The Life of Saint Issa
FRONT MATTER — pp. 552-555: the book's introduction; excerpts from J. Archibald Douglas's "The Chief Lama of Himis on the Alleged 'Unknown Life of Christ'" (The Nineteenth Century, 39 (January-June 1896), pp. 667-677); the Max Mueller postscript; and the Abhedananda / Nicholas Roerich notes.
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The Life of Saint Issa
In 1894 Nicolas Notovitch published a book called The Unknown Life of Messiah. He was a Russian doctor who journeyed extensively throughout Afghanistan, India, and Tibet. During one of his journeys he was visiting Leh, the capital of Ladak, near the buddhist convent Himis. He had an accident that resulted in his leg being broken. This gave him the unscheduled opportunity to stay awhile at the Himis convent.
While convalescing, Notovitch was told of an ancient record of the life of Yeshua known as "The Life of St. Issa." Notovitch enlisted a member of his party to translate the Tibetan volumes while he carefully noted each verse in the back pages of his journal. When he returned to the western world there was much controversy as to the authenticity of the document. He was accused of creating a hoax and was ridiculed as an imposter. In his defense he encouraged a scientific expedition to prove the original Tibetan documents existed. Archibald Douglas and Max Müller recognized Notovich's work as fraudulent, although it was not immediately clear (to Müller, at least) what the source of the fraud was. Perhaps the best thing is to read excerpts from the original, absolutely scathing account, from the Nineteenth Century academic journal itself (long out of copyright):
(from The Nineteenth Century, 39 (January-June 1896) pp. 667-677 THE CHIEF LAMA OF HIMIS ON THE ALLEGED 'UNKNOWN LIFE OF MESSIAH')
"I was resident in Madras during the whole of last year, and did not expect to have an opportunity of investigating the facts respecting the Unknown Life of Messiah at so early a date. Removing to the North-West Provinces in the early part of the present year, I | 668 found that it would be practicable during the three months of the University vacation to travel through Kashmir to Ladakh, following the route taken by M. Notovitch, and to spend sufficient time at the monastery at Himis to learn the truth on this important question. I may here mention, en passant, that I did not find it necessary to break even a little finger, much less a leg, in order to gain admittance to Himis Monastery, where I am now staying for a few days, enjoying the kind hospitality of the Chief Lama (or Abbot), the same gentleman who, according to M. Notovitch, nursed him so kindly 'under the painful circumstances connected with his memorable visit.'
Coming to Himis with an entirely open mind on the question, and in no way biassed by the formation of a previous judgment, I was fully prepared to find that M. Notovitch's narrative was correct, and to congratulate him on his marvellous discovery. One matter of detail, entirely unconnected with the genuineness of the Russian traveller's literary discovery, shook my faith slightly in the general veracity of the discoverer....
...I will now call attention to several leading statements in M. Notovitch's book, all of which will be found to be definitely contradicted in the document signed by the Chief Superior of Himis Monastery, and sealed with his official seal. This statement I have sent to Professor Max Müller for inspection, together with the subjoined declaration of Mr. Joldan, an educated Tibetan gentleman, to whose able assistance I am deeply indebted.
A more patient and painstaking interpreter could not be found, nor one better fitted for the task.
The extracts from M. Notovitch's book were slowly translated to the Lama, and were thoroughly understood by him. The questions and answers were fully discussed at two lengthy interviews before being prepared as a document for signature, and when so prepared were carefully translated again to the Lama by Mr. Joldan, and discussed by him with that gentleman, and with a venerable monk who appeared to act as the Lama's private secretary.
I may here say that I have the fullest confidence in the veracity and honesty of this old and respected Chief Lama, who appears to be held in the highest esteem, not only among Buddhists, but by all Europeans who have made his acquaintance. As he says, he has nothing whatever to gain by the concealment of facts, or by any departure from the truth.
His indignation at the manner in which he has been travestied by the ingenious author was of far too genuine a character to be feigned, and I was much interested when, in our final interview, he asked me if in Europe there existed no means of punishing a person | 670 who told such untruths. I could only reply that literary honesty is taken for granted to such an extent in Europe, that literary forgery of the nature committed by M. Notovitch could not, I believed, be punished by our criminal law.
With reference to M. Notovitch's declaration that he is going to Himis to verify the statements made in his book, I would take the liberty of earnestly advising him, if he does so, to disguise himself at least as effectually as on the occasion of his former visit. M. Notovitch will not find himself popular at Himis, and might not gain admittance, even on the pretext of having
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another broken leg.
The following extracts have been carefully selected from the Unknown Life of Messiah, and are such that on their truth or falsehood may be said to depend the value of M. Notovitch's story.
After describing at length the details of a dramatic performance, said to have been witnessed in the courtyard of Himis Monastery, M. Notovitch writes:
After having crossed the courtyard and ascended a staircase lined with prayer-wheels, we passed through two rooms encumbered with idols, and came out upon the terrace, where I seated myself on a bench opposite the venerable Lama, whose eyes flashed with intelligence (p. 110).
(This extract is important as bearing on the question of identification; see Answers 1 and 2 of the Lama's statement: and it may here be remarked that the author's account of the approach to the Chief Lama's reception room and balcony is accurate.) Then follows a long résumé of a conversation on religious matters, in the course of which the Abbot is said to have made the following observations amongst others:
We have a striking example of this (Nature-worship) in the ancient Egyptians, who worshipped animals, trees, and stones, the winds and the rain (p. 114).
The Assyrians, in seeking the way which should lead them to the feet of the Creator, turned their eyes to the stars (p. 115).
Perhaps the people of Israel have demonstrated in a more flagrant manner than any other, man's love for the concrete (p. 115).
The name of Issa is held in great respect by the Buddhists, but little is known about him save by the Chief Lamas who have read the scrolls relating to his life (p. 120).
The documents brought from India to Nepal, and from Nepal to Tibet, concerning Issa's existence, are written in the Pāli language, and are now in Lassa; but a copy in our language---that is, the Tibetan---exists in this convent (p. 123).
Two days later I sent by a messenger to the Chief Lama a present comprising an alarm, a watch, and a thermometer (p. 125).
We will now pass on to the description given by the author of his re-entry into the monastery with a broken leg:
I was carried with great care to the best of their chambers, and placed on a bed of soft materials, near to which stood a prayer-wheel. All this took place under the immediate surveillance of the Superior, who affectionately pressed the hand I offered him in gratitude for his kindness (p. 127).
While a youth of the convent kept in motion the prayer-wheel near my bed, the venerable Superior entertained me with endless stories, constantly taking my alarm and watch from their cases, and asking me questions as to their uses, and the way they should be worked. At last, acceding to my earnest entreaties, he ended by bringing me two large bound volumes, with leaves yellowed by time, and from them he read to me, in the Tibetan language, the biography of Issa, which I carefully noted in my carnet de voyage, as my interpreter translated what he said (p. 128).
This last extract is in a sense the most important of all, as will be seen when it is compared with Answers 3, 4, and 5 in the statement of the Chief Superior of Himis Monastery. That statement I now append. The original is in the hands of Professor Max Müller, as I have said, as also is the appended declaration of Mr. Joldan, of Leh.
