Jesus in India?

The Myth of the Lost Years

by Acharya S/D.M. Murdock
Over the centuries, the claim has repeatedly been
made that Jesus Christ not only walked the earth but
also spent his early and post-crucifixion years in a
variety of places, including Egypt, India, reat
!ritain, Japan and "merica# Indeed, traditions
maintain that Jesus, the great godman of the $est,
lived, learned, loved and died in such places# %opular
modern literature also purports that Jesus sired
children, who then became the ancestors of various
royal families of Europe, including &rance and'or
elsewhere, depending on the author#
(he allegation of Christ being a kingly progenitor is
extremely convenient and useful for European royal
families, obviously# )nfortunately for the European
claimants, however, India also has a tradition that
Jesus went there and likewise fathered children# *o
too does *hingo, Japan, allege that Jesus ended up there after the crucifixion, having
children with a Japanese wife# Other tales depict Jesus +walking the "mericas+ or
bopping about lastonbury, England, with his +uncle,+ Joseph of "rimathea# ,ot all of
these tales can be true, obviously, unless Jesus is polymorphous and phantasmagoric, a
perspective that in reality represents that of the mythologist or mythicist# (o wit,
regardless of these fables, or, rather, because of them, the most reasonable conclusion
regarding Jesus and where he may or may not have been is that he is a mythical character,
not a historical personage who trotted the globe#
The Groovy Guru
"ccording to legend, Jesus, the great Jewish sage,
spent his +lost years,+ from between the ages of
around -. to ./ or 01, in India, where, per another
tradition, he also escaped after surviving the
crucifixion# (he Jesus-was-a-guru tale was
populari2ed over a century ago by the 3ussian
traveler ,icholas ,otovitch# ,otovitch asserted that
in -//4, while at the secluded 5emis or 5imis
monastery in 6adakh'(ibet, he was shown a
manuscript which discussed the +unknown life+ of
Jesus, or +Issa,+ as he was supposedly called in the
East# (his +Issa+ text, translated for ,otovitch from (ibetan by a monk'lama, alleged that
during his +lost years+ Jesus was educated by yogis in India, ,epal and +the 5imalaya
7ountains#+
*tating that he felt the manuscript to be +true and genuine,+ ,otovich maintained its
contents were written +immediately after the 3esurrection,+ while the manuscript itself
purportedly dated from the third century of the Common Era# ,otovitch related that the
+two manuscripts+ he was shown at 5imis were +compiled from diverse copies written in
the (hibetan tongue, translated from rolls belonging to the 6assa library and brought
from India, ,epal, and 7aghada .11 years after Christ#+ 8,otovitch, 99:
,otovitch;s story was challenged by a number of people, which served to populari2e it
further# ,oted *anskrit scholar 7ax 7<ller came down hard on ,otovitch, concluding
that either the 3ussian had never gone to (ibet in the first place, and had concocted the
Jesus story, or that waggish !uddhist monks had played a trick on ,otovitch, as Indian
priests had done in a notorious instance concerning the "siatic 3esearch *ociety;s
Colonel $ilford# Others subse=uently >ourneyed to 5imis'5emis and witnessed repeated
denial by the lamas that ,otovitch had ever been there or that any such manuscript
existed# In -?.., Indian scholar and swami "bhenanda eventually determined for himself
by visiting 5imis, gaining the confidence of the lamas and having the manuscript
revealed to him# Other visitors to 5imis, such as mystic ,icholas 3oerich, verified the
same story# "spects of ,otovitch;s story checked out, and he apparently did indeed stay
at 5imis and was shown a manuscript relating to +Issa#+
,otovitch claimed that Indian merchants brought the
account of +Jesus+ to 5imis, and that they had
actually witnessed the crucifixion# Indeed, the text
begins with +(his is what is related on this sub>ect by
the merchants who come from Israel,+ reflecting not
that +Jesus+ lived in India but that the Jesus tradition
was brought to India and (ibet# 8,otovitch, 0.:
,otovitch;s text also did not state that Jesus was
specifically at 5imis@ In fact, the lama stated that the
Issa scrolls +were brought from India to ,epal, and
from ,epal to (hibet#+ Aet, upon returning to 5imis
through later visitors, the story eventually became
morphed into +Aour Jesus was here,+ meaning at
5imis itself# (he +one book+ or +two manuscripts+
became +three books,+ which were displayed for the
later visitors, with the implication that there was
more to the tale#
"lthough subse=uent visitors were presented such
texts, none but ,icholas 3oerich;s son, eorge, could
read them# !y his translation, 3oerich was evidently
shown the same text as ,otovitch# (hus, it appears
that there was only one text at 5imis, and that it did not state that Issa himself was ever at
the monastery# &urthermore, that one text is based on hearsay provided by passing
merchants and does not at all represent an +eyewitness+ account of +Jesus+ in India and
(ibet, although the impression is given that this and other texts do constitute such
records#
"lso, ,otovitch asked if +Issa+ was reputed to be a saint, and was informed that +the
people ignore his very existence+ and that the lamas who have studied the scrolls +alone
