzada Basharat Saleem, a resident of Srinagar, even today has in his possession a complete geneological table which traces his direct descent from Jesus Christ. Jesus it is said, died at a ripe old age from natural causes and was buried in the crypt of Rauzabal.
The Biblical version of Jesus' life leaves some questions unanswered. For instance, where was Jesus between the ages of 13 (after he was lost and found in the temple) and 29 when he came out to be baptised by St John? Nicolai Notovich, a Russian traveller who came to India in 1887, has recorded Jesus's visit to Ladakh and other eastern places in his book Life of Saint Jesus. Exploring the Ladakhi region, he stumbled upon 84,000 scrolls in the Hemis lamasery (monastery) at Leh. These manuscripts contain the biographies of various prophets "of which Isa was but one". Isa, Yuz, Yuzu, Issa and Yuza are variations of Jesus's name. "Isa", Notovich writes, "was born in the country of Israel... his parents were poor ... in order to reward his family for having remained firm in the path of truth, God blessed their first-born and choose him to heal those who were suffering... when he reached the age of 12, the time at which an Israelite takes a wife... he disappeared secretly from his parent's house. He abandoned Jerusalem and set out towards Sind." According to the scrolls, Jesus established himself as a prophet in the land of the five rivers. He then travelled through India, living for six years at Banaras, Jagannathpuri and Rajagriha. People flocked to his sermons, but his preaching of the equality of man enraged the high caste Hindus. Forced to flee to Himalayan regions, and then on to Persia, Jesus returned to Israel at the age of 29. This compelling fascination for India, encouraged Jesus to come back after his crucifixion.
It is noteworthy that, contrary to the then prevalent custom, Jesus was not laid in a shallow grave and buried, but was placed in a sepulchre as large as a room, to enable the air to circulate freely and doctors to tend his wounds. The German scholar contends that the first part of Jesus's mission on earth was to bring truth and the Christian faith to the Israeli people, while the second part was essentially to find the lost tribes of Israel and spread the gospel among them. Faber-Kaiser also attempts to prove that the origins of many people in Afghanistan and Kashmir are really Israelite. He claims to have found a group of people at Yusmarg in Kashmir who call themselves the children of Israel and who venerate Christ's tomb. They also worship at Musa's tomb north of Srinagar which, they hold, enshrines the mortal remains of Prophet Moses. The one-room crypt is unique in structure and design. Built in the Jewish style, the windows and doors have elements of Israeli design. The plain grey grave is unusually large in dimension. The foot of the tomb is, significantly, directed towards Mecca, hardly suggesting a Muslim tomb. Little wonder then, that the non-descript monument attracts a large number of foreign visitors fascinated by the ancient grave of Hazrat Yuz 'Asaf (the name inscribed on the crypt). Yuz is the short form of Yuzu, the Arabic name for Jesus and Asaf in Hebrew means "the gatherer''. Christ went out to gather the ten lost Israeli tribes. Hence the epithet, "Jesus, the Gatherer." The first Muslim historian of Kashmir, Mulla Nadiri, states in his Tareekh-e-Kashmir In Raja Gopaladatta's days (A.D. 49-109), Hazrat Yuz Asaf, having come from Bait-Muqddas (Palestine) to this holy valley, proclaimed his prophethood. He devoted himself, day and night, to prayers to God, and, having attained the heights of piety and virtue, declared himself to be a Messenger of God for the people of Kashmir... I have seen in a book of Hindus that this prophet was really Hazrat Isa (Jesus) Rooh-u-Uah (Spirit of God) on whom be peace and salutations and who had also assumed the name of Yuz Asaf." According to the Holy Quran, Jesus was "a Messenger to the children of God." It is possible that Jesus, when he migrated from his native land, might have assumed the name of Yuz Asaf to conceal his identity from his enemies who could pursue and persecute him. The Bible also reinforces this conjecture by ascertaining that "when afraid for his life, Jesus used to take shelter in mountains in unknown places". The Holy Quran says: "And we made the son of Mary and his mother a sign, and we gave them shelter on lofty meadows and springs." Incidentally, the word "Messiah" in Persian means "great traveller." Max Mueller, in his Sacred Books of the East (Vol. XI) says that the sound 't' in English is equivalent to the sound 's' in Arabic. It is plausible that the name Mettayya in Buddhist literature refers to Messiah and stands for the same person. Of the five places mentioned in the Old Testament, the "Land of Promise" — Bethpeor - literally means the "place of opening." As the Jhelum river is also called "Beth" in Persian and "Veth" in Kashmir, Bethpeor could be the name of a place situated on the banks of the Jhelum. According to Kalhan's Rajatarangini, Bandipur, also known as Bethpur, which is the place of opening as the valley of Kashmir, opens out from this place and the Jhelum passes through a gap into the Wular lake. Thus it could be inferred that Bethpur of Kashmir was the promised land where Jesus preached to his 'Children of Isreal.'
In the Sanskrit epic Bhavishya Mahapurana written in 115 A.D. by Maharshi Vedvyas, it is mentioned that Raja Shalewahin (in the year 78 A.D.) visited the Himalayas where the king came across a dignified saintly looking person of fair complexion wearing white robes. Shalewahin asked him who he was. He replied: "Know me as the son of God (Ishputram) and born of a virgin. I am the preacher of the Mlechchh religion and a follower of the true principles." On being asked what was his religion was, he said: "Rajan, on the disappearance of truth and the destruction of traditions, I appeared there and through my work the wicked and the guilty suffered, and in turn, I also suffered at their hands." When again asked to further explain his religion, he said: "It is love, truth and purity of heart and for this I am called 'Isa-Maseeh' (Jesus Christ)." The king returned after making his obeisance to him.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in his Glimpses of World History: says "All over Central Asia, in Kashmir and Ladakh and Tibet and even further north, there is still a strong belief that Jesus or Issa travelled about there . . . there is nothing inherently improbable in his doing so." Be that as it may, the raging controversy as to whether Christ was ever in Kashmir is bound to continue unless further research is conducted on the subject. And what is more, to establish the veracity and authenticity of the radical theory, the mortal remains of Yuz Asaf in the Rauzabal tomb will have to be exhumed and examined in a scientific way. The deductions from scholarly probes, however disturbing to the orthodox Christians, cannot be dismissed as an unfounded canard about their saviour. The matter must be investigated meticulously and scrupulously, for is not the essence of Christianity truth and godliness? But, the primary question now is: Will the so-called grave of Jesus Christ in Kashmir be permitted to be excavated for scientific examination?
1985
* Günter Grönbold, Jesus in Indien: Das Ende einer Legende [Jesus in India - The End of a Legend], Munich, 1985. Rejects the work of Ahmad (1899).
1988
* Norbert Klatt, Lebte Jesus in Indien? [Did Jesus Live in India?], 1988. Rejects the work of Ahmad (1899).
1991
* Paul C. Pappas, Jesus' Tomb in India: Debate on His Death and Resurrection, Jain Publishing Co., 1991, 200p.
1994
* Elizabeth Clare Prophet, The Lost Teachings of Jesus: Missing Texts II - Mysteries of the Higher Self, 3rd edition, Summit University Press, 1994, 352p. Compilation of some of the previous publications on this subject.
* Deardorff, James W., Jesus in India: A re-examination of Jesus' Asian traditions in the light of evidence supporting reincarnation, International Scholars Publications, 1995, 336p
1998
* Elizabeth Clare Prophet, The Lost Years of Jesus: Documentary Evidence of Jesus' 17-year Journey to the East, Summit University Press, 1998, 447p.
1999
* Edward T. Martin, King of Travellers: Jesus' lost years in India, 1999, 201p.
2000
* Gene D. Matlock, Jesus and Moses are buried in India, birthplace of Abraham and the Hewbrews, iUniverse, 20 November 2000, 444p.
2001
* Holger Kersten, Jesus Lived in India: His Unknown Life Before and After the Crucifixion, Penguin, 2001, 264p.
2002
* Abubakr Ben Ishmael Salahuddin, Evidence of Jesus in India, The Review of Religions, 1 April 2002. Cites numerous ancient manuscripts regarding the travels of Jesus. Text:
The tomb known as 'Rozabal' in the capital of Kashmir is no ordinary tomb. The life history of the person who lies buried there bears a strong resemblance to Prophet Jesus. His trials and tribulations, his style of preaching and his origin from the Holy Land all lend powerful support to the argument that it is indeed Jesus who lies buried in Rozabal. Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s book Jesus in India was written over 100 years ago in 1899, and his works have since found resonance throughout the last century with researchers the world over. This article is based on an extract from Saving the Savior - Did Christ Survive the Crucifixion? - one of the most recent books on this subject, and it re-examines some of the historical evidence surrounding this theory about the person who lies in Rozabal.
The Followers of Jesus. ‘The followers of Issa, son of Mariam [Jesus, son of Mary], generally call themselves Muslims, and inhabit a number of villages scattered throughout the western area of Afghanistan whose centre is Herat. I have heard of them several times, but considered that they were probably the people who had been converted by the European missionaries from eastern Persia, or that they were a relic of the time when Herat had been a flourishing bishopric of the Nestorians, before the Arabs conquered Persia in the seventh and eighth centuries. But, from their own accounts, and from what I could observe, they seem to have come from a much older source. There must be about a thousand of these Christians. Their chief is Abba Yahiyya (Father John), who can recite the succession of teachers, through nearly sixty generations, to Issa, son of Mariam of Nasara [Nazareth], the Kashmiri.’[1] The quote clearly states that Jesus Christ taught in Afghanistan and attracted a following of people, the descendants of whom refer to themselves as The Followers of Issa. But does this place him in Afghanistan after the event of the crucifixion? Professor Omar Burke continues: ‘Jesus, according to the community, was a carpenter and also a shepherd... The “Traditions of the Masih” (anointed one) is the holy book of the community. They do not believe in the New Testament; or, rather, they say that these Traditions are the New Testament, and that the Gospels which we have are partly true but generally written by people who did not understand the teachings of the Master [Jesus]. ‘Abba Yahiyya, a towering figure with the face of a saint, was certainly an erudite man, and he knew his own scriptures, plus a great deal of the Jewish writings, very well indeed. He had heard of the teachings of the “heretics” as he called what we would call the various sects of Christians known to us, and he wanted no part of them.
‘“My son,” he said, in his softly accented Persian, ‘these people are reading and repeating a part of the story. They have completely misunderstood the message. We have the story told to us by the Master [Jesus], and through him we will be saved and made whole. Some of the events in that document which you call the Bible are true, but a great deal is made up or imagined or put in for less than worthy reasons. Issa lived for over thirty years after the materials you have were completed, and he told us what was true. Briefly, the doctrine is that Jesus was the son of God because he had attained that rank through his goodness and sacrifices. Thus he was equal to a divine person. He came after John the Baptist, who himself had reached the highest degree of development possible at that time. John baptized him with water, Jesus with spirit and fire. These were the three stages of understanding, which were taught by our Christians.’