The statement of the Lama, if true---and there is every reason to believe it to be so---disposes once and for ever of M. Notovitch's claim to have discovered a Life of Issa among the Buddhists of Ladakh. My questions to the Lama were framed briefly, and with as much simplicity as possible, so that there might be no room for any mistake or doubt respecting the meaning of these questions.
My interpreter, Mr. Joldan, tells me that he was most careful to translate the Lama's answers verbally and literally, to avoid all possible misapprehension. The statement is as follows:
Question 1. You are the Chief Lama (or Abbot) of Himis Monastery?
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Answer 1. Yes.
Question 2. For how long have you acted continuously in that capacity?
Answer 2. For fifteen years.
Question 3. Have you or any of the Buddhist monks in this monastery ever seen here a European with an injured leg?
Answer 3. No, not during the last fifteen years. If any sahib suffering from serious injury had stayed in this monastery it would have been my duty to report the matter to the Wazir of Leh. I have never had occasion to do so.
Question 4. Have you or any of your monks ever shown any Life of Issa to any sahib, and allowed him to copy and translate the same?
Answer 4. There is no such book in the monastery, and during my term of office no sahib has been allowed to copy or translate any of the manuscripts in the monastery.
Question 5. Are you aware of the existence of any book in any of the Buddhist monasteries of Tibet bearing on the life of Issa?
Answer 5. I have been for forty-two years a Lama, and am well acquainted with all the well-known Buddhist books and manuscripts, and I have never heard of one which mentions the name of Issa, and it is my firm and honest belief that none such exists. I have inquired of our principal Lamas in other monasteries of Tibet, and they are not acquainted with any books or manuscripts which mention the name of Issa.
Question 6. M. Nicolas Notovitch, a Russian gentleman who visited your monastery between seven and eight years ago, states that you discussed with him the religions of the ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, and the people of Israel.
Answer 6. I know nothing whatever about the Egyptians, Assyrians, and the people of Israel, and do not know anything of their religions whatsoever. I have never mentioned these peoples to any sahib.
[I was reading M. Notovitch's book to the Lama at the time, and he burst out with, 'Sun, sun, sun, manna mi dug!' which is Tibetan for, 'Lies, lies, lies, nothing but lies!' I have read this to him as part of the statement, which he is to sign---as his deliberate opinion of M. Notovitch's book. He appears perfectly satisfied on the matter. J. A. D.]...
Regarded, then, in the light of a work of the imagination, M. Notovitch's book fails to please, because it does not present that most fascinating feature of fiction, a close semblance of probability.
And yet, if I am rightly informed, the French version has gone through eleven editions; so M. Notovitch's effort of imagination has found, doubtless, a substantial reward. In face of the evidence adduced, we must reject the theory generously put forward by Professor Max Müller, that M. Notovitch was the victim of a cunning 'hoax' on the part of the Buddhist monks of Himis.
...I do not believe that the venerable monk who presides over Himis Monastery would have consented to the practice of such a deception, and I do not think that any of the monks are capable of carrying out such a deception successfully. The departures from truth, on other points, which can be proved against M. Notovitch render such a solution highly improbable....
...I have visited Himis, and have endeavoured by patient and impartial inquiry to find out the truth respecting M. Notovitch's remarkable story, with the result that, while I have not found one single fact to support his statements, all the weight of evidence goes to disprove them beyond all shadow of doubt. It is certain that no such passages as M. Notovitch pretends to have translated exist in the monastery of Himis, and therefore it is impossible that he could have 'faithfully reproduced' the same.
The following "postscript" was amended to the article by Max Müller himself:
"...After having read, however, the foregoing article by Professor Douglas, I feel bound most humbly to apologize to the excellent Lamas of that monastery for having thought them capable of such frivolity. After the complete refutation, or, I should rather say, annihilation, of M. Notovitch by Professor A. Douglas, there does not seem to be any further necessity---
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nay, any excuse---for trying to spare the feelings of that venturesome Russian traveler. He was not hoaxed, but he tried to hoax us. Mr. Douglas has sent me the original papers, containing the depositions of the Chief Priest of the Monastery of him is and of his interpreter, and I gladly testify that they entirely agree with the extracts given in the article, and are signed and sealed by the Chief Lama and by Mr. Joldan, formerly Postmaster of Ladakh, who acted as interpreter between the priests and Professor A. Douglas. The papers are dated Himis Monastery, Little Tibet, June 3, 1894.
I ought perhaps to add that I cannot claim any particular merit in having proved the Vie inconnue de Jésus-Christ---that is, the Life of Christ taken from MSS. in the monasteries of Tibet---to be a mere fiction. I doubt whether any Sanskrit or Pāli scholar, in fact any serious student of Buddhism, was taken in by M. Notovitch. One might as well look for the waters of Jordan in the Brahmaputra as for a Life of Christ in Tibet.
F. Max Müller.
November 15, 1895."
Another one of his skeptics was Swami Abhedananda. Abhedananda, who journeyed into the arctic region of the Himalayas, determined to find a copy of the Himis manuscript or to expose the fraud. His book of travels, entitled Kashmir O Tibetti, tells of a visit to the Himis gonpa and includes a Bengali translation of two hundred twenty-four verses essentially the same as the Notovitch text. Abhedananda was thereby convinced of the authenticity of the Issa legend.
In 1925, another Russian named Nicholas Roerich arrived at Himis. Roerich, was a philosopher and a distinguished scientist. He apparently saw the same documents as Notovitch and Abhedananda. And he recorded in his own travel diary the same legend of St. Issa. Speaking of Issa, Roerich quotes legends which have the estimated antiquity of many centuries.
... He passed his time in several ancient cities of India such as Benares. All loved him because Issa dwelt in peace with Vaishas and Shudras whom he instructed and helped. But the Brahmins and Kshatriyas told him that Brahma forbade those to approach who were created out of his womb and feet. The Vaishas were allowed to listen to the Vedas only on holidays and the Shudras were forbidden not only to be present at the reading of the Vedas, but could not even look at them.
Issa said that man had filled the temples with his abominations. In order to pay homage to metals and stones, man sacrificed his fellows in whom dwells a spark of the Supreme Spirit. Man demeans those who labor by the sweat of their brows, in order to gain the good will of the sluggard who sits at the lavishly set board. But they who deprive their brothers of the common blessing shall be themselves stripped of it.
Vaishas and Shudras were struck with astonishment and asked what they could perform. Issa bade them "Worship not the idols. Do not consider yourself first. Do not humiliate your neighbor. Help the poor. Sustain the feeble. Do evil to no one. Do not covet that which you do not possess and which is possessed by others."
Many, learning of such words, decided to kill Issa. But Issa, forewarned, departed from this place by night. Afterward, Issa went into Nepal and into the Himalayan mountains....
"Well, perform for us a miracle," demanded the servitors of the Temple. Then Issa replied to them: "Miracles made their appearance from the very day when the world was created. He who cannot behold them is deprived of the greatest gift of life. But woe to you, enemies of men, woe to you, if you await that He should attest his power by miracle."
Issa taught that men should not strive to behold the Eternal Spirit with one's own eyes but to feel it with the heart, and to become a pure and worthy soul....
