Long before Jesus was born, India had become a familiar place in the Middle East because of the trade, and also missionary work of Buddhists beyond the Indian subcontinent. Buddhism had strong roots throughout India including Afghanistan and also parts of Egypt and Israel. Buddha ended his physical existence in 543 B.C. and Mahavira of Jainism in 526 B.C. The influence of Buddhist and Hindu teachings in Indian subcontinent was significant at the time of Jesus.
Canonical Gospels record the history of Jesus until he was 12 and then start again at the age of 30, but the intervening 18 years of his youth is unaccounted for. There is only one reference to Jesus' whereabouts; Luke 2.52 says; "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." This doesn't really say where he increased his wisdom and knowledge to preach the glory of God. In this book the author Notovitch gives a summary of his findings from the manuscripts he found at a Buddhist monastery in Ladakh. In his original work in French, Notovitch gives a minute by minute description of his journey to Tibet in 1887. The manuscript discovered by him at the Himis monastery near Leh, the capital of Ladakh gave an account of Jesus, referred to as St. Issa. These manuscripts were brought from India to Tibet via Nepal. The original was written in Pali, the language of Buddhists. This was translated into Tibetan language by the Buddhist Lamas. St. Issa's doctrine is not canonized in Buddhism and hence not read by ordinary Buddhists, except for Lamas.
Notovitch summarizes his findings about Jesus (St. Issa) in 14 chapters. Jesus travels to India with a caravan of merchants to study and understand the Vedic and Buddhist teachings (Chapter 4, verses 12-13). His trip leads him to Jagannath, located in the modern state of Orissa where Hindu priests receive him with open arms and teach him Sanskrit language and Vedas (chapter 5, verses 3-4). Having studied Hinduism and Buddhism for six years, Jesus was deeply influenced by Buddha's teachings. He travels extensively in Northern India to spread the holy doctrine (chapter 5, verses 3-4). Jesus preaches against unfair treatment of shudras and vaishyas. His teachings focus on the equality of all men, irrespective of their wealth or physical strength or the caste. He works for the emancipation of the poor and downtrodden (chapter 5, verses 11, and 22-27.) He preaches in Jagannath, Rajagriha, Benares and other holy cities of Hinduism and Buddhism (chapter 5, verse 5). When Jesus is about 28 years old, he heads back to his homeland to preach the glory of God, passing through many countries; Afghanistan, Persia and many Middle Eastern countries, before arriving in Israel. Many people were deeply touched by his humility and his message and they become his followers.
Chapter 1 start with the Indian traders who had witnessed the execution of Jesus by the soldiers of Governor Pilate (chapter 1, verses 1-5, and chapter 14, verses 1-5,) and the efforts of Pilate to prosecute Jesus (chapter 10, verses 3-21 and chapter 11.)
Notovitch studied and summarized his findings in 1889, and later in 1929, Swami Abhedananda of the Ramakrishna Order (Vedanta Society) reviewed and verified the authenticity of the apocrypha by personally studying them at Himis monastery. Later Nicholas Roerich and Elisabeth Caspari confirmed the existence of these documents during their visits to the Buddhist monastery at Himis
The translation into English from the original French has been beautifully rendered, and the work of Notovitch is highly illuminating and explains the whereabouts of Jesus in his adolescent years. There are a number of books in literature that discusses the parallels in the acts and sayings of Jesus with that of Buddha. The summary of Notovitch reads like a lost gospel of Jesus Christ.
Canonical Gospels record the history of Jesus until he was 12 and then start again at the age of 30, but the intervening 18 years of his youth is unaccounted for. There is only one reference to Jesus' whereabouts; Luke 2.52 says; "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." This doesn't really say where he increased his wisdom and knowledge to preach the glory of God. In this book the author Notovitch gives a summary of his findings from the manuscripts he found at a Buddhist monastery in Ladakh. In his original work in French, Notovitch gives a minute by minute description of his journey to Tibet in 1887. The manuscript discovered by him at the Himis monastery near Leh, the capital of Ladakh gave an account of Jesus, referred to as St. Issa. These manuscripts were brought from India to Tibet via Nepal. The original was written in Pali, the language of Buddhists. This was translated into Tibetan language by the Buddhist Lamas. St. Issa's doctrine is not canonized in Buddhism and hence not read by ordinary Buddhists, except for Lamas.
Notovitch summarizes his findings about Jesus (St. Issa) in 14 chapters. Jesus travels to India with a caravan of merchants to study and understand the Vedic and Buddhist teachings (Chapter 4, verses 12-13). His trip leads him to Jagannath, located in the modern state of Orissa where Hindu priests receive him with open arms and teach him Sanskrit language and Vedas (chapter 5, verses 3-4). Having studied Hinduism and Buddhism for six years, Jesus was deeply influenced by Buddha's teachings. He travels extensively in Northern India to spread the holy doctrine (chapter 5, verses 3-4). Jesus preaches against unfair treatment of shudras and vaishyas. His teachings focus on the equality of all men, irrespective of their wealth or physical strength or the caste. He works for the emancipation of the poor and downtrodden (chapter 5, verses 11, and 22-27.) He preaches in Jagannath, Rajagriha, Benares and other holy cities of Hinduism and Buddhism (chapter 5, verse 5). When Jesus is about 28 years old, he heads back to his homeland to preach the glory of God, passing through many countries; Afghanistan, Persia and many Middle Eastern countries, before arriving in Israel. Many people were deeply touched by his humility and his message and they become his followers.
Chapter 1 start with the Indian traders who had witnessed the execution of Jesus by the soldiers of Governor Pilate (chapter 1, verses 1-5, and chapter 14, verses 1-5,) and the efforts of Pilate to prosecute Jesus (chapter 10, verses 3-21 and chapter 11.)
Notovitch studied and summarized his findings in 1889, and later in 1929, Swami Abhedananda of the Ramakrishna Order (Vedanta Society) reviewed and verified the authenticity of the apocrypha by personally studying them at Himis monastery. Later Nicholas Roerich and Elisabeth Caspari confirmed the existence of these documents during their visits to the Buddhist monastery at Himis
The translation into English from the original French has been beautifully rendered, and the work of Notovitch is highly illuminating and explains the whereabouts of Jesus in his adolescent years. There are a number of books in literature that discusses the parallels in the acts and sayings of Jesus with that of Buddha. The summary of Notovitch reads like a lost gospel of Jesus Christ.
Reference:
The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ by Nicolas Notovitch
The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ by Nicolas Notovitch
2. The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ - The Original Text of Nicolas Notovitch's 1887 Discovery by Nicolas Notovitch
3. The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ: From an Ancient Manuscript Recently Discovered in a Buddhist Monastery by Nicolas Notovitch
3. The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ: From an Ancient Manuscript Recently Discovered in a Buddhist Monastery by Nicolas Notovitch
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