Jesus in India
Within Hindu scriptures, Buddhist manuscripts, and Muslim chronicles, extra-Biblical evidences as to the life of Christ are presented. Prefigured within NeoVedantic Puranas and Mahayana Sutras, as well as developed within Ahmadiyya treatises, the advent of Christ is presented within an Indian context. Secularly, as excavated and examined by the Russian historian Nicolas Notovich during the late 19th century, a new light has been shed upon Jesus’ relationship with the religious traditions of the East. In light of the new Christology and ecumenism these extra-Biblical writings present, such theories have drawn much speculation. However, in recognition of the messianicity, as well as the laconicity presented within these accounts, the extra-Biblical Jesus of India reflects the Jesus of the Gospels.
In associating such titles as Yuz Asaf, Isa, and Mettayya with the revelatory Christ of the New Testament, a messianic illustration concerning the identity of Christ is extended beyond the bounds of the Gospel. Consisting of prophecies, narratives, and physical descriptions of Jesus, these extra-Biblical claims do not only serve to illuminate an awareness of Christ outside of Palestine, but such examples also serve to illuminate an interwoven, and highly complimentary textual understanding of the nature of Christ outside of Christianity.
Jesus within Hinduism.
Within the Bhavishya Maha Purana, various verses indicate that Jesus was in India from 39 to 50 C.E. (Sutta 282). Announcing himself as Yusashaphat, he had become known as Isa Masih (Bhavishya Purana 19:31.). According to Abhedananda, Jesus likely obtained the name Isa or Issa from "Isha," which means ‘Lord’ in Sanskrit (Abhedananda 122). Within the Veda Vyasa, the Hindu sage Srila Krishna Dvarpayana announced the coming of Isha Putra - "the Son of God."
'You should know that I am Isha Putra, the Son of God.'
(Bhavishya Purana 19:23)
Furthermore, in recognition of such a messianic character gracing India, the Bhavishya Purana goes even further in illustrating Isa’s travel, appearance, and allure:
As he was traveling through the land of the five rivers, Isa’s benign appearance, face radiating peace and comely forehead attracted devotees who knew him to be one who had received blessings from God Himself.
(Abhedananda 120)
However, as Jesus was mentioned in the Bhagavatam, The Bhagavatam itself mentions that it was celestially composed some three thousand years (3000 B.C.E.) previous to its revelation within the Smrtas (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada). Thus, existing in such a cosmological setting, Jesus is graced with the title saktyavesha avataras:
"Jesus Christ is an incarnation of saktyavesha, and in this way the Supreme Lord manifest all over the universes." (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)
Jesus within Buddhism.
Within Buddhism, the Mahayana sutra Laggawati Sutatta prophesied of the advent of a second Buddha, Metteyya (Oldenberg 142). Laggawati Sutatta stated that the followers of the Buddha, looking to the future, would console themselves with the idea that, as disciples of the Metteyya, they would have the bliss of salvation (Oldenberg 140). As Max Muller remarked that the linguistic similarity of the ‘th’ of Sanskrit, is like an ‘S’ in Semitic languages, one can readily understand how the word Metteyya can be interpretated as Messiah. (Prinsep 14)
Furthermore, in recognition of linguistic similarities, the Sanskrit term "bodhi sattva," or "budasaf” is translated into the Semitic "Judasaf" or "Yudasaf" (Kerston 203). Within ‘Jesus Lived in India’, Holgen Kerston pointed out that this etymological connection might have led to the development of "Yuz Asaf." As Yuz Asaf means "son of Joseph", and as Joseph is translated to "Iosaphat", which is further translated to "Buddha", it could be understood that Jesus was the ‘second advent’ of the Buddha. (Kerston 204)
Jesus within Ahmadiyya
Similarly, in many Muslim writings, Jesus is referred to as Yuz Asaf (Kerston 177). The first Muslim writer known to have included the tradition of Yuz Asaf was the 10th-century historian, Shaikh Al-Said:
"Yuz Asaf was known as the messiah. 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. Jesus miraculously healed some persons and exhibited other miracles."