"Not only shall you not make human offerings, but you must not slaughter animals, because all is given for the use of man. Do not steal the goods of others, because that would be usurpation from your near one. Do not cheat, that you may in turn not be cheated.
"Beware, you, who divert men from the true path and who fill the people with superstitions and prejudices, who blind the vision of the seeing ones, and who preach subservience to material things."
Issa taught: "Do not seek straight paths in darkness, possessed by fear. But gather force and support each other. He who supports his neighbor strengthens himself"
"I tried to revive the laws of Moses in the hearts of the people. And I say to you that you do not understand their true meaning because they do not teach revenge but forgiveness. But the meaning of these laws is distorted."
Then the ruler sent to Issa his disguised servants that they should watch his actions and report to him about his words to the
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people.
"You just man," said the disguised servant of the ruler of Jerusalem approaching Issa, "Teach us, should we fulfill the will of Caesar or await the approaching deliverance?" But Issa, recognizing the disguised servants, said, "I did not foretell to you that you would be delivered from Caesar; but I said that the soul which was immersed in sin would be delivered from sin."
At this time, an old woman approached the crowd, but was pushed back. Then Issa said, "Reverence Woman, mother of the universe,' in her lies the truth of creation. She is the foundation of all that is good and beautiful. She is the source of life and death. Upon her depends the existence of man, because she is the sustenance of his labors. She gives birth to you in travail, she watches over your growth. Bless her. Honor her. Defend her. Love your wives and honor them, because tomorrow they shall be mothers, and later—progenitors of a whole race. Their love ennobles man, soothes the embittered heart and tames the beast. Wife and mother, they are the adornments of the universe."
"As light divides itself from darkness, so does woman possess the gift to divide in man good intent from the thought of evil. Your best thoughts must belong to woman. Gather from them your moral strength, which you must possess to sustain your near ones. Do not humiliate her, for therein you will humiliate yourselves. And all which you will do to mother, to wife, to widow or to another woman in sorrow, that shall you also do for the Spirit."
So taught Issa; but the ruler Pilate ordered one of his servants to make accusation against him.
Said Issa: "Not far from here is the time when by the Highest Will the people will become purified and united into one family."
And then turning to the ruler, he said, "Why demean your dignity and teach your subordinates to live in deceit when even without this you could also have had the means of accusing an innocent one?"
From another version of the legend, Roerich quotes fragments of thought and evidence of the miraculous.
Near Lhasa was a temple of teaching with a wealth of manuscripts. Yeshua was to acquaint himself with them. Meng-ste, a great sage of all the East, was in this temple.
Finally Yeshua reached a mountain pass and in the chief city of Ladak, Leh, he was joyously accepted by monks and people of the lower class. And Yeshua taught in the monasteries and in the bazaars (the market places); wherever the simple people gathered, there he taught.
Not far from this place lived a woman whose son had died and she brought him to Yeshua. And in the presence of a multitude, Yeshua laid his hand on the child, and the child rose healed. And many brought their children and Yeshua laid his hands upon them, healing them.
Among the Ladakis, Yeshua passed many days, teaching them. And they loved him and when the time of his departure came they sorrowed as children.
THE LIFE OF SAINT ISSA — Best of the Sons of Men Using the translation by Notovitch (pp. 556-565)
The Life of Saint Issa Best of the Sons of Men Using the translation by Notovitch
CHAPTER I
1 The earth has trembled and the heavens have wept because of a great crime which has been committed in the land of Israel. 2 For they have tortured and there put to death the great and just Issa, in whom dwelt the soul of the universe, 3 Which was incarnate in a simple mortal in order to do good to men and to exterminate their evil thoughts. 4 And in order to bring back mankind, which has been degraded by his sins, to a life of peace, love, and happiness and to call him back to the one and indivisible Creator, whose mercy is infinite and without bounds, 5 Hear what the merchants from Israel relate to us on this subject.
CHAPTER II
1 The people of Israel, who dwelt on a fertile soil giving forth two crops a year and who possessed large flocks, had by their sins aroused the anger of Yahweh, 2 Who inflicted upon them a terrible chastisement by taking from them their land, their cattle, and their possessions. Israel was reduced to slavery by the powerful and rich pharaohs who then reigned in Egypt. 3 These treated the Israelites worse than animals, burdening them with difficult tasks and loading them with chains. They covered their bodies with whelps and wounds, without giving them food or permitting them to dwell beneath a roof, 4 to keep them in a state of continual terror and to deprive them of all human resemblance. 5 And in their great calamity, the people of Israel remembered their heavenly protector and, addressing themselves to him, they implored his grace and mercy. 6 An illustrious pharaoh then reigned in Egypt who had made himself famous by his numerous victories. The riches he gained had piled up, and there were vast palaces which his slaves had erected for him with their own hands. 7 This pharaoh had two sons, of whom the younger was called Mossa (Moses). Learned Israelites taught him diverse sciences.
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8 And they loved Mossa (Moses) in Egypt for his goodness and the compassion which he showed to all those who suffered. 9 Seeing that in spite of the intolerable sufferings they were enduring the Israelites would not abandon their Yahweh to worship those made by the hand of man, which were gods of the Egyptian nation, 10 Mossa (Moses) believed in their invisible Yahweh, because He did not let their failing strength give way. 11 And the Israelite teachers excited the passion of Mossa and had conversations with him, praying him to intercede with the pharaoh his father in favor of their fellow believers. 12 Then the Prince Mossa went to his father, begging him to make better the fate of these unfortunates. But the pharaoh became angered against him and only augmented the torments endured by his slaves. 13 It happened that a short time after, a great evil visited Egypt. The pestilence came to decimate both the young and the old, the weak and the strong; and the pharaoh believed this was because his own gods were turning against him. 14 But the Prince Mossa told his father that it was Yahweh of his slaves who was interceding in favor of these unfortunates in punishing the Egyptians. 15 The pharaoh then gave to Mossa his son an order to take all the slaves of the Jewish race, to conduct them outside the town, and to found at a great distance from the capital another city where he should dwell with them. 16 Mossa then made known to the Hebrew slaves that he had set them free in the name of their Yahweh, Yahweh of Israel, and he went out with them from the city and from the land of Egypt. 17 He led them into the land they had lost by their many sins. There Mossa gave them laws, and enjoined them to pray always to the invisible Creator whose goodness is infinite. 18 On the death of Prince Mossa, the Israelites rigorously observed his laws, wherefore Yahweh made amends and rewarded them for the ills to which he had exposed them in Egypt. 19 Their kingdom became the most powerful of all the earth, their kings made themselves famous for their treasures, and a long peace reigned among the people of Israel.