know of him#+ (hese remarks are a far cry from 3oerich;s claim that the tale of +Christ+
in India and other parts of "sia was to be found widespread# (hey also contradict the
(ibetan text;s own assertion that Issa;s +fame spread everywhere+ and that %ersia and
surrounding countries +resounded with prophecies+ of Issa, thus causing the %ersian
priesthood to be terrified of him# (his latter element sounds like typical mythmaking,
especially since there were similar prophecies of godmen for centuries, if not millennia,
prior to Christ;s purported advent, particularly in India#
7oreover, the +originals+ of the scrolls housed at the (ibetan capital, 6hasa, were
composed in %ali, while the 5imis library contained one copy in (ibetan# Aet, the
(ibetan alphabet was developed by the king who +reigned in the days of 7ohammed+B
hence, nothing could have been written in (ibetan prior to the 4th century# "lthough
older texts were composed in *anskrit or %ali, it is clear that the actual physical
manuscript revealed to ,otovitch could not have existed before the 4th century# In fact, it
would appear that very few (ibetan texts date to before the ?th century# In any event, the
manuscript itself certainly did not date from the third century, although it could represent
tradition transmitted over the centuries#
$hile ,otovitch claimed the Issa story dated to shortly after +the 3esurrection,+ in it
there is no mention of the resurrection, and the tale ends with Issa;s death# In this regard,
the text depicts the +Jews,+ whom it calls +Israelites,+ in a favorable light, and is +the only
CmanuscriptD ever to charge the 3omans C+pagans+D solely for Jesus; execution#+ )nlike
others, this account does not have Jesus being resuscitated and then returning to India, to
father children and live a long life#
,otovitch;s modern editor, &rank 7uccie, relates that the manuscript states, +%ilate is
responsible for removing Jesus; body from the tomb,+ noting that this development
somehow does not +mean the resurrection hope is invalid#+ 5e then says@
+!y the third century "#E#, there were no fewer than .F different versions of Jesus; death
and resurrectionG *ome have him not being put to death at all, some have him revived
back to life, and some have Jesus living on to old age and dying in EgyptG+ 8,otovitch, H:
Obviously, not all of these .F or more accounts can be +true and genuine,+ and such a
development casts doubt on the historicity of one and all#
The o!aba" To#b
7oreover, it is interesting that ,otovitch spent six
days in the +Iale of Jashmir,+ in its capital, *rinagar,
+city of the sun,+ where the purported tomb of
+Jesus,+ the wandering prophet Au2 "saf, is shown to
tourists# Aet, the 3ussian traveler apparently never
heard of the tomb, known as the +3o2a !al+ or
+3au2abal+ shrine, as he does not mention it in his
writings concerning the (ibetan text, where its
inclusion certainly would have been >udicious in demonstrating that Jesus lived in IndiaG
%erhaps, however, as a believing Christian ,otovitch ignored this tale, much as the
devout do today and much as skeptics may do with other fables concerning Christ#
%ossessing the priestly touch of sculpted footprints +with nail marks+ over
the grave, the 3o2a !al shrine may seem convincing to the uninitiated, who
are unaware of the world;s well-developed priestcraft# (his +artifact+ is
another in a long line of so-called relics, like the .1K shrouds or the
multiple foreskins of Christ# In reality, there were many +footprints of the
gods+ in ancient times--and a number of Indian gods are depicted with nail
holes in their feet#
"lso, +Au2 "saf+ is not e=uivalent to +Jesus+ but to +Joseph,+ which was
often a title of a priest and not a name# In fact, Eastern scholars such as Er# *#
3adhakrishnan state that the name +Joseph+ or +Joasaph+ is +derived from !odhisattva,
the technical name for one destined to obtain the dignity of a !uddha#+ 8%ra>nanananda,
-14: (hus, this tomb of a !odhisattva could belong to any of thousands of such holy
men# In like regard, the purported graves of +Jesus+ and +his brother+ in Japan are in
reality those of a -Hth-century Christian missionary and his brother#
(he legends regarding Jesus;s tomb in *rinagar, and that of the Iirgin 7ary in Jashgar,
are apparently of Islamic origin, emanating largely from the +heretical+ "hmadiyya sect#
*uch a creation would serve a couple of purposes@ -# (hat, as asserted in the Joran, Jesus
was not the +son of od+ but a mortal prophet, whose body was buried in JashmirB and
.# that some presumably 7oslem people are his descendants#
%roponents of the Jesus-in-India theory hold up a number of other texts and artifacts they
maintain +prove+ not only Jesus;s existence on Earth but also his presence in India# $hen
such texts and artifacts are closely examined, they serve as no evidence at all, except of
priestcraft# $ith one or two possible exceptions originating to a few centuries earlier, the
Eastern texts regarding +Issa+ seem to be late writings, some dating to the -Fth and -/th
centuries, based on traditions, not eyewitness accounts# *ome of the +documents+ are
obviously fictitious, and others are downright ridiculous, such as the !havishya
7ahapurana# " number of these texts merely relate the basic gospel story with
embellishments depending on what the storyteller is attempting to accomplish#
$uddhist %ro&a'anda or (hristian %rose"yti!in'?
