Did Jesus Live In India?

From time to time, there has been this idea being marketed that Jesus lived in India. The Bible explicitly mentions  Jesus before 12 and after 30. There is no explicit mention of what happened in between. This has led some people to claim that during the 'silent years of Jesus', he came to India. There has even been claims that say Jesus was buried in India. Could it be true that Jesus would have spent some of those 18 years in the Himalayas studying under a Vedic guru?  Does the Bible give evidences that point to the contrary? Well,  I think there are evidences that suggest that Jesus never lived in India.

 

First point. In his 30s, as recorded by Luke, when Jesus began to do his ministry, he had his own critics. On one occasion, in his hometown i.e Nazareth, the village he grew up, when he began to teach, he faced his critics. The critics said, 'Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son...' This suggests that the people of Nazareth knew him as a carpenter. Had Jesus done such work just once or twice, he would not be known as a carpenter. It is plausible to say that because of his consistent engagement with this work, he was known that way. He was not known as a fisherman or a tax collector because he did not do that kind of job. Carpentry would have been his 'profession' just as fishing was Peter's. But someone at 15 would not be a 'carpenter', at 15 one would be just an amateur. It is reasonable to suppose that one could become a fisherman or a carpenter only when one has attained at least 18 and then continued engaging with the work for years. From 18-20 to 28-30 did Jesus engage himself as a carpenter for which he then came to be known as a carpenter? Possibly!

 

Second point. In his teaching ministry that he started around 30, he used lot of parables. The parables he told suggest that Jesus knew the 'ways of life' of the people there. If Jesus had lived in Siberia, he would have used parables from such region. One could make that out from reading the parables. Parables of the lost sheep, vineyard, fishing net, mustard seed etc. suggest that he grew up in Israel, not just in his early years when he would be too young to learn much but also in his adult years. Moreover, his conversation with the religious leaders and his teaching suggest that he was very much well-versed in the Old Testament. Only a person who continuously received teaching even well onto adult years would have knowledge of such sort. For example, when one reads Buddha's discourse it is not very difficult to know that such thought would have come about only after years of learning and meditation. Just a year or two of learning would not produce such insight. Similarly, to have such insight and understanding, Jesus would have immersed in so many years of studying the Old Testament. And that is possible only if he lived and grew up there in Israel.

 

Third point. In ancient India, there emerged two figures, Gotama Buddha and Mahavira, who came out Vedic Hinduism. These two moved away from Vedic theology, but their teaching has traces of Vedic theology. Even if they tried to move away, they were successful only up to certain extent. Had Jesus received heavy dose of Vedic teaching in the Himalayas, it is quite possible that we find traces of Vedic theology in Jesus' teaching. But this is not so. Instead it is the Old Testament background that we find all over in Jesus teaching, and complete absence of Vedic theology. Had Jesus been heavily influenced by Vedic theology, even if he wanted to get away, like that of Gotama and Mahavira, it would still be visible in his teaching. The absence of Vedic theology suggests that Jesus never came to the Himalayas/India.

 

Is There Life After Death?

We all have near and dear ones who have left this world for good. There is none who is spared. But the more sobering fact is that we all would face death someday. None will be spared again. Rich or poor, young or old, every one will face death. Death is the greatest leveller, they say! My father-in-law passed away few days back after battling cancer for over a year. Of all the people I have known, I would remember him – Nank Kishore Sanghi – as the one person who has the purest heart. (Infants do have pure hearts, but I am not taking them into consideration now.) He was a hard working scientist and an honest person! The ethical excellence he strives for, in thought and in deed, was marvellous. There might have been such people or better people in the past, and there may be still be such people or better people around. But I do not know anyone who is like my father-in-law. He does not claim perfection. But verbally and through action, he teaches those around him to strive and strive and strive for moral excellence.

If there is one person who could earn salvation by good work, he would qualify to be one of those individuals. But he would say that his good work is not sufficient to earn him salvation. Salvation is only for those who are morally perfect or for those who are forgiven. And he thought that he is not morally perfect. He thought so because moral perfection is just too high a standard for a human to achieve. He has weaknesses and shortcomings and therefore he is far from being morally perfect. And so the only way to get salvation is by way of forgiveness; by being pronounced 'not guilty' or 'not blameworthy'. And he believes that only through Jesus Christ could he receive forgiveness. He arrived at this conclusion after years of inquiring how one's own iniquities could be cleansed. Being born into a family that knew not Christ even in remotest sense, it was a long journey. Yet at certain point in his adult life, he arrived at a conclusion that apart from Christ there is no forgiveness of sins .

