A fourth wise man from India
“A royal prince of India, Ravanna of Orissa in the south, was at the Jewish feast. Ravanna was a man of wealth; and he was just, and with a band of Brahmic priests sought wisdom in the West. When Jesus stood among the Jewish priests and read and spoke, Ravanna heard and was amazed. And when he asked who Jesus was, from whence he came and what he was, chief Hillel said,
“We call this child the Day Star from on high, for he has come to bring to men a light, the light of life; to lighten up the way of men and to redeem his people, Israel.
“And Hillel told Ravanna all about the child; about the prophecies concerning him; about the wonders of the night when he was born; about the visit of the magian priests; about the way in which he was protected from the wrath of evil men; about his flight to Egypt-land, and how he then was serving with his father as a carpenter in Nazareth” (Aquarian Gospel 21:1-7).
Orissa is the country just south of Bengal on the east coast of India. Its renown comes the the pilgrimage city of Jagannath Puri. Originally the mammoth temple was dedicated to Shiva, but it long ago became a temple of Krishna.
Although it is well known that Buddhist missionaries were trickling through the Mediterranean world at that time (to no effect), it is surprising that Brahmins were coming from India in search of wisdom. Perhaps they had been told of Jesus by the three sages that came at his birth.
We see from the words of Hillel to Ravanna that already Jesus was considered the Messiah by many.
The meeting
“Ravanna was entranced, and asked to know the way to Nazareth, that he might go and honor such a one as son of God. And with his gorgeous train he journeyed on the way and came to Nazareth of Galilee.
“He found the object of his search engaged in building dwellings for the sons of men. And when he first saw Jesus he was climbing up a twelve step ladder, and he carried in his hands a compass, square and axe.
“Ravanna said, All hail, most favored son of heaven! And at the inn Ravanna made a feast for all the people of the town; and Jesus and his parents were honored guests” (Aquarian Gospel 21:8-13).
It would not take long for all Galilee to learn about the men from India who came to learn from the young Jesus, and in a matter of weeks the entire country would know. We should keep all this in mind when considering the rejection and execution of Jesus This is why Jesus told Pilate: “He that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin” (John 19:11).
To India
“For certain days Ravanna was a guest in Joseph’s home on Marmion Way; he sought to learn the secret of the wisdom of the son; but it was all too great for him.
“And then he asked that he might be the patron of the child; might take him to the East where he could learn the wisdom of the Brahms.
“And Jesus longed to go that he might learn; and after many days his parents gave consent. Then, with proud heart, Ravanna with his train, began the journey towards the rising sun; and after many days they crossed the Sind, and reached the province of Orissa, and the palace of the prince.
“The Brahmic priests were glad to welcome home the prince; with favor they received the Jewish boy. And Jesus was accepted as a pupil in the temple Jagannath; and here learned the Vedas and the Manic laws. The Brahmic masters wondered at the clear conceptions of the child, and often were amazed when he explained to them the meaning of the laws” (Aquarian Gospel 21:14-20).
True wisdom is not learned in a short time. For one thing, the mind must undergo a profound transformation just to intellectually grasp the monumental spiritual truths taught by the enlightened masters. That is why Jesus told his hearers: “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).
Jesus already knew much of the wisdom of India, for it was part of the knowledge of the Essenes, but now he was in one of the greatest centers of Sanatana Dharma in the land where he could learn the sacred scriptures of which the Vedas and Laws of Manu were foundational but only a part.
Here, too, we see that Jesus was more often the teacher of those that would teach him.
Read the next section in the Aquarian Gospel for Yogis: What is Truth?