The unknown life of Jesus Christ. Nikolay Notovich

Nikolai Notovich - The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ

The original work of Nikolai Notovich, including "The Life of Saint Issa"

Translator's Notes

Having translated the description of the journey to Tibet by Nikolai Notovich, the book “The Life of Saint Issa”, with conclusions and explanations, I would like to say that I in no way accept the theological hypotheses, theories or contradictions that this publication contains, and I do not identify my point of view with them.

I accept on faith the statements of Nikolai Notovich that the “records” about St. Issa were discovered by him in the Himis Monastery, but I refrain from expressing any judgment about the authenticity or reliability of the documents now presented to the English reader.

I would venture, however, to add to the brief remarks made by Mr. Notovich regarding the amazing similarities between the Catholic and Tibetan religions.

From the "General Biographer"*, published in Paris in 1914, I learned that Hippolyte Desideri, a Jesuit priest, visited Tibet in 1715 and Las-su (Lhasa) in 1716 and that he translated into Latin the "Kangiar", or "Sakhorin" is a work that, according to his biographer, had the same meaning for the Tibetans as the Holy Scriptures for Christians. The biographer claims that Desideri paid special attention to the study of the similarities that, in his opinion, exist in the Christian and Tibetan religions.

*Explanations are not included in this edition. - Approx. English ed.

The first known traveler to Tibet was Father Odoric of Pordenone, who supposedly reached Lassa in 1328. Three centuries later he was followed by the Jesuit Antonio Andrada, and in 1661 by Fathers Gruber and D'Orville.*

The first Englishman to visit Tibet was George Bogle, who in 1774 arrived on an embassy mission from Warren Hastings to the Lama of the city of Shigatse. Mr. Bogle remained for some time in Tibet, but published no records of his journey.

It is clear, however, from Mr. Stewart's letter to Sir John Pringle concerning this embassy, that Mr. Bogle was struck by the coincidences found by Desideri, as will be seen from the following lines of the Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 20, 1810, which, I I believe did not appear in any of the later encyclopedias:

"There is an old idea that the religion of Tibet is a perverted Christianity, and even Father Desideri, a Jesuit, who visited the country at the beginning of this (eighteenth) century, believes that he is able to relate their sacraments and rites with ours, and with truly mystical insight insists on the fact that they (the Tibetans) are certainly well aware of the Trinity... The truth is that the religion of Tibet, wherever it comes from, is very pure and simple, its sources convey a very sublime concept of the Divine, without any mundane system morality, but in its development it has been significantly changed and distorted by the laity."

Du Hald translated the letters of Hippolyte Desideri from Italian into French*, and in one of them, sent from Lassa on April 10th, 1716, the priest writes:

“As for their religion, they call God “Konchok” and seem to have an idea of the Trinity, since sometimes they call Him “Konchok”, or the One God, and sometimes “Konchok-sum”, or the Triune God. They have rosaries, using which they say: “Om, Ha, Hum.” As they say, Om means mind, or hand, that is, power; ".

The Jesuit Gruber and Horace de la Penna, head of the Capuchin mission, noted the similarities existing between their own religion* and the religion of Tibet. Their conclusions were based on: (1) the clothing of the lamas, which did not differ from the attire of the apostles in ancient images; (2) their subordination, which has some similarities with the church hierarchy; (3) the similarity between certain Tibetan ceremonies and Roman rituals; (4) their ideas about incarnation and (5) their moral principles.

Gerbillon mentions some of their ceremonies, such as: (1) the use of holy water; (2) prayers, prayers for the dead, and adds: “Their attire is the same as that in which the apostles were depicted, they wear mitres like bishops; and even their Great Lama is for them almost the same as the Pope for the Romans.”

Gruber goes even further: he argues that although no European or Christian has ever been to Tibet, * nevertheless, the Tibetan religion coincides with the Roman in all essential points. So, there they receive communion with bread and wine, hold unction, bless married couples, pray over the sick, take part in processions, glorify the relics of idols (he should have said “saints”), have monasteries and nunneries, sing choral prayers, just like the Roman monks , observe sacrificial fasts throughout the year, impose very severe penances, including scourging, ordain bishops and send out missionaries who live in extreme poverty and wander barefoot through the deserts as far as China. "I saw this with my own eyes"Gruber adds.

And even this amazing combination of coincidences is not all. Brother Horace de la Penna, who, however, should not be trusted too much, says:

“Basically, the religion of Tibet is a double of the Roman religion. They believe in one God and the Trinity, in heaven, hell and purgatory; they perform litanies, give alms, pray, perform funeral services for the dead; they have a number of monasteries full of novices and monks* who In addition to three vows - poverty, obedience and love for one's neighbor - they give several others. They have confessors who are elected by the heads of religious communities, and who receive permission from the Lama or bishop, without which they cannot hear confessions or impose penances. They use the saint. water, crosses and rosaries."

Mr. Huq, who traveled to Tibet in 1844-46, writes about the similarity of Lamaist services with Catholic ones:

"The cross, the miter, the dalmatic, the robe that the High Lamas wear when traveling, services with two choirs, the singing of psalms, exorcism, censers hanging on five chains, blessings, rosaries, celibacy of the clergy, spiritual retreat, worship of saints, fasts, processions, litanies, holy water - all this is the same in our and Buddhist religions."

“Further, can we say that all these analogues are of Christian origin? We believe so. In fact, we have not found any solid evidence of such borrowing either in the traditions or in the monuments of this country, however, it is quite reasonable to put forward assumptions that come closest to plausibility."*

/ Saint Bartholomew. It is believed that this apostle went as far as India preaching the Gospel, since Eusebius mentions that a famous philosopher and Christian named Panthaenus found here - among those who still preserved the proclamation of Christ - the Gospel of Matthew, transcribed, as tradition claims, by St. Bartholomew , one of the twelve apostles. There is a mention of the Gospel of St. Bartholomew in the preface to Origen's Notshek (Instructions), but it was generally accepted that the manuscript was fake, and it was classified by Bishop Gelasius as an apocryphal book.

From a fragment of the seventh volume of Pinkerton's Travels, entitled "Description of Tibet," it appears that "some missionaries believe that in the ancient Lamaistic books there are preserved traces of the Christian religion, which they believe was preached here in apostolic times."

Be that as it may, but without going into disputes over the coincidences of rites, ceremonies and rituals that could have turned out to be originally pagan or Roman, for Mr. Notovich, a convincing confirmation of the reliability of his discovery could be the fact that the two churches probably had one common source , and that if in the time of the apostles - as the missionaries convey to us - the Gospel was preached in Tibet, then, quite naturally, the companions of Christ, who probably knew from him how and where the amazing unknown part of his life passed, should have visited and did visit the places the first quests and labors of his Teacher. The restrictions imposed on the translator's notes prevent me from entering into this discussion, and I leave it to others to speculate on it.

I translated “The Life of Saint Issa” verbatim, but I translated Mr. Notovich’s own narrative more freely.

^ Violet Crispe

To the publishers

Gentlemen,

This translation is not a verbatim copy of the French edition. The inevitable difficulties associated with publication led to the fact that my book was printed the first time in great haste, which caused considerable damage to it. I had only five days to draft the preface, introduction, and conclusion, and barely a few hours to edit the proofs.

This was the reason for a certain lack of arguments in support of some of my statements, as well as the appearance of semantic gaps in the narrative and many typos, around which a fuss was made by my opponents, who did not notice that by their excessive zeal to cut from the shoulder and point out superficial shortcomings they only demonstrated their own powerlessness, throwing itself on the trunk of the tree that I had nurtured and which withstood the most violent gusts of wind that tried to knock it down.

Indeed, they did me a service for which I am sincerely grateful, since they contributed to a revision of this topic, which I myself seemed necessary. I am always happy to take advantage of any information and am not so experienced in oriental studies that I am not sure of the need for greater knowledge.

English readers will therefore be the first to benefit from the justified criticisms which I have accepted and the corrections which I have made.

So, I offer the English reader a book cleared of errors and free from any inaccuracies in details for which I was reproached so bitterly and persistently, as, for example, in the case of the Chinese Emperor, whose reign I indicated correctly, but was mistaken, attributing to him belonging to another dynasty.

It is my aim and sincere desire that the English public, who have a keen mind, but are wary of any innovations especially when it comes to religion, should be able to judge my work by its semantic qualities, and not by grammatical or typographical errors , which until now my opponents have relied on, trying to downplay the true value of this document. I still hope that after reading the work it will become clear that I wrote it completely sincerely and honestly.

I am fully aware that skillfully organized criticism has already turned the public against the book in advance. And even generously defended by friends known and unknown, "The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ" was so viciously attacked by fanatics who apparently imagined that I was eager to start a theological controversy (while my only goal was to lay another brick in the edifice of modern science), that all this created an atmosphere of mistrust around the first edition of the book in England.

Everything was arranged in such a way that the authenticity of my documents was considered doubtful. But the attacks were directed mainly at the author, calling into question his integrity, in the unfounded hope that such insults might shake his calm and cause him to show emotions that would turn everyone against the book itself.

This is what raised doubts: why did Lama Himisa refuse to answer affirmatively to the questions asked of him about the manuscripts? Because the people of the East are accustomed to considering Europeans as robbers who infiltrate their environment to rob in the name of civilization.

The fact that I succeeded and these stories were communicated to me is due to my application of Eastern diplomacy, which I learned during my travels. I knew how to approach the question that interested me from afar, while now everyone is trying to go ahead.

The Lama said to himself: “If they ask about these manuscripts, it is only to steal them,” and he naturally remained silent and refused to explain. This suspicion is easy to understand if we trace the actions of those Europeans who, in dealing with the eastern peoples, only oppressed and openly robbed them with the help of civilization.

A certain lady wrote to Europe that “no one has ever seen me there [in Tibet]” and no one has ever heard my name. Then a bunch of temple guards said that I had never set foot in Tibet - in other words, that I was a fraud.

The Moravian missionary, the worthy Mr. Shaw, repeated this little joke, which I must call childish; and then the seekers of Truth added his testimony to the rest and renewed the offensive accusations. It is also true that soon after this Mr. Shaw officially withdrew them.

It took me a lot of work to defend myself on this charge, but I must not allow lies to go unpunished and gain advantageous positions. If the said lady and her friends have never met me, I may call as a witness Lieutenant Younghusband, whom I met at Matayan on October 28, 1887, and who was the first to cross China, and also to ascend Muztagh Pass, at an altitude of 21,500 feet ( English), and many others.

I still have a photograph of the handsome Governor of Ladakh, Surajbal, with an inscription in his own hand, which I publish in this book.

During my illness in Ladakh, I was even visited by a European doctor in the British government service, Dr. Karl Marx, whose letter of November 4, 1887 you have already seen. Why not write directly to him to make sure whether I was actually in Tibet or not, if someone is so eager to prove the opposite? True, it will take some time to send a letter and receive a response from Tibet, however, letters are sent there, and responses come from there.

It was also stated that the original "The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ" never existed in the Himis Monastery and that it was all just a product of my imagination. This is truly an honor that I do not deserve, since my imagination is not so rich.

Even if I were capable of inventing a tale of this magnitude, I should simply use common sense to magnify the value of this discovery by attributing my discovery to some mysterious or supernatural intervention, and should avoid specifying the exact place, time and circumstances of this openings. In any case, I would hardly reduce my role in this matter to a simple reproduction of an old manuscript.

I was also considered the subject of ridicule by cunning lamas, as happened with Villefort and Jacolliot; they said that, not being thoroughly protected from certain Indian deceivers who profit from the gullibility of Europeans, I accepted at face value - almost as a gold bar - what which was a clever fake.

It was Mr. Max Müller who especially insisted on this accusation. So, since Max Müller is famous in the scientific world, I consider myself obliged - to myself and to the public - to devote more attention to refuting his arguments than to all my other critics.

Mr. Müller's main argument seems to be that the narrative of the "Unknown Life of Jesus Christ" as presented by me in this book was not found in any of the Tanjur and Kanjur catalogues.

Let me note here that if it had been there, then my discovery would have been neither surprising nor valuable, since these catalogs had long ago been available for research by European scientists, and the first orientalist, if desired, could easily do the same What I did is to go to Tibet, stock up on a guidebook and extract from the parchment scrolls the fragments indicated in the catalogs.

According to Max Müller's own statement, the catalogs contain an inventory of approximately two thousand volumes. Indeed, these are very incomplete catalogues, the monastery of Lassa alone contains more than a hundred thousand volumes of manuscripts, and I sincerely sympathize with my opponent if he believes that these crumbs will provide him with the key to the entire long period of the existence of Eastern science.

It is indeed true that the parables the translation of which is presented in this book cannot be found in any catalogue, be it Tanjur or Kanjur. They had no title and were scattered in more than one book, therefore they cannot be found in catalogs of Chinese and Tibetan works. They exist as reminders of the remarkable events that took place in the first century of the Christian era, which were briefly recorded with more or less accuracy by the Lamaist scribes - to the extent that they were remembered.

If I had the patience to put these parables together, give them a semantic sequence and exclude from them what was introduced by my translation, would this fruit of persistent labors raise questions? .

And does not the tradition convey to us that the Iliad, in the form in which it has been known to us for 2,500 years, was compiled in the same way, by order of Pisistratus, from scattered songs about the Trojan War and sacredly preserved in the memory of Greek tradition?

Mr. Müller further reproached me for not mentioning the name of a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, who had honored me with unusual confidence regarding the “Unknown Life of Jesus Christ,” and whose frank statements could serve as a confirmation of my discovery. But I appeal to the universal law of decency, and everyone must admit that it would be undignified to reveal the name of this cardinal in connection with the circumstances I have mentioned.

However, to what has already been said in the introduction regarding the fact that for the Roman Catholic Church “The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ” is not an innovation, I can add the following: the Vatican library contains sixty-three complete or incomplete manuscripts in various Eastern languages on this topic, which have been brought to Rome by missionaries from India, China, Egypt and Arabia.

This question forces me to clarify once and for all the essence of my intentions in connection with the transmission to the Western public of a document of such significance, which, I recognize, everyone has the right to freely criticize.

In the French magazine "La Paix" I clearly said that I profess the Russian Orthodox faith, and I continue to affirm this. Damage to authority could not be caused if there were no contradictions in doctrines and inconsistencies in facts. But the doctrine contained in these Tibetan parables is the same as in the Gospels, and the facts differ only in appearance.

Indeed, it should be noted that the first who wrote down these parables in Pali scrupulously conveyed the stories of local merchants (not Jews, as Mr. Müller believed) upon their return from Palestine, where they had gone on their own. trade affairs and where they accidentally witnessed the drama on Calvary.

And it was not surprising that these witnesses viewed what was happening from a point of view different from that of the Romans, who were eventually to fully accept the religion of their victim. Naturally, it was preferable for them [the merchants] to accept the version prevailing among the Jewish people.

What should have been clarified was how impartial the witnesses were, and how honestly and competently the scribes reflected the essence of their stories. But this is already a problem of exegesis* and it is not for me to solve it.

I would rather limit myself to this more a simple question and I want to advise my opponents to do the same: did these fragments exist in the Himis monastery, and did I correctly reflect their essence? This is the only basis on which I recognize the moral right of someone to summon me to trial.

I proposed to return to Tibet with a group of famous orientalists to verify the authenticity of these scriptures on the spot. Nobody responded to this proposal. Most were content to continue attacking me, and those who tried to find these fragments chose the wrong search method.

I learned, however, that an American expedition was in the process of being formed, without wanting any participation on my part, they were going to undertake this journey in order to carry out serious research on their own. I am not afraid of these explorations: on the contrary, I welcome them with all my heart. They will show that I, being far from thinking about innovations, only gave tangible form to traditions that have existed at all times in the Christian world.

The New Testament is completely silent about the period of the Savior’s life from thirteen to thirty years. What happened to him during this time? What was he doing? Show me a passage that even vaguely states that he was never in Tibet or India, and I will lay down my arms. But even the most stubborn fanatic would find it very difficult to show me such lines.

Moreover, would it be strange if the founder of Christianity was inspired by the doctrines of Brahmanism or Buddhism in order to transform them, cleanse them of all superfluous things and bring them to the minds of the West? Moses did exactly this and not otherwise. When he wrote the Book of Genesis and proclaimed the law of justice, he referred to books and laws written before him. He admitted this more than once. All this is the basics of exegesis.