‘There was a great deal of confusion at first, because I was talking about sacraments and being saved, while it took me some time to realize that Abba John's people saw baptism, the Holy Ghost and the Kingdom of God to be three stages in a system of human illumination. This is what they claim is the function of the Church: the preservation of an administration of these three “developments” for the worshipers. ‘There is a ritual meal, like the Last Supper, but this is carried out once a week. Bread and wine are eaten, but as symbolic of the grosser and finer nutritions that are the experiences of attainment of nearness to God. While it is possible to consider these people as mere heretics, or else as followers of someone else who impersonated Jesus, yet I was singularly impressed by their piety, their feeling of certainty, their simplicity and lack of the unpleasant forms of fervour which one often finds in minority cults. They were convinced, too, that the day would come when the world would discover the truth about Jesus.’[2]
The reader will note that the followers of Jesus claim that Jesus taught a message quite similar to the Gnostic one we studied earlier, as well as the message contained in the documents discovered by Nicholas Notovitch amongst the Buddhists. Baptism, the Holy Ghost, and the Kingdom of God were three stages of illumination. This idea is contrary to the current Christian doctrine that places Jesus as the intermediary between human beings and perfect knowledge of God. Is it simply ‘coincidental’ that three different groups of people, living in different parts of the world - the Gnostics Christians, the followers of Jesus in Afghanistan, and the Buddhists of Tibet - shared an understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ that was exactly the same, and yet totally at variance with what is now called ‘Christianity.’
The Bhavishya Mahapurana. There are eighteen books of the Hindus called the Puranas. The ninth book, the Bhavishya Mahapurana, records an encounter of King Shalivahana with Jesus Christ near Srinagar long after the crucifixion. In contrast to the Gospels, the exact date of this book is clearly known. It was compiled by Sutta in the year 3191 of the Kaukikia Era. That corresponds to the year 115 AD. Jesus Christ is believed to have died at age 120, so this account was compiled five years before his death. Alongside the oral tradition of The Followers of Jesus in Afghanistan, this written account is perhaps the most important of any of the documents recording the presence of Jesus long after the crucifixion, because it was written while Jesus, according to the theory, would still have been alive. Christian scholars state that the only extant Gospels possibly dating to the first century are Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Thomas. But they theorize that there may also have existed a Q document that pre-dated these Gospels, and served as the source material for at least Matthew and Luke. This Q document is not available anywhere today. Though scholars assume its existence, we cannot know for certain whether it actually existed prior to the compilation of the Gospels. So the Bhavishya Mahapurana is an extant book that reveals information about Jesus Christ during his lifetime. So it can be suggested that the Bhavishya Mahapurana stands as a more reliable document than any of the Gospels, as it was not derived from a ‘Q’ document, but is an original text.
This is a very striking account: Sanskrit verses 16-33 [shaded in gray] of the third khanda of the Pratisarga parvan of the Bhavishya Mahapurana: ‘Shalivahana, who was a grandson of Bikrama Jit, took over the government. He vanquished the attacking hordes of Chinese, Parthians, Scythians and Bactrians. He drew a border between the Arians and the Mleacha (non-Hindus), and ordered the latter to withdraw to the other side of India. One day, Shalivahana, the chief of the Sakyas, went into the Himalayas. There, in the Land of the Hun (Ladak, a part of the Kushan empire), the powerful king saw a man sitting on a mountain, who seemed to promise auspiciousness. His skin was fair and he wore white garments. ‘The king asked the holy man who he was. The other replied: “I am called a son of God, born of a virgin, minister of the non-believers, relentless in search of the truth”. The king then asked him: “What is your religion?” The other replied, ‘O great king, I come from a foreign country, where there is no longer truth and where evil knows no bounds. In the land of the non-believers, I appeared as the Messiah. But the demon Ihamasi of the barbarians (dasyu) manifested herself in a terrible form; I was delivered unto her in the manner of the non-believers and ended in Ihamasi's realm. “O king, lend your ear to the religion that I brought unto the non-believers: after the purification of the essence and the impure body and after seeking refuge in the prayers of the Naigama, man will pray to the Eternal. Through justice, truth, meditation and unity of spirit, man will find his way to Isa in the center of light. God, as firm as the sun, will finally unite the spirit of all wandering beings in Himself. Thus, O king, Ihamasi will be destroyed; and the blissful image of Issa, the giver of happiness, will remain forever in the heart; and I was called Isa-Masih.' After the king heard these words, he took the teacher of the non-believers and sent him to their pitiless land.”’[3] Here again we see a teaching similar to the Gnostic, Buddhist and Afghani versions that we studied earlier, with Jesus here stating that personal acts involving prayer, self-purification, the practice of truth and justice and the practice of meditation would bring human beings to God. In none of those four versions has Jesus spoken about himself as the object of worship or as a mediator through which one must go in order to reach God. And again, this idea is contrary to today's Christian teachings.
The reader will notice above that the ‘holy man’ used the indefinite article, ‘a’ in describing himself as, ‘a son of God.’ You may recall the previous section on The Followers of Jesus where the head of that community, Abba Yahya, also said that Jesus bore the appellation, son of God, ‘because he had attained that rank through his goodness and sacrifices.’ Kersten states that the name ‘Isa,’ or ‘Issa’, derives from the Syrian, Yeshu (Jesus), ‘being altered to conform to Musa (Moses).’ What is striking about the above account is that Jesus is mentioned by the name that he is known by in the scripture of Islam, the Qur’an. But the above document was compiled hundreds of years before the Qur’an was written. Also, the above document was written in Sanskrit - the language of the Hindus, a totally different religion. Since the name Isa appears in an ancient Hindu document as well as in the scripture of Islam, apparently it was a name by which Jesus was known in the East. Although Kersten states that ‘Isa’ is derived from the Syrian, Yeshu, the above verses seem to use the name Isa as an attributive name, and not as the actual personal name of Jesus. The reader will note that he stated: ‘...man will find his way to Isa in the center of light.’ Then later he refers to himself as Isa-Masih - the Isa Messiah. So, could the word Isa actually have meant some kind of attribute of the Divine? Had this holy man been sent as the ‘Isa Messiah’ to re-establish this special Divine attribute in those to whom he ministered? He defines Isa as ‘the giver of happiness,’ and does not seem to refer to himself by the name Isa. In short, he is the Messiah of Isa, or he is the Messiah for Isa. It seems that his mission was to teach spiritual practices that would lead to Isa, the giver of happiness, with the words ‘giver of happiness’ being an attribute of God. As he states, ‘Through justice, truth, meditation and unity of spirit, man will find his way to Isa in the center of light.’ It appears that Jesus Christ was teaching a spiritual prescription for finding happiness ‘in the center of light,’ and the words ‘center of light’ must certainly have been metaphorical for the Divine - for God. The word ‘light’ refers not only to physical light. In religious literature of various religions, the word light refers to guidance. So the ‘center of light’ or the center of all guidance would be God.
The Rauzat-us-Safa. Jesus was mentioned in a Persian historical work known as the Rauzat-us-Safa, written by Mir Muhammad Bin Khawand in 1417 AD. The complete title of that book is: Rauza-tus-Safa fi Sirat-ul-Ambia wal Muluk wal Khulafa (Gardens of Purity concerning the biography of the Prophets and Kings and Caliphs). It was published later, in the year 1852 AD, in Bombay. In this book, he mentions a tradition regarding a visit by Jesus and Mary to Nasibain. ‘Jesus (on whom be peace) was named the ‘Messiah’ because he was a great traveler. He wore a woolen scarf on his head and a woolen cloak on his body. He had a stick in his hand; he used to wander from country to country and from city to city. At nightfall he would stay where he was. He ate jungle vegetables, drank jungle water, and went on his travels on foot. His companions, in one of his travels, once bought a horse for him; he rode the horse one day, but as he could not make any provision for the feeding of the horse, he returned it. Journeying from his country, he arrived at Nasibain. With him were a few of his disciples whom he sent into the city to preach. In the city, however, there were current wrong and unfounded rumors about Jesus and his mother. The governor of the city, therefore, arrested the disciples and then summoned Jesus. Jesus miraculously healed some persons and exhibited other miracles. The king of the territory of Nasibain, therefore, with all his armies and his people, became a follower of his. The legend of the 'coming down of food' contained in the Holy Qur’an belongs to the days of his travels.’[4]
Ikmal-ud-Din. The author of Ikmal-ud-Din (the original title is, Kamalud Din wa Tmam-un Nimat fi Asbat-ul-Ghaibat wa Kashful- Hairet), is Al-Shaikh Al-Said-us-Sadiq Abi Jaffar Muhammad Ibn-i-Ali Ibn-i-Hussain Ibn-i-Musa Ibn-i-Baibuyah al-Qummi, who died in Khorasan in 962 AD. He was a scholar who had travelled to many countries in order to research material for his book. He mentions the travels of Jesus Christ (Yuz Asaf) to Kashmir: ‘Then Yuz Asaf, after roaming about in many cities, reached that country which is called Kashmir. He travelled in it far and wide and stayed there and spent his (remaining) life there, until death overtook him, and he left the earthly body and was elevated towards the Light. But before his death, he sent for a disciple of his, Ba’bad, by name, who used to serve him and was well versed in all matters. He expressed his last will to him and said: 'My time for departing from this world has come. Carry on your duties properly and turn not back from truth, and say your prayers regularly.’ He then directed Ba'bad to prepare a tomb over him (at the very place he died). He then stretched his legs towards the West and head towards the East and died. May God bless him.’[5]
Yuz Asaf taught in parables in the same manner as the Bible records that Jesus taught. Here is a sample of a parable of Yuz Asaf's which parallels the famous sower-of-seeds parable mentioned by the Gospels: ‘When a sower goes to sow and sows, some seeds fall by the wayside, and the birds pick up the seed. Some fall upon stray land, and when they reach the stony foundation they wither away. Some fall among thorns and grow not: but the seed that falls on the good land, grows and brings forth fruit. By the sower is meant the wise, by the seed is meant his words of wisdom. The seeds picked up by birds mean those people who understand not. The seeds on the stony ground are like the words of wisdom that go in one ear and out of the other. The seeds that fell among the thorns are like unto those who hear and understand but act not accordingly. Other seeds which fall on good grounds are like those who hear the words of wisdom and obey.’[6]
The Bible records Jesus’ sower parable in the following manner: ‘And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.’[7]
In my view, the sower parable from Ikmal-ud-Din is very important. First, from the earlier quote we see that Shaikh Sadiq recorded the travels of Yuz Asaf and his eventual arrival in Kashmir. Second, he also recorded one of the important parables of Yuz Asaf. Since orthodox Muslims have always believed that Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, then Shaikh Sadiq would have no reason to even suspect that Yuz Asaf and Jesus Christ were the same person, simply because of the fact that he was a Muslim who believed in Jesus’ ascension. Even if such a notion had come to his mind, he would have immediately dismissed it, because to entertain such an idea would have been a violation of his religious beliefs. Also, it is far from likely that Shaikh Sadiq would have inserted this story, deceitfully citing it as a Kashmiri tradition. It is very unlikely because of the fact that the scripture of Shaikh Sadiq was the Qur’an, not the Bible. The parable of the sower of the seeds does not exist in the Qur’an, so why would Shaikh Sadiq have taken a Biblical parable that has no connection whatsoever to his own religious tradition and inserted it into his account of Kashmiri tradition? Again, he certainly was not trying to destroy Christian belief by suggesting that Jesus was in Kashmir long after the Crucifixion, because to do so, as I stated above, would have meant the destruction of his own religious beliefs as well, since both orthodox Muslims and orthodox Christians believe in the Ascension of Jesus Christ.
