Regarding the existence of the Ladakh manuscript
Since it is still being claimed that Notovich was a fraud, it will be good to add some more evidence regarding the manuscript he discovered. Besides Swami Abhedananda, another disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Trigunatitananda went to the Himis monastery. The monks there assured him that Notovitch had spent some time in the monastery as he claimed, and they also showed him the manuscript.
He was also shown two paintings of Isha. One was a depiction of His conversation with the Samaritan Woman at the well. The other was of Isha meditating in the Himalayan forest surrounded by wild beasts that were tamed by His very presence. While in America the Swami described this latter painting to an American artist who reproduced it. (This is the painting on the cover of this booklet.) Later, Dr. Nicholas Roerich, the renowned scholar, philosopher, and explorer, traveled in Ladakh and also was shown the manuscript and assured by the monks that Sri Isha had indeed lived in several Buddhist monasteries during His "lost years." He wrote about his own viewing of the scrolls in his book The Heart of Asia.
In 1921 the Himis monastery was visited by Henrietta Merrick who, in her book In the World's Attic tells of learning about the records of Isha's life that were kept there. She wrote: "In Leh is the legend of Jesus who is called Isha, and the Monastery at Himis holds precious documents fifteen hundred years old which tell of the days that he passed in Leh where he was joyously received and where he preached." In 1939 Elizabeth Caspari (who later established the first Montessori school in the United States) and Mrs. Clarence Gasque visited the Himis monastery. The Abbot showed her some scrolls, which he allowed her to examine, saying: "These books say your Jesus was here." Robert Ravicz, a former professor of anthropology at California State University at Northridge, visited Himis in 1975. A Ladakh physician he met there spoke of Jesus' having been there during His "lost years." In the late 1970s Edward Noack, author of Amidst Ice and Nomads in High Asia, and his wife visited the Himis monastery.
A monk there told him: "There are manuscripts in our library that describe the journey of Jesus to the East." Toward the end of the twentieth century the diaries of a Moravian Missionary, Karl Marx, were discovered in which he writes of Notovitch and his finding of scrolls about "Saint Isha." (Notovitch also claimed that the Vatican Library had sixty-three manuscripts from India, China, Egypt, and Arabia-all giving information about Sri Isha's life.)
The Nathanamavali In the latter part of the nineteenth century Sri Vijay Krishna Goswami, another disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, chanced to travel with a group of very austere wandering ascetics in Western India that are known as Nath Yogis. During conversations with them they referred to one of their major gurus whom they called Isha Nath. Intrigued, he asked for more information and they showed him a book called the Nathanamavali. Here is the relevant portion of that book: "Isha Natha came to India at the age of fourteen. After this he returned to his own country and began preaching. Soon after, his brutish and materialistic countrymen conspired again him and had him crucified. After crucifixion, or perhaps even before it, Isha Natha entered samadhi by means of yoga. "Seeing him thus, the Jews presumed he was dead, and buried him in a tomb. At that very moment however, one of his gurus, the great Chetan Natha, happened to be in profound meditation in the lower reaches of the Himalayas, and he saw in a vision the tortures which Isha Natha was undergoing. He therefore made his body lighter than air and passed over to the land of Israel.
Since it is still being claimed that Notovich was a fraud, it will be good to add some more evidence regarding the manuscript he discovered. Besides Swami Abhedananda, another disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Trigunatitananda went to the Himis monastery. The monks there assured him that Notovitch had spent some time in the monastery as he claimed, and they also showed him the manuscript.
He was also shown two paintings of Isha. One was a depiction of His conversation with the Samaritan Woman at the well. The other was of Isha meditating in the Himalayan forest surrounded by wild beasts that were tamed by His very presence. While in America the Swami described this latter painting to an American artist who reproduced it. (This is the painting on the cover of this booklet.) Later, Dr. Nicholas Roerich, the renowned scholar, philosopher, and explorer, traveled in Ladakh and also was shown the manuscript and assured by the monks that Sri Isha had indeed lived in several Buddhist monasteries during His "lost years." He wrote about his own viewing of the scrolls in his book The Heart of Asia.
In 1921 the Himis monastery was visited by Henrietta Merrick who, in her book In the World's Attic tells of learning about the records of Isha's life that were kept there. She wrote: "In Leh is the legend of Jesus who is called Isha, and the Monastery at Himis holds precious documents fifteen hundred years old which tell of the days that he passed in Leh where he was joyously received and where he preached." In 1939 Elizabeth Caspari (who later established the first Montessori school in the United States) and Mrs. Clarence Gasque visited the Himis monastery. The Abbot showed her some scrolls, which he allowed her to examine, saying: "These books say your Jesus was here." Robert Ravicz, a former professor of anthropology at California State University at Northridge, visited Himis in 1975. A Ladakh physician he met there spoke of Jesus' having been there during His "lost years." In the late 1970s Edward Noack, author of Amidst Ice and Nomads in High Asia, and his wife visited the Himis monastery.
