methodical and authoritative examination of the evidence of Christ's life beyond the Middle East
before the Crucifixion and in India and elsewhere after it. This article is a summary of Kersten's
exhaustive research into Christ's travels after the Crucifixion, his arrival in India with the Mother Mary
and finally his death and entombment in Kashmir. Kersten notes the many parallels of Christ's
teachings with other religious and cultural traditions and suggests that at least some of these figures may have been
one and the same personality. It is not possible, Kersten asserts, to disprove that Christ went to India. The current
information documenting Christ's life is restricted to the gospels and the work of Church theologians. One can
hardly trust these sources to be objective considering their obvious interest in maintaining the authority of their
Church and its grip on the masses.
The Russian scholar, Nicolai Notovich, was the first to suggest that
Christ may have gone to India. In 1887,
Notovich, a Russian scholar and Orientalist, arrived in Kashmir during
one of several journeys to the Orient. At
the Zoji-la pass Notovich was a guest in a Buddhist monastery, where
a monk told him of the bhodisattva saint
called "Issa". Notovich was stunned by the remarkable parallels of
Issa's teachings and martyrdom with that of
Christ's life, teachings and crucifixion.
For about sixteen years, Christ travelled through Turkey, Persia, Western
Europe and possibly England. He finally
arrived with Mary to a place near Kashmir, where she died. After many
years in Kashmir, teaching to an
appreciative population, who venerated him as a great prophet, reformer
and saint, he died and was buried in a
tomb in Kashmir itself. The first step in Christ's trail after the
Crucifixion is found in the Persian scholar F.
Mohammed's historical work "Jami-ut-tuwarik" which tells of Christ's
arrival in the kingdom of Nisibis, by royal
invitation. (Nisibis is today known as Nusaybin in Turkey) . This is
reiterated in the Imam Abu Jafar Muhammed's
"Tafsi-Ibn-i-Jamir at-tubri." Kersten found that in both Turkey and
Persia there are ancient stories of a saint called
"Yuz Asaf" ("Leader of the Healed"), whose behaviour, miracles and
teachings are remarkably similar to that of
Christ.
The many Islamic and Hindu historical works recording local history
and legends of kings, noblemen and saints of
the areas thought to be travelled by Jesus also give evidence of a
Christ like man; the Koran, for example, refers
to Christ as "Issar". Further east, the Kurdish tribes of Eastern Anatolia
have several stories describing Christ's
stay in Eastern Turkey after his resurrection. These traditional legends
have been ignored by the theological
community. Kersten also suggests that prior to Christ's mission in
the Middle East, he may have been exposed to
Buddhist teachings in Egypt. After his birth in Bethlehem, his family
fled to Egypt to avoid Herod's persecution.
Surprisingly some scholars now acknowledge that Buddhist schools probably
existed in Alexandria long before
the Christian era.
More clues are drawn from the Apocrypha. These are texts said to have
been written by the Apostles but which
are not officially accepted by the Church. Indeed, the Church regards
them as heresy since a substantial amount of
the Apocrypha directly contradicts Church dogma and theology. The Apocryphal
'Acts of Thomas', for example,
tell how Christ met Thomas several times after the Crucifixion. In
fact they tell us how Christ sent Thomas to teach
his spirituality in India. This is corroborated by evidence found in
the form of stone inscriptions at Fatehpur Sikri,
near the Taj Mahal, in Northern India. They include "Agrapha", which
are sayings of Christ that don't exist in the
mainstream Bible. Their grammatical form is most similar to that of
the Apocryphal gospel of Thomas. This is but
one example giving credibility to the idea that texts not recognised
by the Church hold important clues about
Christ's true life and his teachings.
In tracing Christ's movements to India and beyond, Kersten also discovered
that many of his teachings, which
have been gradually edited out of the modern Bible were originally
Eastern in nature. Principles such as karma and
re-incarnation, for example, were common knowledge then, and seem to
have been reaffirmed by Christ. Imagine
the implications that this discovery holds for Western Christianity
and its churches, who have kept Christ in their
doctrinal top pockets and have constrained the entire Western culture
within the narrow teachings of blind faith,
organised religion and original sin!
Further clues are cited from The Apocryphal Acts of Thomas, and the
Gospel of Thomas which are of Syrian
origin and have been dated to the 4th Century AD, or possibly earlier.
They are Gnostic Scriptures and despite
the evidence indicating their authenticity, they are not given credence
by mainstream theologians. In these texts
Thomas tells of Christ's appearance in Andrapolis, Paphlagonia (today
known as in the extreme north of Anatolia)
as a guest of the King of Andrappa. There he met with Thomas who had
arrived separately. It is at Andrapolis
that Christ entreated Thomas to go to India to begin spreading his
teachings. It seems that Christ and Mary then
moved along the West coast of Turkey, proof of this could be an old
stopping place for travellers called the
"Home of Mary", found along the ancient silk route. From here Christ
could easily have entered Europe via
France. He may have even travelled as far as the British Isles, for
in England there is an ancient oak tree called the
"Hallowed Tree" which (says local legend) was planted by Christ himself.