CHAPTER III
1 The glory of the riches of Israel spread throughout the earth, and made neighboring nations envious. 2 For the Most High himself led the victorious arms of the Hebrews, and the pagans dared not attack them. 3 Unhappily, as man is not always true to himself, the fidelity of the Israelites to their Yahweh did not last long. 4 They began by forgetting all the favors which he had heaped upon them, seldom invoked his name, and sought the protection of magicians and sorcerers. 5 The kings and the captains substituted their own laws for those which Mossa had written down for them. The temple of Yahweh and the practice of worship were abandoned. The people gave themselves up to pleasure and lost their original purity. 6 Several centuries had elapsed since their departure from Egypt when Yahweh determined to exercise once more his chastisements upon them. 7 Strangers began to invade the land of Israel, devastating the country, ruining the villages, and carrying the inhabitants into captivity. 8 And there came at one time pagans from the country of Romeles, (birthplace of Romulus, modern day Rome) on the other side of the sea. They subdued the Hebrews and established among them military leaders who by delegation from Caesar ruled over them. 9 They destroyed the temples, they forced the inhabitants to cease worshipping the invisible Yahweh, and they compelled them to sacrifice victims to the pagan deities. 10 They made warriors of those who had been nobles, the women were torn away from their husbands, and the lower classes, were reduced to slavery and were sent by thousands beyond the seas. 11 As to the children, they were put to the sword. Soon in all the land of Israel nothing was heard but groans and lamentations. 12 In this extreme distress, the people remembered their great Yahweh. They implored his grace and besought him to forgive them; and our Father, in his inexhaustible mercy, heard their prayer.
CHAPTER IV
1 It was at this time that the moment came when the all-merciful Judge elected to become incarnate in a human being. 2 And the Eternal Spirit, dwelling in a state of complete inaction (peace and stillness) and of supreme beatitude, awoke and detached itself for an indefinite period from the Eternal Being. 3 This was done to show forth in the guise of humanity the means of self-identification with Divinity and of attaining to eternal joy (bliss,) 4 And to demonstrate by example how man may attain moral purity and, by separating his soul from its mortal coil, the degree of perfection necessary to enter into the kingdom of heaven, which is unchangeable and where happiness reigns eternal. 5 Soon after, a marvelous child was born in the land of Israel, Yahweh himself speaking by the mouth of this infant of the frailty of the body and the grandeur of the soul. 6 The parents of the newborn child were poor people, belonging by birth to a family of noted piety, who, forgetting their ancient grandeur on earth, praised the name of the Creator and thanked him for the ills with which he saw fit to prove them. 7 To reward them for not turning aside from the way of truth, Yahweh blessed the firstborn of this family. He chose him for his
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elect and sent him to help those who had fallen into evil and to cure those who suffered. 8 The divine child, to whom was given the name of Issa (Yeshua), began from his earliest years to speak of the one and indivisible Yahweh. He exhorted the souls of those gone astray to come to repentance and the purification of the sins of which they were culpable. 9 People came from all parts to hear him, and they marveled at the discourses proceeding from his childish mouth. All the Israelites were of one accord in saying that the Eternal Spirit dwelt in this child. 10 When Issa (Yeshua) had attained the age of thirteen years, which is the period of life when an Israelite should take a wife, 11 the house where his parents earned their living by carrying on a modest trade began to be a place of meeting for rich and noble people, who were desirous of having the young Issa for a son-in-law, for he was already famous for his edifying discourses in the name of the Almighty. 12 Then it was that Issa left the parental house in secret, departed from Jerusalem, and with the merchants set out towards Sind, (a province of southeastern Pakistan) 13 with the aim of perfecting himself in the Divine Word and of studying the laws of the great Buddhas.
CHAPTER V
1 In the course of his fourteenth year, the young Issa, blessed of Yahweh, came on this side of Sind and established himself among the Aryas (Northern India) in the land beloved of Yahweh. 2 Fame spread the reputation of this marvelous child throughout the length of northern Sind, and when he crossed the country of the five rivers and the Rajputana, (An area northwest of the Aravalli Range including part of the Great Indian (Thar) Desert.) These were the devotees of the god Jaine and they prayed Issa to dwell among them. 3 But he left the erring worshippers of Jaine and went to Juggernaut in the country of Orissa, where repose the mortal remains of Vyasa-Krishna and where the white priests of Brahma made him a joyous welcome.
(Juggernaut is the Hinduism form of Krishna worshiped in Puri, Orissa. Also called Jagannatha. Hindi from Sanskrit Jagannātha 'Lord of the world.')
4 They taught him to read and understand the Vedas, to cure by aid of prayer, to teach, to explain the holy scriptures to the people, and to drive out evil spirits from the bodies of men, restoring to them their sanity. 5 He passed six years at Juggernaut, at Rajagriha, at Benares, and in the other holy cities. Everyone loved him, for Issa lived in peace with the Vaisyas (a member of the third of the four Hindu castes, comprising the merchants and farmers) and the Sudras, (a member of the worker caste, lowest of the four Hindu castes,) whom he instructed in the holy scriptures. 6 But the Brahmans (a member of the highest Hindu caste, that of the priesthood) and the Kshatriyas (a member of the second of the four great Hindu castes, the military caste. The traditional function of the Kshatriyas is to protect society by fighting in wartime and governing in peacetime,) told him that they were forbidden by the great Para-Brahma to come near to those whom he had created from his side and his feet; 7 That the Vaisyas were only authorized to hear the reading of the Vedas, and this on festival days, and 8 that the Sudras were forbidden not only to assist at the reading of the Vedas, but also from contemplating them, for their condition was to serve in perpetuity as slaves to the Brahmans, the Kshatriyas, and even the Vaisyas. 9 "Death only can set them free from their servitude' has said Para-Brahma. Leave them then and come and worship with us the gods, who will become very angry against you if you should disobey them." 10 But Issa listened not to their discourses and went to the Sudras, preaching against the commands of the Brahmans and the Kshatriyas. 11 He spoke and preached against the act of a man claiming to himself the power to deprive his fellow beings of their rights of humanity; "for," said he, "Yahweh the Father makes no difference between his children; all to him are equally dear." 12 Issa denied the divine origin of the Vedas (scriptures) and the Puranas (written legends and folklore.) "For," he taught his followers, "a law has already been given to man to guide him in his actions, which are, 13 "Fear your Yahweh, bend the knee before him only, and bring to him alone the offerings which proceed from your gains." 14 Issa denied the Trimurti (the trinity of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer) and the incarnation of Para-Brahma in Vishnu, Siva, and other gods, for said he: 15 "The Judge Eternal, the Eternal Spirit, comprehends the one and indivisible soul of the universe, which alone creates, contains, and vivifies all. Inasmuch as Yeshua's closest disciple, John, begins his Gospel with a quote from the Vedas, "In the beginning was the Word...," the authenticity of this passage may be questioned. (Notation added by Notovitch) 16 "He alone has willed and created, he alone has existed since all eternity, and his existence will have no end. He has no equal either in the heavens or on earth." 17 "The Great Creator has not shared his power with any living being, still less with inanimate objects, as they have taught to you; for he alone possesses omnipotence." 18 "He willed it and the world appeared. In a divine thought, he gathered together the waters, separating from them the dry portion of the globe. He is the principle of the mysterious existence of man, in whom he has breathed a part of his Being. (inspired, to breathe into) 19 "And he has subordinated to man the earth, the waters, the beasts, and all that he has created and that he himself preserves in immutable order, fixing for each thing the length of its duration." 20 "The anger of Yahweh will soon be let loose against man; for he has forgotten his Creator, he has filled his temples with abominations, and he worships a collection of creatures which Yahweh has made subordinate to him. 21 "For to do honor to stones and metals, he sacrifices human beings, in whom dwells a part of the spirit of the Most High." 22 "He humiliates those who work by the sweat of their brow in order to acquire the favor of an idle (shiftless) person seated at his sumptuous table (board)." 23 "Those who deprive their brethren of divine happiness shall be deprived of it themselves. The Brahmans and the Kshatriyas shall become the Sudras, and with the Sudras the Eternal (Yahweh) shall dwell everlastingly." 24 "Because in the day of the last judgment the Sudras and the Vaisyas (the two lowest classes) will be forgiven much because of their ignorance, while Yahweh, on the contrary, will punish with his wrath those who have usurped to themselves his rights." 25 The Vaisyas and the Sudras were filled with great admiration and asked Issa (Yeshua) how they should pray so as not to lose their eternal joy (felicity). 26 "Worship not the idols, for they hear you not. Listen not to the Vedas, for their truth is counterfeit. Never put yourself in the first place and never humiliate your neighbor." 27 "Help the poor, support the weak, do ill to no one, and covet not that which you have not and which you see belongs to another."
Sir John Wodroofe notes: "The fourth Gospel opens grandly, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Yahweh and the Word was Yahweh.' These are the very words of Veda. Prajapatir vai idam asit: In the beginning was Brahman. Tasya vag dvitiya asit; with whom was the Vak or the Word... Vag vai paramam Brahma; and the word is Brahman" (The Garland Letters, 7th ed. [Pondicherry: Ganesh & Co., 1979] p.4)
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CHAPTER VI
1 The white priests and the warriors, becoming acquainted with the discourses of Issa addressed to the Sudras, resolved upon his death and sent their servants to seek out the young prophet with this intent. 2 But Issa, warned of his danger by the Sudras, left the area of Juggernaut by night, reached the mountain, and established himself in the country of Gautamides, the birthplace of the great Buddha Sakyamuni, (around Nepal?) in the midst of a people worshipping the one and sublime Brahma. 3 After having perfected himself in the Pali language, the just Issa applied himself to the study of the sacred writings of the Sutras. 4 Six years after, Issa, whom the Buddha had elected to spread his holy word, had become a perfect teacher (expositor) of the sacred writings. 5 Then he left Nepal and the Himalayan mountains, descended into the valley of Rajputana, and went towards the west, preaching to diverse peoples the supreme perfection of man, (what a perfect man should be and do) 6 Which is, to do good to one's neighbor, being the sure means of merging oneself rapidly in the Eternal Spirit: "He who shall have regained his original purity," said Issa, "will die having obtained remission for his sins, and he will have the right to contemplate the majesty of Yahweh." 7 In crossing pagan territories, the divine Issa taught that the worship of visible gods was contrary to the law of nature. 8 "For man," said he, "has not been permitted to see the image of Yahweh, and yet he has made a host of deities in the likeness of the Eternal." (One may argue that as man has not seen Yahweh how could he make deities in His likeness. Possibly we should read this as, "Man made deities according to what His weak imagination envisioned Yahweh to look like.) 9 "Moreover, it is incompatible with the human conscience to make less matter of the splendor of divine purity than of animals and objects executed by the hand of man in stone or metal." 10 "The Eternal Lawgiver is one; there is no other Yahweh but he. He has not shared the world with anyone, neither has he informed anyone of his intentions." 11 "Even as a father would act towards his children, so will Yahweh judge men after their deaths according to the laws of his mercy. Never would he so humiliate his child as to transmigrate his soul, as in a purgatory, into the body of an animal." 12 "The heavenly law," said the Creator by the mouth of Issa, "is opposed to the immolation (to kill as a sacrifice, especially by burning) of human sacrifices to an image or to an animal; for I have consecrated to man all the animals and all that the earth contains." 13 "All things have been sacrificed to man, who is directly and intimately associated with me, his Father; therefore he who shall have stolen from me my child will be severely judged and chastised by the divine law." 14 "Man is nothing before the Eternal Judge, as the animal is nothing before man." 15 "Therefore I say to you, Leave your idols and perform no rites which separate you from your Father, associating you with the priests from whom the heavens have turned away." 16 "For it is they who have led you from the true Yahweh and whose superstitions and cruelties which help bring about the perversion of your soul and the loss of all moral sense."
CHAPTER VII
1 The words of Issa spread among the pagans in the midst of the countries he traversed, and the inhabitants forsook their idols.
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2 But the priests tried to make Him pay who glorified the name of the true Yahweh in the presence of the people and ridiculed and demonstrated the nothingness of their idols. 3 And Issa made answer to them: "If your idols and your animals are powerful and really possessed of supernatural strength, then let them strike me to the earth." 4 "Work then a miracle," replied the priests, "and let your Yahweh confound our gods, if they inspire him with contempt." 5 But Issa then said: "The miracles of our Yahweh have been worked since the first day when the universe was created; they take place every day and at every moment. Whosoever does not see them is deprived of one of the finest gifts of life." 6 "And it is not against pieces of stone, metal, or wood, which are inanimate, that the anger of Yahweh will have full course; but it will fall on men, who, if they desire their salvation, must destroy all the idols they have made." 7 "Even as a stone and a grain of sand are nothing in the sight of man, but they wait patiently for the moment when he shall take and make use of them, 8 "so man must await the great favor that Yahweh shall accord him in his final judgment." 9 "But woe to you, you enemies of men, if it be not a favor that you await but rather the wrath of the Divinity--woe to you if you expect miracles to bear witness to his power. 10 "For it will not be the idols that he will annihilate in his anger but those who shall have erected them. Their hearts shall be consumed with eternal fire, and their lacerated bodies shall go to satiate the hunger of wild beasts." 11 "Yahweh will drive the impure from among his flocks, but he will take back to himself those who shall have gone astray through not having recognized the portion of spirituality within them." 12 Seeing the powerlessness of their priests, the pagans had still greater faith in the sayings of Issa and, fearing the anger of the Divine (Yahweh), broke their idols to pieces. As for the priests, they fled to escape the vengeance of the populace. 13 And Issa further taught the pagans not to strive to see the Eternal Spirit with their eyes but to endeavor to feel him in their hearts and by purity of soul to render themselves worthy of his favors. 14 He also said to them, "Abstain from consuming human sacrifices, but kill (sacrifice by fire) no creature to whom life has been given, for all things that exist have been created for the profit of man." 15 "Do not steal the goods of your neighbor, for that would be to deprive him of what he has acquired by the sweat of his brow." 16 "Deceive no one, so as not to be yourselves deceived. Endeavor to justify yourself prior to the last judgment, for then it will be too late." 17 "Do not give yourselves up to debauchery, for that would be to violate the laws of Yahweh." 18 "You shall attain to supreme happiness, not only in purifying yourselves, but also in guiding others in the way that shall permit them to gain original perfection."