Jesus Christ was put to death on the cross by the Roman authority while he was in his 30s. His disciples claimed that on the third day after being put to death, he came back to life. They claimed that they have seen the resurrected Jesus Christ, touched him, ate with him and been with him. They claimed that Jesus has conquered death. He is resurrected from the death, they say. But the fact that he would come back to life after being killed have been told in advance by Jesus himself to the disciples. The disciples found it hard to believe until it really occurred. The entire Christian community all over the world that is there yesterday and today and will be there tomorrow hangs on this story – Jesus is risen. The implication is that if Jesus is truly risen, life does not end with this physical death. And based on the words that he had said, there is also the hope for life beyond this three dimensional world for all those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and God; that this death is not the end of the story.

My own father is no more. Yet there is the hope that I will see him again along with my father-in-law in future. This hope is based on the historical claim that Jesus Christ is risen from the death. Whether the historical claim and therefore the hope is based on historical evidence or not is open to critical examination. On my part I have applied academic rigour and intellectual honesty to examine the claim, and I have found the case to be very convincing. Christianity is a religion that can be rendered meaningless, if this claim can be proved to be wrong. But if one examines the case and found it convincing, it could be life-transforming. Whether to critically examine the claim or to dismiss it as fiction without examination, God has left the choice open! 

Is Cheating in Exam Good?

From High School till College, it has been known that cheating in exam is a worldwide practice. From United States to Netherland to India, it is there. Even in India it is there in Delhi, in Bihar and in Manipur. But using unfair means is unfair, wherever it is. Cheating is cheating, East or West. The individual student, parents and the concerned authority must all acknowledge that cheating in exam is wrong. To be declared pass is to acknowledge that a student has possessed the requisite knowledge required of a person at such a stage of learning. But clearing an examination by cheating and copying betray the degree the person possesses. A student who clears the exam by cheating deceives himself or herself, cheats the authority and the society at large.

If one has decided not to cheat, yet must pass the exam then the only option is to work hard. I have heard wise parents say, 'pass' or 'failed' is a different matter, but as a student hard work is a must. If you work hard and you failed, the problem is not yours. But if you refused to work hard now, and you failed later, the problem is yours. A child needs to be reassured that if he or she fails to do well in studies despite hard work, the parents will be there to understand the matter and stand with him or her. A hard working child need not fear the parents or the future. Fear of the parents, rejection by the society or a bleak future is one factor that gives rise to cheating in exam. Just as a child needs reassurance, he or she also has to be taught to be responsible for failure that may arise due to his or her laziness. To do away cheating in exam in a community responsible parenting is a must.

As one goes up the academic ladder, it gets more embarrassing to be corrected for the mistakes which one should not have made in the first place. Grammar, arithmetic, basic science etc. are all taught in High School. This is about laying the foundation in order to prepare the student for higher learning in various disciplines later. If a person is cheating at this level, he or she will struggle at the Bachelors. If he or she is cheating at the Bachelors level, the same person will struggle at the Masters level or even when one has got a job with the Bachelor's degree. At that stage, because of the learning you are supposed to possess at 15, but then refused to do so when you are young, life is difficult when you act stupid. However, if one has learned what must be learned at a younger age, one need not face embarrassing moments later.

It is always better to learn what is to be learned at that stage. Going back in time is not easy. As age catches up, different responsibilities emerge. Eyes refuse to cooperate; back refuses to support for long and the mind no longer remains fertile as it used to be. One of the first things that I decided when I came to faith in Jesus Christ as a student in 2000 was that I shall not cheat in exam any more. Over the years I have realised that academically this has been much more productive than I could have possibly imagined when such a decision was made. Certain people may try to justify cheating saying that it is better to cheat than to lose a year. But besides being legally and morally wrong, imagine a situation where a person makes such a justification at every stage of his or her life. Or worse, imagine a significant number of people use such justification for cheating! A whole bunch of generation will emerge with a flawed character. This is not good for the person and also for the larger society. Given such an adverse prospect for all, cheating in exam should be put to an end right away– by the individual candidate, the parents and the teachers.

(This article appears on the Hornbill Express on 2nd March 2015)

Poula and English

( In Poula) 4 Siidonou rekounou Johan Baptist nou mah khailu peire le dayu vei dziikhao dayu nasii paodoupoa vere. 5 Alia Judea teidei hinou ea Jerusalem nuhdu hinou mai alaosou Johan ko keire donou tave. Alia puletao nou mah paopa-a puhnou peletaoye Jordan Rei hinou dziikhao dapeie.

6. Johan hai racho mainou souyu sahnii nou banouwe, alia souhee khyakho nou puh khyahi khopfiie, alia puh touso nou rekou khahzii ea laivoudziie.

( In English) 4 John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; an they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. (Mark 1:4-6 RSV)

RSS' Mohan Bhagwat and Mother Teresa

The saffron brigades have once again made an unkind remark on the Christians in India. This time specifically by saying that Mother Teresa's work is not as worthy or valuable as theirs because the former had conversion as the motive while the latter's motive is just to serve. 