(Ahmad 365-366)
Furthermore, within ‘Jesus Died in Kashmir’, Andreas Kaiser mentions the ruins of an ancient Indian city where there is an interesting inscription of a saying attributed to Jesus. Emplaced on the portal of a mosque around 1601 by the emperor Akbar the Great, the sign reads,
The world is a bridge; pass over it but build no house upon it. (Ahmad 200)
Within ‘Jesus in India’, written by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, Jesus is explained to have escaped death on the cross, and to have further received aid and resuscitation in the tomb by Essenes (Ahmad196). The Ahmadiyyas' supposition that Essenes were involved in Jesus' recovery stems from their assumption that the "angels in white" (Jn 20:12) were Essenes, due to the belief that Essenes wore white garments (Ahmad 199).
This Essene support theory is supported by Karl Bahrdt who postulated, in brief, that Jesus survived the crucifixion, with the help of Luke offering drugs to Jesus beforehand. Bahrt further notes how Jesus too was an Essene, and that he later lived in seclusion with the Essenes. (Craig 392-393)
Nicolas Notovich
In 1894, after journeying through India and Tibet, Nicolas Notovitch discovered a scroll about Isa existing in a Buddhist monastery. According to Notovitch, the scroll explains how Brahmanic priests "taught him to read and understand the Vedas, to cure by aid of prayer, to teach, to explain the holy scriptures to the people, and to drive out evil spirits from the bodies of men, restoring unto them their sanity”(Notovitch 219). At 29, Jesus returned to Israel and began to preach all he had learned (Notovitch 222). The beginning of Jesus' alleged journey is described in the scroll this way:
‘with the object of perfecting himself in the Divine Word and of studying the laws of the great Buddhas’.
(Notovitch 218)
The Karmic Christ
Relative to the Eastern religious environment Jesus would have encountered upon such travels, elements of Karmic law are identifiable with the teachings of Jesus found within the Gospels. For example, within the Gospel of John, Christ’s disciples approach Jesus and ask, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ (Jn 9:1-2). Similarly, in regards to the Karmic teachings of Christ, the Gospel of Matthew states, "for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt 26:52). This Karmic teaching is further emphasized within Matthew when Jesus states, "the measure you give will be the measure you get." (Mt 7:2)
THE CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
In reaction to such scriptural speculation, as well as the reported historicity of Nicolas Nicovitch documentations, Max Muller presented a scholarly refutation of such theories within ‘The Alleged Sojourn of Christ in India’. Muller stated that Notovitch took the liberty to arrange "all the fragments concerning the life of Issa in chronological order and took pains to impress upon them the character of unity, in which they were absolutely lacking. (Ahmad 517)
Furthermore, Muller felt that Notovitch might have been a victim of a Buddhist monk who supplied him with an invented story (Ahmad 516). Muller cites a woman who had visited the monastery of Himis and made inquiries about Notovitch. According to a letter she wrote, "there is not a single word of truth in the whole story! There has been no Russian here. There is no record of Christ here at all”. (Ahmad 518)
Furthermore, although the New Testament does not directly address the issue, there are indirect evidences that Jesus never traveled East for eighteen years. As Jesus is identified as a carpenter (Mark 6:3) and as a carpenter's son (Matt. 13:55), the Gospels present Jesus as an experienced carpenter who drew on his lengthy experience within his parables and teachings(e.g., building a house on rock as opposed to sand). (Matt. 7:24-27)
Moreover, the Gospel narrative creates the impression that the people in and around Nazareth displayed a familiarity with Jesus. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus "came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read" (Luke 4:16). Furthermore, the Gospel of Luke accounts that after Jesus had finished reading, "All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ (Luke 4:22). This implies that those in the synagogue regarded Jesus with familiarity.
In regards to the etymological similarities of the name Jesus and its speculative Eastern translations, it is quite clear that the New Testament states:
God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
(Phil. 2:9-10)
However, in regards to the ‘lost years’ of Jesus, the Gospels do present an otherwise complete silence concerning the first thirty years of Jesus’ life. John Dominic Crossan has noted that ancient biographies often start with the public lives of their subjects, skipping over earlier years as irrelevant (Clendenin). Furthermore, in respect to Nicholas Notovich’s discoveries, Douglas Groothuis issues: "Should any supposed record of Jesus' life come to the fore, let it marshal its historical merits in competition with holy writ. The competitors have an uphill battle against the incumbent. (Groothuis 93)
Thus, if such eastern accounts as to the life of Christ are not historically accurate, then one must question why such fabrications would have been developed? Perhaps it is to bring Jesus into their flock, perhaps it is to lessen the image of the resurrected ‘son of God’, perhaps it is to illuminate a worldlier, congenial Jesus. However, as such implications are equally speculative, the lost years of Jesus remain a mystery. None the less, the incredibly interesting claims about Jesus’ life in India not only present another perspective of the life of Jesus, they also allow for another interpretation of the Gospels.
