Jesus lived in India

Some years ago, on a tour of northern India, I visited Kashmir which is located in the Himalayas. Kashmir is one of the most beautiful places on earth with a unique people and a culture that reflects the grace and beauty of the land. Surrounded by snow-capped mountains, this land is ancient and holds many of the secrets of man and his civilization.

I stayed in the capital city of Srinagar and lived part of my vacation on a house boat in the Dal Lake. During my stay, the tour guide encouraged me to visit an ancient tomb on the outskirts of the city. This tomb, my guide pointed out is the spot where Jesus Christ was buried after a long and productive life in one of the valleys of Kashmir.

There is a legend and some claim it to be the historical fact that the religious person around whom Christianity was founded, Jesus of Nazareth did not die on the cross but was successfully smuggled out of his tomb and made his way into Kashmir where he lived until old age.

When I visited this so-called historical tomb I met many busloads of pilgrims, some of whom were Christians from Spain and Portugal. My guide informed me that all during the summer months these religious visitors piously pay homage at the site where Jesus was buried.

I wish not to pass judgment on the truth or fiction of this tomb but only to point to an abundance of evidence that during his “missing years,” between the ages of 12-30, Jesus travelled through India visiting many holy Hindu sites and even having debate and discussions with swamis and sadhus.

The book Jesus lived in India was written by Holger Kersten whose family lived in the Federal Republic of Germany. Holger studied to become a teacher of religion in a college of the Protestant Church in Freiburg Germany, and up to 1982 he was a teacher of religious education. In his researches, the author travelled extensively in India.

In the introduction of his book Holger writes: “When the most central and fundamental teachings of a church are no longer accepted as the pure truth even among the churches’ elite and administrators, the end of traditional Christianity is undeniably at hand. The message of the empty pews is quite clear.”

In detailing Jesus’ journey through India, Holger draws many parallels between the life and teachings of Jesus and the Hindu Lord Krishna who, according to historians was born 4,000 years before Christ. Holger writes: “Almost everything that has ever been said about Jesus has parallels in ancient Indian legends. Widespread ignorance of the similarities between the Indian and Christian tradition can partly be attributed to the inability of almost all Europeans to read the Sanskrit ancient tests; not until recently have translations begun to arouse interest in the Western world.

“In the Indian trinity, the son of God is called Krishna, whose very name shares its roots with that of Christ (HP Blavatsky always used the more obvious spelling, “Christina).” Christ descends from the Greek word chrestos, meaning “anointed with oil.” Christos can be traced back to the Sanskrit word Krsna (Krishna = attracts all), which is colloquially pronounced “Krishto.” “Krishto” means “attraction.”

“There have been many accounts of Krishna’s youth, poetry glorifying his power and qualities. Just like the baby Jesus in the apocryphical gospels, Krishna was able to perform all manners of miracles as a child. He thus survived many dangers prepared for him by his uncle Kansa. At one point, a snake crawled into his crib to strangle the child, but was killed by the lad with his bare hands (cf. the myth of young Hercules). The heroic deed of the Indian child wonder would fill entire volumes.

“When he was sixteen, Krishna left his mother to spread his new teaching throughout India. He spoke out against the corruption of the people and the princes and said that he had come to earth to offer all people redemption from original sin, to drive out unclean spirits, and to restore the kingdom of good. He overcame monstrous difficulties, fought entire armies by himself, performed manifold miracles, awakened the dead, healed lepers, and gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf.

“Krishna, like Christ, did not wish to propagate a new religion, but simply desired to renew the religion that already existed and cleanse it of all its odious abuses and impurities. His teachings are in the form poetic parables and aphorisms reminiscent of those of Jesus. The accounts and discourses have been recorded in the Bhagavad-Gita.”

The Hindus of Trinidad under the guidance of their pundit have installed images (murtees) of Lord Krishna in their temples, their homes and their hearts. Together with the incarnated Lord Rama, Lord Krishna is worshipped and revered. In fact, the “Baby Krishna is dearer to the Hindu woman because it arouses the maternal instincts in our ladies.” The Hindu calendar (2012) identifies August 9 as “Shri Krishna Janam Ashtmi,” the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna.

• Satnarayan Maharaj
Secretary General
Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha