The ripples of controversy spurred by Dan Brown, with his novel, DaVinci Code finally seems to have settled down. OK, good... Can now we give Jesus, probably the most amazing human being ever born, some peace of mind?
NOPE.. The ever so hard-working historians have dug up another old alternative story to Jesus Legacy. And this one, provided it get enough attention, may actually have more profound implications on christianity than any other conspiracy theories it have faced before..
AQUARIAN GOSPELS - A preacher named Levi H Dowling published a book titled "Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ" in 1908. Dowling described it as having been transcribed from the AKASHIC records. The akashic records is a mythic concept described as "The Mind of God", a compendium of mystical knowledge, which is'nt physically documented; but is accessable only by spiritual enlightenment. These records are described to contain all knowledge of our earth, the history of the cosmos, mystery of creation.... You name it, it got it!
What Mr. Dowling and his fellow believers tries to depict is, where Jesus was, and what he was doing, between the time he was aged 13 to 30. They've been able to develop some fascinating theories thanks to the fact that the four canonical Gospels say little about what Jesus did between the nativity and the beginning of his ministry. The only record we have about Jesus's activity during this time period is a brief statement at the end of Luke's canonic-gospel's Chapter 2 (from the New Jerusalem Bible):
"And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and with people."
Dowling suggests that,for Jesus to gain these qualities, he could'nt have been in Israel, practising carpentry while hanging around at his parent's house, but he was thousands of miles east from Israel ---- in INDIA, studying Buddhism!!
OK.. the story goes like this. By the time Jesus was 13 he travelled to India, through the famous Silk-Route. He lived with the monks near the current India-Nepal border and studied the principles and values of Buddhism. We'll have to acknowledge that, teachings of Jesus had very close resemblance to Buddhist concepts, and had no resemblance to any relligious doctrine prevailing in Israel during that time.. Even to the teachings of John, the Baptist.
Well, the India connection with Jesus ends here in Aquarian gospels. He then returned to Israel after 18 years, and the rest is history.. But the story is not finished..
In comes late 19th century religious leader Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of something known as Ahmadiyya movement. Theological basis of the Ahmadi belief is that after his Resurrection from the tomb, Jesus had fled Palestine to avoid recapture and journeyed back to the familiar lands of India. Jesus settled in Kashmir where he died a natural death of old age, and was laid to rest in Srinagar, Kashmir.
There's a shrine known as ROZA BAL located in Khanyar district of Srinagar, inside which a sage named YUZ ASAF is burried, who according to local legend, came from Palestine during the 1st century and possessed miraculous healing power! Sounds familiar...?
The building also houses the burial tomb of a local Muslim saint, Mir Sayyid Naseeruddin. The body of Yuz Asaf is buried according to the Jewish tradition of directions and not according to rules of Islam. However, the body of Sayyid Naseeruddin has been buried in line with Islamic directions. Inside the tomb is a rock carving that is said to show feet with strange injury marks on it. Yeah..you guessed right.. possible crucifixion wounds!! Intrigued ..Are you?? You can research more about this on internet. Actually BBC produced a documentary on this topic a few years ago. You can watch this video at :
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8617432570680905331&ei=7ArzSs3vGYewwgOBjO2CDQ#