CHAPTER VIII
1 The neighboring countries resounded with the prophecies of Issa, and when he entered into Persia the priests became alarmed and forbade the inhabitants to listen to him. 2 And when they saw all the villages welcoming him with joy and listening devoutly to his sermons, they gave orders to arrest him and had him brought before the high priest, where he underwent the following interrogation: 3 "Of what new Yahweh do you speak? Are you not aware, you unhappy man, that Saint Zoroaster is the only just one admitted to the privilege of communion with the Supreme Being," 4 "who ordered the angels to put down in writing the word of Yahweh for the use of his people, laws that were given to Zoroaster in paradise?" 5 "Who then are you to dare here to blaspheme our Yahweh and to sow doubt in the hearts of believers?" 6 And Issa said to them: "It is not of a new Yahweh that I speak but of our Heavenly Father, who has existed since all time and who will still be after the end of all things. 7 "It is of him that I have discoursed to the people, who, like to innocent children, are not yet capable of comprehending Yahweh by the simple strength of their intelligence or of penetrating into his sublime and divine spirit." 8 "But even as a babe discovers its mother's breast in the darkness, so even your people, who have been led into error by your erroneous doctrine and your religious ceremonies, have recognized by instinct their Father and it is the Father of whom I am the prophet." 9 "The Eternal Being has said to your people through the medium of my mouth: 'You shall not worship the sun, for it is but a part of the world which I have created for man.'" 10 "The sun rises in order to warm you during your work; it sets to allow you the rest, which I myself have appointed." 11 "It is to me, and to me alone, that you owe all that you possess, all that is to be found around you, above you, and below you." 12 "But," said the priests, "how could a people live according to the rules of justice if it had no teachers?" 13 Then Issa answered, "So long as the people had no priests, the natural law governed them, and they preserved the open honesty of their souls. 14 "Their souls were with Yahweh, and to commune with the Father they had recourse to the medium of no idol or animal, nor to the fire, as is practiced here." 15 "You contend that one must worship the sun, the spirit of good and of evil. Well, I say to you, your doctrine is a false one, the sun acting not spontaneously but according to the will of the invisible Creator who gave it birth" 16 "And who has willed it to be the star that should light the day, to warm the labor and the seedtime of man." 17 "The Eternal Spirit is the soul of all that is animate. You commit a great sin in dividing it into a spirit of evil and a spirit of good, for there is no Yahweh outside the good," 18 "who, like to the father of a family, does but good to his children, forgiving all their faults if they repent them." 19 "The spirit of evil dwells on the earth in the hearts of those men who turn aside the children of Yahweh from the strait path." 20 "Therefore I say to you, Beware of the day of judgment, for Yahweh will inflict a terrible chastisement upon all those who shall have led his children astray from the right path and have filled them with superstitions and prejudices;" 21 "those who have blinded them that see, conveyed contagion to the healthy, and taught the worship of the things that Yahweh has subordinated to man for his good and to aid him in his work." 22 "Your doctrine is therefore the fruit of your errors; for desiring to bring near to you Yahweh of truth, you have created for yourselves false gods." 23 After having listened to him, the magi determined to do him no harm. But at night, when all the town lay sleeping, they conducted him outside of the walls and abandoned him on the high road, in the hope that he would soon become a prey to the wild beasts. 24 But, protected by Yahweh, Saint Issa continued his way undisturbed and unharmed.
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CHAPTER IX
1 Issa, whom the Creator had elected to remind a depraved humanity of the true Yahweh, had reached his twenty-ninth year when he returned to the land of Israel. 2 Since his departure the pagans had inflicted still more atrocious sufferings on the Israelites, who were a prey to the deepest despondency. 3 Many among them had already begun to abandon the laws of their Yahweh and those of Mossa in the hope of appeasing their savage conquerors. 4 In the face of this evil, Issa exhorted his fellow citizens not to despair because the day of the redemption of sins was at hand, and he confirmed them in the belief which they had in Yahweh of their fathers. 5 "Children, do not give yourselves up to despair," said the Heavenly Father by the mouth of Issa, "for I have heard your voice, and your cries have reached me." 6 "Do not weep, O my beloved ones! For your grief has touched the heart of your Father, and he has forgiven you, even as he forgave your forefathers." 7 "Do not abandon your families to plunge yourselves into debauchery, do not lose the nobility of your feelings, and do not worship idols who will remain deaf to your voices." 8 "Fill my temple with your hope and with your patience and abjure not the religion of your fathers; for I alone have guided them and have heaped them with benefits." 9 "You shall lift up those who have fallen, you shall give food to the hungry, and you shall come to the aid of the sick, so as to be all pure and just at the day of the last judgment which I prepare for you." 10 The Israelites came in crowds at the word of Issa, asking him where they should praise the Heavenly Father, seeing that the enemy had razed their temples to the ground and laid low their sacred vessels. 11 And Issa made answer to them that Yahweh had not in view temples erected by the hands of man, but he meant that the human heart was the true temple of Yahweh. 12 "Enter into your temple, into your heart. Illumine it with good thoughts and the patience and immovable confidence which you should have in your Father." 13 "And your sacred vessels, they are your hands and your eyes. See and do that which is agreeable to Yahweh, for in doing good to your neighbor you accomplish a rite which embellishes the temple wherein dwells he who gave you life." 14 "For Yahweh has created you in his own likeness; innocent, with pure souls and hearts filled with goodness, destined not for the conception of evil schemes but made to be sanctuaries of love and justice." 15 "Therefore I say to you, dirty not your hearts, for the Supreme Being dwells therein eternally." 16 "If you wish to accomplish works marked with love or piety, do them with an open heart and do not let your actions be governed by calculations (plans) or the hope of gain." 17 "For such actions would not help to your salvation, and you would fall into that state of moral degradation where theft, lying, and murder pass for generous deeds."
CHAPTER X
1 Saint Issa went from one town to another, strengthening the courage of the Israelites by the word of Yahweh, who were ready to succumb to the weight of their despair; and thousands of men followed him to hear him preach. 2 But the chiefs of the towns became afraid of him, and they made known to the principal governor who dwelt at Jerusalem that a man named Issa had arrived in the country; that he was stirring up the people against the authorities by his discourses; that the crowd listened to him with close attention, neglected the works of the state, and affirmed that before long it would be rid of its intrusive governors. 3 Then Pilate, governor of Jerusalem, ordered that they should seize Issa, the preacher, that they should bring him into the town and lead him before the judges. But in order not to excite the anger of the populace, Pilate ordered the priests and the learned Hebrew elders to judge him in the temple.
