Readers of OCOY.org know that it is our belief, with much evidence, that Jesus spent much of his “Lost Years” in India (See The Christ of India). Part of that evidence is the assertion by many, including a previous Shankaracharya of Puri, Jagadguru Bharati Krishna Tirtha (Shankaracharya from 1925 through 1960), that Jesus spent time in the Govardhan Math in Puri.
Another Shankaracharya’s testimony
The current Shankaracharya of Puri, Jagadguru Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, recently created a stir among Christians in India who are ignorant of this tradition, by publicly stating that “Jesus Christ was not only a Hindu but lived in India over 10 years.” He further stated that out of those 10 years “Jesus stayed in Puri for three years, where he was in contact with the then Shankaracharya and Jesus was a follower of the Vaishnava sect.”
Bloggers and news agencies in India have cited several books about the history of Christ in India to substantiate Shankaracharya Nischalananda’s statements, including The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ, by Nicolas Notovitch, Jesus Lived in India by Holger Kersten, and our own book The Christ of India, by Abbot George Burke.
Below is a clip of Shankaracharya Nischalananda speaking about Jesus in India:
View this post on Instagram
The comments of the Shankaracharya of Puri were covered in India by the Hindustan News Hub, New India Express, HinduExistence.com, and others.
Here is a short video explaining more about the history of Jesus in India during his “Lost Years.”
Also, see our short video about our visit to the Jesus Cave in the Himalayas which we had the good fortune to visit in 2003.