A monk there told him: "There are manuscripts in our library that describe the journey of Jesus to the East." Toward the end of the twentieth century the diaries of a Moravian Missionary, Karl Marx, were discovered in which he writes of Notovitch and his finding of scrolls about "Saint Isha." (Notovitch also claimed that the Vatican Library had sixty-three manuscripts from India, China, Egypt, and Arabia-all giving information about Sri Isha's life.)
The Nathanamavali In the latter part of the nineteenth century Sri Vijay Krishna Goswami, another disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, chanced to travel with a group of very austere wandering ascetics in Western India that are known as Nath Yogis. During conversations with them they referred to one of their major gurus whom they called Isha Nath. Intrigued, he asked for more information and they showed him a book called the Nathanamavali. Here is the relevant portion of that book: "Isha Natha came to India at the age of fourteen. After this he returned to his own country and began preaching. Soon after, his brutish and materialistic countrymen conspired again him and had him crucified. After crucifixion, or perhaps even before it, Isha Natha entered samadhi by means of yoga. "Seeing him thus, the Jews presumed he was dead, and buried him in a tomb. At that very moment however, one of his gurus, the great Chetan Natha, happened to be in profound meditation in the lower reaches of the Himalayas, and he saw in a vision the tortures which Isha Natha was undergoing. He therefore made his body lighter than air and passed over to the land of Israel.
"The day of his arrival was marked with thunder and lightning, for the gods were angry with the Jews, and the whole world trembled. When Chetan Natha arrived, he took the body of Isha Natha from the tomb, woke him from his samadhi, and later led him off to the sacred land of the Aryans. Isha Natha then established an ashram in the lower regions of the Himalayas and he established the cult of the lingam there." This tells us the age of Jesus when He reached India. In samadhi yogis often leave their bodies, so it is not amiss to say that Jesus did indeed "die" on the cross. "The cult of the lingam" refers to the Shaivite branch of Hinduism.25 However, at that time Shaivism was something very different from what it is now in India. "Shiva," which literally means "He Who is All Bliss and the Giver of Happiness," was considered a name of the Absolute Being and often carried the connotation of God as Infinite Light. Basically Shaivism was that philosophy which now is called Advaita Vedanta, and Yoga was its prime characteristic.The Mosque of Fatehpur Sikri In the sixteenth century Akbar the Great build a mosque which has these two inscriptions: "Jesus (peace be upon him) has said, 'The world is a bridge. Pass over it, but do not settle down on it! He who hopes for an hour may hope for eternity! The world is but an hour: spend it in devotion, for the rest is of no worth.'" "Jesus (peace be upon him) has said, 'The world is a proud house, take this as a warning and do not build on it!'" These quotations have no reference to the actual life of Jesus, but they do show that words of Jesus were known in India that were unknown elsewhere, thereby indicating that Jesus had lived in India and His memory and words remained alive there.Indian Sufi Traditions Jesus is a major spiritual factor for the Sufis of India.
"The seal of universal holiness, above which there is no other holy, is our Lord Jesus." "The soul who realized the truth even before he claimed to be Alpha and Omega, is Christ." These two statements are from the Indian Sufi tradition. Here are some saying of Jesus recorded in Indian Sufi books: "Jesus, son of Mary, may peace be upon him, said: 'He who seeks after the world is like one who drinks sea water. The more he drinks, the more his thirst increases, until it kills him.'" "Jesus, son of Mary, may peace be upon him, said: "The world consists of three days: yesterday, which has passed, from which you have gained nothing; tomorrow, of which you do not know whether you will reach it or not; and today, in which you exist, so avail yourself of it.!'"
"When Jesus, son of Mary, may peace be upon him, was asked: 'How are you this morning?' he replied: 'Unable to forestall what I hope, or to put off what I fear, bound by my works, with all my good in another's hand. There is no poor man poorer than I.'"
the further sayings of Muhammad mention that Jesus died in Kashmir at the age of one hundred and twenty years.
"When Jesus, son of Mary, may peace be upon him, was asked: 'How are you this morning?' he replied: 'Unable to forestall what I hope, or to put off what I fear, bound by my works, with all my good in another's hand. There is no poor man poorer than I.'"
the further sayings of Muhammad mention that Jesus died in Kashmir at the age of one hundred and twenty years.