The Book of Balauhar and Budasaf (Yuz Asaf). It is believed that the name Budasaf [Bud-Asaf] and Yuz Asaf refer to the same person. An entire Buddhist Book of Budasaf exists which mentions Budasaf (Yuz Asaf) in Kashmir. (For an original-language Urdu translation of portions of the Book of Balauhar and Budasaf, see: www.tombofjesus.com/qisabig.htm) It says of Budasaf: ‘And he reached Kashmir, which was the farthest region at which he ministered, and there his life ended. He left the world and bequeathed his inheritance to a certain disciple called Ababid who had served him. Everything that he did was perfect. And he admonished him and said to him, “I have found a worthy shrine and decorated it and brought in lamps for the dying. I have collected the flock with the true face, which had been dispersed and to whom I was sent. And now I shall draw breath through my ascent from the world, by the separation of my soul from my body. Obey the commandments that were given to you, and do not deviate from the path of truth but keep firmly to it in gratitude. And may Ababid be the leader.” He then commanded Ababid to level off the place for him; he stretched his legs out and lay down. Then, turning his head northwards and his face eastwards, he passed away.’[8]
The reader will note a discrepancy between the above Buddhist account of the death of Jesus Christ and that written in Ikmal-ud-Din. Whatever might be the explanation for why these accounts differ with regard to which direction Jesus faced his head just prior to the moment of his death , this is not to be confused, obviously, with the direction in which he was finally buried in the Roza Bal. The real sarcophagus containing the remains of Yuz Asaf in the Roza Bal lies underground and could at one time be seen through a small aperture. It is interesting that that sarcophagus faces the direction that is in accordance with Jewish custom – east to west. Even considering that the account in Ikmal-ud-Din was referring to the direction he lay at the time of his death, that account is in accordance with the direction of the sarcophagus of Yuz Asaf in the Roza Bal, and must be considered a correct one. Some orthodox Muslims claim that Yuz Asaf is an Islamic saint. This idea cannot be correct because the tradition of Yuz Asaf in Kashmir goes back long before the Islamic period.
The Tarikh-i-Kashmir. In his book, Tarikh-i-Kashmir, the historian, Mullah Nadri, made mention of Yuz Asaf, Jesus Christ in Kashmir: ‘After him his son Raja Akh (whose name was Ach), came to the throne. He ruled for sixty years. It is said that he founded the village (of) Achabaal in Kothar district. After him his son, Gopananda, took (the reigns of) Government and ruled the country under the name of Gopadatta. [During his reign] many temples were [built] and on top of Mount Solomon the dome [of the temple] became cracked. He deputed one of his ministers named Sulaiman, who had come from Persia to repair it. Hindus objected that he [the Minister] was an infidel [and belonged to] another religion. ‘During this time Hadhrat Yuz Asaf having come from Bait-ul Muqaddas [the Holy Land] to this holy valley proclaimed his prophethood. He devoted himself, day and night, in [prayers to] God, and having attained the heights of piety and virtue, he declared himself to be a Messenger [of God] for the people of Kashmir. He invited people [to his religion]. Because the people of the valley had faith in this Prophet, Raja Gopadatta referred the objection of Hindus to him [for decision]. It was because of this Prophet’s orders that Sulaiman, whom Hindus called Sandeman, completed [the repairs of] the dome. [The year was] Fifty and four. Further, on one of the stones of the stairs he [Sulaiman] inscribed: “In these times Yuz Asaf proclaimed his prophethood,” and on the other stone of the stairs he also inscribed that he [Yuz Asaf] was Yusu, Prophet of the Children of Israel.
"I have seen in a book of Hindus that this prophet was really Hadhrat Isa [Jesus], the Spirit of God, on whom be peace [and salutations] and had also assumed the name of Yuz Asaf. The real knowledge is with God. He spent his life in this [valley]. After his departure [his death] he was laid to rest in Mohalla Anzmarah. It is also said that lights of prophethood used to emanate from the tomb of this Prophet. Raja Gopadatta having ruled for sixty years and two months, [then] died...’[9]
This is another very interesting recording. It shows that Mullah Nadri clearly gave an account of Yuz Asaf in Kashmir. He stated that Yuz Asaf came from the Holy Land, and that he proclaimed to be a prophet of the Children of Israel, or the Jews. Yet, up to that point, he had not equated this prophet with Jesus Christ. Then, as an objective historian, he recorded a Hindu tradition telling that Isa and Yuz Asaf were the same individual. And he recorded this Hindu tradition even though it was at variance with his own Islamic tradition. It seems as though Mullah Nadri must have been influenced by this Hindu tradition in some manner. Rather than state that, ‘Of course my religion, Islam, says that Jesus ascended to heaven,’ or just outright deny this Hindu tradition, or even worse, simply leave it out, he states: ‘The real knowledge is with God.’ I think it is very significant that Mullah Nadri would not forcefully deny the tradition or even qualify it by airing his own religious views. Obviously, the Hindu tradition Mullah Nadri mentioned is the same one that records the meeting of King Shalivahana with Jesus Christ - the Bhavishya Mahapurana. Also, you will notice that Mullah Nadri refers to Isa as the ‘Spirit of God.’ This description of Isa as the ‘Spirit of God’ seems to support my own view, expressed in the section on the Bhavishya Mahapurana, that the name Isa may not be a personal name but is instead attributive in nature.
The Tarikh-i-Kashmir. The author of this Tarikh-i- Kashmir is unknown. Note that the document states that ‘six days after his crucifixion, Jesus visited several places.’ ‘In early writings, it is mentioned that seventy years after the demise of Alexander the Great, Jesus Christ was born. When he reached the age of thirty years, God raised him to the status of an apostle. At the age of thirty-three years, he proceeded from Palestine towards the Holy Valley [Kashmir]. It is mentioned in historical works that Jesus Christ reached Syria in company of his disciples and followers. It is written in authentic works that six days after his crucifixion, Jesus visited several places and met Zacharis and Mary and Disciples and then left for [an] unknown destination.’[10] The reference to the ‘Holy Valley’ is speaking of Kashmir, which has been called the Valley of Eternal Peace, and other such names.
The History of Religion and Doctrines – The Glass Mirror. In his book, A Search for the Historical Jesus, Dr. Fida Hassnain, former Director of Kashmir State Archives and of Archeological Research and Museums, mentions a Tibetan manuscript he discovered called Grugtha Thams-chand kyi Khuna dan Dod-Thsul Ston-pe Legs Shad Shel-gyi Melong. (Recall Nicholas Notovitch’s discovery that Buddhists in Tibet had within their possession ancient documents which recorded the comings and goings of ‘San Issa,’ or ‘Yesu,’ i.e., Jesus) containing information about Jesus(as). This Tibetan document, written by Le-zan Chhes-kyi Nima, was translated from an ancient Chinese document called, The History of Religion and Doctrines - The Glass Mirror. The relevant portions are reproduced below: ‘Yesu, the teacher and founder of the religion, who was born miraculously, proclaimed himself the Saviour of the world. He commanded his disciples to observe the ten vows [Ten Commandments], among which includes prohibition of manslaughter and attainment of eternal joy through good deeds. He preached that evil actions plunge one into hell, where there is eternal torment and misery. A sin committed in a state of consciousness cannot be condoned or pardoned. This is one of the virtuous results emerging out of the teachings of the Buddha. His doctrines did not spread extensively, but survived in Asia, for a long period. The above information is derived from the Chinese treatises on religions and doctrines.’[11]
I find it interesting that the above document states that, except in Asia, the teachings of Yesu (Jesus) did not spread. When one considers the differences in the teachings of Yuz Asaf/Yesu when he was in Asia, and those of Christianity as it evolved in the West, one begins to understand the above quote. For, the primary focus of Western Christianity is the death of Jesus Christ for the sins of the world, but in the East that idea does not exist.
The Tarikh-i-Kabir Kashmir. The Tarikh-i-Kabir Kashmir was published at Suraj Prakash Press in Amritsar, Punjab in 1902. On page 34 of Volume I of that work, Haji Mohiyuddin says the: ‘Syed Nasir-uddin Khanyari is much revered for spending his life in piety and prayers. He was burried in the famous shrine known as the Rozabal Tomb. His grave is located towards the south of the holy grave of a prophet. As such, the shrine is known as the Site of the Prophet. Khawaja Azam Didmari writes that in the past a Prince, who absorbed himself in prayers and piety attained the station of a Messenger [of God] and was sent to this land for guidance of the people. His name was Yuzu-Asaph. After his death, he was burried here in Mohala Anzmar near Khanyar. ‘Mulla Ahmad in his Asar-ul-Ikhyar has quoted that Sultan Zain-ul- Abidin deputed Syed Abdullah Bahaiqi as an Ambassador to Egypt and the Pharoah of Egypt deputed Yuzu-Asaph who was a progeny of Moses as his ambassador. The Shias believe that Yuzu- Asaph descended from Hazrat Imam Jafar-i-Sadiq. However in an Arabic manuscript, it is related the Prince came from Sholapit to Kashmir as a traveler and is buried in Anzmar, Khanyar, Srinagar. But more older information is available that [a] sweet smell used to come from one of the holes of [the] sarcophagus. A lady who desecrated the tomb became mad. Others believe that it is [the] tomb of a great Prophet who is no other than Hazrat Isa -the Spirit of God.’[12] You will note from the above that the document presents various opinions regarding the identity of the prince who occupied the Roza Bal, the last one being that he was Hadhrat Isa –Jesus Christ.
