Jesus In India — Page 87
J e s u s i n I n d i a 87 untrue that Jesus came to India before the event of the cross, for he did not need to undertake such a journey at the time. The need for it arose only after the Jews of Judea had rejected him and, as far as they were concerned, crucified him. He had, however, been saved by a subtle divine intervention. Jesus felt that he had done his duty in conveying the message to the Jews of that country, and that they did not deserve compassion anymore. Then, on being informed by God that the ten tribes of the Jews had migrated towards India, Jesus set out for those regions. As some of the Jews had accepted Buddhism, there was no alternative for this true prophet but to turn his attention to the followers of Buddhism. As the Buddhist priests of that country were waiting for the ‘Messiah Buddha’ to appear, they hailed Jesus as the Buddha considering all the signs like his titles, his moral teachings like ‘love thine enemy’ and ‘do not resist evil,’ and the Buddha’s prophecy about fair skin. It is also possible that some of the titles and teachings and facts of Jesus’ life may, consciously or unconsciously, have at that time been ascribed to the Buddha; for the early Indians never had any scruples about recording history objectively. The events of Buddha’s life had not been recorded till the time of Jesus. Buddhist priests, therefore, had ample room to ascribe to the Buddha anything they wished. It is quite likely, therefore, that when they came to know of the facts of Jesus’ life and his moral teaching, they mixed them up with many of their own innovations and ascribed them to the Buddha. Presently I We cannot deny that the Buddhistic faith, from ancient times, has contained a large portion of moral teaching; but at the same time we