Works Cited
Abhedananda, Swami Abhedananda's Journey into Kashmir and Tibet Vedanta Press, US. 1987
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Chaitanya Charitamrta lecture. US.1966 www.lebensplan.com/purana/jesus.html
Ahmad, Khwaja Nazir Jesus in Heaven on Earth Muslim Mission & Literary Trust, UK.1952. ref. Smith, Vincent A. Akbar the Great Mogul Delhi: S. Chand, 1966
Andreas Faber Kaiser, Jesus died in Kashmir Gordon & Cremonesi, UK.1977
Clendin, Dan. ‘Reflections: The Hidden Years of Jesus’ 2006 http://www.journey/withjesus.net
Craig, William Lane. The Historical Argument for the Resurrection of Jesus during the Deist Controversy Edwin Mellen Press, US. 1985 - Jstor
Douglas Groothuis, Confronting the New Age Downers Groves: InterVarsity Press, US. 1988
Kersten, Holger. Jesus Lived in India Element Book; UK. 1986
Ahmad, Mirza Ghulam. ‘The Promised Messiah Jesus in India’ – ref., Hassnain, Fida Mohammed: A Search for the Historical Jesus Gateway Books; US. 1994
Müller, Max "The Alleged Sojourn of Christ in India" The Nineteenth Century London, October 1894. www.alislam.org
Notovitch, Nicolas. The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ ed. in Elizabeth Clare Prophet, The Lost Years of Jesus Livingston, MT: Summit University Press; US 1987
Oldenberg, Hermann. Buddha; His Life, His Doctrine, His Order. Veranasi; US. 2006
Pandit Sutta, Bhavishya Maha Purana Venkateshvaria Press; Bombay: 1917 – ref. Hiltebeitel, Alf. Draupadi Among Rajputs, Muslims and Dalits: Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics. Oxford University Press. Delhi, 2001
Prinsep, H.T. Tibet, Tartary, Mongolia: The Religion of Boodh Adamant Media Corporation; US. 2004
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version. Oxford University Press, USA; 2001
Within Hindu scriptures, Buddhist manuscripts, and Muslim chronicles, extra-Biblical evidences as to the life of Christ are presented. Prefigured within NeoVedantic Puranas and Mahayana Sutras, as well as developed within Ahmadiyya treatises, the advent of Christ is presented within an Indian context. Secularly, as excavated and examined by the Russian historian Nicolas Notovich during the late 19th century, a new light has been shed upon Jesus’ relationship with the religious traditions of the East. In light of the new Christology and ecumenism these extra-Biblical writings present, such theories have drawn much speculation. However, in recognition of the messianicity, as well as the laconicity presented within these accounts, the extra-Biblical Jesus of India reflects the Jesus of the Gospels.
In associating such titles as Yuz Asaf, Isa, and Mettayya with the revelatory Christ of the New Testament, a messianic illustration concerning the identity of Christ is extended beyond the bounds of the Gospel. Consisting of prophecies, narratives, and physical descriptions of Jesus, these extra-Biblical claims do not only serve to illuminate an awareness of Christ outside of Palestine, but such examples also serve to illuminate an interwoven, and highly complimentary textual understanding of the nature of Christ outside of Christianity.
Jesus within Hinduism.
Within the Bhavishya Maha Purana, various verses indicate that Jesus was in India from 39 to 50 C.E. (Sutta 282). Announcing himself as Yusashaphat, he had become known as Isa Masih (Bhavishya Purana 19:31.). According to Abhedananda, Jesus likely obtained the name Isa or Issa from "Isha," which means ‘Lord’ in Sanskrit (Abhedananda 122). Within the Veda Vyasa, the Hindu sage Srila Krishna Dvarpayana announced the coming of Isha Putra - "the Son of God."
'You should know that I am Isha Putra, the Son of God.'
(Bhavishya Purana 19:23)
Furthermore, in recognition of such a messianic character gracing India, the Bhavishya Purana goes even further in illustrating Isa’s travel, appearance, and allure:
As he was traveling through the land of the five rivers, Isa’s benign appearance, face radiating peace and comely forehead attracted devotees who knew him to be one who had received blessings from God Himself.