Is there any doubt that all religions, even the most barbarous and absurd, have preserved fragments of truth and have the opportunity to one day accept the universal Truth - demonstrating the fact that their roots come from a common source and that after dividing into many branches they will be gathered together under a single beginning? Far from rejecting these glimpses of truth without verification, Christianity hastens to accept them, giving them a genuine meaning and applying them to the mystical needs of peoples.

If this were not so, would St. John the Evangelist have taken so much pains to take Plato's Logos5 and transform it into that "Incorruptible Word Incarnate" whose incomparable greatness eclipsed the highest concepts of the Greek philosopher?

If this were not so, would the fathers of the Greek and Latin churches, St. John Chrysostomos and St. Augustine (to mention only the most famous of them), have found it so difficult to extract from the confusion and dust of mythology those wise interpretations and moral precepts that they accepted, resurrecting legends - if I may be allowed this neologism - returning myths to their true innermost meaning?

I leave it to the experts to extract the truths of Brahmanism and Buddhism woven into the parables of Shakyamuni and the Vedas.

I return to my book. I stand that if she can establish an irrefutable agreement between the teachings of the Gospels and the sacred scriptures of India and Tibet, she will have rendered an outstanding service to all mankind.

Is this a new phenomenon in the Christian world - a book that aims to complement the New Testament and shed light on hitherto obscure points? The works known as the Apocrypha were so numerous in the sixteenth century that the Catholic church cathedral at Trent was forced to limit their innumerable number in order to avoid disagreements harmful to the interests of the public, and to reduce the Book of Revelations to a minimum accessible to average minds.

Did not the church council in Nisin, in agreement with the Emperor Constantine, declare many manuscripts forbidden to believers - those manuscripts that were revered with almost the same reverence as the four canonical Gospels? The Church Council of Nisino, together with the Council of Trent, also reduced the number of transcendental truths to a minimum.

Is it not known from chronicles that Stilicho, the commander-in-chief of [Roman Emperor] Honorius, ordered the public burning of the Books of the Sibyls in 401? Can one doubt that they were full of moral, historical and prophetic truths? higher order? Then one could call into question the whole of Roman history, most important points which were determined by the decisions of the Sibylline Books.

At the time of which we are speaking, there were all the prerequisites for strengthening or supporting a weakly united or already shaky religion, both spiritual and secular power They believed that there could be nothing better than to organize vigilant supervision and the strictest censorship of eternal truths.

But enlightened minds had so little desire for the wholesale destruction of all documents that did not meet official criteria that they themselves saved a certain number of works from oblivion. During the last three centuries, those editions of the Bible which included as an appendix the book of the Shepherd of St. Hermas, the Epistles of St. Clement, St. Barnabas, the Prayer of Manasseh, and two additional Books of the Maccabees, are certainly rare.

The four Gospels laid the foundation for Christian teaching. But there were twelve apostles, St. Bartholomew, St. Thomas, St. Matthias declared that they preached the good news to the peoples of India, Tibet and China.

Did these friends of Jesus, close witnesses of his sermons and his martyrdom, write nothing? Or did they give others the sole responsibility of writing down on papyrus the sublime teachings of the Lord? But these others wrote in Greek, and beyond the Euphrates no one spoke or understood Greek. How could they preach on Greek people who understood only Pali, Sanskrit or the numerous dialects of China and Hindustan?

It is known that Saint Thomas was reputed to be the most educated among the other disciples, who mostly came from the common people. Even without marble or copper, would not St. Thomas strive to write down on incorruptible tablets what he saw and the lessons that the crucified Lord taught him?

The parables given to me by the Buddhist Lama at Himisa Monastery, which I have arranged so as to give them a semantic sequence and organize them according to the rules of literary composition, may actually have been told by St. Thomas, may have been historical sketches made by his own hand or under his direction .

And might not this resurrection of books, buried under the dust of earthly ages, become the starting point for a new science, which is destined to yield unforeseen and unimaginable results in abundance?

These are the questions that my book raises. Criticism would gain the respect it deserves if it considered them seriously. The topic is well worth the effort spent on studying it. It contains all the questions that concern humanity. I am convinced that research will not be fruitless. I have struck the first blow with the hoe and discovered the hidden treasure, but I have every reason to believe that the mine is inexhaustible.

Now it is no longer what it was in those past centuries, when a certain class alone was the guardian of all Truths and gave the masses their share of indivisible property, to each according to his needs. Today the world thirsts for knowledge, and everyone has the right to turn the page in the book of science and learn the truth about the God-Man who belongs to us all.

I believe in the authenticity of the Buddhist narrative because I see nothing historically or theologically that contradicts it or makes it unfounded. Let it be studied and discussed. Even if they prove to me that I am wrong. But this is not an excuse for insulting me. Insults confirm only one thing - the incompetence of their authors.

I gave life to the words of the prophet Daniel that the time would come when “many will read it [the book], and knowledge will increase.”* / Dan. 12:4./

I studied, found, learned, discovered. I pass on my knowledge and my discovery to those readers who, like myself, are eager to learn and experience.

I transmit them, with your help, to the English readers with the utmost confidence and rely in advance on their judgment in the full confidence that it will be fair.

Sincerely yours,

^ N. Notovich

Preface

Upon completion Turkish war(1877-78) I made a number of trips to the East. Having first visited less remarkable places on the Balkan Peninsula, I set out on a journey through the Caucasus into Central Asia and Persia, and finally, in 1887, went to India, a wonderful country that had attracted my attention since childhood.

The purpose of my journey was to become acquainted with the peoples of India, to study their manners and customs, and at the same time to explore the noble and mysterious archeology and the majestic grandiose nature of this wonderful country.

Wandering without any definite plan from one place to another, I reached the mountains of Afghanistan, from where I returned to India along the picturesque roads of Bodana and Guernai. Then I again ascended the Indus to Rawalpindi, traveled through the Punjab, the land of the five great rivers, visited the Golden Temple of Amritsar, the tomb of the king of the Punjab, Ranjit Singh, near Lahore, and directed my steps towards Kashmir, the “valley of eternal happiness.”

From there I set out on further travels, and my curiosity led me until I reached Ladakh, from where I intended to return to Russia via Karakorum and Chinese Turkestan.

One day, while visiting a Buddhist monastery, I learned from the lama abbot that the Lassa archives contained very ancient records concerning the life of Jesus Christ and the peoples of the West, and that several large monasteries possessed copies and translations of these writings.

Since it then seemed very unlikely that I would ever have the opportunity to visit this country again, I decided to postpone my return to Europe and coute que coute the mentioned large monasteries, or by going to Laos. Traveling to Laos is not nearly as dangerous and difficult as we tend to think; it presented only those difficulties with which I was well acquainted and which could not deter me from this undertaking.

While staying in Leh, the capital of Ladak, I visited the large monastery of Himis, located on the outskirts of the city, in the library of which, as the lama abbot informed me, some copies of the manuscripts I was looking for were kept. In order not to arouse the suspicions of the authorities regarding the purposes of my visit to the monastery and to avoid all sorts of obstacles to my further travel through Tibet - after all, I am Russian - I announced my intention to return to India and immediately left the capital of Ladakh.

An unfortunate fall from a horse, as a result of which I broke my leg, gave me a completely unexpected reason to return to the monastery, where I was given first aid. I took advantage of my short stay in the company of the lamas to obtain the consent of their head to show me manuscripts relating to the life of Jesus Christ. Thus, with the help of my interpreter, who translated from Tibetan, I was able to meticulously write down in a notebook what the lama read to me.

Without doubting for a moment the authenticity of these chronicles, written with great care by the Brahman and mostly Buddhist historians of Nepal and India, I decided to publish their translation upon my return to Europe. With this intention, I approached several famous theologians, asking them to check my notes and express their opinion about them.

His Holiness the Venerable Platon, the famous Metropolitan of Kiev, expressed the opinion that this discovery is of great importance. However, he dissuaded me from publishing my memoirs on the grounds that their publication could have harmful consequences for me. The venerable prelate refused to explain more fully how this could happen. Since our conversation took place in Russia, where censorship would certainly veto such work, I decided to wait.

A year later, finding myself in Rome, I showed my notes to one cardinal, who is in excellent relations, French. - Approx. ed./ with His Holiness the Pope. He answered me verbatim as follows: “What good will this publication bring? No one will attach much importance to it, and you will gain crowds of enemies. However, you are still very young! If the money issue is of interest to you, I can ask you for compensation for your writings , which will reimburse the costs incurred and lost time." Naturally, I refused.

In Paris I spoke about my plans with Cardinal Rotelli, whom I had previously met in Constantinople. He was also against the publication of my work, under the imaginary pretext that it would be premature. “The Church,” he added, “is already suffering greatly from the new wave of atheistic ideas. You will only provide fresh food for slanderers who discredit church doctrine. I tell you this, defending the interests of all Christian denominations.”

Then I went to Monsieur Jules Simon. He found my message interesting and recommended that I ask Mr. Renan for advice regarding the best way publishing records.

The next day I was sitting in the office of the great philosopher. Our conversation ended like this: Mr. Renan invited me to entrust him with the records under discussion so that he would make a report on them at the Academy.

One can imagine that this offer was very tempting and flattered my atom

* Self-esteem, French. Note ed.

However, citing the need for re-checking, I took away my work. I foresaw that if I agreed, I would only gain the glory of being the discoverer of the chronicles, while the illustrious author of the Vie de Jesus, French, would take all the honors for himself by commenting on the chronicles and presenting them to the general public. Therefore, believing that I myself was completely ready to publish a translation of the chronicle and provide it with my comments, I declined the kind offer thus made to me. However, so as not to in any way offend the sensibilities of the great master, whom I deeply respected, I intended to wait for his death, the sad approach of which, as I foresaw, judging by his weakened state, was not long in coming.

When what I foresaw happened, I hastened to put things in order in the notes which I now publish, reserving to myself the right to confirm the authenticity of these chronicles and developing in my comments arguments that should convince us of the sincerity and integrity of the Buddhist compilers.

In conclusion, I suggest that before criticizing my message, any scientific society could, in a relatively short time, send out a scientific expedition aimed at examining these manuscripts on site and establishing their historical value.

R.5. During my travels I took a significant number of very interesting photographs, but when, on arrival in Bombay, I checked the negatives, I discovered that they were all overexposed. I owe this failure to the negligence of my black servant, Philip, who was entrusted with the box of photographic plates. During the journey, finding it heavy, he carefully removed the contents, thus exposing the plates and undoing my labor.

Therefore, I owe the illustration of my book exclusively to the generous help of my friend Monsieur d'Overnier, who, having made a trip to the Himalayas, graciously offered me a selection of his photographs.

Travel to Tibet

During my stay in India I often had occasion to communicate with Buddhists, and what they told me about Tibet aroused my curiosity to such an extent that I decided to make a trip to this relatively unknown country. To this end, I chose the route through Kashmir, a place I had long intended to visit.

We know little about the life of Jesus Christ, the God-man in whom divine and human natures are united. Christian books talk a lot about him as the Messiah, Savior, Redeemer and Son of God. But information about Jesus as the Son of Man is fragmentary.

Statue of Issa in India

The Bible (Gospel of Luke, 2.41-51) describes how, as a twelve-year-old youth, Jesus and his parents came to Jerusalem for the Passover holiday, where his parents then lost him in the crowd, but three days later they found him in perfect health, calmly talking in the temple with the priests . The next time the age of Jesus - about thirty years old - is mentioned only when describing his Baptism in the Jordan River (Gospel of Luke, 3.23). It remains unclear why almost 18 years were missing from the biblical chronology of Christ’s life.

Unknown Gospel

As is known, in addition to the four canonical Gospels, there are many other historical documents (apocrypha) that were not recognized by the official Church and therefore were not included in the Holy Scriptures. So, maybe they contain the answer to where and how Jesus Christ spent almost 18 years of his life?
Our compatriot, journalist Nikolai Notovich, traveled to India in 1887. He wrote a book about this journey, which he published in 1894 in Paris. The book was called "The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ, the Best of the Sons of Men." It was published in Russia in 1910.
The book contains the text of a hitherto unknown Gospel telling about the life of Jesus (Issa in Tibetan) in India, originally written in the Pali language.
In addition to Notovich's controversial book, mention of the Indian period of Jesus' life can also be found in the apocryphal Gospel of Philip, found in 1945 in Egypt. Does this mean that the Christian Church has an insignificant number of documents that mention Jesus’ stay in India? Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

A reasonable question arises: is it possible to believe the Gospel published by Notovich, which miraculously appeared thousands of years after the events described in it and which no one had heard of before? Let's look at Nikolai Notovich's find in more detail.

What do we know about Issa?

During his trip to India in 1887, N. Notovich learned about the existence of an ancient Indian manuscript, the so-called “Tibetan Gospel,” which was kept in the capital of Tibet, Lhasa.
The document narrated the life of the Great Lama Issa (Tibetan name of Jesus). Continuing his journey, Notovich discovered a translation of this ancient manuscript into Tibetan in a monastery in the city of Himis. The abbot of the monastery read it aloud to Notovich, and he managed to write down the text for the translator, and then subjected it to literary processing. The result is a 14-part book that describes the life of Jesus in India.
According to the manuscript, Jesus, at the age of 13, left his home in Nazareth and went with a merchant caravan to India, where he studied the ancient Vedas, astrology, magic, and also taught the local population to heal the sick. He then continued his missionary work in Nepal and Persia, urging the inhabitants of these countries to abandon the worship of ancient deities, asserting: “There is only one God, and this is our heavenly Father,” and then returned to Palestine.

Nicholas Roerich: Issa and the head of a giant.

Was there a manuscript?

Notovich's book divided the scientific community into supporters of the theory of Jesus' sojourn in India and its opponents.
For example, the outstanding orientalist Max Müller rightly pointed out the lack of mention of the manuscript in the collection of sacred Buddhist texts “Ganjur” and commentaries on it.
Indian professor J. Archibald Douglas undertook a journey in the footsteps of Notovich, visited the monastery in Himis, but did not find either a manuscript there or even traces of the journalist himself.
However, N.K. Roerich in his book “The Heart of Asia” cites legends about Issa, which he heard during his travels in India and Tibet. He also found out that such Asian peoples as the Kalmyks, Olets and Torguts also know about Issa from the “Tibetan Gospel”, the very source of which Notovich found a copy.

Issa

The Indian scientist Swami Abhedananda, a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, a famous religious leader of India, said that he personally saw the manuscript translated by Notovich in the Himis monastery, and was convinced of the correctness of its presentation by the Russian journalist. He also confirmed that the original manuscript of which it is a translation is located in a monastery on Mount Masbur near Lhasa.
In 1939, the American pianist Elizabeth Caspary, who was interested in Buddhism, visited the monastery in Himis, after which she also published her confirmation of the authenticity of the document found by Notovich.

Mysteries of Indian Christology

In 1889, the Ahmadiyya Muslim sect arose in India. Its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, in particular, believed that Christ did not die on the cross, but plunged into deep meditation, misleading his executioners, who believed in his death. After this, he came to life and went to Kashmir, where he preached under the name Issa (in Islam - Isa). Hindus perceived him as an incarnation of Buddha. He stayed in India until his death at the age of 120, and was then buried in Srinagar under the name Ruhullah (translated from Arabic as “Spirit of God”).
It is noteworthy that in the city of Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, there is indeed a tomb called Roza Bol (“Tomb of the Prophet”), and Nazrati Yuz Asaf is buried in it (doesn’t it look like “Nazarene Jesus”?). For a long time, this tomb, oriented from east to west, according to Jewish tradition, has been under the patronage of the local Jewish community.

Indian professor Fida Hassanain, in his book The Fifth Gospel, went even further, arguing that Jesus visited India twice: once in his youth, and again after his crucifixion and miraculous salvation. He mentions a tomb in Srinagar and also gives detailed list Silk Road cities where Jesus stopped on his way to Kashmir.