The Wajees-ut-Tawarikh. According to the Tarikh-i-Hassan, the Wajees-ut-Tawarikh was compiled in 1857 by Abdul Nabi Khanyari (Tarikh-i-Hassan, Vol. 1, p.377). Abdul Nabi Khanyari was known by various names: Abdul Nabi, Naba Shah and Ghulam Nabi. It is to be noted that Raja Gopananda is mentioned in this excerpt, as you will see below, and he ruled over Kashmir during 49 to 109 AD. ‘The grave of Mir Sayyid Naseeruddin is in Khanyar. The place is also known as Rozabal. It is said that at that place exists the grave of Paighambar Yuzu Asaf. He was a prince who had come to this place. Due to his utmost piety and prayers, he was raised to the status of the Messenger (by God) for the people of Kashmir. He preached among the people. It is said that Raja Gopananda ruled over the country during that period. The aroma of musk used to emanate from a hole in the western wall.’[13] The appellation, ‘Paighambar’ means, ‘Messenger of God.’ So he is mentioned in this document as, ‘Messenger of God, Yuzu Asaph.’ Official Decree of the Grand Mufti. The following decree was issued by the High Court in Kashmir, presided over by the Grand Mufti, a high ranking religious leader, and other judges. The decree clearly affirms that Yuzu-Asaph was sent as a prophet to the people of Kashmir, according to the traditions of the Kashmiri people. This decree was issued in the year 1774 AD, although Dr. Fida Hassnain's book, The Fifth Gospel,[14] has the date as 1766AD:
The Seal of the Justice of Islam Mulla Fazil 1194 A.H. In this High Court of Justice, in the Department of Learning and Piety of the Kingdom. Present Rehman Khan, son of Amir Khan, submits that: the kings, the nobles, the ministers and the multitude come from all directions of the kingdom to pay their homage and offerings in cash and kind at the lofty and the holy shrine of Yuz- Asaph, the Prophet, may God bless him. Claims That: he is the only and absolute claimant, entitled to receive the offerings and utilise these, and none else has any right whatsoever on these offerings. Prays that: A writ of injunction be granted to all those who interfere and others be restrained from interfering with his rights. Verdict: Now, this court, after obtaining evidence, concludes as under: It has been established that during the reign of Raja Gopadatta, who got built many temples and got repaired, especially, the Throne of Solomon on the hill of Solomon, Yuz-Asaph came to the valley. Prince by descent, he was pious and saintly and had given up earthly pursuits. He spent all his time in prayers and meditation. The people of Kashmir, having become idolaters after the great flood of Noah, the God Almighty sent Yuz-Asaph as a Prophet to the people of Kashmir. He proclaimed oneness of God till he passed away. Yuz-Asaph was buried at Khanyar on the banks of the lake, and the shrine is known as Rozabal. In the year 871 AH Syed Nasir-ud-Din, a descendant of Imam Musa-Raza, was also buried besides the grave of Yuz-Asaph. Orders: Since the shrine is visited by the devotees, both high and common, and since the applicant Rahman Khan is the hereditary custodian of the shrine, it is ordered that he be entitled to receive the offerings, made at the shrine as before, and no one else shall have any right to such offerings. Given under our hand, 11th Jamadi-ud-Sani, 1184 AH.
Signpost outside of the Roza Bal [illustation]. The following is the English translation of the information displayed on the signpost that stands outside the Tomb of Jesus Christ. The information contains the views of Khawaja Azam Deddmari, who compiled his Tarikh-i-Azam in about 1729 AD. ‘Nearby is situated the stone of the grave which, according to the people, is the prophet's who arrived from a far off place during ancient times. Anointed for Kashmir: This spot is famous as the resting place of a messenger: I have read in an ancient book that a prince from a foreign land arrived here and engaged himself in piety and prayers [and] became a messenger of God for the Kashmiri people. In that ancient book his name is mentioned as Yuz Asaf.’
The Acta Thomae. In Chapter 7 we saw that the Apostle Thomas had been assigned to go to India to preach the message of Jesus Christ(as). The Acta Thomae, though, also records an account showing that Jesus Christ was in Taxila at a marriage ceremony, along with Thomas, in the year 49 CE, a good number of years after the crucifixion. This account verifies St. Irenaeus's observations (see Chapter 2), recorded in his Against Heresies, that Jesus was seen alive in Asia long after the event of the cross. The Acta Thomae is a Christian work, though it was declared heretical in the year 495 CE by a decree of Gelasius. In the following account, the bridegroom saw whom he thought was Thomas talking to his new bride, but it was not Thomas. Both Thomas and Jesus(as) attended this wedding, and one of them was often mistaken for the other: ‘Thomas after the ceremonies left the palace. The bridegroom(Abdagases) lifted the curtain which separated him from his bride. He saw Thomas, as he supposed, conversing with her. Then he asked in surprise: “How Canst though be found here? Did I not see thee go out before all?” And the Lord answered: “I am not Thomas, but his brother.”’[15] Here is another translation of this account: ‘And the king desired the groomsmen to depart out of the bride-chamber; and when all were gone out and the doors were shut, the bridegroom lifted up the curtain of the bridechamber to fetch the bride unto him. And he saw the Lord Jesus bearing the likeness of Judas Thomas and speaking with the bride; even of him that but now had blessed them and gone out from them, the apostle; and he saith unto him: “Wentest thou not out in the sight of all? How then art thou found here?” But the Lord said to him: ‘I am not Judas which is also called Thomas but I am his brother.’’[16] It is not difficult to understand why the Acta Thomae would have been declared heretical: Any mention of the appearance of Jesus Christ after the crucifixion certainly ran counter to the already-formulated Christian. But it is fair to point out that the words of advice later given by Jesus(as) to the young newlywed couple regarding marriage and conjugal relations are so absurd and outrageous that it would seem to call into question the above account (assuming that what is recorded is what he actually said).
Also, all throughout the Acta Thomae, Thomas refers to Jesus as the ‘Lord, God.’ Certainly if Jesus(as) was travelling with Thomas as a human being, he would not refer to him as God. But I include this account from the Acta Thomae because despite the standard Christology which flows throughout the Acta Thomae, and the absurd advice supposedly given by Jesus(as) to the newlyweds, it is extremely difficult to ignore the fact that the Acta Thomae records an appearance of Jesus(as) in India. Was the appearance mystical? It does not at all read as if this was the case. Is the Acta Thomae a total and complete fraud? I cannot answer that question. Butfor one reason or another, the Acta Thomae made a point to mention that a living and walking and talking Jesus was in India with Thomas at a wedding ceremony.
The Ain-ul-Hayat. The author of the Ain-ul-Hayat was Ibn-i-Muhammad Hada Muhammad Ismail. In Volume 2, Chapter 2, pages 177 to 178, he states the following regarding Yuz Asaf: ‘He went to many cities and preached to those cities. At last he reached the city of Kashmir. He invited its inhabitants to righteousness and resided there till death approached him, and his holy spirit departed from his earthly body and went to rest with God. But before his death he called his companion Ba’bad and made a will...and directed him to construct a tomb for him. He laid himself with his head towards the East and stretched his legs towards the West, and went to the place of Eternity.’[17] The Takhat Sulaiman (Throne of Solomon) monument in Srinagar The Takhat Sulaiman (Throne of Solomon) is a large temple situated on the top of a hillock near the Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir. It was renamed Sankarachariya by the Hindu Maharaja in 1848. There are four inscriptions on this monument, two of which are still legible. The inscriptions are recorded in Khwaja Hassan Malik’s book, Tarikh-i-Kashmir.[18] They read: 1. The mason of this pillar is Bahishti Zargar, Year fifty and four. 2. Khawaja Rukun son of Murjan erected this pillar. 3. At this time Yuz Asaf proclaimed his prophethood. Year fifty and four. 4. He is Jesus, Prophet of the Children of Israel.
Concerning the year 54, Hassnain notes the following: ‘Note that since Islam did not exist during the reign of Gopadatta (79–109 AD), connecting the year 54 with the Muslim Hijra Era is absurd. During that period, the Laukika Era was exclusively used in Kashmir. As this era started in 3076 BC, the 54th year mentioned in the inscription would come to either 22 BC or 78 AD, since Laukika Year 1 is 3076 BC, 3054 would be 22 BC, and 3154 would be 78 AD. As it was not possible for Jesus Christ to have travelled to Kashmir in 22 BC, I take the year 78 AD to be the correct date of his arrival.[19]
References: 1. O.M. Burke, Among the Dervishes (New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., 1973) p.12 / 2. Ibid, pp. 107-109 / 3. Nag Sharan Singh, Bhavisya Mahapuranam (Jawahar Nagar, Deli: Nag Publishers, 1984, originally compiled in 115 A.D.), verses 16-23 of the third khanda of the Ptratisarga parvan 4. Mir Muhammad Khawand Shah Ibn-i-Muhammad, Rauza-tus-Safa fi Sirat-ul-Ambia wal Muluk wal Khulafa, trans. ‘Gardens of Purity concerning the biography of the Prophets and Kings and Caliphs’. (Bombay, 1852, originally written in 1417), Vol 1: 130-135. / 5. Al-Shaikh Al-Said-us-Sadiq Abi Jaffar Muhammad Ibn-i-Ali Ibn-i-Hussain Ibn-i-Musa Ibn-i-Baibuyah al-Qummi, Ikmal-ud-Din (Kamal-ud Din wa Tmam-un Nimat fi Asbat-ul-Ghaibat wa Kashf-ul-Hairet), (Iran: Syed-us-Sanad Press, 1782), p.357 / 6. Ibid, p. 327 / 7. Bible, Matthew 13: 3-9 / 8. Book of Balauhar and Budasaf, p. 285-286 (as taken from Jesus Lived in India, by Holger Kersten, pp. 205-206) / 9. Mullah Nadri, Tarikh-i- Kashmir, p.69 (as taken from Jesus in Heaven on Earth, by Nazir Ahmad p.401) / 10. Document provided by Dr. Fida Hassnain by the Sadar Anjuman Ahmadiyya, Qadian, Punjab, India, then forwarded to this author. / 11. Le-zan Chhes-kyi Nima, Grugtha Thams-chand kyi Khuna dan Dod-Thsul Ston-pe Legs Shad Shel-gyi Melong (as taken from , A Search for The Historical Jesus, by Dr Fida Hassnain, p.213) / 12. Haji Mohiyuddin, Tarikh-i-Kabir Kashmir (Amritsar, Punjab: Suraj Prakash Press, 1902), Vol. I, p. 34 / 13. Abdul Nabi Khanyari, Wajees-ut-Tawarikh, (1857), p. 27 / 14. Dr. Fida Hassnain, The Fifth Gospel (Srinagar: Dastgir Publications Trust, 1988), p. xxi / 15. Ante-Nicene Christian Library, Edinburgh, T&T Clark, 25 Vols. 1869, Vol. 20:46. / 16. Acts of Thomas (Acta Thomae):http://wesley.nnc.edu/noncanon/acts/actthom.htm / 17. Ibn-iI-Muhammad Hadi Muhammad Ismail, Ain-ul-Hayat, Vol. 2, Chapter 2, pp.177-178. / 18. Khawaja Hassan Malik, Tarikh-I-Kashmir, f. 56. / 19. Hassnain, A Search for the Historical Jesus, pp. 202-203. / The book Saving the Savior - Did Christ Survive the Crucifixion? is published by Jammu Press and is available from www.tombofjesus.com.
* -----, Saving the Saviour: Did Christ Survive the Crucifixion?, Excerpts here.
2003
* Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Jesus in India, Islam International Publications, Surrey, 2003, 164p. Updated edition of the original 1908 version.
2004
* Dr. Fida Hassnain, A Search for the Historical Jesus, Down to Earth Books, 1 October 2004, 261p. Professor of History and Former Director of Kashmir State Archives and of Archeological Research and Museums, Kashmir.
2006
* Michael Amaladoss, The Asian Jesus, Orbis Books, 2006, 192p.
* Ḥanān Qarqūtī, La vie de Jesus, le Messie : Issa, le fils de Marie que le salut soit sur eux d'un point de vue Musulman, une étude comparée avec un annexe special des signes de l'heure, Beirut, 2006. Islamic commentary on the life of Jesus.
