A growing mass of evidence indicates that Jesus spent much of his “Lost Years” in India.
In north India on the Ganges River in the Himalayas, about an hour up-river from Rishikesh, is a cave called Vashishta Guha. Made famous by the ancient sage Vashishta, it has been the home to yogis for centuries, most recently the renowned Swami Purushottamananda.
About a five-minute walk down-river from this cave is another cave known as the “Jesus cave.” Set in the side of a sheer cliff on the banks of the Ganga, the cave has a spectacular view of the river and the surrounding peaks of the Himalayas. The cave derived its name from the tradition that Jesus spent time there during His sojourn in India during the “Lost Years.”
In the last century both Swami Rama Tirtha and Swami (Papa) Ramdas lived there (at separate times), and had visions of Jesus meditating there, though they had no prior knowledge of His having lived there. We had the good fortune to visit and meditate in the cave during a recent trip to India.
The tradition of the Jesus Cave is but a small part of the lore of Jesus’ stay in India. To read more of the evidence of Jesus’ time in India, read the in-depth article, The Christ of India, by Swami Nirmalananda Giri.
The Jesus Cave