There are so many Christian educational institutions and healthcare centre in the country. Millions of people have benefited from the services provided by these institutions. The motivation for these institutions is the love of Christ Jesus; no doubt there But what is the purpose for their existence? Why is there an educational institution -- to provide education or to convert people to Christianity? Why is there a hospital -- to provide healthcare or to convert people to Christianity? For RSS, the answer is clear -- to convert people to Christianity. 

Christianity is a missionary religion and so there are so many organisations that work to bring people to Christ. But institutions that are set up to provide healthcare, social service or education are there to provide for what they are set up. Mother Teresa set up a home to care for the poorest of the poor, and that institution is to care for the poorest of the poor. There are those who may ask why the cost is so low there when it's just so high outside or why such a  well qualified person is working there when an outside job would fetch so much more money. Well, you have to tell the truth there-- the love of Christ motivates. If a person is impressed by the answer and want to follow Christ, he is welcome to do so. However, these institution or the workers will not say ' become a Christian, and you will be given a job or better service'. Christians don't do that and ought not do that. 

What is there that is so difficult for RSS to make sense of this aspect of 'service'? Hatred or ignorance? The religion that RSS follows teaches against hatred. So though there may be a few of them who are driven by hatred, this may not be pervasive. So I would think that it's due to ignorance -- Ignorance of what Christianity is or who Christ is. But ignorance is not a bliss. The longer time RSS spends in ignorance, the more frequent its blunder will be. RSS may as well be doing so much of community service. But understanding why Christians too are providing service will not be harmful. I think it would rather help every one. 

God and Science

Justice Katju in his blog on 25th Feb. 2015 made certain comments against God's existence. Being a self-confessed atheist, he has made similar comments even before. In this particular post, he made five points. Point number 4 has been asked for ages, made famous by Dostoyevsky's novel the Brothers Karamazov. In the novel one of the characters, Ivan, asked something to this effect: If there is a God why all this suffering? Why war, starvation, natural disaster etc that killed millions of people? Is God bad or is God not powerful enough to prevent these things? This particular one Justice Katju raised is different from the other four, which I think are more similar to one another. These four questions are about God and Science, and the reasons for atheism.

He says religion believes in God and Science in matter -- matter which is in motion in accordance with certain laws which can be discovered by scientific research. The apparent point is that religion's God cannot be discovered unlike Science's matter. But does Science really deal with matter alone? How about energy? One may answer 'but you see E=mc^2' . Besides, energy's presence can be inferred! Scientific research can't be done without 'inference to the best possible explanation'. One does not have to see the Big Bang, but from the present data you infer to that conclusion... because that conclusion explains best the data being observed. But this way of reasoning is not confined to scientific inquiry alone. This is done in Philosophy and this is done in Theology. You don't have to be able to touch God, taste God or see God. From the observable things, you infer God's existence. This is what cosmological argument for God's existence is about! This is what teleological argument for God's existence is about.

But yes, there is a difference between scientific inquiry and a theological inquiry. But there has to be a difference because the disciplines are different; the questions they deal with are different. The nature of the answer to the question ' What is the meaning of my life?' has to be different from that of 'what  all elements constitute water?'  Scientific inquiry will not deal with the former kind of question and theological inquiry will not deal with the latter kind of question. Science has been able to cure small pox. Justice Katju thinks that Science will answer more and more of the questions in time... just as it is learning how to harness atomic energy or solar energy in time. Alas, Political Science will not help us in achieve World peace nor will Economics help us get rid of world's poverty. Geography will help us understand more and more about weather and Astronomy will help us understand more and more about the galaxies. But Physics will help us produce more and more powerful Nuclear Bomb and Chemistry Napalm. Science cannot domesticate human heart! This is the reason to look to scientific progress as THE answer to human predicament will be a disappointment.

A person can be a scientist and also a religious believer. Why not? The two are not mutually exclusive. Science and Religion can be complimentary. Science and Religion interact at certain points, but the two also deal with two different kinds of question. True, that scientific inquiry deals with matter. But is human life all about matter, collocation of atoms and their dancing? Is parents love for the child just dancing of atoms and nothing else?  This does not mean that material aspect of human life is false. Human being is made up of matter. Yet this explanation of human life is not a complete picture of human life. We need a different layer of explanation to capture the wholeness of human life and the reality of this world.

But regarding the question against God raised in Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky also gives his response in the same novel. Not a straightforward answer, but an answer, nevertheless, to the challenge of Ivan. I think that's the kind of response Dostoyevsky would give to justice Katju... and I wonder the kind justice has not provided a rejoinder to the response of Dostoyevsky!