2008
* Lois Drake, Issa: The greatest story never told [novel], 2008, 237p.
* Edward T. Martin, King of Travellers: Jesus' lost years in India, 2nd edition, Yellow Hat Publications, 2008, 201p.
* Acharya Shree Yogeesh, Where was Jesus for 18 years? Missing in the Bible, Part 1 [video], YouTube, 14 January 2008, duration: 5.47 minutes; Part 2, duration: 9.44 minutes.
* Paul Davids (director), Jesus in India [film], Yellow Hat Productions, 22 December 2008, duration: 97 minutes.
2009
* Alan Jacobs, When Jesus Lived in India: The Quest for the Aquarian Gospel and the Mystery of the Missing Years, Watkins Media, 2009, 224p.
* BBC, Tomb of Jesus in Kashmir [video], YouTube, 20 May 2009, duration: 4.59 minutes.
2010
* Elizabeth Clare Prophet, The Lost Teachings of Jesus: Missing Texts I - Karma and Reincarnation, 3rd edition, Summit University Press, 2010, 358p.
* Paul Davids, Jesus in India - King of Wisdom, The Review of Religions, 1 January 2010.
* Arif Khan, Rozabal - The Tomb of Jesus Christ, The Review of Religions, 19 December 2010.
* A.T. Bradford, The Jesus Discovery: Another Look at Christ's Years, Templehouse Publishing, 2010, 132p. Refutes the non-Palestine claims.
2011
* Bart D. Ehrman, Forgeries, Lies, Deceptions, and the Writings of the New Testament. Modern Forgeries, Lies, and Deceptions, in Forged: Writing in the Name of God—Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are, HarperCollins, New York, February 2011, 282–283. Disclaims Notovich's work.
* Jesus; Secret Life in India, Part 1 [video], YouTube, 25 February 2011, duration: 12.09 minutes. Part 2, duration: 10.28 minutes. Interview with Dr. Stephen Hairfield.
* Yashendra (director), Jesus in Kashmir / The Rozabal Shrine of Shrinigar [video], YouTube, 3 May 2011, duration: 53.05 minutes. Produced by the Government of India.
* Discovery Channel, Jesus in the Himalayas [video], YouTube, 15 November 2011, duration: 9.38 minutes. Travels by Dr. Jeff Saltz.
* Did Jesus Die? Jesus was a Buddhist monk, BBC4, 20 December 2011, YouTube, duration: 49.11 minutes.
2012
* Elizabeth Clare, The Lost Years of Jesus, Jaico Publishing House, 2012, 240p.
* Simon J. Joseph, Jesus in India? Transgressing Social and Religious Boundaries, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 80(1), March 2012, 161-199.
* Arif Khan, Tracing the post-crucifixion footsteps of Jesus Christ, The Review of Religions, 3 March 2012.
* BBC, Jesus in India [video], YouTube, 20 May 2012, duration: 41.50 minutes. Produced by the BBC, London.
* Eternal Heaven Now, The Hidden Story of Jesus [video], YouTube, 1 July 2012, duration: 1.40.53 minutes.
* H. Joseph Lalfakmawia, Historical Jesus in India during the Lost Years, El Shaddai [blog], 8 November 2012. Comprehensive list of ancient and modern sources which reference the lost years of Jesus.
2014
* Swami Abhedananda, Journey into Kashmir & Tibet, Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 2014. Reprint of 1922 edition.
2015
* David Vose, Jesus in the Koran and his life as Issa in Tibet and India [video], YouTube, 20 September 2015, duration: minutes.
2016
The Christ of India - the "Lost Years" [webpage], Original Christianity Original Yoga, 14 February 2016.
* Edward T. Martin, Jesus in India - Presentation [video], YouTube, 27 October 2016, duration: 1.33.48 minutes.
* F. Max Muller and J. Archibald Douglas, Jesus did not live in India: Proof that Notovich's The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ was a fabrication, Kindle, 7 October 2016. Reprint of Muller (1894) and Douglas (1896).
2017
* Brent Lambert, BBC documentary proves Jesus was a Buddhist monk who spent 16+ years in India and Tibet, Feel Guide [blog], 19 January 2017.
* Abdelbaset Yusuf , Jesus - From India to Japan, Dorraine Publishing Co., 30 January 2017.
* Rod McConnell, Interviews with Paul Davids - Jesus in India, [video], YouTube, 14 February 2017, duration: 43.49 minutes. Radio interview.
* David Vose, Jesus goes to India: Peter and Thomas reveal divine history [video], YouTube, 7 May 2017, duration: 64.45minutes.
* Craig Hamilton-Parker, Did Jesus live in India? The story of Isha and the tomb of Jesus in Kashmir [video], YouTube, 7 July 2017, duration: 20.39 minutes.
* Govind Battacharjhee, Christ's Indian Connection, The Statesman, 25 December 2017.
2018
* Abdelbaset Youssef, Jesus from India to Japan, 2018, 288p.
* M. Payoly, Jesus' Years in India, Tredition Gmbh, 20 August 2018, 124p.
* Light of the Spirit, The Christ of India [trailer] [video], YouTube, duration: 3 minutes.
2019
* Michael Olivares, Jesus in India?, Viverealtrimenti Ltd., London, 2019.
2020
* The Tomb of Jesus Christ, Kashmir [website], 2020.
* D. King, Was Jesus really in India? Final verdict on the age old mystery [book], 20 January 2020.
* The Carptenter's Desk, Did Jesus Travel to India? [video], YouTube, 11 April 2020, duration: 3.14 minutes. Dr. Michael Licona dismisses the claim.
* Casual Historian, Why is there a Jesus shrine in Japan? [video], YouTube, 2020, duration: 14.47 minutes. The creator of the video makes fun of the issue.
* Josef Banas, From Jerusalem to Kashmir: The Secret Life of Jesus in India, Hybrid Global Publishing, 7 July 2020, 472p.
* Casual Historian, Did Jesus go to India? [video], YouTube, 25 July 2020, duration: 13.04 minutes.
* A.J. Parr, Jesus in India (The New Age Christian Scrolls): The Lost Years of the Son of God Revealed, The Author, 84p.
* Rainbow Light Studio, Jesus in India, Tibet and Persia: An account missing from the Bible [video], YouTube, 23 December 2020, duration: 32.41 minutes.
2021
* Richard Bock, The Lost Years of Jesus [video], YouTube, 4 January 2021, duration: 1.27.42 minutes.
* Between the Lines, Jesus in India with Karl de Leeuw [video], YouTube, 17 February 2021, duration: 44.34 minutes.
* Mkausa Outreach, Jesus in India [video], YouTube, 9 March 2021, duration: 26.12 minutes.
* Light of the Spirit, The cave in India where Jesus stayed [video], YouTube, 11 March 2021, duration: 1.24 minutes.
* Arif Khan, 'Sowing the Seed': Jesus in India, The Review of Religions, 4 April 2021.
* Paul Wallis, Jesus in India, Part 1 - Kashmir, Ladakh, Thomas and Q [video], YouTube, 4 September 2021, duration: 19.39 minutes; Part 2 - Thomas, Q & Jesus before Christianity, duration: 21.25 minutes; Part 3 - Resurrection in Buddhism, Arimathea & Ceasar's messiah, duration: 27.23 minutes; Part 4 - Gnostic Gospels and Tantric Secrets, duration: 41.23 minutes.
* Mr Mythos, The Lost Years of Jesus Christ: Evidence in Japan, Britain and India [video], YouTube, 26 January 2021, duration: 43.17 minutes.
2022
* Lightsurfers, Jesus in India [video], YouTube, 14 March 2022, duration: 18.24 minutes.A detailed description of the route he travelled.
2023
* Various, Unknown Years of Jesus [webpage], Wikipedia, 2023.
* Bibhu Dev Misra, The Lost Years of Jesus in India: Following the Trail of Evidence, New Dawn, 17(1), 2023, 61-70.
* New Evidence: Catholic deleted this from the Biblical text, Next Level Soul Podcast, YouTube, 2 October 2023, duration: 63.08 minmutes. Interview with Paul Davids, director of the film Jesus in India (2008) based on the book by Edward T. Martin (1999).
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The Life of Saint Issa
"Best of the Sons of Men."
I.
1. The earth trembled and the heavens wept, because of the great crime committed in the land of Israel.
2. For there was tortured and murdered the great and just Issa, in whom was manifest the soul of the Universe;
3. Which had incarnated in a simple mortal, to benefit men and destroy the evil spirit in them;
4. To lead back to peace, love and happiness, man, degraded by his sins, and recall him to the one and indivisible Creator whose mercy is infinite.
5. The merchants coming from Israel have given the following account of what has occurred:
II.
1. The people of Israel — who inhabit a fertile country producing two harvests a year and affording pasture for large herds of cattle — by their sins brought down upon themselves the anger of the Lord;
2. Who inflicted upon them terrible chastisements, taking from them their land, their cattle and their wealth. They were carried away into slavery by the rich and mighty Pharaohs who then ruled the land of Egypt.
3. The Israelites were, by the Pharaohs, treated worse than beasts, condemned to hard labor and put in irons; their bodies were covered with wounds and sores; they were not permitted to live under a roof, and were starved to death;
4. That they might be maintained in a state of continual terror and deprived of all human resemblance;
5. And in this great calamity, the Israelites, remembering their Celestial Protector, implored his forgiveness and mercy.
6. At that period reigned in Egypt an illustrious Pharaoh, who was renowned for his many victories, immense riches, and the gigantic palaces he had erected by the labor of his slaves.
7. This Pharaoh had two sons, the younger of whom, named Mossa, had acquired much knowledge from the sages of Israel.
8. And Mossa was beloved by all in Egypt for his kindness of heart and the pity he showed to all sufferers.
9. When Mossa saw that the Israelites, in spite of their many sufferings, had not forsaken their God, and refused to worship the gods of Egypt, created by the hands of man;
10. He also put his faith in their invisible God, who did not suffer them to betray Him, despite their ever growing weakness.
11. And the teachers among Israel animated Mossa in his zeal, and prayed of him that he would intercede with his father, Pharaoh, in favor of their co-religionists.
12. Prince Mossa went before his father, begging him to lighten the burden of the unhappy people. Pharaoh, however, became incensed with rage, and ordered that they should be tormented more than before.
13. And it came to pass that Egypt was visited by a great calamity. The plague decimated young and old, the healthy and the sick; and Pharaoh beheld in this the resentment of his own gods against him.
14. But Prince Mossa said to his father that it was the God of his slaves who thus interposed on behalf of his wretched people, and avenged them upon the Egyptians.
15. Thereupon, Pharaoh commanded Mossa, his son, to gather all the Israelite slaves, and lead them away, and found, at a great distance from the capital, another city where he should rule over them.
16. Then Mossa made known to the Hebrew slaves that he had obtained their freedom in the name of his and their God, the God of Israel; and with them he left the city and departed from the land of Egypt.
17. He led them back to the land which, because of their many sins, had been taken from them. There he gave them laws and admonished them to pray always to God, the indivisible Creator, whose kindness is infinite.