"lthough some of the writings appear to be of 5indu
origin, the attack by +Issa+ on the Iedas and
!rahmans, as in the ,otovitch text, represents
!uddhist propaganda# It appears that !uddhists were
trying to demonstrate that Jesus, the great wise man
of the $est, was influenced by !uddhism, even
having been taught by +!uddha,+ an eternal
disincarnate entity# In this regard, the ,otovitch text
states, +*ix years later, Issa, whom the !uddha had
chosen to spread his holy word, could perfectly
explain the sacred rolls#+ 8,otovitch, 0F: In this way,
!uddha usurps Jesus, becoming the Jewish teacher;s
guru#
(hat the text has been used as propaganda to raise !uddha and !uddhism over Christ and
Christianity is further validated by ,otovitch;s foreword, in which he related that the
lama told him, +(he only error of the Christians is that after adopting the great doctrine of
!uddha, they, at the very outset, completed separated themselves from him and created
another Ealai-6amaL+ (his +Ealai-6ama,+ the monk subse=uently informed the
3ussian, is the %ope# Concerning Christ, the lama continued, +!uddha did, indeed,
incarnate himself with his intelligence in the sacred person of Issa, who, without the aid
of fire and sword, went forth to propagate our great and true religion through the entire
world#+ 8,otovitch, .1: 5ence, Eastern traditions regarding Jesus are designed to show
that Jesus is !uddha and that Christianity is an offshoot of ancient Eastern wisdom#
,evertheless, the ,otovitch text itself may have been composed originally by
proselyti2ing Christians who attempted to use the natives; belief in !uddha in order to
increase Christ;s stature# (hese missionaries may have been appealing to women to
follow +Issa,+ as the text puts great emphasis on women, whose status in India and
elsewhere has been abysmally low# (he text would also appeal to the *udras or %ariahs,
since it has Issa preaching on their behalf# (hese groups are targeted to this day by
Christian missionaries in India#
Considering that many missionaries, travelers and scholars have been keenly aware of the
numerous and profound similarities between the (ibetan and Catholic religions, it would
not be surprising if this Issa fable were created in order to show that the (ibetan religion
is merely a foreign derivative of the +true universal religion,+ i#e#, Catholicism# (he
resemblances between various Indian sects and Christianity likewise led to tales about the
Christian missionaries (homas, !artholomew and %antaenus also proselyti2ing in India#
6ike the Jesus-in-India myth, there are other explanations for the resemblances, which are
addressed in detail in my book Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled# In
short, the ma>or explanation is that the +Christian+ religion and savior were already in
India long before the alleged advent of Jesus#
Is )Issa) Jesus * or Shiva?