One of the most interesting publications on this topic is the book by Andreas Faber-Kaiser “Jesus Died in Kashmir,” where the author cites linguistic parallels between the Indian and biblical names of cities and peoples. In his book, he also cites a prediction from the ancient Purana (Indian sacred book) about the appearance in India of Isha putra (son of God), who at the age of 13 will come to India to learn wisdom under the guidance of sages-rishis and siddha yogis, as well as visit holy places of Hinduism and Buddhism.

So where is the truth?

So, what do we have in the “bottom line”? Firstly, the biblical canonical texts are silent both about Jesus’ youthful journey to India and about his flight from Palestine after his miraculous salvation.
Further, the information in apocryphal Christian sources is very scarce, they can be counted on one hand. However, there are facts that, as you know, cannot be argued with. Mentions of Jesus' stay in India are found in ancient Buddhist and Islamic canonical texts, as well as in the sacred books of the Persians and Jews.
As you know, St. Thomas managed to reach India along roads blazed by numerous trade caravans. This is an indisputable historical fact (he was buried in Madras, and St. Thomas Cathedral was erected over his grave). Consequently, such a journey at that time could have been made independently by any resident of Palestine.
The descendants of the ancient Jews who settled there after the collapse of the Assyrian Empire still live in Asia, and the roots of ancient Hebrew are preserved in the names of these tribes and their settlements. It is also interesting that the word for “messiah” (anointed one) in Hebrew, Sanskrit and Arabic has the same root.

Nicholas Roerich wrote that Tibetan icons and ritual objects often contain an image of a fish (a Christian symbol), and the circle in Buddhism is a sacred symbol as well as in Christianity. N. Notovich stated that he was able to learn about 63 documents brought to the Vatican by Christian missionaries from China, Egypt, Arabia and India, which mention Jesus. But the Vatican made it clear to him that the Church was not interested in making these documents public. It is unlikely that the general public will ever be able to see this “good news.”

Sergei SUKHANOV
"Secrets of the 20th Century" No. 9 2010

N Notovich

The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ

N Notovich

“Why is it that Issa is always sent from Palestine to Egypt during her absence? His early years were, of course, spent in training. Traces of the teaching, of course, affected subsequent sermons. To what origins do these sermons lead? What's Egyptian about them? And aren’t traces of Buddhism and India visible? It is not clear why Issa’s travel by caravan route to India and to the region now occupied by Tibet is so vehemently denied.”

To the publishers

English readers will therefore be the first to benefit from the justified criticisms which I have accepted and the corrections which I have made.

I could treat offensive accusations with contempt: insults are not arguments, even if they are expressed in a deliberately restrained manner, so characteristic of Mr. Max Müller in his attempt to defeat me. But I will nevertheless consider those that affect my travels to Tibet, Leh, Ladakh and the Buddhist monastery at Himis. To begin, I will briefly list the objections that have been raised regarding the means of authenticating my documents. This is what raised doubts: why did Lama Himisa refuse to answer affirmatively to the questions asked of him about the manuscripts? Because the people of the East are accustomed to considering Europeans as robbers who infiltrate their environment to rob in the name of civilization.

I still have a photograph of the handsome Governor of Ladakh, Surajbal, with an inscription in his own hand, which I publish in this book.

It was Mr. Max Müller who especially insisted on this accusation. So, since Max Müller is famous in the scientific world, I consider myself obligated - to myself and to the public - to devote more attention to refuting his arguments than to all my other critics.

Mr. Müller's main argument seems to be that the narrative of the "Unknown Life of Jesus Christ" as presented by me in this book was not found in any of the Tanjur and Kanjur catalogues.

According to Max Müller's own statement, the catalogs contain an inventory of approximately two thousand volumes. Truly these are very incomplete catalogs, the monastery of Lassa alone contains more than a hundred thousand volumes of manuscripts, and I sincerely sympathize with my opponent if he believes that these crumbs will provide him with the key to the entire long period of the existence of Eastern science.

It is indeed true that the parables translated in this book cannot be found in any catalogue, be it Tanjur or Kanjur. They had no title and were scattered in more than one book, therefore they cannot be found in catalogs of Chinese and Tibetan works. They exist as reminders of the remarkable events that took place in the first century of the Christian era, which were briefly recorded with more or less accuracy by the Lamaist scribes - to the extent that they were remembered.

If I had the patience to put these parables together, give them a semantic sequence and exclude from them what was introduced by my translation,...

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In some places the passage narrowed so much that from the saddle I could touch the opposite rock with my whip, while in others death seemed to be staring me in the face from the depths of the downward abyss. However, it was too late to dismount. I could only regret the haste of the step I had taken and continue on my way with all possible caution.

This chasm is actually a huge fissure, formed by some terrible shift of the earth's strata, which seemed to violently separate two gigantic masses of granite rocks. At the bottom I could see a faint white stripe. It was a swift stream, whose unclear noise filled the abyss with mysterious sounds. A narrow blue ribbon curled above me - the only part of the sky visible between the rocks.

Contemplating this magical nature was a great pleasure in itself. At the same time, the deathly silence, the terrifying silence of the mountains, only broken by melancholic splashes of water below, filled me with sadness.

For eight miles I experienced these sensations, pleasant and at the same time overwhelming, when, after a sharp turn to the right, I emerged from the gorge into a valley surrounded by cliffs, the peaks of which were reflected in the Indus. On the bank of the river stands the Khalsi fortress, a citadel famous since the Muslim invasion, near which there is a large road leading from Kashmir to Tibet.

Having crossed the Indus by a kind of suspension bridge leading to the entrance to the fort, I crossed the valley and passed the village of Khalsi, hastening to spend the night in the village of Snourli, which is located in the Indus valley and is built on terraces descending to the river.

For the next two days I traveled calmly and without any complications along the banks of the Indus through a picturesque countryside that brought me to Leh, the capital of Ladakh.

Crossing the small valley of Saspula near the village that bears the same name, I found stone embankments and chor tenas for several kilometers in the surrounding area. I also passed two monasteries, one of which had a French flag flying over it. Later I learned that a certain French engineer gave it to the monks, who used it as decoration.

I spent the night in Saspul, not forgetting to visit the monasteries, where for the tenth time I saw Buddha statues covered with dust, flags and banners hanging in the corner, terrible masks lying on the ground, books and parchment rolls piled in disorder, and the usual exhibition prayer cylinders.

The llamas seem to take a certain pleasure in displaying these objects. They seem to display treasures of great importance and yet are completely indifferent to the extent to which it arouses the interest of the viewer. Their idea seems to be: “We should display everything we possess, in the hope that the mere sight of so many sacred things will make the traveler believe in the divine greatness of the human soul.”

As for the prophet Issa, they gave me explanations that I had already heard before, and they told me what was already known - that books that could somehow clarify this issue were in Lassa and that only the largest monasteries have copies of these books.

I no longer thought about the crossing of the Karakoram, but only thought about how to learn this story, which might perhaps throw a little more light on the inner life of the best of people and at the same time expand the somewhat obscure information that is given to us about the Gospels.

Not far from Leh, at the entrance to the valley of the same name, the road passes near a lonely rock, on the top of which a fort with two adjoining towers (without a garrison) and a small monastery of Pintak are built.

The 10,500-foot mountain guards the entrance to Tibet. The road then turns sharply north towards Lech, which, six miles from Pintak, lies at an altitude of 11,500 feet at the foot of enormous granite columns, the summits of which, reaching from 18,000 to 19,000 feet, are covered with perpetual snow.

The city itself, bordered by low-growing aspens, rises in rows of terraces, above which rise the old fortress and palace of the ancient rulers of Ladakh. Towards evening I entered Leh and settled in a bungalow specially built for Europeans.

Ladak Ladak was originally part of Greater Tibet. The frequent raids of the conquerors from the north, who crossed this country to conquer Kashmir and fought here, not only reduced Ladakh to poverty, but as a result, passing from the hands of some conquerors to the hands of others, it lost the political dominance of Lassa.

The Muslims, who in a distant era ruled Kashmir and Ladakh, forcibly converted the population of Little Tibet, who were unable to resist, to Islam. The political existence of Ladakh ceased when the Sikhs annexed this country to Kashmir, which allowed the people of Ladakh to return to their ancient beliefs.

Two-thirds of the population took advantage of these circumstances to re-erect their gonpas and return to their previous way of life. Only the Baltistans remained Shia Muslims, to which their conquerors belonged. However, despite this, only a vague resemblance to Islam remained, which was mainly manifested in the customs and practice of polygamy. Some lamas told me that they still do not give up hope of one day returning these people to the faith of their ancestors.

In a religious sense, Ladakh was subordinate to Lassa, the capital of Tibet and the residence of the Dalai Lama. It is at Lassa that the chief khutuktu, or lama-high priests, are elected, as are the chogzots, or administrators. Politically, the country is subject to the Maharaja of Kashmir, who is represented by the Governor.

The population of Ladakh belongs to the Sino-Turanian race and is divided into Ladaks and Tsampas. Ladakhis lead a sedentary lifestyle, build villages along their narrow valleys, live in two-story houses, which are kept neat, and cultivate large tracts of land.

They are exceptionally ugly, small in stature, thin and stooped, with small heads, narrow sloping foreheads, prominent cheekbones and small black eyes of the Mongolian race, with flat noses, large thin-lipped mouths, weak sparsely bearded chins and sunken cheeks, densely furrowed with wrinkles. Add to all this a shaved head with a narrow braid hanging from it, and you get the basic type not only of the inhabitants of Ladakh, but of the whole of Tibet.

The women are just as small and have the same wide cheekbones. But they are of a stronger build, and their faces are illuminated with pleasant smiles. They have a joyful and calm disposition and are prone to having fun.

The severity of the climate does not allow the Ladakhis to wear rich or colorful clothes.

Their dress is made of simple gray linen, which they produce themselves, and their pantaloons, which reach only to the knees, are made of the same material.

Middle class people wear chog (a type of cloak). In winter, fur hats with earmuffs are worn, while in summer the head is protected by a cloth cap, the top of which hangs down on one side. Their shoes are made of felt and covered with leather, and on their belts dangles a whole arsenal of small things - needle cases, knives, fountain pens, inkwells, tobacco pouches, pipes and the invariable prayer girouettes.

Tibetans, as a rule, are of such a lazy disposition that the braid, which eventually unravels, is not re-braided for at least three months; the dress does not change until it falls off the body in rags. The capes they wear are so dirty and are usually marked on the back with a large greasy stain left by their braids, which are carefully greased every day. They bathe once a year, and not of their own free will, but because it is prescribed by law. For this reason, it can be easily understood that their close proximity should be avoided.

Women, on the contrary, are great connoisseurs of cleanliness and order. They wash themselves every day and at the slightest occasion. Their costume consists of a short snow-white shirtfront, which hides the dazzling whiteness of their skin, and, draped over beautiful rounded shoulders, a red jacket, the edges of which are tucked into trousers of red or green linen.

This last garment looks like it is inflated with air to protect against the cold. They also wear red embroidered shoes trimmed with fur, and home clothes are complemented by a wide, multi-layered skirt.

The hair is tightly braided and long pieces of hanging material are attached to the head with pins, reminiscent of the fashion of Italian women. Various colored stones, as well as coins and pieces of engraved metal, are intricately suspended from this headdress.

The ears are covered with fabric or fur earmuffs; sheep skins are also used, protecting only the back. Poor women are content with ordinary animal skins, while wealthy women wear beautiful capes of red material, lined with fur and embroidered with gold borders.

Walking the streets or visiting friends, women invariably carry cone-shaped baskets filled with peat on their backs, the narrow bottoms of which are turned towards the ground; peat is the main fuel of the country.

Each woman has a certain amount of money that rightfully belongs to her, and she usually spends it on jewelry, buying cheap large pieces of beanie, which she adds to various decorations in her hairstyle.

Women of Ladakh have social status, who are the envy of all the women of the East, since they are not only free, but also highly respected.

With the exception of small field work, they spend most of their time visiting guests. And here let me note that idle gossip is a thing they are unfamiliar with.

The settled population of Ladakh devotes itself to agriculture, but has so little land (everyone's holding rarely exceeds ten acres) that the income received from it is not sufficient to cover the payment of taxes and the basic needs of life. There is a contemptuous attitude towards physical work. The lowest class of society is called Bem, and communication with a person of this class is carefully avoided.

During leisure hours after working in the fields, residents indulge in hunting Tibetan goats, whose wool is highly valued in India. The poorest among the population - those who cannot afford to buy hunting equipment - are hired to work as coolies.

This work is also performed by women, who tolerate fatigue very well and have much better health than their husbands, whose laziness is such that they are able to spend the whole night in the open air, regardless of heat and cold, stretched out on a pile of stones, just to do nothing.

Polyandry, which I will talk about in more detail, is a means of preserving the unity of the people. It creates large families who cultivate the land with the help of yaks, zos and zomos (oxen and cows) for the common good. A family member cannot separate from it, and if he dies, his share returns to the community.

A little more income comes from wheat crops, the grains of which are very small due to the harsh climate. Barley is also grown and ground before sale.

As soon as all field work is completed, the men go to collect enoriota grass in the mountains, as well as large thorny plant lady. They are used to make fuel, which is so scarce in Ladakh, where you will not see any trees or gardens, and only occasionally you can find sparse growths of poplar or willow on the river bank. Near villages you can also find aspen;

but due to the lack of fertile soil, gardening is difficult.

The absence of wood is noticeable, moreover, from the dwellings, which are sometimes built of bricks dried in the sun, but more often of medium-sized stones fastened together in a similar manner. lime mortar, composed of clay and chopped straw.

These are two-story buildings, carefully whitewashed from the facade, with brightly painted window frames. Their flat roofs form terraces, usually decorated with wild flowers, and here, in the warmer months, residents kill time contemplating nature and turning their prayer wheels.

Each building has several rooms, and among them there is always one for guests, the walls of which are decorated with luxurious fur skins. The remaining rooms have beds and furniture. Rich people have, on top of everything else, prayer rooms filled with idols.

Life here is very measured. As for food, the choice is small. The Ladakhi menu is very simple. Breakfast consists of a slice of rye bread. At noon they put it on the table wooden bowl with flour, which is added warm water. This mixture is beaten with small sticks until it reaches the consistency of a thick paste, and then in the form of small balls is consumed along with milk.

Bread and tea are served in the evenings. Meat is considered an excessive luxury. Only hunters add a little variety to the menu in the form of meat from wild goats, eagles and ptarmigan, which abound in the country. Throughout the day, for any reason, they drink tsang, a kind of light, unaged beer.

If a Ladakhi, riding a pony (such privileged persons are very rare), happens to go on the road in search of work in the area, he stocks up with a small amount of food. When dinner time comes, he dismounts near a river or stream, fills a small wooden cup (which he never leaves) with a small amount of flour, whisks it with water, and finally consumes this food.

The Tsampas, the nomads who form the other part of the population of Ladakh, are much poorer and at the same time less civilized than the sedentary Ladakhis. For the most part they are hunters and completely neglect agriculture. Although the Tsampas profess Buddhism, they never visit monasteries, except in search of food, which they exchange for game.

They usually camp on the tops of mountains, where the cold is terrible. While the Ladakis themselves are scrupulously truthful, love to study, but are hopelessly lazy, the Tsampas, on the contrary, are very hot-tempered, overly active and great liars, and also have an arrogant contempt for monasteries.

Besides them, there live the small Khamba people, who came from the outskirts of Lassa and eke out a miserable existence in camps wandering along the main roads. Unfit for any work, speaking a language different from the language of the country in which they found refuge, they are the subject of universal ridicule;

They are tolerated only out of pity for their deplorable state, when hunger drives them together to look for food in the villages.

Polyandry, which prevails in all Tibetan families, greatly aroused my curiosity. It in no way follows from the doctrines of the Buddha, since it existed long before his coming. It has assumed tangible proportions in India and is a powerful factor in restraining, within certain limits, the incessant growth of population, which is also achieved through the disgusting custom of strangling newborn female babies;

attempts by the British to fight against the destruction of these expectant mothers remained fruitless.

Manu himself proclaimed polyandry as the law, and some Buddhist preachers, who renounced Brahmanism, transferred this custom to Ceylon, Tibet, Mongolia and Korea. Long suppressed in China, polyandry flourished in Tibet and Ceylon, and is also found among the Kalmyks, among the Tods in southern India and the Nairs on the banks of the Mala Bar. Traces of this eccentric family custom can be found among the Tasmanians and in the north of America among the Iroquois.