18. After Prince Mossa's death, the Israelites observed rigorously his laws; and God rewarded them for the ills to which they had been subjected in Egypt.
19. Their kingdom became one of the most powerful on earth; their kings made themselves renowned for their treasures, and peace reigned in Israel.
III.
1. The glory of Israel's wealth spread over the whole earth, and the surrounding nations became envious.
2. But the Most High himself led the victorious arms of the Hebrews, and the Pagans did not dare to attack them.
3. Unfortunately, man is prone to err, and the fidelity of the Israelites to their God was not of long duration.
4. Little by little they forgot the favors he had bestowed upon them; rarely invoked his name, and sought rather protection by the magicians and sorcerers.
5. The kings and the chiefs among the people substituted their own laws for those given by Mossa; the temple of God and the observances of their ancient faith were neglected; the people addicted themselves to sensual gratifications and lost their original purity.
6. Many centuries had elapsed since their exodus from Egypt, when God bethought himself of again inflicting chastisement upon them.
7. Strangers invaded Israel, devastated the land, destroyed the villages, and carried their inhabitants away into captivity.
8. At last came the Pagans from over the sea, from the land of Romeles. These made themselves masters of the Hebrews, and placed over them their army chiefs, who governed in the name of Cæsar.
9. They defiled the temples, forced the inhabitants to cease the worship of the indivisible God, and compelled them to sacrifice to the heathen gods.
10. They made common soldiers of those who had been men of rank; the women became their prey, and the common people, reduced to slavery, were carried away by thousands over the sea.
11. The children were slain, and soon, in the whole land, there was naught heard but weeping and lamentation.
12. In this extreme distress, the Israelites once more remembered their great God, implored his mercy and prayed for his forgiveness. Our Father, in his inexhaustible clemency, heard their prayer.
IV.
1. At that time the moment had come for the compassionate Judge to reincarnate in a human form;
2. And the eternal Spirit, resting in a state of complete inaction and supreme bliss, awakened and separated from the eternal Being, for an undetermined period,
3. So that, in human form, He might teach man to identify himself with the Divinity and attain to eternal felicity;
4. And to show, by His example, how man can attain moral purity and free his soul from the domination of the physical senses, so that it may achieve the perfection necessary for it to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, which is immutable and where bliss eternal reigns.
5. Soon after, a marvellous child was born in the land of Israel. God himself spoke, through the mouth of this child, of the mysteries of the body and the grandeur of the soul.
6. The parents of the infant were poor people, who belonged to a family noted for great piety; who forgot the greatness of their ancestors in celebrating the name of the Creator and giving thanks to Him for the trials which He had sent upon them.
7. To reward them for adhering to the path of truth, God blessed the firstborn of this family; chose him for His elect, and sent him to sustain the fallen and comfort the afflicted.
8. The divine child, to whom the name Issa was given, commenced in his tender years to talk of the only and indivisible God, exhorting the strayed souls to repent and purify themselves from the sins of which they had become guilty.
9. People came from all parts to hear him, and marvelled at the discourses which came from his infantile mouth; and all Israel agreed that the Spirit of the Eternal dwelt in this child.
10. When Issa was thirteen years old, the age at which an Israelite is expected to marry,
11. The modest house of his industrious parents became a meeting place of the rich and illustrious, who were anxious to have as a son-in-law the young Issa, who was already celebrated for the edifying discourses he made in the name of the All-Powerful.
12. Then Issa secretly absented himself from his father's house; left Jerusalem, and, in a train of merchants, journeyed toward the Sindh [western India, modern West Pakistan].
13. With the object of perfecting himself in the knowledge of the word of God and the study of the laws of the great Buddhas.
V.
1. In his fourteenth year, young Issa, the Blessed One, came this side of the Sindh and settled among the Aryas, in the country beloved by God.
2. Fame spread the name of the marvellous youth along the northern Sindh, and when he came through the country of the five streams and Radjipoutan, the devotees of the god Djaïne asked him to stay among them.
3. But he left the deluded worshippers of Djaïne and went to Djagguernat, in the country of Orsis, where repose the mortal remains of Vyassa-Krishna, and where the white priests of Brahma welcomed him joyfully.
4. They taught him to read and to understand the Vedas, to cure physical ills by means of prayers, to teach and to expound the sacred Scriptures, to drive out evil desires from man and make him again in the likeness of God.
5. He spent six years in Djagguernat, in Radjagriha, in Benares, and in other holy cities. The common people loved Issa, for he lived in peace with the Vaisyas and the Sudras, to whom he taught the Holy Scriptures.
6. But the Brahmins and the Kshatnyas told him that they were forbidden by the great Para-Brahma to come near to those who were created from his belly and his feet.
7. That the Vaisyas might only hear the recital of the Vedas, and this only on the festal days, and
8. That the Sudras were not only forbidden to attend the reading of the Vedas, but even to look on them; for they were condemned to perpetual servitude, as slaves of the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas and even the Vaisyas.
9. "Death alone can enfranchise them from their servitude," has said Para-Brahma. "Leave them, therefore, and come to adore with us the gods, whom you will make angry if you disobey them."
10. But Issa, disregarding their words, remained with the Sudras, preaching against the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas.
11. He declaimed strongly against man's arrogating to himself the authority to deprive his fellow-beings of their human and spiritual rights. "Verily," he said, "God has made no difference between his children, who are all alike dear to Him."
12. Issa denied the divine inspiration of the Vedas and the Puranas, for, as he taught his followers,—"One law has been given to man to guide him in his actions:
13. "Fear the Lord, thy God; bend thy knees only before Him and bring to Him only the offerings which come from thy earnings."
14. Issa denied the Trimurti and the incarnation of Para-Brahma in Vishnu, Siva, and other gods; "for," said he:
15. "The eternal Judge, the eternal Spirit, constitutes the only and indivisible soul of the universe, and it is this soul alone which creates, contains and vivifies all.
16. "He alone has willed and created. He alone has existed from eternity, and His existence will be without end; there is no one like unto Him either in the heavens or on the earth.
17. "The great Creator has divided His power with no other being; far less with inanimate objects, as you have been taught to believe, for He alone is omnipotent and all-sufficient.
18. "He willed, and the world was. By one divine thought, He reunited the waters and separated them from the dry land of the globe. He is the cause of the mysterious life of man, into whom He has breathed part of His divine Being.
19. "And He has put under subjection to man, the lands, the waters, the beasts and everything which He created, and which He himself preserves in immutable order, allotting to each its proper duration.
20. "The anger of God will soon break forth upon man; for he has forgotten his Creator; he has filled His temples with abominations; and he adores a multitude of creatures which God has subordinated to him;
21. "And to gain favor with images of stone and metal, he sacrifices human beings in whom dwells part of the Spirit of the Most High;
22. "And he humiliates those who work in the sweat of their brows, to gain favor in the eyes of the idler who sitteth at a sumptuous table.
23. "Those who deprive their brothers of divine happiness will themselves be deprived of it; and the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas shall become the Sudras of the Sudras, with whom the Eternal will stay forever.
24. "In the day of judgment the Sudras and the Vaisyas will be forgiven for that they knew not the light, while God will let loose his wrath upon those who arrogated his authority."
25. The Vaisyas and the Sudras were filled with great admiration, and asked Issa how they should pray, in order not to lose their hold upon eternal life.
26. "Pray not to idols, for they cannot hear you; hearken not to the Vedas where the truth is altered; be humble and humiliate not your fellow man.
27. "Help the poor, support the weak, do evil to none; covet not that which ye have not and which belongs to others."
VI.
1. The white priests and the warriors, who had learned of Issa's discourse to the Sudras, resolved upon his death, and sent their servants to find the young teacher and slay him.
2. But Issa, warned by the Sudras of his danger, left by night Djagguernat, gained the mountain, and settled in the country of the Gautamides, where the great Buddha Sakya-Muni came to the world, among a people who worshipped the only and sublime Brahma.
3. When the just Issa had acquired the Pali language, he applied himself to the study of the sacred scrolls of the Sutras.
4. After six years of study, Issa, whom the Buddha had elected to spread his holy word, could perfectly expound the sacred scrolls.
5. He then left Nepaul and the Himalaya mountains, descended into the valley of Radjipoutan and directed his steps toward the West, everywhere preaching to the people the supreme perfection attainable by man;
6. And the good he must do to his fellow men, which is the sure means of speedy union with the eternal Spirit. "He who has recovered his primitive purity," said Issa, "shall die with his transgressions forgiven and have the right to contemplate the majesty of God."
7. When the divine Issa traversed the territories of the Pagans, he taught that the adoration of visible gods was contrary to natural law.
8. "For to man," said he, "it has not been given to see the image of God, and it behooves him not to make for himself a multitude of divinities in the imagined likeness of the Eternal.
9. "Moreover, it is against human conscience to have less regard for the greatness of divine purity, than for animals or works of stone or metal made by the hands of man.
10. "The eternal Lawgiver is One; there are no other Gods than He; He has parted the world with none, nor had He any counsellor.
11. "Even as a father shows kindness toward his children, so will God judge men after death, in conformity with His merciful laws. He will never humiliate his child by casting his soul for chastisement into the body of a beast.
12. "The heavenly laws," said the Creator, through the mouth of Issa, "are opposed to the immolation of human sacrifices to a statue or an animal; for I, the God, have sacrificed to man all the animals and all that the world contains.
13. "Everything has been sacrificed to man, who is directly and intimately united to me, his Father; therefore, shall the man be severely judged and punished, by my law, who causes the sacrifice of my children.
14. "Man is naught before the eternal Judge; as the animal is before man.
15. "Therefore, I say unto you, leave your idols and perform not ceremonies which separate you from your Father and bind you to the priests, from whom heaven has turned away.
16. "For it is they who have led you away from the true God, and by superstitions and cruelty perverted the spirit and made you blind to the knowledge of the truth."
VII.
1. The words of Issa spread among the Pagans, through whose country he passed, and the inhabitants abandoned their idols.
2. Seeing which, the priests demanded of him who thus glorified the name of the true God, that he should, in the presence of the people, prove the charges he made against them, and demonstrate the vanity of their idols.
3. And Issa answered them: "If your idols, or the animals you worship, really possess the supernatural powers you claim, let them strike me with a thunderbolt before you!"
4. "Why dost not thou perform a miracle," replied the priests, "and let thy God confound ours, if He is greater than they?"
5. But Issa said: "The miracles of our God have been wrought from the first day when the universe was created; and are performed every day and every moment; whoso sees them not is deprived of one of the most beautiful gifts of life.
6. "And it is not on inanimate objects of stone, metal or wood that He will let His anger fall, but on the men who worship them, and who, therefore, for their salvation, must destroy the idols they have made.
7. "Even as a stone and a grain of sand, which are naught before man, await patiently their use by Him.
8. "In like manner, man, who is naught before God, must await in resignation His pleasure for a manifestation of His favor.
9. "But woe to you! ye adversaries of men, if it is not the favor you await, but rather the wrath of the Most High; woe to you, if you demand that He attest His power by a miracle!