!y calling Issa +Jesus+ or +Christ,+ modern writers have cemented in the readers; minds
that the correlation is absolute, an erroneous conclusion# In reality, the name +Issa,+ +Isa+
or +Isha+ is a title and simply means +lord,+ +god+ or +master,+ often referring to the
Indian god 6ord *hiva@ +;Isha; or ;the 6ord; is another name of *ivaL+ 8%ra>nanananda,
-?: &urthermore, %rof# ,unos de *antos says, +La god variously named Issa, Isha,
Ichtos, Iesus, Ieshuah, Joshuah, Jesus, etc#, is indisputably originally from India#+ 5e also
states, +Ishvara 8Ishwar: is widely worshipped in the &ar East, being also called Isha 8or
Ishana: in India, Issara in %ali, Isuan in (hai, Ji2u 8or Ji2ai: in Japanese, and so on#+
+Isa+ is likewise another name for Chandra, the Indian
moon god, as well as for *hiva;s Egyptian
counterpart, the soli-lunar god Osiris, also called
Iswara in India@
+Iswara, or Isa, and Isani, or Isisi, areL
un=uestionably the Osiris and Isis of Egypt# Iswara,
*iva, or 5ara 8for these are his names among nearly a
thousand more: united with Isi, represent the
secondary causes, whatever they may be, of natural
phenomenaB and principally those of temporary
destruction and regeneration#+ 87oor, -F-:
,umerous ancient legends, recorded for example in the writings of Eiodorus *iculus
during the first century !CE, depict Osiris as traveling all over the East, as well as the
rest of the world, during the millennia when he reigned as Egypt;s favorite deity# Osiris,
or Isa, it should be noted, was put to death and resurrected, among many other
correspondences to the Christ myth# Osiris'Isa too had a number of tombs in various
places, especially in Egypt but likely also in India# 5owever, Osiris was not a +real
person+ but a fertility and sun god# $hat mythologists recogni2e is that it was not a
+historical Osiris+ but his myth that made it to India and diverse places# "s in the case of
Osiris, the same phenomenon occurred regarding +Jesus,+ who is, in the end, a remake of
Osiris, among others#
(he title +Isa+ or +Issa+ could apply to others, and is a common name even today# Indeed,
some part of these Jesus-in-India tales may revolve around the famed reek sage
"pollonius of (yana# ,ot a few persons over the centuries have noted the similarities
between the lives of "pollonius and Christ, and even in ancient times Christians were
accused of plagiari2ing the "pollonius legend#
The +estorians
(he Issa myth apparently represents a
Christiani2ation of legends regarding Osiris, *hiva,
"pollonius and other gods and +!odhisattvas,+ by the
,estorians, an early Christian sect who lived in India
and elsewhere, and may well have spread the
syncretistic fable to other "sian ports of call# Indeed,
,icholas 3oerich himself surmised that the ancient
,estorian sect spread the tales in the East@
+$e heard several versions of this legend which has
spread widely through 6adak, *inkiang and
7ongolia, but all versions agree on one point, that
during 5is absence, Christ was in India and "siaL#
%erhaps Cthis legendD is of ,estorian origin#+
8%rophet, .H-:
3oerich also stated, +$hoever doubts too completely
that such legends about the Christ life exist in "sia,
probably does not reali2e what an immense influence the ,estorians have had in all parts
of "sia and how many so-called "pocryphal legends they spread in the most ancient
times#+ 83oerich, /?: In addition, eorge 3oerich even proposed that there was a
+floating colony+ of ,estorians in 6adakh itself +during the eighth to tenth centuries,+
which could well be when the ,otovitch text was composed# 3oerich, one of the main
writers whose works have led to the Jesus-in-India theory, almost invariably and
misleadingly substitutes +Jesus+ or +Christ+ for +Issa,+ when Issa could be a number of
individuals, mythical and historical#
In his account of Jesus in India, 3oerich declared, +(he teachings of India were famed far
and wideB let us even recall the description of the life of "ppolonius CsicD of (yana and
his visits to 5indu sages#+ 83oerich, --?: "gain, one likely scenario regarding +Issa+
8+6ord+ or +7aster+: is that, whatever part of his tale is +historical,+ it possibly refers to
"pollonius#
%re*(hristian Indo*,uro&ean Interaction
"s is well known, "pollonius was not alone in his >ourneys to the East# Eecades and
centuries prior to the Christian era, there was much intercourse between India and the
$est, including the famous >ourney by %ythagoras and the "lexandrian incursion# "s
another pertinent example, one of the seats of 7andeanism, a Christian baptist sect, was
7aisan, a 7esopotamian city coloni2ed by Indians# "s Er# 3udolph Otto relates@
+LIndian caravans passed through 7aisan and likewise ,abatea# Indian merchants,
wherever they went, were importers and missionaries of Indian ideas# (here need be no
surprise therefore if direct Indian imports are found in the syncretistic medley of
7andean nosis+# 8%ra>nanananda, 9-:
*pace does not permit us to recount the numerous authorities who are in agreement as to
