You must remember that the version of Jesus’ life as told by the caravan merchants to the Buddhists in Tibet is what they knew themselves of the life of Jesus. One may wonder why the Buddhists would be interested in recording the life of Jesus born in a faraway country. We only need to go through the text brought to us by Notovitch to realize that Jesus traveled to the East during his lifetime, and stayed with the Buddhists for quite a long time, studying their sacred scriptures and learning their ways. It is clear that they themselves considered him as an enlightened being and were very sorry to hear of his ‘death’ in Palestine.
According to the scrolls found by Notovitch, Issa, at the age of thirteen, was expected to take a wife just like any other Israelite. Many of the people living in his neighbourhood wanted Issa as son-in-law because of his good qualities and his wisdom which he showed when discussing on spirituality. Issa left his house in secret, and went out of Jerusalem in the company of merchants toward the Sindh in India. According to the scrolls, he did so to be able to study ‘the laws of the Great Buddhas’. He was fourteen when he reached the Sindh, and he settled among the Aryas. His fame spread rapidly in the Northern Sindh and the Jains were pleading him to stay with them. But he decided to leave after some time, and visited Orissa in Jaggarnaut, where he was received by the Brahmin priests.
The Brahmin priests taught him many things: to read and understand the Vedas, to heal by prayer and to explain the Holy scriptures, to cast out evil spirits out of the body of man, and to restore the human body.
According to the scrolls, he spent six years in Jaggarnaut, Rajagriha, Benares and other holy cities. All loved him and he lived in peace with everyone. But as a teacher, he used to teach everyone, irrespective of their caste and creed. It is said that the Brahmin priests did not appreciate that he also taught to the Soudras, who were considered by them as inferior beings, often treated as slaves by them. Issa said to the Soudras: ‘God the father establishes no difference between his children, who are all equally dear to him.’ Issa eventually rejected the Vedas, saying that its truth has been perverted. He also taught against idol worship, and taught the Soudras and Vaisyas to treat all as one, and to help and assist the weak and poor.
We learn that the Brahmin priests became very angry with Issa and decided to put him to death. But Issa, warned of this danger by the Soudras, fled from Jaggarnaut, and left for the country of the Goutamides, the birthplace of Buddha Sakya Muni. Having learnt the Pali language perfectly, Issa started studying the sacred scrolls of the Soutras. And six years later, he was able to explain the content perfectly.
After this, he left Nepal and the Himalayas, and descended into the valley of Rajpoutan, continued westward, preaching to various people on his way. His fame spread as well among the pagans who decided to abandon their idols and pray God as Issa taught them.
His fame also reached neighbouring countries, and when he entered Persia (Iran), the priests feared him and forbade the inhabitants to listen to him. When they saw that all the villages received him with joy, they decided to arrest him and brought before the High priest who asked him about the new God he was teaching to the people. To whom Issa replied, ‘It is not of a new god that I speak, but of our Heavenly Father, who existed before the beginning…’ After listening to what he had to say, they decided not to harm him, but to let him leave the country immediately.
According to the scrolls, he was twenty-nine when he reached Israel and started his ministry there. He taught in every city of Israel for three years. According to the manuscript, it was Pontius Pilate, and not the Jewish priests, who became disturbed by the popularity of Jesus and asked one of his spies to accuse him. Indeed, this idea is in contradiction with what we might learn from other sources, but we must realize that the merchants coming from Palestine do not necessarily have all the inside informations. This could be their own view of how Jesus was brought to justice and crucified in Jerusalem. Other sources which I will present to you later will show a different view of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, and his role in the life of Jesus.
Again, according to the manuscript, Pilate gave Jesus’ body to his relatives after crucifixion and he was placed in a tomb near the crucifixion place. (Which is a very curious fact, since crucified and condemned people are generally not placed in tombs, but allowed to be eaten up by wild beasts in the desert) Three days later, when the governor sent soldiers to take the body and bury it elsewhere to avoid uprising of the people, they found the tomb open and empty. The rumor spread immediately that God had sent angels to take away the mortal remains of the saint. The disciples of Issa continued to preach in his name, and went in all directions to share the teachings of Jesus in various countries around.
Complete text of The unknown life of Jesus here:
http://www.atmajyoti.org/sw_unknown_life.asp
Hemis Monastery in Tibet
Nicolas Notovitch