10. "For it is not the idols which He will destroy in His wrath, but those by whom they were created; their hearts will be the prey of an eternal fire and their flesh shall be given to the beasts of prey.
11. "God will drive away the contaminated animals from His flocks; but will take to Himself those who strayed because they knew not the heavenly part within them."
12. When the Pagans saw that the power of their priests was naught, they put faith in the words of Issa. Fearing the anger of the true God, they broke their idols to pieces and caused their priests to flee from among them.
13. Issa furthermore taught the Pagans that they should not endeavor to see the eternal Spirit with their eyes; but to perceive Him with their hearts, and make themselves worthy of His favors by the purity of their souls.
14. "Not only," he said to them, "must ye refrain from offering human sacrifices, but ye may not lay on the altar any creature to which life has been given, for all things created are for man.
15. "Withhold not from your neighbor his just due, for this would be like stealing from him what he had earned in the sweat of his brow.
16. "Deceive none, that ye may not yourselves be deceived; seek to justify yourselves before the last judgment, for then it will be too late.
17. "Be not given to debauchery, for it is a violation of the law of God.
18. "That you may attain to supreme bliss ye must not only purify yourselves, but must also guide others into the path that will enable them to regain their primitive innocence."
VIII.
1. The countries round about were filled with the renown of Issa's preachings, and when he came unto Persia, the priests grew afraid and forbade the people hearing him;
2. Nevertheless, the villages received him with joy, and the people hearkened intently to his words, which, being seen by the priests, caused them to order that he should be arrested and brought before their High Priest, who asked him:
3. "Of what new God dost thou speak? Knowest thou not, unfortunate man that thou art! that Saint Zoroaster is the only Just One, to whom alone was vouchsafed the honor of receiving revelations from the Most High;
4. "By whose command the angels compiled His Word in laws for the governance of His people, which were given to Zoroaster in Paradise?
5. "Who, then, art thou, who darest to utter blasphemies against our God and sow doubt in the hearts of believers?"
6. And Issa said to them: "I preach no new God, but our celestial Father, who has existed before the beginning and will exist until after the end.
7. "Of Him I have spoken to the people, who—even as innocent children—are incapable of comprehending God by their own intelligence, or fathoming the sublimity of the divine Spirit;
8. "But, as the newborn child in the night recognizes the mother's breast, so your people, held in the darkness of error by your pernicious doctrines and religious ceremonies, have recognized instinctively their Father, in the Father whose prophet I am.
9. "The eternal Being says to your people, by my mouth, 'Ye shall not adore the sun, for it is but a part of the universe which I have created for man;
10. "It rises to warm you during your work; it sets to accord to you the rest that I have ordained.
11. "To me only ye owe all that ye possess, all that surrounds you and that is above and below you.'"
12. "But," said the priests, "how could the people live according to your rules if they had no teachers?"
13. Whereupon Issa answered: "So long as they had no priests, they were governed by the natural law and conserved the simplicity of their souls;
14. "Their souls were in God and to commune with the Father they had not to have recourse to the intermediation of idols, or animals, or fire, as taught by you.
15. "Ye pretend that man must adore the sun, and the Genii of Good and Evil. But I say unto you that your doctrine is pernicious. The sun does not act spontaneously, but by the will of the invisible Creator, who has given to it being."
16. "Who, then, has caused that this star lights the day, warms man at his work and vivifies the seeds sown in the ground?"
17. "The eternal Spirit is the soul of everything animate, and you commit a great sin in dividing Him into the Spirit of Evil and the Spirit of Good, for there is no God other than the God of Good.
18. "And He, like to the father of a family, does only good to His children, to whom He forgives their transgressions if they repent of them.
19. "And the Spirit of Evil dwells upon earth, in the hearts of those who turn the children of God away from the right path.
20. "Therefore, I say unto you; Fear the day of judgment, for God will inflict a terrible chastisement upon all those who have led His children astray and beguiled them with superstitions and errors;
21. "Upon those who have blinded them who saw; who have brought contagion to the well; who have taught the worship of those things which God made to be subject to man, or to aid him in his works.
22. "Your doctrine is the fruit of your error in seeking to bring near to you the God of Truth, by creating for yourselves false gods."
23. When the Magi heard these words, they feared to themselves do him harm, but at night, when the whole city slept, they brought him outside the walls and left him on the highway, in the hope that he would not fail to become the prey of wild beasts.
24. But, protected by the Lord our God, Saint Issa continued on his way, without accident.
IX.
1. Issa—whom the Creator had selected to recall to the worship of the true God, men sunk in sin—was twenty-nine years old when he arrived in the land of Israel.
2. Since the departure therefrom of Issa, the Pagans had caused the Israelites to endure more atrocious sufferings than before, and they were filled with despair.
3. Many among them had begun to neglect the laws of their God and those of Mossa, in the hope of winning the favor of their brutal conquerors.
4. But Issa, notwithstanding their unhappy condition, exhorted his countrymen not to despair, because the day of their redemption from the yoke of sin was near, and he himself, by his example, confirmed their faith in the God of their fathers.
5. "Children, yield not yourselves to despair," said the celestial Father to them, through the mouth of Issa, "for I have heard your lamentations, and your cries have reached my ears.
6. "Weep not, oh, my beloved sons! for your griefs have touched the heart of your Father and He has forgiven you, as He forgave your ancestors.
7. "Forsake not your families to plunge into debauchery; stain not the nobility of your souls; adore not idols which cannot but remain deaf to your supplications.
8. "Fill my temple with your hope and your patience, and do not adjure the religion of your forefathers, for I have guided them and bestowed upon them of my beneficence.
9. "Lift up those who are fallen; feed the hungry and help the sick, that ye may be altogether pure and just in the day of the last judgment which I prepare for you."
10. The Israelites came in multitudes to listen to Issa's words; and they asked him where they should thank their Heavenly Father, since their enemies had demolished their temples and robbed them of their sacred vessels.
11. Issa told them that God cared not for temples erected by human hands, but that human hearts were the true temples of God.
12. "Enter into your temple, into your heart; illuminate it with good thoughts, with patience and the unshakeable faith which you owe to your Father.
13. "And your sacred vessels! they are your hands and your eyes. Look to do that which is agreeable to God, for in doing good to your fellow men, you perform a ceremony that embellishes the temple wherein abideth Him who has created you.
14. "For God has created you in His own image, innocent, with pure souls, and hearts filled with kindness and not made for the planning of evil, but to be the sanctuaries of love and justice.
15. "Therefore, I say unto you, soil not your hearts with evil, for in them the eternal Being abides.
16. "When ye do works of devotion and love, let them be with full hearts, and see that the motives of your actions be not hopes of gain or self-interest;
17. "For actions, so impelled, will not bring you nearer to salvation, but lead to a state of moral degradation wherein theft, lying and murder pass for generous deeds."
X.
1. Issa went from one city to another, strengthening by the word of God the courage of the Israelites, who were near to succumbing under their weight of woe, and thousands of the people followed him to hear his teachings.
2. But the chiefs of the cities were afraid of him and they informed the principal governor, residing in Jerusalem, that a man called Issa had arrived in the country, who by his sermons had arrayed the people against the authorities, and that multitudes, listening assiduously to him, neglected their labor; and, they added, he said that in a short time they would be free of their invader rulers.
3. Then Pilate, the Governor of Jerusalem, gave orders that they should lay hold of the preacher Issa and bring him before the judges. In order, however, not to excite the anger of the populace, Pilate directed that he should be judged by the priests and scribes, the Hebrew elders, in their temple.
4. Meanwhile, Issa, continuing his preaching, arrived at Jerusalem, and the people, who already knew his fame, having learned of his coming, went out to meet him.
5. They greeted him respectfully and opened to him the doors of their temple, to hear from his mouth what he had said in other cities of Israel.
6. And Issa said to them: "The human race perishes, because of the lack of faith; for the darkness and the tempest have caused the flock to go astray and they have lost their shepherds.
7. "But the tempests do not rage forever and the darkness will not hide the light eternally; soon the sky will become serene, the celestial light will again overspread the earth, and the strayed flock will reunite around their shepherd.
8. "Wander not in the darkness, seeking the way, lest ye fall into the ditch; but gather together, sustain one another, put your faith in your God and wait for the first glimmer of light to reappear.
9. "He who sustains his neighbor, sustains himself; and he who protects his family, protects all his people and his country.
10. "For, be assured that the day is near when you will be delivered from the darkness; you will be reunited into one family and your enemy will tremble with fear, he who is ignorant of the favor of the great God."
11. The priests and the elders who heard him, filled with admiration for his language, asked him if it was true that he had sought to raise the people against the authorities of the country, as had been reported to the governor Pilate.
12. "Can one raise against estrayed men, to whom darkness has hidden their road and their door?" answered Issa. "I have but forewarned the unhappy, as I do here in this temple, that they should no longer advance on the dark road, for an abyss opens before their feet.
13. "The power of this earth is not of long duration and is subject to numberless changes. It would be of no avail for a man to rise in revolution against it, for one phase of it always succeeds another, and it is thus that it will go on until the extinction of human life.
14. "But do you not see that the powerful, and the rich, sow among the children of Israel a spirit of rebellion against the eternal power of Heaven?"
15. Then the elders asked him: "Who art thou, and from what country hast thou come to us? We have not formerly heard thee spoken of and do not even know thy name!"
16. "I am an Israelite," answered Issa; "and on the day of my birth have seen the walls of Jerusalem, and have heard the sobs of my brothers reduced to slavery, and the lamentations of my sisters carried away by the Pagans;
17. "And my soul was afflicted when I saw that my brethren had forgotten the true God. When a child I left my father's house to go and settle among other people.
18. "But, having heard it said that my brethren suffered even greater miseries now, I have come back to the land of my fathers, to recall my brethren to the faith of their ancestors, which teaches us patience upon earth in order to attain the perfect and supreme bliss above."
19. Then the wise old men put to him again this question: "We are told that thou disownest the laws of Mossa, and that thou teachest the people to forsake the temple of God?"
20. Whereupon Issa: "One does not demolish that which has been given by our Heavenly Father, and which has been destroyed by sinners. I have but enjoined the people to purify the heart of all stains, for it is the veritable temple of God.
21. "As regards the laws of Mossa, I have endeavored to reestablish them in the hearts of men; and I say unto you that ye ignore their true meaning, for it is not vengeance but pardon which they teach. Their sense has been perverted."
XI.
1. When the priests and the elders heard Issa, they decided among themselves not to give judgment against him, for he had done no harm to any one, and, presenting themselves before Pilate—who was made Governor of Jerusalem by the Pagan king of the country of Romeles—they spake to him thus:
2. "We have seen the man whom thou chargest with inciting our people to revolt; we have heard his discourses and know that he is our countryman;
3. "But the chiefs of the cities have made to you false reports, for he is a just man, who teaches the people the word of God. After interrogating him, we have allowed him to go in peace."
4. The governor thereupon became very angry, and sent his disguised spies to keep watch upon Issa and report to the authorities the least word he addressed to the people.