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4 Meanwhile Issa, continuing his preaching, arrived at Jerusalem; and, having learned of his arrival, all the inhabitants, knowing him already by reputation, went out to meet him. 5 They greeted him respectfully and opened to him the gates of their temple in order to hear from his mouth what he had said in the other cities of Israel. 6 And Issa said to them: "The human race perishes because of its lack of faith, for the darkness and the tempest have scattered the flocks of humanity and they have lost their shepherds. 7 "But the tempest will not last forever, and the darkness will not always obscure the light. The sky will become once more serene, the heavenly light will spread itself over the earth, and the flocks gone astray will gather around their shepherd." 8 "Do not strive to find straight paths in the darkness, or you will fall into a pit; but gather together your remaining strength, support one another, place your confidence in your Yahweh, and wait till light appears." 9 "He who sustains his neighbor, sustains himself; and whoever protects his family, protects the people and the state." 10 "For be sure that the day is at hand when you shall be delivered from the darkness; you shall be gathered together as one family; and your enemy, who ignores the favor (approval) of Yahweh, shall tremble with fear." 11 The priests and the elders who were listening to him were filled with admiration at his discourse and asked him if it were true that he had tried to stir up the people against the authorities, as had been reported to the governor Pilate. 12 "Can one excite to insurrection men gone astray, whose door and path have been hidden and obscured?" replied Issa. "I have only warned the unfortunate, as I do here in this temple, that they may not further advance along the darkened way, for an abyss is open under their feet." 13 "Earthly power is not of long duration, and it is subject to many changes. What use is it that man should revolt against it, seeing that one power always succeeds to another power? And thus it will come to pass until the extinction of humanity." 14 "Don't you see that the mighty and the rich sow among the sons of Israel a spirit of rebellion against the eternal power of heaven?" 15 The elders then asked: "Who are you, and from what country do you come? We have not heard speak of you before, and we do not even know your name." 16 "I am an Israelite," replied Issa. "From the day of my birth I saw the walls of Jerusalem, and I heard the weeping of my brothers reduced to slavery and the lamentations of my sisters who were carried away by the pagans." 17 "And my soul was filled with sadness when I saw that my brethren had forgotten the true Yahweh. As a child, I left my father's house and went to dwell among other peoples." 18 "But having heard that my brethren were suffering still greater tortures, I have come back to the country where my parents dwell to remind my brothers of the faith of their forefathers, which teaches us patience on earth to obtain perfect and sublime happiness in heaven." 19 And the learned elders put to him this question: "It is said that you deny the laws of Mossa (Moses) and that you teach the people to forsake the temple of Yahweh?" 20 And Issa replied: "One cannot demolish that which has been given by our Heavenly Father, neither that which has been destroyed by sinners; but I have enjoined the purification of the heart from all blemish, for it is the true temple of Yahweh." 21 "As for the laws of Mossa (Moses), I have endeavored to establish them in the hearts of men. And I say to you that you do not understand their real meaning, for it is not vengeance but mercy that they teach; but the sense (meaning) of these laws has been perverted."
CHAPTER XI
1 Having listened to Issa, the priests and the wise elders decided among themselves not to judge him, for he did harm to no one. And presenting themselves before Pilate, appointed governor of Jerusalem by the pagan king of the country of Romeles (Rome), they addressed him thus: 2 "We have seen the man whom you accuse of inciting our people to rebellion; we have heard his discourses, and we know him to be our compatriot." 3 "But the chiefs of the cities have made you false reports, for this is a just man who teaches the people the word of Yahweh. After having interrogated him, we dismissed him, that he might go in peace." 4 The governor then became enraged and sent near to Issa his servants in disguise, so that they might watch all his actions and report to the authorities the least word that he should address to the people. 5 In the meantime, Saint Issa continued to visit the neighboring towns, preaching the true ways of the Creator, exhorting the Hebrews to patience, and promising them a speedy deliverance. 6 And during all this time, many people followed him wherever he went, several never leaving him but becoming his servitors (attendant to their superior). 7 And Issa said: "Do not believe in miracles wrought by the hand of man, for he who dominates over nature is alone capable of doing that which is supernatural, while man is powerless to stay the anger of the winds or to spread the rain. 8 "Nevertheless, there is one miracle which it is possible for man to accomplish. It is when, full of a sincere belief, he decides to root out from his heart all evil thoughts, and when to attain his end he forsakes the paths of iniquity. 9 "And all the things that are done without Yahweh are but errors, seductions, and enchantments, which only demonstrate to
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what an extent the soul of him who practices this is full of shamelessness, falsehood, and impurity." 10 "Put not your faith in oracles; Yahweh alone knows the future: he who has recourse to diviners profanes the temple which is in his heart and gives a proof of distrust towards his Creator." 11 "Faith in diviners and in their oracles destroys the innate simplicity of man and his childlike purity. An infernal power takes possession of him, forcing him to commit all sorts of crimes and to worship idols;" 12 "whereas Yahweh, who has no equal, is one (unified), all-mighty, omniscient, and omnipresent. It is he who possesses all wisdom and all light." 13 "It is to him you must address yourselves to be consoled in your sorrows, helped in your works, and cured in your sickness. Whosoever shall have recourse to him shall not be denied." 14 "The secret of nature is in the hands of Yahweh. For the world, before it appeared, existed in the depth of the divine thought; it became material and visible by the will of the Most High." 15 "When you address yourselves to him, become again as children; for you know neither the past, the present, nor the future, and Yahweh is the Master of all time."
CHAPTER XII
1 The spies of the governor of Jerusalem said to him, "Righteous man, tell us if we shall perform the will of our Caesar or await our speedy deliverance." 2 And Issa, having recognized them as people appointed to follow him, replied: "I have not said to you that you shall be delivered from Caesar. It is the soul plunged in error that shall have its deliverance." 3 "As there can be no family without a head, so there can be no order among a people without a Caesar; to him implicit obedience should be given, he alone being answerable for his acts before the supreme tribunal." 4 "Does Caesar possess a divine right?" further asked of him the spies. "And is he the best of mortals?" 5 "There should be no better among men, but there are also sufferers, whom those elected and charged with this mission should care for, by making use of the means conferred on them by the sacred law of our Heavenly Father." 6 "Mercy and justice are the highest attributes of a Caesar; his name will be illustrious if he adhere to them." 7 "But he who acts otherwise, who exceeds the limit of power that he has over his subordinates and goes so far as to put their lives in danger offends the great Judge and loses his dignity in the sight of man." 8 At this juncture, an old woman who had approached the group, the better to hear Issa, was pushed aside by one of the spies, who placed himself before her. 9 Then Issa held forth (his hand and said): "It is not good (meant) that a son should set aside his mother to take her place. Whosoever respects not his mother, the most sacred being after his Yahweh, is unworthy of the name of son. 10 "Listen, then, to what I say to you: Respect woman, for she is the mother of the universe, and all the truth of divine creation lies in her." 11 "She is the basis of all that is good and beautiful, as she is also the germ of life and death. On her depends the whole existence of man, for she is his natural and moral support." 12 "She gives birth to you in the midst of suffering. By the sweat of her brow she rears you, and until her death you cause her the gravest anxieties. Bless her and worship her, for she is your one friend, your one support on earth." 13 "Respect her, uphold her. In acting thus you will win her love and her heart. You will find favor in the sight of Yahweh and many sins shall be forgiven you." 14 "In the same way, love your wives and respect them; for they will be mothers tomorrow, and each later on the ancestress of a race." 15 "Be lenient towards woman. Her love ennobles man, softens his hardened heart, tames the brute in him, and makes of him a lamb." 16 "The wife and the mother are the treasures beyond realms of appreciation given to you by Yahweh. They are the fairest ornaments of existence, and of them shall be born all the inhabitants of the world." 17 "Even as Yahweh of armies separated of old the light from the darkness and the land from the waters, woman possesses the divine faculty of separating in a man good intentions from evil thoughts." 18 "Therefore I say to you, after Yahweh your best thoughts should belong to the women and the wives, woman being for you the temple wherein you will obtain the most easily perfect happiness." 19 "Acquire moral strength for yourselves in this temple. Here you will forget your sorrows and your failures, and you will recover the lost energy necessary to enable you to help your neighbor." 20 "Do not expose her to humiliation. In acting thus you would humiliate yourselves and lose the sentiment of love, without which nothing exists here below." 21 "Protect your wife, in order that she may protect you and all your family. All that you do for your wife, your mother, for a widow or another woman in distress, you will have done to your Yahweh."
