Book Title: Unknown Life of Jesus Christ New Edition 2009 Publication
Author(s): Nicholas Notovitch, Virchand R Gandhi, Kumarpal Desai
Publisher: World Jain Confederation

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Page 145
________________ The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ → incarnated itself into the newly-born child of a pious and noble family. No doubt, the Buddhists as well as the Evangelists wished to indicate by this that the child belonged to the royal house of David, but the text of the Evangel, according to which the child was conceived of the Holy Ghost, can be interpreted in two ways, while according to the doctrine of Buddha, which is most conformable to the laws of nature, the Spirit only incarnated itself in a child already born, whom God blessed and chose to accomplish His mission here below.* At this place there is a gap in the traditions of the Evangelists who, either from ignorance or negligence tell us nothing of his infancy, his youth or his training. They commence the history of Jesus with his first sermon, that is to say, at the time when at the age of thirty he returns to his country. All that the Evangelists say concerning the childhood of Jesus totally lacks precision. "And the child grew and waxed strong, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him," says one of the sacred authors, St. Luke; and again: "The child grew and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his showing unto Israel." The theory of the Divinity or Buddha incarnating at different times is common to the Thibetan Buddhism and modern Hinduism. It is known as the Avatara theory. Lama of certain monasteries in Thibet is considered the living visible embodiment, (the time being, of Buddha, who from time to time descends from heaven and reappears in human forms for the welfare of the world. Krishna, in the Bhagvad Gita, says: “Every time that religion is in danger and that iniquity triumphs, I issue forth. For the defense of the good and the suppression of the wicked, for the establishment of righteousness, I manifest myself from age to age." And among the Buddhists there are various ranks in the incarnations, there are lower and higher Avataras, corresponding to the difference in rank of saints, etc.-Translator. - 140

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