5. In the meantime, the holy Issa continued to visit the neighboring cities and preach the true way of the Lord, enjoining the Hebrews' patience and promising them speedy deliverance.
6. And all the time great numbers of the people followed him wherever he went, and many did not leave him at all, but attached themselves to him and served him.
7. And Issa said: "Put not your faith in miracles performed by the hands of men, for He who rules nature is alone capable of doing supernatural things, while man is impotent to arrest the wrath of the winds or cause the rain to fall.
8. "One miracle, however, is within the power of man to accomplish. It is, when his heart is filled with sincere faith, he resolves to root out from his mind all evil promptings and desires, and when, in order to attain this end, he ceases to walk the path of iniquity.
9. "All the things done without God are only gross errors, illusions and seductions, serving but to show how much the heart of the doer is full of presumption, falsehood and impurity.
10. "Put not your faith in oracles. God alone knows the future. He who has recourse to the diviners soils the temple of his heart and shows his lack of faith in his Creator.
11. "Belief in the diviners and their miracles destroys the innate simplicity of man and his childlike purity. An infernal power takes hold of him who so errs, and forces him to commit various sins and give himself to the worship of idols.
12. "But the Lord our God, to whom none can be equalled, is one omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent; He alone possesses all wisdom and all light.
13. "To Him ye must address yourselves, to be comforted in your afflictions, aided in your works, healed in your sickness and whoso asks of Him, shall not ask in vain.
14. "The secrets of nature are in the hands of God, for the whole world, before it was made manifest, existed in the bosom of the divine thought, and has become material and visible by the will of the Most High.
15. "When ye pray to him, become again like little children, for ye know neither the past, nor the present, nor the future, and God is the Lord of Time."
XII.
1. "Just man," said to him the disguised spies of the Governor of Jerusalem, "tell us if we must continue to do the will of Cæsar, or expect our near deliverance?"
2. And Issa, who recognized the questioners as the apostate spies sent to follow him, replied to them: "I have not told you that you would be delivered from Cæsar; it is the soul sunk in error which will gain its deliverance.
3. "There cannot be a family without a head, and there cannot be order in a people without a Cæsar, whom ye should implicitly obey, as he will be held to answer for his acts before the Supreme Tribunal."
4. "Does Cæsar possess a divine right?" the spies asked him again; "and is he the best of mortals?"
5. "There is no one 'the best' among human beings; but there are many bad, who—even as the sick need physicians—require the care of those chosen for that mission, in which must be used the means given by the sacred law of our Heavenly Father;
6. "Mercy and justice are the high prerogatives of Cæsar, and his name will be illustrious if he exercises them.
7. "But he who acts otherwise, who transcends the limits of power he has over those under his rule, and even goes so far as to put their lives in danger, offends the great Judge and derogates from his own dignity in the eyes of men."
8. Upon this, an old woman who had approached the group, to better hear Issa, was pushed aside by one of the disguised men, who placed himself before her.
9. Then said Issa: "It is not good for a son to push away his mother, that he may occupy the place which belongs to her. Whoso doth not respect his mother—the most sacred being after his God—is unworthy of the name of son.
10. "Hearken to what I say to you: Respect woman; for in her we see the mother of the universe, and all the truth of divine creation is to come through her.
11. "She is the fount of everything good and beautiful, as she is also the germ of life and death. Upon her man depends in all his existence, for she is his moral and natural support in his labors.
12. "In pain and suffering she brings you forth; in the sweat of her brow she watches over your growth, and until her death you cause her greatest anxieties. Bless her and adore her, for she is your only friend and support on earth.
13. "Respect her; defend her. In so doing you will gain for yourself her love; you will find favor before God, and for her sake many sins will be remitted to you.
14. "Love your wives and respect them, for they will be the mothers of tomorrow and later the grandmothers of a whole nation.
15. "Be submissive to the wife; her love ennobles man, softens his hardened heart, tames the wild beast in him and changes it to a lamb.
16. "Wife and mother are the priceless treasures which God has given to you. They are the most beautiful ornaments of the universe, and from them will be born all who will inhabit the world.
17. "Even as the Lord of Hosts separated the light from the darkness, and the dry land from the waters, so does woman possess the divine gift of calling forth out of man's evil nature all the good that is in him.
18. "Therefore I say unto you, after God, to woman must belong your best thoughts, for she is the divine temple where you will most easily obtain perfect happiness.
19. "Draw from this temple your moral force. There you will forget your sorrows and your failures, and recover the love necessary to aid your fellow men.
20. "Suffer her not to be humiliated, for by humiliating her you humiliate yourselves, and lose the sentiment of love, without which nothing can exist here on earth.
21. "Protect your wife, that she may protect you—you and all your household. All that you do for your mothers, your wives, for a widow, or for any other woman in distress, you will do for your God."
XIII.
1. Thus Saint Issa taught the people of Israel for three years, in every city and every village, on the highways and in the fields, and all he said came to pass.
2. All this time the disguised spies of the governor Pilate observed him closely, but heard nothing to sustain the accusations formerly made against Issa by the chiefs of the cities.
3. But Saint Issa's growing popularity did not allow Pilate to rest. He feared that Issa would be instrumental in bringing about a revolution culminating in his elevation to the sovereignty, and, therefore, ordered the spies to make charges against him.
4. Then soldiers were sent to arrest him, and they cast him into a subterranean dungeon, where he was subjected to all kinds of tortures, to compel him to accuse himself, so that he might be put to death.
5. The Saint, thinking only of the perfect bliss of his brethren, endured all those torments with resignation to the will of the Creator.
6. The servants of Pilate continued to torture him, and he was reduced to a state of extreme weakness; but God was with him and did not permit him to die at their hands.
7. When the principal priests and wise elders learned of the sufferings which their Saint endured, they went to Pilate, begging him to liberate Issa, so that he might attend the great festival which was near at hand.
8. But this the governor refused. Then they asked him that Issa should be brought before the elders' council, so that he might be condemned, or acquitted, before the festival, and to this Pilate agreed.
9. On the following day the governor assembled the principal chiefs, priests, elders and judges, for the purpose of judging Issa.
10. The Saint was brought from his prison. They made him sit before the governor, between two robbers, who were to be judged at the same time with Issa, so as to show the people he was not the only one to be condemned.
11. And Pilate, addressing himself to Issa, said, "Is it true, Oh! Man; that thou incitest the populace against the authorities, with the purpose of thyself becoming King of Israel?"
12. Issa replied, "One does not become king by one's own purpose thereto. They have told you an untruth when you were informed that I was inciting the people to revolution. I have only preached of the King of Heaven, and it was Him whom I told the people to worship.
13. "For the sons of Israel have lost their original innocence and unless they return to worship the true God they will be sacrificed and their temple will fall in ruins.
14. "The worldly power upholds order in the land; I told them not to forget this. I said to them, 'Live in conformity with your situation and refrain from disturbing public order;' and, at the same time, I exhorted them to remember that disorder reigned in their own hearts and spirits.
15. "Therefore, the King of Heaven has punished them, and has destroyed their nationality and taken from them their national kings, 'but,' I added, 'if you will be resigned to your fate, as a reward the Kingdom of Heaven will be yours.'"
16. At this moment the witnesses were introduced; one of whom deposed thus: "Thou hast said to the people that in comparison with the power of the king who would soon liberate the Israelites from the yoke of the heathen, the worldly authorities amounted to nothing."
17. "Blessings upon thee!" said Issa. "For thou hast spoken the truth! The King of Heaven is greater and more powerful than the laws of man and His kingdom surpasses the kingdoms of this earth.
18. "And the time is not far off, when Israel, obedient to the will of God, will throw off its yoke of sin; for it has been written that a forerunner would appear to announce the deliverance of the people, and that he would reunite them in one family."
19. Thereupon the governor said to the judges: "Have you heard this? The Israelite Issa acknowledges the crime of which he is accused. Judge him, then, according to your laws and pass upon him condemnation to death."
20. "We cannot condemn him," replied the priests and the ancients. "As thou hast heard, he spoke of the King of Heaven, and he has preached nothing which constitutes insubordination against the law."
21. Thereupon the governor called a witness who had been bribed by his master, Pilate, to betray Issa, and this man said to Issa: "Is it not true that thou hast represented thyself as a King of Israel, when thou didst say that He who reigns in Heaven sent thee to prepare His people?"
22. But Issa blessed the man and answered: "Thou wilt find mercy, for what thou hast said did not come out from thine own heart." Then, turning to the governor he said: "Why dost thou lower thy dignity and teach thy inferiors to tell falsehood, when, without doing so, it is in thy power to condemn an innocent man?"
23. When Pilate heard his words, he became greatly enraged and ordered that Issa be condemned to death, and that the two robbers should be declared guiltless.
24. The judges, after consulting among themselves, said to Pilate: "We cannot consent to take this great sin upon us,—to condemn an innocent man and liberate malefactors. It would be against our laws.
25. "Act thyself, then, as thou seest fit." Thereupon the priests and elders walked out, and washed their hands in a sacred vessel, and said: "We are innocent of the blood of this righteous man."
XIV.
1. By order of the governor, the soldiers seized Issa and the two robbers, and led them to the place of execution, where they were nailed upon the crosses erected for them.
2. All day long the bodies of Issa and the two robbers hung upon the crosses, bleeding, guarded by the soldiers. The people stood all around and the relatives of the executed prayed and wept.
3. When the sun went down, Issa's tortures ended. He lost consciousness and his soul disengaged itself from the body, to reunite with God.
4. Thus ended the terrestrial existence of the reflection of the eternal Spirit under the form of a man who had saved hardened sinners and comforted the afflicted.
5. Meanwhile, Pilate was afraid for what he had done, and ordered the body of the Saint to be given to his relatives, who put it in a tomb near to the place of execution. Great numbers of persons came to visit the tomb, and the air was filled with their wailings and lamentations.
6. Three days later, the governor sent his soldiers to remove Issa's body and bury it in some other place, for he feared a rebellion among the people.
7. The next day, when the people came to the tomb, they found it open and empty, the body of Issa being gone. Thereupon, the rumor spread that the Supreme Judge had sent His angels from Heaven, to remove the mortal remains of the saint in whom part of the divine Spirit had lived on earth.
8. When Pilate learned of this rumor, he grew angry and prohibited, under penalty of death, the naming of Issa, or praying for him to the Lord.
9. But the people, nevertheless, continued to weep over Issa's death and to glorify their master; wherefore, many were carried into captivity, subjected to torture and put to death.
10. And the disciples of Saint Issa departed from the land of Israel and went in all directions, to the heathen, preaching that they should abandon their gross errors, think of the salvation of their souls and earn the perfect bliss which awaits human beings in the immaterial world, full of glory, where the great Creator abides in all his immaculate and perfect majesty.
11. The heathen, their kings, and their warriors, listened to the preachers, abandoned their erroneous beliefs and forsook their priests and their idols, to celebrate the praises of the most wise Creator of the Universe, the King of Kings, whose heart is filled with infinite mercy.
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| Jesus in England | Jesus in India | Reincarnation |
Last updated: 11 December 2023
Michael Organ, Australia
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