(Abhedananda 120)
However, as Jesus was mentioned in the Bhagavatam, The Bhagavatam itself mentions that it was celestially composed some three thousand years (3000 B.C.E.) previous to its revelation within the Smrtas (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada). Thus, existing in such a cosmological setting, Jesus is graced with the title saktyavesha avataras:
"Jesus Christ is an incarnation of saktyavesha, and in this way the Supreme Lord manifest all over the universes." (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)
Jesus within Buddhism.
Within Buddhism, the Mahayana sutra Laggawati Sutatta prophesied of the advent of a second Buddha, Metteyya (Oldenberg 142). Laggawati Sutatta stated that the followers of the Buddha, looking to the future, would console themselves with the idea that, as disciples of the Metteyya, they would have the bliss of salvation (Oldenberg 140). As Max Muller remarked that the linguistic similarity of the ‘th’ of Sanskrit, is like an ‘S’ in Semitic languages, one can readily understand how the word Metteyya can be interpretated as Messiah. (Prinsep 14)
Furthermore, in recognition of linguistic similarities, the Sanskrit term "bodhi sattva," or "budasaf” is translated into the Semitic "Judasaf" or "Yudasaf" (Kerston 203). Within ‘Jesus Lived in India’, Holgen Kerston pointed out that this etymological connection might have led to the development of "Yuz Asaf." As Yuz Asaf means "son of Joseph", and as Joseph is translated to "Iosaphat", which is further translated to "Buddha", it could be understood that Jesus was the ‘second advent’ of the Buddha. (Kerston 204)
Jesus within Ahmadiyya
Similarly, in many Muslim writings, Jesus is referred to as Yuz Asaf (Kerston 177). The first Muslim writer known to have included the tradition of Yuz Asaf was the 10th-century historian, Shaikh Al-Said:
"Yuz Asaf was known as the messiah. 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. Jesus miraculously healed some persons and exhibited other miracles."
(Ahmad 365-366)
Furthermore, within ‘Jesus Died in Kashmir’, Andreas Kaiser mentions the ruins of an ancient Indian city where there is an interesting inscription of a saying attributed to Jesus. Emplaced on the portal of a mosque around 1601 by the emperor Akbar the Great, the sign reads,
The world is a bridge; pass over it but build no house upon it. (Ahmad 200)
Within ‘Jesus in India’, written by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, Jesus is explained to have escaped death on the cross, and to have further received aid and resuscitation in the tomb by Essenes (Ahmad196). The Ahmadiyyas' supposition that Essenes were involved in Jesus' recovery stems from their assumption that the "angels in white" (Jn 20:12) were Essenes, due to the belief that Essenes wore white garments (Ahmad 199).
This Essene support theory is supported by Karl Bahrdt who postulated, in brief, that Jesus survived the crucifixion, with the help of Luke offering drugs to Jesus beforehand. Bahrt further notes how Jesus too was an Essene, and that he later lived in seclusion with the Essenes. (Craig 392-393)
Nicolas Notovich
In 1894, after journeying through India and Tibet, Nicolas Notovitch discovered a scroll about Isa existing in a Buddhist monastery. According to Notovitch, the scroll explains how Brahmanic priests "taught him to read and understand the Vedas, to cure by aid of prayer, to teach, to explain the holy scriptures to the people, and to drive out evil spirits from the bodies of men, restoring unto them their sanity”(Notovitch 219). At 29, Jesus returned to Israel and began to preach all he had learned (Notovitch 222). The beginning of Jesus' alleged journey is described in the scroll this way:
‘with the object of perfecting himself in the Divine Word and of studying the laws of the great Buddhas’.