CHAPTER XIII
1 Saint Issa taught the people of Israel thus for three years, in every town, in every village, by the waysides and on the plains; and all that he had predicted came to pass. 2 During all this time the disguised servants of Pilate watched him closely without hearing anything said like to the reports made against Issa in former years by the chiefs of the towns.
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3 But the governor Pilate, becoming alarmed at the too great popularity of Saint Issa, who according to his adversaries sought to stir up the people to proclaim him king, ordered one of his spies to accuse him. 4 Then soldiers were commanded to proceed to his arrest, and they imprisoned him in a subterranean cell where they tortured him in various ways in the hope of forcing him to make a confession which should permit his being put to death. 5 The saint, thinking only of the perfect beatitude of his brethren, supported (endured) all his sufferings in the name of his Creator. 6 The servants of Pilate continued to torture him and reduced him to a state of extreme weakness; but Yahweh was with him and did not allow him to die. 7 Learning of the sufferings and the tortures, which their saint was enduring, the high priests and the wise elders went to pray the governor to set Issa at liberty in honor of an approaching festival. 8 But the governor straightway refused them this. They then prayed him to allow Issa to appear before the tribunal of the ancients so that he might be condemned or acquitted before the festival, and to this Pilate consented. 9 The next day the governor assembled together the chief captains, priests, wise elders, and lawyers so that they might judge Issa. 10 They brought him from his prison and seated him before the governor between two thieves to be judged at the same time as he, in order to show to the crowd that he was not the only one to be condemned. 11 And Pilate, addressing himself to Issa, said to him: "O man! is it true that you incite the people against the authorities with the intent of yourself becoming king of Israel?" 12 "One becomes not king at one's own will," replied Issa, "and they have lied who have told you that I stir up the people to rebellion. I have never spoken of other than the King of Heaven, and it is he I teach the people to worship." 13 "For the sons of Israel have lost their original purity; and if they have not recourse to the true Yahweh, they will be sacrificed and their temple shall fall into ruins." 14 "As temporal (earthly) power maintains order in a country, I teach them accordingly not to forget it. I say to them: 'Live conformably to your station and your fortune, so as not to disturb the public order.' And I have exhorted them also to remember that disorder reigns in their hearts and in their minds." 15 "Therefore the King of Heaven has punished them and suppressed their national kings. Nevertheless, I have said to them, 'If you become resigned to your destinies, as a reward the kingdom of heaven shall be reserved for you.'" 16 At this moment, the witnesses were brought forward, one of whom made the following deposition: "You have said to the people that the temporal (earthly) power is as nothing against that of the king who shall soon deliver the Israelites from the pagan yoke." 17 "Blessed are you," said Issa, "for having spoken the truth. The King of Heaven is greater and more powerful than the terrestrial law, and his kingdom surpasses all the kingdoms of the earth." 18 "And the time is not far off when, conforming to the divine will, the people of Israel shall purify them of their sins; for it has been said that a forerunner will come to proclaim the deliverance of the people, gathering them into one fold." 19 "And the governor, addressing himself to the judges, said: "Do you hear? The Israelite Issa confesses to the crime of which he is accused. Judge him, then, according to your laws, and pronounce against him capital punishment." 20 "We cannot condemn him," replied the priests and the elders. "You have just heard yourself that his allusions were made regarding the King of Heaven and that he has preached naught to the sons of Israel which could constitute an offense against the law." 21 The governor Pilate then sent for the witness who, at his instigation, had betrayed Issa. The man came and addressed Issa thus: "Did you not pass yourself off as the king of Israel when you said that he who reigns in the heavens had sent you to prepare his people?" 22 And Issa, having blessed him, said: "You shall be pardoned, for what you say does not come from you!" Then, addressing himself to the governor: "Why humiliate your dignity, and why teach your inferiors to live in falsehood, as without doing so you have power to condemn the innocent?" 23 At these words the governor became exceeding angry, ordering the sentence of death to be passed on Issa and the acquittal of the two thieves. 24 The judges, having consulted together, said to Pilate: "We will not take upon our heads the great sin of condemning an innocent man and acquitting thieves. That would be against the law. 25 "Do then as you will." Saying this the priests and the wise elders went out and washed their hands in a sacred vessel, saying: "We are innocent of the death of this just man."
CHAPTER XIV
1 By the order of the governor, the soldiers then seized Issa and the two thieves, whom they led to the place of execution, where they nailed them to crosses erected on the ground. 2 All the day the bodies of Issa and the two thieves remained suspended, terrible to behold, under the guard of the soldiers; the people standing all around and the relatives of the sufferers were praying and weeping. 3 At sunset the sufferings of Issa came to an end. He lost consciousness, and the soul of this just man left his body to become absorbed in the Divinity. 4 Thus ended the earthly existence of the reflection of the Eternal Spirit under the form of a man who had saved hardened
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sinners and endured many sufferings.
Author's note: The following ending represents a divergence from mainline Christian Theology, which cannot be harmonized or reconciled. Under orders from Pilate the body of Issa (Yeshua) is taken away. The "stolen body" theory is one of several explanations offered up by some who do not believe in the resurrection of Yeshua.
5 Meanwhile, Pilate became afraid of his action and gave the body of the saint to his parents, who buried it near the spot of his execution. The crowd came to pray over his tomb, and the air was filled with groans and lamentations. 6 Three days after, the governor sent his soldiers to carry away the body of Issa to bury it elsewhere, fearing otherwise a popular insurrection. 7 The next day the crowd found the tomb open and empty. At once the rumor spread that the supreme Judge had sent his angels to carry away the mortal remains of the saint in whom dwelt on earth a part of the Divine Spirit. 8 When this rumor reached the knowledge of Pilate, he became angered and forbade anyone, under the pain of slavery and death, to pronounce the name of Issa or to pray to Yahweh for him. 9 But the people continued to weep and to glorify aloud their Master; wherefore many were led into captivity, subjected to torture, and put to death. 10 And the disciples of Saint Issa abandoned the land of Israel and scattered themselves among the heathen, preaching that they should renounce their errors, bringing them to think about the salvation of their souls and of the perfect bliss (felicity) awaiting humanity in that immaterial (spiritual) world of light where, in repose (rest) and in all his purity, the Great Creator dwells in perfect majesty. 11 The pagans, their kings, and their warriors listened to the preachers, abandoned their absurd beliefs, and forsook their priests and their idols to celebrate the praise of the all-wise Creator of the universe, the King of kings, whose heart is filled with infinite mercy.
This ends the "Life of Saint Issa."