According to Caesar, polyandry also flourished in Europe, as we can read about in On the Gallic War (Book V): “Wives are divided among ten or twelve men, mostly between brothers and between fathers and sons.”

As a result of all this, it is impossible to consider polyandry as an exclusively religious tradition. In Tibet, taking into account the smallness of the plots of arable land per inhabitant, this custom is better explained by economic motives. To save the 1,500,000 inhabitants settled in Tibet over an area of 1,200,000 square kilometers, Buddhists were forced to accept polyandry - each family, among other things, is obliged to devote one of its members to the service of God.

The first-born son is always given to the gonpa, which invariably stands at the entrance to every village. As soon as the child reaches the age of eight, he is entrusted to the care of a caravan passing by on the way to Lassa, where the child brought there lives for seven years as a novice in one of the gonpas of the city.

The eldest brother in the family chooses a wife, who becomes common to all members of his house. Matchmaking and marriage ceremony are of the most primitive nature.

As soon as the wife and her husbands decide to marry one of their sons, the eldest of them is sent on a visit to one of the neighbors who has a daughter of marriageable age.

The first and second visits are spent in more or less banal conversations, accompanied by frequent libations of the collet, and only on the third visit does the young man announce his intention to take a wife. Then he is shown the daughter of the family, who, as a rule, knows the groom - in Ladakh women never cover their faces.

A girl is not married off without her consent. If she wants this, then she leaves with her husband and becomes his wife and his brothers.

The only son, as a rule, is sent to a woman who already has two or three husbands, and he offers himself to her as another spouse. Such an offer is rarely rejected, and the young man immediately settles into his new family.

Parents of newlyweds usually live with them until the birth of their first child. The day after the birth of a new family member, the grandparents leave all their fortune to the young couple and go to live in small house separately from them.

Marriages also occur between existing children who live separately until they reach adulthood. A woman has the right to an unlimited number of husbands and lovers. As for the latter, if she meets young man who she likes, she brings him into the house, gives him to all her husbands, and lives with her chosen one, announcing that she has taken a jing-tuh (“lover”), news that is accepted by their husbands with perfect composure.

People here have the vaguest ideas about jealousy. The Tibetan is too cold-blooded to recognize love. Such a feeling would be anachronistic for him, even if he did not see in it a blatant violation of the established order. In a word, love in his eyes would appear as unjustified egoism.

In the absence of one of the husbands, his place is offered to a bachelor or widower. The latter are very rare in Ladakh; wives usually outlive their frail husbands. Sometimes they choose a wandering Buddhist who has been detained by business in this village.

In the same way, a husband who travels in search of work in neighboring places, at every stop, enjoys the same hospitality of his fellow believers, whose generosity, however, is not always manifested due to ulterior motives.

Despite the specifics of their position, women enjoy great respect and complete freedom in choosing husbands and lovers. They are always good-natured, interested in everything that happens and are free to go wherever they want, except for the main prayer halls in monasteries, access to which is strictly prohibited for them.

Children respect only their mothers. They do not feel affection for their fathers for the obvious reason that there are too many of them.

Without for a minute approving polyandry, I cannot condemn it in Tibet, since without it the population would have increased monstrously, hunger and poverty would have overwhelmed the nation, leading to a series of vices: theft, murder and other crimes hitherto completely unknown in this country.

Festival in Gonpe Leh, the capital of Ladakh, is a small town of not more than five thousand inhabitants and consisting of two or three streets with houses painted white. In the center of the city there is a market square where traders from India, China, Turkestan, Kashmir and various parts of Tibet come to exchange their goods for Tibetan gold, supplied to them by local residents who strive to provide their monks not only with clothes, but also with the smallest household items.

The old empty palace rises on a hill from which the entire city is visible;

but in the middle of it is the spacious two-story residence of my friend, the vizier Surajbal, the governor of Ladakh, a most handsome Punjabi who received a philosophical education in London.

To diversify my stay in Lech, he organized a large polo match in the market square, and in the evening dances and games were held in front of the terrace of his house.

Numerous fireworks shed brilliant light on the crowds of people attracted by the performance. They formed a large circle, in the middle of which a group of performers, dressed as devils, animals and sorcerers, frolicked, fluttering, jumping and spinning in a rhythmic dance to the monotonous music of two long trumpets accompanied by a drum.

The hellish noise and incessant screams of the crowd tired me terribly. The performance ended with the graceful dances of Tibetan women, who, spinning and swaying from side to side, reached our windows and made low bows, greeting us with the clanking of copper and bone bracelets on their crossed wrists.

Early the next day I went to the large monastery of Himis, which is located in a picturesque setting on the top of a cliff overlooking the Indus Valley. This is one of the main monasteries in the country, supported by donations from local residents and subsidies from Lassa. On the way to it, crossing the Indus over a bridge near which numerous villages nest, you can come across endless dams covered with stones with inscriptions, and chortens, which our guides tried to bypass on the right side. I wanted to turn my horse to the left, but the Ladakhis immediately forced me to turn back, leading my horse by the bridle to the right and explaining to me that this was the custom of their country.

I tried to find out the origin of this superstition, but without success.

We continued our way to the gonpa, which was topped by a tower with crenellated parapets, visible from afar, and found ourselves in front of a large door, painted in bright colors, the entrance to a vast two-story stately building, which contained a courtyard paved with small stones.

To the right, in one of its corners, was another painted door, bound with copper plates. This is the entrance to the main temple, the interior of which is decorated with paintings of idols and where you can see a huge image of Buddha, framed by many smaller deities.

To the left is a veranda on which a huge prayer wheel is installed, and here all the lamas of the monastery and their abbot had gathered before our arrival. Several musicians sat under the veranda, holding drums and long pipes. On the right side of the courtyard, a row of doors led into the monks' rooms, which were entirely decorated with sacred designs and decorated with small prayer wheels topped with tridents with ribbons and painted red and black.

In the middle of the courtyard stood two tall masts, from the tops of which hung yak tails and long paper ribbons covered with religious commandments. Along all the monastery walls one could see prayer gyrouettes decorated with ribbons.

General silence reigned, everyone was excitedly awaiting the start of some religious sacrament. We took our places on the veranda not far from the llamas. Almost immediately, the musicians produced soft monotonous sounds from their long pipes, which were accompanied by a strange-looking round drum attached to a stick fixed in the ground.

With the first sounds of a mournful song sung to this bizarre music, the doors of the monastery opened wide, letting in about twenty people dressed as animals, birds, devils and monsters of all kinds. On their chests were fantastic images of demons and skulls, embroidered in multi-colored Chinese silk, while from their conical headdresses hung long multi-colored ribbons covered with inscriptions. On their faces they wore masks with skulls embroidered in white silk.

Thus dressed, they walked slowly around the masts, from time to time raising their arms up and throwing into the air with their left hand a kind of spoon, part of which was a piece of a human skull, framed with hair taken, I am sure, from the scalps of the enemy.

Their procession around the masts soon turned into some kind of continuous jumping. After a long roll of the drum, they suddenly stopped, but only to move again, menacingly waving small yellow sticks decorated with ribbons into the sky.

Finally, having greeted the lama abbot, they approached the entrance to the temple, followed at the same moment by other participants in the masquerade, whose faces were hidden by copper masks. Their costumes were made of multi-colored fabrics covered with embroidery. In one hand each held a tambourine, and in the other small ringing bells. From each tambourine hung a ball, which, at the slightest movement of the hand, hit the sonorous skin of the instrument.

These new performers circled the courtyard several times, marking each circle with a deafening roar made by all the tambourines sounding in unison. They finished by running to the doors of the temple and grouping themselves on the steps in front of it.

A general silence followed, soon broken by the appearance of a third company of men in disguise, their huge masks depicting various deities, each with a third eye in their forehead. The procession was led by Thlogan-Poudma-Jungnas, literally "he who was born in the lotus flower", accompanied by another mask in rich clothes with a large yellow umbrella covered with patterns.

His retinue consisted of various magnificently dressed gods: Dorje-Trolong, Sangspa Kourpo (actually, Brahma himself) and others. These actors, as the lama sitting next to us explained, represented six classes of beings capable of transformation - gods, demigods, humans, animals, spirits and demons.

On either side of these slowly advancing characters stood other masks in silk robes of stunning colors. They wore golden crowns with six rows of floral patterns topped with pointed tops, and each held a drum in his hands. They walked around the masts three times to the sounds of harsh, discordant music and finally sat down on the ground around Thlogan-Poudma-Jungnas, who immediately, with delightful importance, put two fingers in his mouth, emitting a piercing whistle.

In response to this signal, young people dressed as warriors came out of the temple. They wore terrible green masks decorated with small triangular flags, short shirts and anklets made of bells decorated with ribbons. Making hellish noise with their tambourines and bells, they circled around the gods sitting on the ground. Two large men who accompanied them, dressed in tight clothes, played the role of jesters, performing all sorts of grotesque movements and comical tricks. One of them, dancing all the time, constantly beat his friend's drum. This delighted the crowd, who rewarded his antics with bursts of laughter.

A fresh group of actors joined the crowd, representing the greatest forces of the Divine. Their costumes consisted of red miters and yellow trousers. They carried the same bells and tambourines and took their places opposite the gods.

Some of the last performers came out onto the stage wearing red and brown masks, with three eyes painted on their chests. They, along with the previous actors, were once divided into two groups and, to the accompaniment of tambourines and ordinary music, performed a wild dance - rushing forward, retreating, twirling in a round dance, and performing in columns, filling the pauses with low bows.

After some time, this amazing performance, which had tired us terribly, gradually began to calm down. Gods, demigods, kings, people and spirits rose and, accompanied by all the other participants in the masquerade, headed to the entrance to the temple, from where several men in amazing costumes depicting skeletons emerged with extraordinary solemnity. All these exits were organized in advance, and each had its own special meaning.

The crowd of dancers gave way to these creatures of funeral guise, who ceremoniously headed towards the masts. There they froze in place, fingering the pieces of wood hanging on the sides in such a way as to perfectly imitate the chattering of their jaws.

They circled the courtyard three times, marching to the rhythm of the intermittent beating of drums, and finally broke into a religious chant. Having once again worked with their artificial jaws, they lowered their “teeth” to the ground and, having grimaced a little more unpleasantly, froze in place.

At this moment, an image of the enemy of man, made of a kind of plaster and placed at the foot of one of the masts, was lifted up and broken into pieces;

the oldest of the spectators distributed these pieces to the skeletons as a sign of their resigned readiness to join them soon in the cemetery.

The performance came to an end and the abbot lama came up to me and asked me to accompany him to the main terrace to taste the collet that flowed like a river on the occasion of the holiday. I accepted his offer with pleasure, since my head was buzzing from the protracted performance that I had just witnessed.

Crossing the courtyard and climbing a staircase decorated with rows of prayer wheels, we passed through two rooms filled with idols and came out onto a terrace, where I sat down on a bench opposite the most venerable lama, whose eyes shone with intelligence. Then three monks brought us jugs of beer and filled small bronze cups, which they first presented to their abbot, and then to me and my companions.

“Did you like our little holiday?” - the lama asked me.

“I found it very interesting! - I answered. - In fact, I am still impressed by what I saw. But to tell the truth, I had no idea that Buddhism could appear in such a bizarre form in religious ceremonies.”

“No religion,” replied the lama, “has more theatrical ceremonies than ours. But this ritual part of it in no way violates the fundamental principles of Buddhism. We view them as a practical means of encouraging love for and obedience to the one Creator among ignorant crowds, just as parents use a doll to win the affection and obedience of their child. Among the people, or more precisely, among the uneducated masses, we see the Children of our Father.”

“But what is the significance,” I continued, “of all these masks, costumes, bells and dances - in a word, the whole performance, which is clearly carried out according to a certain program?”

“We have several such holidays throughout the year,” the lama replied. - Mysteries are presented and actors are invited to take part in them. They are given complete freedom in their movements and gestures, and are instructed to adhere only to certain details and the outline of the main idea.

Our mysteries are nothing more than pantomimes designed to show the gods enjoying such veneration, which gives a person as a reward purity of soul and faith in immortality.

The actors receive their costumes in the monasteries and act afterwards general instructions, which allow complete freedom of action. The effect they produce is truly impressive, but only our people can perceive the meaning of these ideas. You also, as I understand it, resort to similar actions, which, however, in no way change your principles of monotheism.”

“Forgive me,” I said again, “but surely the many idols with which your gonpas are installed are a blatant violation of these principles?”

“As I already said,” answered the lama, “a person lives and will always remain in his childhood. He understands everything, sees and feels the greatness of nature, but still is not able to understand the Great Spirit, who creates and animates everything.

A person is always looking for what is accessible to his senses;

he was never able to believe for long in something that eluded his material senses. He always did everything possible to find direct ways of communicating with the Creator, who created so much good and at the same time, as man mistakenly believes, so much evil.

For this reason, man admired every manifestation of nature that had a beneficial effect. A striking example of this is the ancient Egyptians, who idolized animals, trees and stones, wind and rain.

Other nations, equally mired in ignorance, realizing that the rains do not always bring rich harvests, and animals may not obey their masters, sought direct intermediaries between themselves and the great mysteries of the incomprehensible power of the Creator. Therefore, they created idols, which they considered impartial in relation to the surrounding world and to whose mediation they constantly turned.

From the most distant centuries to the present day, I repeat, man has always been drawn to what is accessible to the senses. The Assyrians, in search of a path that could lead them to the feet of the Creator, turned their gaze to the stars and looked at them with admiration, although they were beyond their reach. The Hebra* have retained this belief to this day.

Because of his insignificance and blindness of reason, man has become unable to comprehend the invisible and spiritual thread that connects him with the great Divinity. This explains the weakening of his divine principle and the reason for his eternal desire to possess tangible things.

We see an illustration of this in Brahmanism, whose followers, indulging in love for external forms, created - not immediately, but gradually - a whole army of gods and lugods. At the same time, man has never dared to attribute divine and eternal existence to visible images created with his own hands.

Perhaps the people of Israel have demonstrated more openly than any other people their human affection for all things concrete. For, despite a number of amazing miracles created by their Great Creator - who is the same for all nations - they could not resist creating a god from metal at the very time when their prophet Moses asked the Most High for them.

Buddhism went through similar changes. Our great reformer, Shakyamuni, inspired by the Supreme Judge, comprehended the true greatness and indivisibility of the Lord.

For this reason he openly separated himself from the Brahmins and their doctrine of polytheism, preaching the purity and immortality of the Creator and doing everything possible to bring down the images believed to be made in His likeness.

The recognition that he and his disciples received from the people became the reason for serious persecution on the part of the Brahmins, who, contrary to the laws of the Almighty, treated people very despotically, creating gods only with the aim of expanding the source of their personal income.

Our first holy prophets, to whom we gave the title of Buddhas - that is, sages and saints, since we consider them the embodiment of the one Great Creator - from ancient times lived in different countries of the globe. Since their sermons were directed primarily against the tyranny of the Brahmins and their vicious transformation of religion into a common means of living, the prophets found a huge number of followers among the lower strata of the population of India and China.

Among these holy prophets, Buddha Shakyamuni,* who lived three thousand years ago and with his teachings led all of China to the path of the one true and indivisible God, is honored with special worship, as well as Buddha Gautama, who lived two and a half thousand years ago and converted almost half of Hindus into the same faith.** Buddhism is divided into several schools, differing only in some religious rites, but the fundamentals of their doctrines are everywhere the same. We Tibetan Buddhists are called Lamaists*** because we separated from the Foists about fifteen centuries ago. Since then, we have been part of the worshipers of Fo-Shakyamuni, who was the first to collect all the laws established by various Buddhas during the period of the great schism of Brahmanism.

Later, the Mongol Khutuktu translated the books of the great Buddha into Chinese, receiving as a reward from the Emperor of China the title "Guo-Chi" - the king's mentor - a title that after his death was given to the Dalai Lama of Tibet and which has since been borne by those who holds this post.