the westward spread of Indian and !uddhist concepts centuries before and into the
Christian era# " number of them may be found in %ra>nanananda;s book, including a +7r#
Cust,+ who evinced that trade between India and Aemen +was established not later than
-111 !#C#+ Aemen is very close to Israel, and by the first century CE there were plenty of
Indians in the 3oman Empire#
Eespite the popularity of the Jesus-in-India tale, the claim is not accepted by mainstream
authorities, either Christian or secular# (he tale;s proponents assert that scholars re>ect
Jesus in India because of $estern imperialism and the inability to accept that Christ
could have been influenced by !uddhism# In the case of mythicists, however, the reason
Jesus is denied as having gone to India is because he is a pagan sun god remade into a
Jewish +human+ messiah# (hus, it is not a =uestion of a +historical Jesus+ being in India
and the East but of a variety of solar cults that worshipped a similar deity with similar
rituals, doctrines and myths#
The )Lost Years) Are Astrotheo"o'ica"
Over the centuries Jesus;s so-called +lost years+ and post-
crucifixion life have provided much fodder for the fertile
human imagination, leading to speculation, legends, traditions
and myths that the great godman and sage lived and studied in a
variety of places# Once the fable of Christ became popular,
numerous towns, villages, cities and nations wished to establish
some sort of connection# Instead of recogni2ing that such a
significant omission as Jesus;s +lost years+ is an indication of
the mythical nature of the tale, individuals using typical
priestcraft have come up with countless extraordinary
adventures of the +historical Jesus#+ )nfortunately for the
believers, however, not only is the gospel story itself but so too
are these Jesus-the-lobetrotter tales mere deluding smoke and
mirrors, and the reason for the gap in Jesus;s biography is
because he was not a +real person+ but a pagan sun god turned into a Jewish messiah# In
the mythos revolving around the sun god, there need be no accounting for +lost years,+ as
the +age+ of -. represents the sun at high noon, while the ./ or 01 represents the days of
the lunar or solar months, respectively#
$hen religions are investigated with a profound knowledge of mythology, the
correspondences are clearly revealed, and it becomes evident that it is not the case that
this miracleworker or that godman traveled to this place or that, as has been rumored to
have occurred with >ust about every god or goddess# In actuality, it is the legends,
traditions and myths concerning these gods, godmen or gurus that have been spread far
and wide by their proponents, priests and propagandists# "s was the case with the
missionary and his brother in Japan, who were taken for the ob>ect of worship they were
proselyti2ing, so has it developed in other parts of the world over the millennia
concerning not only Jesus but also many other deities, such as the virgin-born, crucified
7exican god Muet2alcoatl, whose similar +life+ and religion led to claims that +Jesus+
was in "merica# (he reason for the similarities, however, is because both Jesus and
Muet2alcoatl are sun gods with the same attendant holidays and practices#
In the final analysis, it is not possible that Jesus could have lived years after the
crucifixion, fathered children and died in several different places, as legends represent#
(he past explanation for such discrepancies has been metaphysical, deeming Jesus to be
multidimensional and capable of simultaneous incarnations in various locations# *uch an
explanation, of course, will not satisfy the skeptic and scientist# Or the mythologist, who
simply knows better, because she or he has studied in depth the products of the human
mind# !ecause the basic story of Christ revolves around the sun, which was highly
esteemed the world over beginning many millennia ago, the myth is likewise found
around the globe# (o the basic mythos and ritual were added various embellishments
according to the place and era, and for a variety of reasons# In the end, Jesus the
lobetrotter is a not a historical personage who magically appeared all over the world, bi-
locating and flying on the backs of birds# +Jesus Christ+ is mythical creature, to be found
globally only between the pages of a book#
Sources-
Capt, E# 3aymond, The Traditions of Glastonbury, "rtisan, -?/0
Ellis, %eter !#, +Our Eruid Cousins,+ www#hinduism-today#com'.111'.'.111-.--H#html
5uc, 7# 6;"bbN, Christianity in China, Tartary, and Thibet, I, 6ondon, 6ongman O Co#,
-/F4
7oor, Edward, *impson, ed#, The Hindu Pantheon, Indological !ook 5ouse, India, -?H/
,otovitch, ,icholas, The Unknown Life of esus Christ, (ree of 6ife %ublications, C",
-?/1
,unos de *antos, "rysio, +(he )nknown 6ife of Jesus Christ--Comments,+
www#rickrichards#com'>c'JesusComment.#html
%ra>nanananda, *wami, Christ the Saviour and the Christ !yth, Calcutta, -?/9
%rophet, Eli2abeth Clare, The Lost "ears of esus, *ummit )niversity %ress, -?/9
3oerich, ,icholas, #ltai$Hi%alaya, "dventures )nlimited, .11-