In his travels through Persia (today's Iran) Christ became known as
Yuz Asaf (leader of the Healed). We know
this because a Kashmiri historical document confirms that Isa (the
Koranic name for Christ) was in fact also
known as Yuz Asaf. The Jami - uf - Tamarik, Volume II, tells that Yuz
Asaf visited Masslige, where he attended
the grave of Shem, Noah's son. There are various other accounts such
as Agha Mustafa's "Awhali
Shahaii-i-paras" that tell of Yuz Asaf's travels and teachings all
over Persia. It seems that Yuz Asaf blessed
Afghanistan and Pakistan with his presence also. There are for example
two plains in Eastern Afghanistan near
Gazni and Galalabad, bearing the name of the prophet Yuz Asaf. Again
in the Apocryphal Acts of Thomas,
Thomas says that he and Christ attended the Court of King Gundafor
of Taxila (now Pakistan), in about 47AD,
and that eventually both the King and his brother accepted Christ's
teachings. Kersten claims that there are more
than twenty one historical documents that bear witness to the existence
of Jesus in Kashmir, where he was known
also as Yuz Asaf and Issa. For example the Bhavishyat Mahapurana (volume
9 verses 17-32) contains an account of Issa-Masih (Jesus the Messiah).
It describes Christ's arrival in the Kashmir region of India and his encounter
with King Shalivahana, who ruled the Kushan area (39-50AD), and who entertained
Christ as a guest for some time.
{Christ's life in India, after the crucifixion, challenges current Church
teachings at their very foundation. The
theology of Saint Paul, the major influence on modern Christianity,
is empty fanaticism in the light of this discovery.
The historian Mullah Nadini (1413) also recounts a story of Yuz Asaf
who was a contemporary to King
Gopadatta, and confirms that he also used the name Issar, ie. Jesus.
There is also much historical truth in the
towns and villages of Northern India to prove that Jesus and his mother
Mary spent time in the area. For instance,
at the border of a small town called Mari, there is nearby a mountain
called Pindi Point, upon which is an old tomb
called Mai Mari da Asthan or "The final resting place of Mary". The
tomb is said to be very old and local Muslims
venerate it as the grave of Issa's (ie Christ's) Mother. The tomb itself
is oriented East-West consistent with the
Jewish tradition, despite the fact it is within a Muslim area. Assuming
its antiquity, such a tomb could not be Hindu
either since the Hindus contemporary to Christ cremated their dead
and scattered their ashes as do Hindus today.
Following Christ's trail into Kashmir, 40km south of Srinagar, between
the villages of Naugam and Nilmge is a
meadow called Yuz-Marg (the meadow of Yuz Asaf, ie. Jesus). Then there
is the sacred building called Aish
Muqam, 60km south east of Srinagar and 12km from Bij Bihara. "Aish"
says Kersten is derived from "Issa" and
"Muqam" place of rest or repose. Within the Aish Muqam is a sacred
relic called the 'Moses Rod' or the 'Jesus
Rod', which local legend says, belonged to Moses himself. Christ is
said to also have held it, perhaps to confirm
his Mosaic heritage. Above the town of Srinagar is a temple known as
"The Throne of Solomon", which dates
back to at least 1000BC, which King Gopadatta had restored at about
the same time as Christ's advent. The
restoration was done by a Persian architect who personally left four
inscriptions on the side steps of the temple.
The third and fourth inscription read: "At this time Yuz Asaf announced
his prophetic calling in Year 50 and 4" and
"He is Jesus -- Prophet of the Sons of Israel"! Herein lies a powerful
confirmation of Kersten's theory. Kersten
suggests that Christ may have travelled to the South of India also,
finally returning to Kashmir to die at the age of
approximately 80 years. Christ's tomb, says Kersten, lies in Srinagar's
old town in a building called Rozabal.
"Rozabal" is an abbreviation of Rauza Bal, meaning "tomb of a prophet".
At the entrance there is an inscription
explaining that Yuz Asaf is buried along with another Moslem saint.
Both have gravestones which are oriented in
North-South direction, according to Moslem tradition. However, through
a small opening the true burial chamber
can be seen, in which there is the Sarcophagus of Yuz Asaf in East-West
(Jewish) orientation!
According to Professor Hassnain, who has studied this tomb, there are
carved footprints on the grave stones and
when closely examined, carved images of a crucifix and a rosary. The
footprints of Yuz Asaf have what appear to
be scars represented on both feet, if one assumes that they are crucifixion
scars, then their position is consistent
with the scars shown in the Turin Shroud (left foot nailed over right).
Crucifixion was not practised in Asia, so it is
quite possible that they were inflicted elsewhere, such as the Middle
East. The tomb is called by some as "Hazrat
Issa Sahib" or "Tomb of the Lord Master Jesus". Ancient records acknowledge
the existence of the tomb as long
ago as 112AD. The Grand Mufti, a prominent Muslim Cleric, himself has
confirmed that Hazrat Isa Sahib is
indeed the tomb of Yuz Asaf!
Thus Kersten deduces that the tomb of Jesus Christ Himself is in Kashmir!
he implications of Kersten's discovery are monumental. Christ's life in India, after the crucifixion, challenges current Church teachings at their very foundation. The theology of Saint Paul, the major influence on modern Christianity, is empty fanaticism in the light of this discovery. Threatened also are the doctrines of obedience to the Church, original sin, salvation through blind faith and the non-existence of reincarnation, etc. Yet these ideas underlie the morality and ethics, (or lack of them), that govern the entire Western social structure, from the legal system to medical health care schemes. It is no wonder that the modern Churches and their secular interests refuse to consider such a proposition as Kersten's!
The Synopsis of "Jesus Lived In India" by Holger Kersten was written
by Dr Ramesh Manocha &
Anna Potts.