Our religion is professed by two monastic orders - red and yellow. The first ones - who recognize the authority of the Panchen living in Tashi Lumpo, the head of the civil administration of Tibet - can marry. And we are yellow monks who took a vow without marriage, and our immediate ruler is the Dalai Lama. Apart from this point of difference, the rituals of our two orders are the same."

“And both have mysteries like the ones I saw today?”

“Yes, with very few differences. Previously, these holidays were celebrated with the greatest solemnity and pomp, but since the conquest of Ladakh, our monasteries have been plundered more than once and our wealth was taken from us.

Now we are forced to be content with white vestments and bronze utensils, while in Tibet proper you can see golden vessels and fabrics embroidered with gold.”

“During my recent visit to Gonpa, one of the lamas told me about a certain fate, or, as you would say, Buddha, named Issa. Can you tell me anything about its existence?" - I asked, wanting not to miss the opportunity to start a conversation on a topic that worries me so much.”

“The name of Issa is highly respected among Buddhists,” my host replied. “But not many people know about him, with the exception of the lamas who read the scrolls concerning his life. There are countless Buddhas like Issa, and the 84,000 manuscripts in existence today contain details of the lives of each;

but not many have read even a hundredth of them.

Acting in accordance with established custom, each disciple or lama visiting Las Su should bring one or more copies as a gift to the monastery to which he is assigned. Our gonpa, like others, already has a large number of them. Among them may be found the annals of the life and deeds of the Buddha Issa, who preached the sacred doctrine in India and among the children of Israel and was put to death by the pagans, whose descendants have since accepted the commandments which he preached and which, we trust, you have learned.

The Great Buddha, the Soul of the Universe, is the embodiment of Brahma. He remains almost constantly at rest, storing within himself everything that exists from the beginning of time, and his breath enlivens the world. Having left man to rely on his own strength, in some eras he nevertheless emerges from his inaction, taking on human form in order to save his creations from imminent death.

During his earthly existence, Buddha creates a new world from divided peoples. And, having completed his task, he leaves the Earth, regaining his invisible state and life in perfect bliss.

Three thousand years ago, the great Buddha incarnated as the famous prince Shakya Yamuni, thereby continuing the series of his twenty incarnations. Two and a half thousand years ago, the great Soul of the world again incarnated in Gautama, laying the foundations of a new kingdom in Burma, Siam and on various islands.

Soon after this, Buddhism began to spread in China - thanks to the efforts of the sages, who did everything possible to spread the sacred doctrine.

And during the reign of Ming Ti from the Han dynasty, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three years ago,* Shakyamuni’s stories received universal recognition from the people. Simultaneously with the arrival of Buddhism in China, its precepts spread among the Israelis.

About two thousand years ago, a perfect Being, again emerging from his inactivity, was incarnated in a newborn baby from a poor family. It was His will that the child, with simple words, should enlighten the ignorant in matters concerning eternal life- by his own example, returning people to the path of truth, opening up for them the path that truly leads to the achievement of moral purity.

When he was still a boy, this holy child was brought to India, where until he grew up he studied the laws of the great Buddha, who dwells eternally in heaven.”

At this point, my interlocutor began to show clear signs of fatigue, beginning to spin his prayer cylinder as a sign that he wanted to end the conversation.

So I quickly asked the following questions:

“What language are the main scrolls about the life of Issa written in?”

“Documents about his life, brought from India to Nepal, and from Nepal to Tibet, are written in Pali and are now in Lassa. But there are copies in our language, that is, in Tibetan, in this monastery.”

“How is Issa treated in Tibet? Is he considered a saint? - I asked.

“People don’t know about its very existence. Only the high lamas who studied the documents about his life know something about him. But since his doctrine does not form a canonical part of Buddhism, since his admirers do not recognize the authority of the Dalai Lama, the Prophet Issa is not officially recognized as a saint in Tibet.”

“Are you committing a sin by telling a stranger about these copies?” - I asked a question.

“What belongs to God,” answered the lama, “belongs to man. Duty obliges us to assist in all good faith in the spread of his sacred word. I don't know exactly where these documents are now;

but if you ever visit our gonpa again, I will be glad to show them to you.”

At that moment, two monks entered, uttered a few words that my interpreter could not understand, and immediately left.

“I am called to sacrifice,” said the lama. “I beg you to forgive me.”

Following this, he bowed and, heading towards the door, disappeared. I had no choice but to return to the room provided for me, where, after having a light dinner, I spent the night.

The next day I returned to Leh, wondering on what pretext I could use to visit the monastery again. Two days later, I sent a messenger to the High Lama with a gift consisting of an alarm clock, wristwatch and a thermometer, at the same time informing him of my desire to return, if possible, to the monastery before my departure from Ladak, in the hope that he might allow me to see the book, which was one of the subjects of our conversation.

I made a plan to reach Kashmir and later go from there to Himis, but Fate decreed otherwise. As I rode past the hill at the top of which Gonpa Pintaka was located, my horse stumbled and I was thrown to the ground so unsuccessfully that I broke my right leg below the knee.

It was therefore impossible to continue the journey, and as I had no desire to return to Leh or to enjoy the hospitality of the Pintaka gonpa (unhealthy place), I ordered to be carried to Himis, which could be reached in half a day's slow ride. .

An improvised splint was placed on my injured limb - an operation that caused me great pain - and I was placed in the saddle;

one coolie held my leg, and the other led the horse by the bridle. We crossed the threshold of Himis late in the evening.

Hearing about my misfortune, everyone came out to meet me. I was carried with great care to their best chambers and laid on a soft bed, next to which stood a prayer wheel. All this took place under the tireless supervision of the abbot of the monastery, who sympathetically shook the hand I extended in gratitude for his kindness.

The next day I myself made a better version of the leg splint from small elongated wooden sticks connected to each other with ropes;

being in absolute stillness turned out to be so beneficial that I was soon able to leave Gonpa and go to India in search of surgical help.

While the monastery servant continually turned the prayer wheel next to my bed, the holy abbot entertained me with endless amusing stories, constantly taking my alarm clock and watch out of their cases and asking me about their purpose and how they work.

In the end, yielding to my fervent requests, he brought me two large bound volumes with pages yellowed with age and read from them in Tibetan the biography of Issa, which I carefully wrote down in my carnet de voyage * following my translator. This interesting document is written in the form of separate verses, which often lack consistency.

Within a few days my condition improved so much that I was able to continue my journey. Therefore, after taking the necessary precautions regarding my broken leg, I again set out for India via Kashmir. This journey, which took place in slow marches, lasted twenty days and caused me much suffering.

However, thanks to the stretcher kindly sent to me by Monsieur Peychaud (I take this opportunity to thank him for his generous care of me) and the decree of the Grand Vizier of the Maharajah of Kashmir, in which the authorities were ordered to provide me with porters, I was able to reach Srinagar, which I almost immediately left , as he was in a hurry to reach India before the first snow appeared.

In Murree I met a Frenchman, Count Henri de Saint Phalle, who was on a pleasure trip around Hindustan. Throughout the journey that we traveled together all the way to Bombay, the young count showed the most touching attention to my suffering, which was caused to me by a broken leg and the fever with which I was then consumed.

I have the most grateful memories of his kindness, and shall never forget the friendly care which I received upon my arrival in Bombay, the Marquis de Maures, the Vicomte de Breteuil, Monsieur Monod of the National Account Bank, Monsieur Moet, the director of the consulate, and other benevolent members of the French colonies.

At the same time I take this opportunity of adding a few words of sincere gratitude to the numerous English friends who, during my stay in India, honored me with their friendship and hospitality - among them Colonel and Lady Napier, Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor, Mr. Hume, Mr. E. Kay Robertson of the Civil and Milestone Gazette and Mr. Rudyard Kipling.

For a long time I thought about publishing the writings about Jesus Christ that I discovered in Himis. However, important matters occupied all my time, and only now, after many sleepless nights which I spent in arranging my notes, arranging the verses according to the sequence of the narrative itself, and giving the whole work a unified character, I decided to bring to light the curious document, the following further.

Life of Saint Issa, Best of the Sons of Men Chapter I* 1. The earth trembled and the heavens groaned over the great atrocity committed in the land of Israel.

2. For there they tortured and then put to death the great righteous Issa, in whom the soul of the universe dwelt, 3. Who was incarnated in a mere mortal in order to do good to people and eradicate their evil thoughts, 4. To return man, disgraced by sin, to the life of the world , love and happiness and remind him of the one and indivisible Creator, whose mercy is endless and knows no limits.

5. Listen to what the merchants who traveled to the land of Israel said about this.

Chapter II 1. The people of Israel, who lived on fertile lands that produced two harvests a year, and owned large herds, aroused the wrath of God with their sins, 2. Who imposed a terrible punishment on them, taking away the land, livestock and all their wealth;

Israel was enslaved by the powerful and wealthy pharaohs who then reigned in Egypt.

3. They treated the Israelites worse than animals, burdening them with hard work and shackling them in chains, covering their bodies with scars and wounds, not giving them food and forbidding them to live under a roof, 4. To keep them in constant fear and deprive them of all human resemblance.

5. And in their great distress, the people of Israel remembered their heavenly Patron and, turning to Him, cried out for mercy and forgiveness.

6. At that time, a famous pharaoh reigned in Egypt, famous for his numerous victories, accumulated wealth and vast palaces that his slaves built for him with their own hands.

7. This pharaoh had two sons, the youngest of them was called Mossa. The learned Israelis taught him various sciences.

8. And Mossa was loved in Egypt for his kindness and compassion, which he showed to all who suffered.

9. Seeing that the Israelites did not want, even experiencing unbearable suffering, to renounce their God in order to worship the man-made gods of the Egyptian people, 10. Mossa believed in their invisible God, who did not allow their weak strength to be broken.

11. The Israelite leaders rejoiced at Mossa's zeal and turned to him, asking him to intercede with Pharaoh, his father, for leniency towards their fellow believers.

12. And then the Prince of Mossa went to his father, begging him to ease the lot of these unfortunates.

But Pharaoh became angry with him, and only increased the severity of the suffering his slaves endured.

13. And it came to pass that soon after this great misfortune came upon Egypt. The plague struck with death every tenth person - small and old, weak and strong: and Pharaoh believed that he had angered his gods.

14. But the prince of Mossa told his father that it was the God of his slaves who stood up for the unfortunate and punished the Egyptians.

15. Pharaoh ordered his son to take all the slaves of the Jewish tribe, take them out of the city and found another city at a great distance from the capital, where Mossa would live with them.

16. Mossa announced to the Hebrew slaves that he was giving them freedom in the name of their God, the God of Israel, and he left with them from the city and from the land of Egypt.

17. He led them to the land that they had lost for their many sins, gave them laws and convinced them to constantly pray to the invisible Creator, whose goodness is limitless.

18. After the death of the prince of Mossa, the Israelites strictly observed his laws, and for this God rewarded them for all the disasters to which they were subjected in Egypt.

19. Their kingdom became the most powerful in all the earth, their kings were famous for their wealth, and a long peace reigned among the people of Israel.

Chapter III 1. The fame of Israel's wealth spread throughout the whole earth, and neighboring nations began to envy him.

2. But the Most High himself led the victorious armies of the Jews, and the pagans did not dare to attack them.

3. Unfortunately, man is not always true to himself, and the Israelites' devotion to their God did not last long.

4. They gradually began to forget all the favors with which He showered them, rarely called on His name and sought help from magicians and sorcerers.

5. Kings and leaders replaced with their own laws those given to them by Mossa. The Temple of God and God's services were abandoned. The people indulged in pleasures and lost their original purity.

6. Several centuries had passed since their exit from Egypt, when God decided to punish them again.

7. Foreigners began to raid the land of Israel, laying waste fields, destroying villages and taking the inhabitants into captivity.

8. And one day the pagans came from the country of the Romans, on the other side of the sea. They conquered the Jews and installed military leaders who ruled over them at the command of Caesar.

9. By destroying temples, they forced the inhabitants to no longer worship the invisible God, but to make sacrifices to pagan deities.

10. They made warriors out of noble families, took women away from their husbands, and sent the common people into slavery in thousands overseas.

11. As for the children, they were put to the sword. And soon all over the land of Israel only sobs and groans were heard.

12. In this great disaster the people remembered their God. They appealed to His mercy, begging to forgive them, and our Father, in His inexhaustible goodness, heard their prayer.

Chapter IV 1. And the time came when the most merciful Judge chose to incarnate in a human being.

2. And the Eternal Spirit, dwelling in the kingdom of complete peace and supreme bliss, awakened and separated for an indefinite period from the Eternal Being, 3. In order to clothe itself in human form, to indicate the means and ways of uniting with the Divine and achieving eternal bliss, 4. To His to show by example how one can achieve moral purity by separating the soul from its rough shell - to achieve that level of perfection that is necessary for ascending to the eternal kingdom of heaven, where eternal bliss reigns.

5. Soon a wonderful child was born in the land of Israel; God himself spoke through the mouth of this baby about the poverty of the body and the greatness of the soul.

6. The parents of the newborn were poor people, but they came from a family known for piety, and, having consigned their ancient greatness on earth to oblivion, they glorified the name of the Creator and thanked Him for the sorrows sent to them as tests.

7. As a reward for not turning away from the true path, God blessed the first-born in this family. He appointed him as his chosen one and sent him to help those who had fallen into sin and to heal the suffering.

9. People came to listen to him from everywhere and were amazed at his speeches coming from children's lips.

All the Israelites agreed that the Eternal Spirit resided in this child.

10. When Issa reached the age of thirteen, and during these years every Israeli must choose a wife, 11. The house of his parents, who lived by modest labor, began to be visited by rich and noble people, who wanted to see as their son-in-law the young Issa, who had already become famous for his edifying sermons in name of the Almighty.

12. But Issa secretly left his parents' shelter, left Jerusalem and, together with the merchants, went to the Indus, 13. To improve in the Divine Word and study the laws of the great Buddhas.

Chapter V 1. At the age of fourteen, young Issa, blessed by God, crossed to the other bank of the Indus and settled among the Aryans in a land beloved by God.

2. The fame of the miraculous youth spread throughout the northern Indus, and when he crossed the country of the five rivers and Rajputana, the worshipers of the god Jaina asked him to settle among them.

3. But he left the misguided worshipers of Jaina and went to Juggernaut in the lands of Orissa, where the mortal remains of Vyasa-Krishna rest and where the white priests of Brahma gave him a warm welcome.

5. He spent six years in Juggernaut, Rajagriha, Benares and other holy cities. Everyone loved him, since Issa lived peacefully with the Vaishyas and Shudras, to whom he interpreted the sacred scriptures.

6. But the Brahmins and Kshatriyas began to tell him that the great Parabrahman had forbidden them to approach those whom He had created from His womb and feet;

7. That Vaishyas are only allowed to listen to the reading of the Vedas and then only on holidays;

8. That the Shudras are forbidden not only to be present at the reading of the Vedas, but even to look at them, because their duty is to eternally work, like slaves, for the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and even Vaishyas.

9. “Only death can deliver them from slavery,” said Parabrahman. Leave them, come and worship with us the gods, who will be angry with you for disobeying them.”

10. But Issa did not listen to their speeches and went to the Shudras, speaking in his sermons against the Brahmins and Kshatriyas.

11. He rebelled against the fact that a person arrogates to himself the right to deprive his neighbors of human dignity;

“for,” he said, “God the Father makes no distinction between his children;

they are all equally dear to Him.”

12. Issa denied the divine origin of the Vedas and Puranas. “For,” he instructed his followers, “the law had already been given to man to guide him in his affairs;

13. Fear your God, bow your knees only to Him alone, and to Him alone offer the sacrifices that you received from your profits.”

14. Issa denied the Trimurti and the incarnation of Para-Brahman in Vishnu, Shiva and other gods, for he said:

15. “The Eternal Judge, the Eternal Spirit created a single and indivisible soul of the universe, which alone creates, contains and animates everything.

16. He alone ruled and created, He alone existed from eternity, and there is no end to His existence. There is no equal to Him either in heaven or on earth.

17. The Great Creator did not share His power with any living creature, much less with a soulless thing, as you were taught;

for He alone is omnipotent.

18. He expressed his will, and the world appeared. With divine thought He gathered the waters, separating the dry land of the globe from them. He is the beginning of the wonderful existence of a person into whom he breathed a particle of his Being.