(Notovitch 218)
The Karmic Christ
Relative to the Eastern religious environment Jesus would have encountered upon such travels, elements of Karmic law are identifiable with the teachings of Jesus found within the Gospels. For example, within the Gospel of John, Christ’s disciples approach Jesus and ask, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ (Jn 9:1-2). Similarly, in regards to the Karmic teachings of Christ, the Gospel of Matthew states, "for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt 26:52). This Karmic teaching is further emphasized within Matthew when Jesus states, "the measure you give will be the measure you get." (Mt 7:2)
THE CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
In reaction to such scriptural speculation, as well as the reported historicity of Nicolas Nicovitch documentations, Max Muller presented a scholarly refutation of such theories within ‘The Alleged Sojourn of Christ in India’. Muller stated that Notovitch took the liberty to arrange "all the fragments concerning the life of Issa in chronological order and took pains to impress upon them the character of unity, in which they were absolutely lacking. (Ahmad 517)
Furthermore, Muller felt that Notovitch might have been a victim of a Buddhist monk who supplied him with an invented story (Ahmad 516). Muller cites a woman who had visited the monastery of Himis and made inquiries about Notovitch. According to a letter she wrote, "there is not a single word of truth in the whole story! There has been no Russian here. There is no record of Christ here at all”. (Ahmad 518)
Furthermore, although the New Testament does not directly address the issue, there are indirect evidences that Jesus never traveled East for eighteen years. As Jesus is identified as a carpenter (Mark 6:3) and as a carpenter's son (Matt. 13:55), the Gospels present Jesus as an experienced carpenter who drew on his lengthy experience within his parables and teachings(e.g., building a house on rock as opposed to sand). (Matt. 7:24-27)
Moreover, the Gospel narrative creates the impression that the people in and around Nazareth displayed a familiarity with Jesus. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus "came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read" (Luke 4:16). Furthermore, the Gospel of Luke accounts that after Jesus had finished reading, "All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ (Luke 4:22). This implies that those in the synagogue regarded Jesus with familiarity.
In regards to the etymological similarities of the name Jesus and its speculative Eastern translations, it is quite clear that the New Testament states:
God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
(Phil. 2:9-10)
However, in regards to the ‘lost years’ of Jesus, the Gospels do present an otherwise complete silence concerning the first thirty years of Jesus’ life. John Dominic Crossan has noted that ancient biographies often start with the public lives of their subjects, skipping over earlier years as irrelevant (Clendenin). Furthermore, in respect to Nicholas Notovich’s discoveries, Douglas Groothuis issues: "Should any supposed record of Jesus' life come to the fore, let it marshal its historical merits in competition with holy writ. The competitors have an uphill battle against the incumbent. (Groothuis 93)
Thus, if such eastern accounts as to the life of Christ are not historically accurate, then one must question why such fabrications would have been developed? Perhaps it is to bring Jesus into their flock, perhaps it is to lessen the image of the resurrected ‘son of God’, perhaps it is to illuminate a worldlier, congenial Jesus. However, as such implications are equally speculative, the lost years of Jesus remain a mystery. None the less, the incredibly interesting claims about Jesus’ life in India not only present another perspective of the life of Jesus, they also allow for another interpretation of the Gospels.
Works Cited
Abhedananda, Swami Abhedananda's Journey into Kashmir and Tibet Vedanta Press, US. 1987
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Chaitanya Charitamrta lecture. US.1966 www.lebensplan.com/purana/jesus.html
Ahmad, Khwaja Nazir Jesus in Heaven on Earth Muslim Mission & Literary Trust, UK.1952. ref. Smith, Vincent A. Akbar the Great Mogul Delhi: S. Chand, 1966
Andreas Faber Kaiser, Jesus died in Kashmir Gordon & Cremonesi, UK.1977
Clendin, Dan. ‘Reflections: The Hidden Years of Jesus’ 2006 http://www.journey/withjesus.net
Craig, William Lane. The Historical Argument for the Resurrection of Jesus during the Deist Controversy Edwin Mellen Press, US. 1985 - Jstor
Douglas Groothuis, Confronting the New Age Downers Groves: InterVarsity Press, US. 1988
Kersten, Holger. Jesus Lived in India Element Book; UK. 1986
Ahmad, Mirza Ghulam. ‘The Promised Messiah Jesus in India’ – ref., Hassnain, Fida Mohammed: A Search for the Historical Jesus Gateway Books; US. 1994
Müller, Max "The Alleged Sojourn of Christ in India" The Nineteenth Century London, October 1894. www.alislam.org
Notovitch, Nicolas. The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ ed. in Elizabeth Clare Prophet, The Lost Years of Jesus Livingston, MT: Summit University Press; US 1987
Oldenberg, Hermann. Buddha; His Life, His Doctrine, His Order. Veranasi; US. 2006
Pandit Sutta, Bhavishya Maha Purana Venkateshvaria Press; Bombay: 1917 – ref. Hiltebeitel, Alf. Draupadi Among Rajputs, Muslims and Dalits: Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics. Oxford University Press. Delhi, 2001
Prinsep, H.T. Tibet, Tartary, Mongolia: The Religion of Boodh Adamant Media Corporation; US. 2004
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version. Oxford University Press, USA; 2001
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