19. He subjugated to man the earth, the waters, the animals, and everything that he created and Himself preserves in an unchangeable order, assigning to each thing its term.

20. The wrath of the Lord will soon fall upon man, for he has forgotten his Creator, filled His temples with abomination, and worships the multitude of creatures that God has subjected to him.

21. For, in honoring stones and metals, people sacrifice human beings in whom part of the spirit of the Most High dwells.

22. For a man humiliates those who work by the sweat of their brow, fawning on the idler who sits at a sumptuous table.

23. Those who deprive their brothers of divine happiness will be deprived of it themselves.

Brahmins and Kshatriyas will become Sudras, and with the Sudras the Eternal will always abide.

24. For on the day of the last judgment, the Shudras and Vaishyas will be forgiven much for their ignorance;

on the contrary, the wrath of God will punish those who have arrogated His rights to themselves.”

25. The Vaishyas and Shudras were filled with admiration and asked Issa how they should pray so as not to lose eternal bliss.

26. “Do not worship idols, for they will not listen to you. Do not follow the Vedas, because the truth in them is distorted. Never put yourself above others and do not humiliate your neighbor.”

27. “Help the poor, support the weak, do no harm to anyone and do not covet what you do not have, but what you see in others.”

Chapter VI 1. The white priests and warriors, having learned what speeches Issa addressed to the Shudras, planned to kill him and sent their servants to hunt down the young prophet.

2. But Issa, warned by the Shudras about the danger, left the outskirts of Juggernaut at night, reached the mountains and settled in the country of the Gautamides, where the great Buddha Shakyamuni was born, among the people who revered the one and majestic Brahma.

3. Having mastered the Pali language perfectly, the righteous Issa devoted himself to the study of the sacred scriptures of the Sutras.

4. After six years, Issa, whom the Buddha had chosen to spread his holy word, became an excellent interpreter of the sacred scriptures.

5. Then, leaving Nepal and the Himalayan mountains, he descended into the Rajputana valley and headed west, preaching to different nations about the highest perfection of man, 6. That doing good to one’s neighbor is the surest means for speedy merging with the Eternal Spirit: “He “Whoever regains original purity,” said Issa, dying, will receive remission of his sins and the right to contemplate the greatness of God.”

7. While passing through pagan lands, the divine Issa taught that the worship of visible gods was contrary to the law of nature.

8. “For man,” he said, “is not allowed to see the image of God, and yet he created hosts of deities in the likeness of the Eternal.

9. Moreover, it is ashamed for a person to place the greatness of divine purity below animals, as well as objects made by human hands from stone or metal.

10. The Eternal Lawgiver is one;

there is no other God besides Him. He does not share the world with anyone else and does not notify anyone of His intentions.

11. As a father would act with his children, so God Himself will judge people after their death according to the laws of His mercy. He will never humiliate His child by forcing his soul to move, as in purgatory, into the body of an animal.”

12. “The law of heaven,” said the Creator through the mouth of Issa, “is against the offering of human sacrifices to an idol or animals;

for I have made every animal and everything that is on earth subject to man.

13. Everything is given to a person who is directly and closely connected with Me, his Father;

therefore, the one who snatches My child from Me will be strictly judged and punished by the divine law.

14. Man is nothing before the Eternal Judge, just as a beast is nothing before man.

15. Therefore I say to you: “Leave your idols and do not perform rites that separate you from your Father, connecting you with priests from whom heaven has turned away.

16. For they have turned you away from the true God, and their superstitions and cruelty lead you to the corruption of your soul and the loss of all morality.”

Chapter VII 1. The words of Issa spread among the pagans in the countries where he passed, and the inhabitants abandoned their idols.

2. Seeing this, the priests demanded that he, having glorified the name of the true God, publicly prove what he condemned them for and demonstrate the insignificance of their idols.

3. And Issa answered them: “If your idols and your beasts are powerful and truly possess supernatural power, then let them strike me on the spot.”

4. “Then perform a miracle,” answered the priests, “and let your God destroy our gods if they are disgusting to Him.”

5. But Issa said: “The miracles of our God have been performed since the first day of the creation of the universe, they are performed every day and every minute. Whoever does not see them is deprived of one of the most beautiful gifts of life.

6. And the wrath of God will not be directed against soulless pieces of stones, metal or wood, but it will fall on people who, if they thirst for salvation, must destroy all the idols they have created.

7. Just as a stone and a grain of sand, insignificant before a person, humbly wait for him to take them and use them profitably, 8. So a person should expect the great mercy that God will show him at the final judgment.

9. But woe to you, enemies of men, if you [receive] not the mercies that you are waiting for, but the wrath of the Divine - woe to you if you expect miracles to testify to His power.

10. For in his wrath he will not destroy idols, but those who erected them. Their hearts will be consigned to eternal fire, and their torn bodies will satisfy the hunger of wild animals.

11. God will drive out the unclean from His flocks, but will return to Himself those who have gone astray, those who do not recognize the spiritual principle in themselves.”

12. Seeing the powerlessness of their priests, the pagans believed even more in the words of Issa and, fearing Divine wrath, smashed their idols to pieces. As for the priests, they fled to escape the people's revenge.

13. And then Issa taught the pagans not to try to see the Eternal Spirit with [earthly] eyes, but to strive to feel Him in their hearts and with the purity of their souls to deserve His mercy.”

14. “Not only,” he told them, “do not perform human sacrifices, but do not give to slaughter a single creature to which life has been given, for everything that exists was created for the benefit of man.

15. Do not steal from your neighbor, for what you steal he has earned by the sweat of his own.

16. Do not lie, so as not to be deceived. Try to justify yourself before the final trial, because then it will be too late.

17. Do not indulge in debauchery, for this is a violation of the laws of God.

18. You will achieve the highest happiness, not only by purifying yourself, but also by guiding others on the path that will enable them to achieve original perfection.”

Chapter VIII 1. The neighboring countries were filled with rumors about the preaching of Issa, and when he came to Persia, the priests became alarmed and forbade the inhabitants to listen to him.

2. And seeing that all the villages joyfully greeted him and reverently listened to his speeches, they ordered him to be seized and brought to the high priest, where he was subjected to the following interrogation:

3. “What new God are you talking about? Don’t you know, unfortunate one, that Saint Zoroaster is the only righteous man who was worthy of communication with the Supreme Being, 4. He commanded the angels to write down the word of God for the benefit of his people - the laws that were given to Zoroaster in paradise?

5. Who are you to blaspheme our God and sow doubt in the hearts of believers?”

6. And Issa answered him: “I do not proclaim about a new God, but about our Heavenly Father, who existed from the beginning and will remain when all things cease to exist.

7. I spoke about Him to people who, like innocent children, are not able to comprehend God with the simple power of their minds or to penetrate into His divine and spiritual sublimity.

8. But just as a newborn child finds its mother’s breast in darkness, so your people, misled by your false teachings and religious rites, recognized by inspiration their Father in that Father whose herald I am.

9. The Eternal One declared to your people through my lips: “Do not worship the sun, for it is only a part of the world that I created for man.

10. The sun rises to warm you while you work, and sets to give you rest, as I have ordained.

11. It is to me, and only to me, that you owe everything that you own, everything that is around you, above you and below you.”

12. “But,” the priests objected, “how can the people live according to the laws of justice if they have no mentors?”

13. To this Issa replied: “As long as people did not have priests, the natural law governed them, and they preserved the purity of their souls.

14. Their souls were in God and in order to communicate with the Father, there is no need for the mediation of idols or animals, or fire, as they do here.

15. You claim that you need to worship the sun, the Spirit of good and the spirit of evil. Well, I tell you, your teaching is false, the sun does not move on its own, but in accordance with the will of the invisible Creator, who gave it life 16. And who wanted it to be a star that will illuminate the day, warm the work and sowing of man.

17. The Eternal Spirit is the soul of all living things. You commit a grave sin by dividing Him into a spirit of evil and a spirit of good, for He is exclusively a God of Good, 18. Who, as the father of a family, does only good to His children, forgiving them all their offenses if they repent.

19. And the spirit of evil dwells on earth in the hearts of those people who seduce the children of God from the straight path.

20. Therefore I say to you: “Fear the Day of Judgment, for God will impose a heavy punishment on all who lead His children astray and fill them with superstitions and prejudices;

21. On those who blinded the sighted, who transmitted the infection to the healthy and taught to worship what God subjected to man for his good and to help him in his labors.

22. Your teaching, therefore, is the fruit of your errors;

for, wanting to bring the true God closer to you, you created false gods for yourself.”

23. After listening to him, the wise men decided not to harm him. But at night, when the whole village was asleep, they took him outside the walls and left him on the high road, in the hope that he would soon become the prey of wild animals.

24. But, protected by our Lord God, Saint Issa continued on his way unharmed.

Chapter IX 1. Issa, chosen by the Creator to remind mankind mired in vice of the true God, reached the age of twenty-nine years when he returned to the land of Israel.

2. Since his departure, the pagans inflicted even more terrible suffering on the Israelites, and they were in deep despair.

3. Many of them had already begun to abandon the laws of their God and the laws of Mossa in the hope of appeasing the cruel conquerors.

4. At the sight of such a disaster, Issa urged his fellow citizens not to despair, for the day of atonement for sins was approaching, and strengthened them in faith in the God of their fathers.

5. “My children, do not give in to despair,” said the Heavenly Father through the mouth of Issa, for I heard your voice, and your groans reached Me.

6. Do not cry, My beloved! For your grief touched the heart of your Father, and He forgave you, as He forgave your forefathers.

7. Do not abandon your families to indulge in revelry, do not lose the nobility of your feelings, do not worship idols that will remain deaf to your voice.

8. Fill My temple with your hope and your patience and do not deviate from the faith of the fathers, for I alone guided them and showered them with blessings.

9. You will raise up those who have fallen, you will give food to the hungry and help the sick, so that everyone will be clean and righteous on the day of the final judgment that I have prepared for you.”

10. The Israelites gathered in crowds to listen to the word of Issa, asking him where they should worship the Heavenly Father, when the enemy razed their temples from the face of the earth and desecrated the sacred vessels.

11. Issa answered them that God does not mean temples built by human hands, but considers the human heart to be the true temple of God.

12. “Enter your temple, your heart. Illuminate it with good thoughts, patience and the unshakable trust that you should have in your Father.

13. And your sacred vessels are your hands and eyes. See and do what pleases God, for by doing good to your neighbor, you are performing a rite that decorates the temple where the One who gave you life dwells.

14. For God created you in His own likeness - innocent, pure in soul, with a heart full of goodness, destined not to invent evil, but to become a sanctuary of love and justice.

15. Therefore I say to you, do not defile your hearts, for the Most High dwells there forever.

16. If you want to do things that are marked by love and godliness, do them with an open heart and do not allow yourself to be guided in your actions by calculation or hope of reward.

17. For such deeds will not bring you closer to salvation, but will bring you to such a moral decline when theft, lying and murder are considered valor.”

Chapter X 1. Saint Issa went from city to city, strengthening with the word of God the courage of the Israelis, who were ready to fall under the burden of despair, and thousands of people followed him to listen to his sermons.

2. But the elders of the cities were afraid of him and reported to the chief ruler, who lived in Jerusalem, that a man named Issa had arrived in the country, that with his speeches he was inciting the people against the authorities, that the crowd, diligently listening to him, neglected public works and asserted that it will soon get rid of the self-proclaimed rulers.

3. Then Pilate, the governor of Jerusalem, ordered the preacher Issa to be seized, taken to the city and brought to trial. But in order not to arouse the displeasure of the people, Pilate ordered the priests and scribes, the Jewish elders, to judge him in the temple.

4. Meanwhile, Issa, continuing his preaching, came to Jerusalem, and, having learned of his arrival, all the inhabitants who had already heard about him came out to meet him.

5. They greeted him with respect and opened the doors of their temple to him so that they could hear from his lips what he had said in other cities of Israel.

6. And Issa said to them: “The human race is perishing from lack of faith, for darkness and storm have scattered the flocks of men and they have lost their shepherds.

7. But the storm will not last forever and darkness will not hide the light forever. The sky will one day clear, heavenly light will spread across the earth and the flocks, now lost, will gather in the circle of their shepherd.

8. Do not try to look for straight paths in the darkness, so as not to fall into the abyss, but gather your remaining strength, support each other, place your trust in God and wait until the light dawns.

9. He who helps his neighbor strengthens himself;

and whoever protects his family protects the people and the state.

10. Be confident that the day is near when you will be freed from darkness;

you will gather into one family, and your enemy, who does not know the mercy of God, will tremble in fear.”

11. The high priests and elders who listened to him were filled with admiration at his speeches and asked whether it was true that he was trying to raise the people against the authorities of the country, as they reported to the governor Pilate.

12. “Is it possible to raise lost people to revolt, from whom their gates and their path are hidden in darkness? - Issa answered. - I only warned the unfortunate ones, as here in this temple, so that they would not go further along the dark path, for an abyss had opened at their feet.

13. Earthly power is short-lived and subject to many changes. What good does it do for a person to be indignant against it, seeing that one power always replaces another? So it will be until the human race ends.

14. Do you not see that those in power and the rich are sowing among the children of Israel a spirit of rebellion against the eternal authority of heaven?

15. Then the elders asked: “Who are you and from what country did you come to us? We had never heard of you before and didn’t even know your name.”

16. “I am an Israelite,” answered Issa. - From the day I was born, I saw the walls of Jerusalem and heard the groans of my brothers who were forced into slavery, and the cries of my sisters who were taken away by the pagans.

17. And my soul was filled with sadness when I saw that my brothers had forgotten the true God. As a child, I left my father's house and went to live among other nations.

18. But hearing that my brothers were experiencing even greater torment, I returned to the country of my fathers in order to remind my brothers of the faith of my ancestors, which teaches us patience on earth in order to achieve perfect and highest happiness in heaven.”

19. And the wise elders asked him this question: “They say that you reject the laws of Mossa and teach people to despise the temple of God?”

20. And Issa answered: “It is impossible to destroy what has been given by our Heavenly Father, just like what has already been destroyed by sinners;

I called for the cleansing of the heart from all filth, for it is the true temple of God.

21. As for the laws of Mossa, I tried to establish them in the hearts of people. And I tell you that you do not understand their true meaning, for they teach not revenge, but forgiveness;

but their meaning was distorted."

Chapter XI 1. Having heard Issa, the high priests and wise elders decided among themselves not to judge him, for he had not harmed anyone. And, appearing before Pilate, whom the pagan king from the country of the Romans had appointed as governor in Jerusalem, they said to him like this:

2. “We saw the man whom you accuse of inciting our people to revolt, we listened to his speeches and know that he is our compatriot.

3. But the city elders sent you false reports, for this is a righteous man who teaches the people the word of God. After questioning, we released him so that he could go in peace.”

4. Then the ruler fell into a rage and sent his servants in disguise to Issa so that they would monitor all his actions and report to the authorities about every word that he would address to the people.

5. Meanwhile, Saint Issa continued to visit neighboring cities, preaching about true paths Creator, called on the Jews to be patient and promised them speedy liberation.

6. And all this time many people followed him wherever he went, some of whom followed him relentlessly and became his intimates.

7. Issa said: “Do not believe in miracles performed by the hand of man, for only He who rules over nature can perform supernatural deeds, while man is powerless to restrain the fury of the wind or shed rain.

8. But there is a miracle that can be performed by a person. When, filled with sincere faith, he decides to tear out all bad thoughts from his heart, and having achieved his goal, he no longer walks along the paths of lawlessness.

9. All deeds done without God are only delusions, temptations and seductions, which only show to what extent the soul of the one who engages in this craft is full of shamelessness, deceit and vices.

10. Do not believe the soothsayers, God alone knows the future;

he who resorts to fortune-telling desecrates the temple of his heart and shows distrust of his Creator.

11. Belief in oracles and their prophecies destroys the innate simplicity of a person and his childish purity. Hellish forces take possession of him, urging him to commit all kinds of crimes and worship idols;

12. But the Lord our God, who has no equal, is one, omnipotent, omniscient and destined. All wisdom and all light belong to Him.

13. You should turn to Him for consolation in sorrows, for help in labors and for healing in ailments. And whoever turns to Him will not be rejected.

14. The secret of nature is in the hands of God, for the world, before its appearance, resided in the depths of divine thought and became material and visible by the will of the Almighty.

15. When you turn to Him, become children again, for you know neither the past, nor the present, nor the future, and God is the Lord of all times.”

Chapter XII 1. “Righteous man,” the spies of the ruler of Jerusalem told him, “tell us, will we do the will of Caesar or will we wait for a quick release?”

2. Issa, recognizing them as people sent to watch him, answered: “I did not tell you that you would be freed from Caesar. It is the soul, mired in delusion, that will receive its liberation.

3. There is no family without a head, there will be no order among the people without Caesar;

he must be given complete obedience; he alone will be held accountable for his deeds before the highest court.”

4. “Does Caesar have divine right? – the spies also asked. “And is he the best of mortals?”

5. “There is no better among people, but there are always sufferers who must be cared for by those chosen and appointed to fulfill this mission, using the means provided to them by the sacred law of our Heavenly Father.

6. Mercy and justice are the highest qualities of Caesar;

his name will be glorified if he adheres to them.

7. But whoever does otherwise, whoever exceeds the boundaries of the power given to him over his subordinates, going so far as to endanger their lives, offends the great Judge and loses his dignity in the eyes of people.”

8. Meanwhile, one of the spies pushed away old woman, who approached the others in order to better hear Issa, and stood in front of her.

9. And then Issa said: “It is not proper for a son to remove his mother by taking her place.

He who does not honor his mother, the most sacred being after God, is not worthy to be called a son.

10. Listen to what I tell you. Honor the woman, for she is the mother of the universe, and the whole truth of divine creation is contained in her.

11. She is the basis of all goodness and beauty and she is the source of life and death. A man’s entire existence depends on her, for she is his natural and moral support.

12. She gives birth to you in pain. She brings you up with the sweat of her brow and worries about you until her death. Bless her and honor her, for she is your only Friend, your only support on earth.

13. Honor her, protect her. By doing this, you will gain her love and her heart and will be pleasing to God, and many sins will be forgiven you.

14. Love also your wives and honor them, for tomorrow they will become mothers, and later the ancestors of the race.

15. Submit to the woman. Her love ennobles a man, softens his hardened heart, tames the beast and makes him a lamb.

16. A wife and mother is a priceless treasure given to you by God. They - best decoration existence, and from them will be born all who inhabit the world.

17. Just as the God of Powers once separated light from darkness and dry land from waters, so a woman has the divine gift of separating good intentions from evil intentions in a man.

18. Therefore I tell you, after God, your best thoughts should be given to women and wives, for a woman for you is the temple in which you will most easily find perfect happiness.

19. Draw moral strength from this temple. Here you will forget your sorrows and failures and regain the lost strength necessary to help your neighbor.

20. Do not humiliate her, by doing this you will only humiliate yourself and lose that feeling of love, without which nothing exists here below.

21. Protect your wife so that she can protect you and your entire family. Whatever you do for your wife, your mother, a widow, or any other grieving woman, you do for God.”

Chapter XIII 1. Saint Issa instructed the people of Israel in this way for three years - in every city, every village, along the roads and in the fields, and every prediction he made came true.

2. All this time, Pilate’s disguised servants were closely watching him and did not hear anything similar to what was collected in previous years in the reports of the city elders about Issa.

Life of Saint Issa, Best of the Sons of Men

Chapter I

1. The earth trembled and the heavens groaned over the great atrocity committed in the land of Israel.

2. For there they tortured and then put to death the great righteous man Issa, in whom dwelt the soul of the universe,

3. That she was embodied in a mere mortal in order to do good to people and eradicate their bad thoughts,

4. Return a person disgraced by sin to a life of peace, love and happiness and remind him of the one and indivisible Creator, whose mercy is infinite and knows no limits.

5. Listen to what the merchants who traveled to the land of Israel said about this.

Chapter II

1. The people of Israel, who lived in fertile lands that produced two harvests a year, and owned large herds, aroused the wrath of God with their sins,

2. Who inflicted a terrible punishment on him, taking away his land, cattle and all his wealth; Israel was enslaved by the powerful and wealthy pharaohs who then reigned in Egypt.

3. They treated the Israelites worse than animals, burdening them with hard work and shackling them, covering their bodies with scars and wounds, not giving them food and forbidding them to live under the roof,

4. To keep them in constant fear and deprive them of any semblance of humanity.

5. And in their great distress, the people of Israel remembered their heavenly Patron and, turning to Him, cried out for mercy and forgiveness.

6. At that time, a famous pharaoh reigned in Egypt, famous for his numerous victories, accumulated wealth and vast palaces that his slaves built for him with their own hands.

7. This pharaoh had two sons, the youngest of them was called Mossa. Israeli scientists taught him various sciences.

8. And Mossa was loved in Egypt for his kindness and compassion, which he showed to all who suffered.

9. Seeing that the Israelites were unwilling, even through unbearable suffering, to renounce their God in order to worship the man-made gods of the Egyptian people,

10. Mossa believed in their invisible God, who did not allow their weak strength to be broken.

11. The Israelite leaders rejoiced at Mossa's zeal and turned to him, asking him to intercede with Pharaoh, his father, for leniency towards their fellow believers.

12. And then the Prince of Mossa went to his father, begging him to ease the lot of these unfortunates. But Pharaoh became angry with him, and only increased the severity of the suffering his slaves endured.

14. But the prince of Mossa told his father that it was the God of his slaves who stood up for the unfortunate and punished the Egyptians.

15. Pharaoh ordered his son to take all the slaves of the Jewish tribe, take them out of the city and found another city at a great distance from the capital, where Mossa would live with them.

16. Mossa announced to the Hebrew slaves that he was giving them freedom in the name of their God, the God of Israel, and he left with them from the city and from the land of Egypt.

17. He led them to the land that they had lost for their many sins, gave them laws and convinced them to constantly pray to the invisible Creator, whose goodness is limitless.

18. After the death of the prince of Mossa, the Israelites strictly observed his laws, and for this God rewarded them for all the disasters to which they were subjected in Egypt.

19. Their kingdom became the most powerful in all the earth, their kings were famous for their wealth, and a long peace reigned among the people of Israel.

Chapter III

1. The fame of Israel's wealth spread throughout the land, and neighboring nations began to envy him.

2. But the Most High himself led the victorious armies of the Jews, and the pagans did not dare to attack them.

3. Unfortunately, man is not always true to himself, and the Israelites' devotion to their God did not last long.

4. They gradually began to forget all the favors with which He showered them, rarely called on His name and sought help from magicians and sorcerers.

5. Kings and leaders replaced with their own laws those given to them by Mossa. The temple of God and worship services were abandoned. The people indulged in pleasures and lost their original purity.

6. Several centuries had passed since their exit from Egypt, when God decided to punish them again.

7. Foreigners began to raid the land of Israel, laying waste fields, destroying villages and taking the inhabitants into captivity.

8. And one day the pagans came from the country of the Romans, on the other side of the sea. They conquered the Jews and installed military leaders who ruled over them at the command of Caesar.

9. By destroying temples, they forced the inhabitants to no longer worship the invisible God, but to make sacrifices to pagan deities.

10. They made warriors out of noble families, took women away from their husbands, and sent the common people into slavery in thousands overseas.

11. As for the children, they were put to the sword. And soon all over the land of Israel only sobs and groans were heard.

12. In this great disaster the people remembered their God. They appealed to His mercy, begging to forgive them, and our Father, in His inexhaustible goodness, heard their prayer.

Chapter IV

1. And the time came when the most merciful Judge chose to incarnate in a human being.

2. And the Eternal Spirit, dwelling in the kingdom of complete peace and supreme bliss, awoke and separated for an indefinite period from the Eternal Being,

3. To put on human form, indicate the means and ways of uniting with the Divine and achieving eternal bliss,

4. To show by His example how one can achieve moral purity by separating the soul from its rough shell - to achieve that level of perfection that is necessary for ascending to the eternal kingdom of heaven, where eternal bliss reigns.

5. Soon a wonderful child was born in the land of Israel; God himself spoke through the mouth of this baby about the poverty of the body and the greatness of the soul.

7. As a reward for not turning away from the true path, God blessed the firstborn in this family. He appointed him as his chosen one and sent him to help those who had fallen into sin and to heal the suffering.

8. The divine child, who was given the name Issa, began from a very young age to speak about the one and indivisible God, calling the souls of the lost to repentance and cleansing from the sins of which they were guilty. 9. People came to listen to him from everywhere and were amazed at his speeches coming from children's lips. All the Israelites agreed that the Eternal Spirit resided in this child.

10. When Issa reached the age of thirteen, and at these years every Israelite must choose a wife for himself,

11. The house of his parents, who lived by modest labor, began to be visited by rich and noble people who wanted to see young Issa, who had already become famous for his edifying sermons in the name of the Almighty, as their son-in-law.

12. But Issa secretly left his parents’ shelter, left Jerusalem and, together with the merchants, went to the Indus,

13. To improve in the Divine Word and study the laws of the great Buddhas.

Chapter V

1. At the age of fourteen, young Issa, blessed by God, crossed to the other bank of the Indus and settled among the Aryans in the land beloved of God.

6. But the Brahmins and Kshatriyas began to tell him that the great Parabrahman had forbidden them to approach those whom He had created from His womb and feet;

7. That Vaishyas are only allowed to listen to the reading of the Vedas and then only on holidays;

8. That the Shudras are forbidden not only to be present at the recitation of the Vedas, but even to look at them, because their duty is to eternally work, like slaves, for the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and even Vaishyas.

9. “Only death can deliver them from slavery,” said Parabrahman. Leave them, come and worship with us the gods, who will be angry with you for disobeying them.”

10. But Issa did not listen to their speeches and went to the Shudras, speaking in his sermons against the Brahmins and Kshatriyas.

11. He rebelled against the fact that a person arrogates to himself the right to deprive his neighbors of human dignity; “for,” he said, “God the Father makes no distinction between his children; they are all equally dear to Him.”

12. Issa denied the divine origin of the Vedas and Puranas. “For,” he instructed his followers, “the law had already been given to man to guide him in his affairs;

13. Fear your God, bow your knees to Him alone, and to Him alone offer the sacrifices that you have received from your profits.”

14. Issa denied the Trimurti and the incarnation of Para-Brahman in Vishnu, Shiva and other gods, for he said:

15. “The Eternal Judge, the Eternal Spirit created a single and indivisible soul of the universe, which alone creates, contains and animates everything.

16. He alone ruled and created, He alone existed from eternity, and there is no end to His existence. There is no equal to Him either in heaven or on earth.

17. The Great Creator did not share His power with any living creature, much less with a soulless thing, as you were taught; for He alone is omnipotent.

19. He subjugated to man the earth, the waters, the animals, and everything that he created and Himself preserves in an unchangeable order, assigning to each thing its term.

20. The wrath of the Lord will soon fall upon man, for he has forgotten his Creator, filled His temples with abomination, and worships the multitude of creatures whom God has subjected to him.

21. For, in honoring stones and metals, people sacrifice human beings in whom part of the spirit of the Most High dwells.

22. For a man humiliates those who work by the sweat of their brow, fawning on the idler who sits at a sumptuous table.

23. Those who deprive their brothers of divine happiness will be deprived of it themselves. Brahmins and Kshatriyas will become Sudras, and with the Sudras the Eternal will always abide.

24. For on the day of the last judgment, the Shudras and Vaishyas will be forgiven much for their ignorance; on the contrary, the wrath of God will punish those who have arrogated His rights to themselves.”

25. The Vaishyas and Shudras were filled with admiration and asked Issa how they should pray so as not to lose eternal bliss.

26. “Do not worship idols, for they will not listen to you. Do not follow the Vedas, for the truth in them is distorted. Never put yourself above others and do not humiliate your neighbor.”

27. “Help the poor, support the weak, do no harm to anyone and do not covet what you do not have, but what you see in others.”

Chapter VI

1. The white priests and warriors, having learned what speeches Issa addressed to the Shudras, planned to kill him and sent their servants to hunt down the young prophet.

3. Having mastered the Pali language perfectly, the righteous Issa devoted himself to the study of the sacred scriptures of the Sutras.

4. After six years, Issa, whom the Buddha had chosen to spread his holy word, became an excellent interpreter of the sacred scriptures.

5. Then, leaving Nepal and the Himalayan mountains, he descended into the Rajputana valley and headed west, preaching to different peoples about the highest perfection of man,

6. About the fact that doing good to one’s neighbor is the surest way to quickly merge with the Eternal Spirit: “He who regains his original purity,” said Issa, “while dying, will receive remission of his sins and the right to contemplate the greatness of God.”

7. While passing through pagan lands, the divine Issa taught that the worship of visible gods was contrary to the law of nature.

8. “For man,” he said, “is not allowed to see the image of God, and yet he created hosts of deities in the likeness of the Eternal.

9. Moreover, it is ashamed for a person to place the greatness of divine purity below animals, as well as objects made by human hands from stone or metal.

10. The Eternal Lawgiver is one; there is no other God besides Him. He does not share the world with anyone else and does not notify anyone of His intentions.

12. “The law of heaven,” said the Creator through the mouth of Issa, “is against the offering of human sacrifices to an idol or animals; for I have made every animal and everything that is on earth subject to man.

13. Everything is given to man who is directly and closely connected with Me, his Father; therefore, whoever snatches My child from Me will be strictly judged and punished by divine law.

14. Man is nothing before the Eternal Judge, just as a beast is nothing before man.

15. Therefore I say to you: “Leave your idols and do not perform rites that separate you from your Father, connecting you with priests from whom heaven has turned away.

16. For they have turned you away from the true God, and their superstitions and cruelty lead you to the corruption of your soul and the loss of all morality.”

Chapter VII

1. The words of Issa spread among the pagans in the countries where he passed, and the inhabitants abandoned their idols.

2. Seeing this, the priests demanded that he, having glorified the name of the true God, publicly prove what he condemned them for and demonstrate the insignificance of their idols.

3. And Issa answered them: “If your idols and your beasts are powerful and really have supernatural power, then let them strike me on the spot.”

4. “Then perform a miracle,” answered the priests, “and let your God destroy our gods if they are disgusting to Him.”

7. Like a stone and a grain of sand, insignificant before a person, humbly wait for him to take them and use them usefully,

8. So man should expect great mercy that God will show him at the final judgment.

9. But woe to you, enemies of men, if you [receive] not the mercies that you are waiting for, but the wrath of the Divine - woe to you if you expect miracles to testify to His power.

10. For in his wrath he will not destroy idols, but those who erected them. Their hearts will be consigned to eternal fire, and their torn bodies will satisfy the hunger of wild animals.

11. God will drive out the unclean from His flocks, but will return to Himself those who have gone astray, who have not recognized the spiritual principle in themselves.”

13. And then Issa taught the pagans not to try to see the Eternal Spirit with [earthly] eyes, but to strive to feel Him in their hearts and with the purity of their souls to deserve His mercy.”

15. Do not steal from your neighbor, for what you steal he has earned by the sweat of his brow.

16. Do not lie, so as not to be deceived. Try to justify yourself before the final trial, because then it will be too late.

17. Do not indulge in debauchery, for this is a violation of the laws of God.

18. You will achieve the highest happiness, not only by purifying yourself, but also by guiding others on the path that will enable them to achieve original perfection.”

Chapter VIII

1. The neighboring countries were filled with rumors about the preaching of Issa, and when he came to Persia, the priests became alarmed and forbade the inhabitants to listen to him.

3. “What new God are you talking about? Don’t you know, unfortunate one, that Saint Zoroaster is the only righteous person worthy of communion with the Supreme Being,

4. He commanded the angels to write down the word of God for the benefit of his people - the laws that were given to Zoroaster in paradise?

5. Who are you to blaspheme our God and sow doubt in the hearts of believers?”

6. And Issa answered him: “I do not proclaim about a new God, but about our Heavenly Father, who existed from the beginning and will remain when all things cease to exist.

7. I spoke about Him to people who, like innocent children, are not able to comprehend God with the simple power of their minds or to penetrate into His divine and spiritual sublimity.

9. The Eternal One declared to your people through my lips: “Do not worship the sun, for it is only a part of the world that I created for man.

10. The sun rises to warm you while you work, and sets to give you rest, as I have ordained.

11. It is to me, and only to me, that you owe everything that you own, everything that is around you, above you and below you.”

12. “But,” the priests objected, “how can the people live according to the laws of justice if they have no mentors?”

13. To this Issa replied: “As long as people did not have priests, natural law governed them, and they preserved the purity of their souls.

14. Their souls were in God and in order to communicate with the Father, there is no need for the mediation of idols or animals, or fire, as they do here.

15. You claim that you need to worship the sun, the Spirit of good and the spirit of evil. Well, I tell you, your teaching is false, the sun does not move on its own, but according to the will of the invisible Creator who gave it life

16. And he wished for it to be a star that would illuminate the day and warm the labor and sowing of man.

17. The Eternal Spirit is the soul of all living things. You commit a grave sin by dividing Him into the spirit of evil and the spirit of good, for He is exclusively the God of Good,

18. Who, as the father of a family, does only good to His children, forgiving them all their wrongdoings if they repent.

19. And the spirit of evil dwells on earth in the hearts of those people who seduce the children of God from the straight path.

20. Therefore I say to you: “Fear the Day of Judgment, for God will impose a heavy punishment on all who lead His children astray and fill them with superstitions and prejudices;

21. On those who blinded the sighted, who transmitted the infection to the healthy and taught to worship what God subjected to man for his good and to help him in his labors.

22. Your teaching, therefore, is the fruit of your errors; for, wanting to bring the true God closer to you, you created false gods for yourself.”

24. But, protected by our Lord God, Saint Issa continued on his way unharmed.

Chapter IX

1. Issa, chosen by the Creator to remind mankind mired in vice of the true God, reached the age of twenty-nine years when he returned to the land of Israel.

2. Since his departure, the pagans had inflicted even more terrible suffering on the Israelites, and they were in deep despair.

3. Many of them had already begun to abandon the laws of their God and the laws of Mossa in the hope of appeasing the cruel conquerors.

4. At the sight of such a disaster, Issa urged his fellow citizens not to despair, for the day of atonement for sins was approaching, and strengthened them in faith in the God of their fathers.

5. “My children, do not give in to despair,” said the Heavenly Father through the mouth of Issa, “for I have heard your voice, and your groans have reached Me.

6. Do not cry, My beloved! For your grief touched the heart of your Father, and He forgave you, as He forgave your forefathers.

7. Do not abandon your families to indulge in revelry, do not lose the nobility of your feelings, do not worship idols that will remain deaf to your voice.

8. Fill My temple with your hope and your patience and do not deviate from the faith of the fathers, for I alone guided them and showered them with blessings.

9. You will raise up those who have fallen, you will give food to the hungry and provide assistance to the sick, so that everyone will be clean and righteous on the day of the final judgment that I have prepared for you.”

10. The Israelites came in crowds to hear the word of Issa, asking him where they should worship the Heavenly Father, when the enemy razed their temples from the face of the earth and desecrated the sacred vessels.

11. Issa answered them that God does not mean temples built by human hands, but considers the human heart to be the true temple of God.

12. “Enter your temple, your heart. Illuminate it with good thoughts, patience and the unshakable trust that you should have in your Father.

14. For God created you in His own likeness - innocent, pure in soul, with a heart full of goodness, destined not to invent evil, but to become a sanctuary of love and justice.

15. Therefore I say to you, do not defile your hearts, for the Most High dwells there forever.

16. If you want to do things that are marked by love and godliness, do them with an open heart and do not allow yourself to be guided in your actions by calculation or hope of reward.

17. For such deeds will not bring you closer to salvation, but will bring you to such a moral decline when theft, lying and murder are considered valor.”

Chapter X

1. Saint Issa went from city to city, strengthening the courage of the Israelites, who were ready to fall under the burden of despair, with the word of God, and thousands of people followed him to listen to his sermons.

2. But the elders of the cities were afraid of him and reported to the main ruler, who lived in Jerusalem, that a man named Issa had arrived in the country, that with his speeches he was inciting the people against the authorities, that the crowd, diligently listening to him, neglected public works and claimed that soon get rid of self-proclaimed rulers.

4. Meanwhile, Issa, continuing his preaching, came to Jerusalem, and, having learned of his arrival, all the inhabitants who had already heard about him came out to meet him.

5. They greeted him with respect and opened the doors of their temple to him so that they could hear from his lips what he had said in other cities of Israel.

6. And Issa said to them: “The human race is perishing from lack of faith, for darkness and storm have scattered the flocks of men and they have lost their shepherds.

7. But the storm will not last forever and darkness will not hide the light forever. The sky will one day clear, heavenly light will spread across the earth, and the flocks, now lost, will gather around their shepherd.

9. He who helps his neighbor strengthens himself; and whoever protects his family protects the people and the state.

10. Be confident that the day is near when you will be freed from darkness; you will gather into one family, and your enemy, who does not know the mercy of God, will tremble in fear.”

13. Earthly power is short-lived and subject to many changes. What good is it for a person to be indignant against it, seeing that one power always replaces another? So it will be until the human race ends.

14. Do you not see that those in power and the rich are sowing among the children of Israel a spirit of rebellion against the eternal authority of heaven?

15. Then the elders asked: “Who are you and from what country did you come to us? We had never heard of you before and didn’t even know your name.”

16. “I am an Israelite,” answered Issa. “From the day I was born, I saw the walls of Jerusalem and heard the groans of my brothers who were forced into slavery, and the cries of my sisters who were carried away by the pagans.

17. And my soul was filled with sadness when I saw that my brothers had forgotten the true God. As a child, I left my father's house and went to live among other nations.

18. But hearing that my brothers were experiencing even greater torment, I returned to the country of my fathers in order to remind my brothers of the faith of our ancestors, which teaches us patience on earth in order to achieve perfect and highest happiness in heaven.”

19. And the wise elders asked him this question: “They say that you reject the laws of Mossa and teach people to despise the temple of God?”

20. And Issa answered: “It is impossible to destroy what has been given by our Heavenly Father, just like what has already been destroyed by sinners; I called for the cleansing of the heart from all filth, for it is the true temple of God.

21. As for the laws of Mossa, I tried to establish them in the hearts of people. And I tell you that you do not understand their true meaning, for they teach not revenge, but forgiveness; but their meaning was distorted."

Chapter XI

1. Having heard Issa, the high priests and wise elders decided among themselves not to judge him, for he had not harmed anyone. And, appearing before Pilate, whom the pagan king from the country of the Romans had appointed governor of Jerusalem, they said to him this:

2. “We saw the man whom you accuse of inciting our people to revolt, we listened to his speeches and know that he is our compatriot.

3. But the city elders sent you false reports, for this is a righteous man who teaches the people the word of God. After questioning, we released him so that he could go in peace.”

4. Then the ruler fell into a rage and sent his servants in disguise to Issa so that they would monitor all his actions and report to the authorities every word that he would address to the people.

5. Meanwhile, Saint Issa continued to visit neighboring cities, preaching about the true ways of the Creator, calling on the Jews to be patient and promising them speedy liberation.

6. And all this time many people followed him wherever he went, some followed him relentlessly and became his intimates.

8. But there is a miracle that can be performed by a person. When, filled with sincere faith, he decides to tear out all evil thoughts from his heart, and having achieved his goal, he no longer walks along the paths of lawlessness.

9. All deeds done without God are only delusions, temptations and seductions, which only show to what extent the soul of the one who engages in this craft is full of shamelessness, deceit and vices.

10. Do not believe the soothsayers, God alone knows the future; he who resorts to fortune-telling desecrates the temple of his heart and shows distrust of his Creator.

12. But the Lord our God, who has no equal, is one, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. All wisdom and all light belong to Him.

13. You should turn to Him for consolation in sorrows, for help in labors and for healing in ailments. And whoever turns to Him will not be rejected.

14. The secret of nature is in the hands of God, for the world, before its appearance, resided in the depths of divine thought and became material and visible by the will of the Almighty.

15. When you turn to Him, become children again, for you know neither the past, nor the present, nor the future, and God is the Lord of all times.”

Chapter XII

1. “Righteous man,” the spies of the ruler of Jerusalem told him, “tell us, will we do the will of Caesar or will we wait for a quick release?”

2. Issa, recognizing them as people sent to watch him, answered: “I did not tell you that you would be freed from Caesar. It is the soul, mired in delusion, that will receive its liberation.

3. There is no family without a head, there will be no order among the people without Caesar; he must be given complete obedience; he alone will be held accountable for his deeds before the highest court.”

4. “Does Caesar have divine right? - the spies also asked. “And is he the best of mortals?”

6. Mercy and justice are the highest qualities of Caesar; his name will be glorified if he adheres to them.

7. But whoever does otherwise, whoever exceeds the boundaries of the power given to him over his subordinates, going so far as to endanger their lives, insults the great Judge and loses his dignity in the eyes of people.”

8. Meanwhile, one of the spies pushed away the old woman, who approached the others in order to better hear Issa, and stood in front of her.

9. And then Issa said: “It is not proper for a son to remove his mother by taking her place. He who does not honor his mother, the most sacred being after God, is not worthy to be called a son.

10. Listen to what I tell you. Honor the woman, for she is the mother of the universe, and the whole truth of divine creation is contained in her.

11. She is the basis of all goodness and beauty and she is the source of life and death. A man’s entire existence depends on her, for she is his natural and moral support.

13. Honor her, protect her. By doing this, you will gain her love and her heart and will be pleasing to God, and many sins will be forgiven you.

14. Love also your wives and honor them, for tomorrow they will become mothers, and later the ancestors of the race.

15. Submit to the woman. Her love ennobles a man, softens his hard heart, tames the beast and makes him a lamb.

16. A wife and mother is a priceless treasure given to you by God. They are the best decoration of existence, and from them will be born all who inhabit the world.

17. Just as the God of Powers once separated light from darkness and dry land from waters, so a woman has the divine gift of separating good intentions from evil intentions in a man.

18. Therefore I tell you, after God, your best thoughts should be given to women and wives, for a woman for you is the temple in which you will most easily find perfect happiness.

19. Draw moral strength from this temple. Here you will forget your sorrows and failures and regain the lost strength necessary to help your neighbor.

20. Do not humiliate her, by doing this you will only humiliate yourself and lose that feeling of love, without which nothing exists here below.

21. Protect your wife so that she can protect you and your entire family. Whatever you do for your wife, your mother, a widow or any other grieving woman, you do for God.”

Chapter XIII

1. Saint Issa instructed the people of Israel in this way for three years - in every city, every village, along the roads and in the fields, and every prediction he made came true.

2. All this time, Pilate’s disguised servants were closely watching him and did not hear anything similar to what was collected in previous years in the reports of the city elders about Issa.

3. But Governor Pilate, alarmed by the too great fame of Saint Issa, who, according to his enemies, wanted to outrage the people and declare himself king, ordered one of the spies to falsely accuse him.

4. Then the soldiers were ordered to seize Issa, and they threw him into an underground dungeon, where they tortured him in every possible way, hoping to extract from him a confession that would allow him to be put to death.

5. The saint, thinking only about the highest bliss of his brothers, endured all suffering in the name of his Creator.

6. Pilate's servants continued to torture him and reduced him to extreme weakness, but God was with him and did not allow him to die.

7. Having learned about the suffering and torment that their saint endured, the high priests and wise elders came to beg the ruler to release Issa on the occasion of the approaching great holiday.

8. But the ruler resolutely refused them this. Then they asked to allow Issa to appear before the court of elders, so that he would be convicted or pardoned before the holiday, and Pilate agreed to this.

9. The next day the governor assembled the generals, the high priests, the scribes, and the lawyers to judge Issa.

10. They brought the saint from prison and seated him before the governor between two thieves, who were to be tried at the same time, in order to show the crowd that he was not the only one to be condemned.

11. And Pilate, turning to Issa, said: “Man! Is it true that you incited the people against the authorities with the intention of becoming king of Israel yourself?”

12. “They do not become kings of their own free will,” answered Issa, “and those who tell you that I raised the people to revolt are lying. I always spoke only about the Heavenly King and I taught the people to worship Him.

13. For the children of Israel have lost their original purity, and if they do not turn to the true God, they will be sacrificed and their temples will lie in ruins.

14. Earthly power maintains order in the country, and I taught them not to forget about it. I told them: “Live in accordance with your position and your fate, so as not to disturb public order.” And he urged them also to remember that disorder reigns in their hearts and minds.

15. For which the Heavenly Father punished them and plunged their own kings into insignificance. I told them: “If you submit to your fate, you will inherit the kingdom of heaven as a reward.”

16. At that time they brought witnesses, one of whom testified as follows: “You told the people that earthly power is insignificant before the king, who will soon deliver the Israelites from the pagan yoke.”

17. “Blessed be you,” said Issa, “for having spoken the truth. The King of Heaven is greater and more powerful than earthly law, and His kingdom surpasses all earthly kingdoms.

18. And the time is not far off when, having submitted to the divine will, the people of Israel will be cleansed of their sins, for it is said that the forerunner will appear to announce the deliverance of the people, gathering everyone together.”

19. And the governor, turning to the judges, said: “Do you hear? Israeli Issa confesses to the crime of which he is accused. Judge him according to your laws and sentence him to the heaviest punishment.”

20. “We cannot condemn him,” answered the chief priests and elders. “You yourself just heard that he meant the King of Heaven and did not preach anything to the children of Israel that could be declared an offense to the law.”

21. Governor Pilate then sent for a witness, who, at his instigation, betrayed Issa. This man came and addressed Issa thus: “Did you not consider yourself to be the king of Israel when you said that He who rules in heaven sent you to prepare His people?”

22. And Issa, blessing him, said: “You will be forgiven, for you are not speaking from yourself!” Then he turned to the ruler: “Why humiliate your dignity and teach your minions to live in a lie, since you already have the power to condemn the innocent?”

23. At these words, the ruler fell into a terrible rage, ordering Issa to be sentenced to death and pardon the two robbers.

24. The judges, having consulted among themselves, said to Pilate: “We will not accept on our heads the great sin of condemning the innocent and acquitting the robbers. It would be against the law.

25. Do as you please.” Having said this, the chief priests and elders went out and washed their hands in the sacred vessel, saying: “We are innocent of the death of this righteous man.”

Chapter XIV

1. By order of the ruler, the soldiers captured Issa and two thieves and took them to the place of execution, where they nailed them to crosses dug into the ground.

2. The whole day the bodies of Issa and the two thieves remained crucified under the guard of soldiers, presenting a terrible sight; people stood around, relatives of the sufferers prayed and wept.

3. By sunset, Issa’s suffering ended. He lost consciousness and the soul of the righteous man left his body and was accepted by God.

4. Thus ended the earthly existence of the reflection of the Eternal Spirit in the form of a man who saved inveterate sinners and endured much suffering.

5. Meanwhile, Pilate was afraid of what he had done and gave the body of the saint to his parents, who buried him near the place of execution. Crowds of people came to pray at the tomb of Issa and the air was filled with sobs and groans.

6. Three days later, the governor, fearing popular outrage, sent his soldiers to carry out the body of Issa and bury him in another place.

7. The next day the crowd found the tomb open and empty. Rumor immediately spread that the Supreme Judge had sent His angels to carry away the mortal remains of the saint, in whom a particle of the Divine Spirit dwelt on earth.

8. When the rumors reached Pilate, he became angry and forbade, under pain of slavery and death, to pronounce the name of Issa or to pray to the Lord for him.

9. But people continued to mourn and loudly glorify their Teacher, so many were taken into slavery, tortured and put to death.

10. And the disciples of Saint Issa left the land of Israel and scattered among other nations, preaching that they should renounce their errors, think about the salvation of the soul and the highest bliss that awaits humanity in the immaterial world of light, where in peace and in all its In purity, the Great Creator abides in perfect majesty.

11. The pagans, kings and warriors who listened to the preachers abandoned their absurd beliefs, abandoned their priests and their idols, in order to glorify the all-wise Creator of the universe, the King of kings, whose heart is filled with infinite mercy.

Published based on the book: N. Notovich. "The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ." - Simferopol: Publisher A.P. Drugov, 2004. - 104 p.