The dreams that I dream-1- Rapture (Second Coming Of Jesus)

[jeremiah7]

This was a good article according to your evaluation. I am not imposing my ideas on anyone. I am just making an evaluation. If you have answers to them fine, if not don't quote what someone else said in history.

Do you agree that the following are corrupt practices?

1. Money spent on the upkeep of vatican when millions starve in Africa?
2. Pastors being paedophiles in the house of God?
3. Christ message of offer the other cheek if hit on one not being followed by catholics?
4. Highest rate of adultery in US- totally un christ.

Obviously the one's who have been devoured by Devil are christians in greatest numbers. Do you agree?

When Madonna makes a song kissing a black christ, the church in vatican rises in condemnation. Is that proper? Couldn't jesus have been black?

Why till date there has not been a single black pope?

Chruch says that kids are God's gift. Hence any form of birth control practices makes its followers anti God. Do you think this is true?

Tell me what you think is the message of church that is relevant in today's world and that christians follow.

When you stand before God at judgement time, he is not going to ask you what the Catholic church did or what the Vatican did. Whoever sins, God will punish them. You bother about your own salvation instead of what others are doing wrong. Are you living a perfect life that you are throwing stones at others. Jesus said, "He who has no sin, let him throw the first stone at the accused. Are you that person."

Peadophiles and murderers are there in among followers of all religions, so stop talking about that.

Aren't you bothered about your own salvation?

[Neo]

I am bothered about people telling others what they think is the correct "path". If you are bothered about your salvation why do you come out to preach here?

If everyone was bothered about one's own salvation we wouldn't be having this discussion here. Problem is, you are more bothered abt proclaiming how your's is the only way to salvation.

Tell me, yes or no, do you or don't you believe that yours (christanity) is the only "correct" religion and jesus's message the only "path" to salvation. Far worse, do you not inevitabily deny in this statement that the path to salvation as prescribed in other religions lead to hell? Yes or No again.

I am out here to expose the hypocrisy of your "attempt" at salvation. My path to salvation lies pretty clear to me and in this path jesus doesn't figure any where. Can you live with this fact without the thought of me going to "hell" not coming in ur pious mind

Because my friend, even though you don't share my faith, my religion din't teach me that just coz you don't believe in what I believe, I am destined for heaven and you are destined to hell. Does your religion say the same? Yes or no?

[jeremiah7]

I am bothered about people telling others what they think is the correct "path". If you are bothered about your salvation why do you come out to preach here?

If everyone was bothered about one's own salvation we wouldn't be having this discussion here. Problem is, you are more bothered abt proclaiming how your's is the only way to salvation.

Tell me, yes or no, do you or don't you believe that yours (christanity) is the only "correct" religion and jesus's message the only "path" to salvation. Far worse, do you not inevitabily deny in this statement that the path to salvation as prescribed in other religions lead to hell? Yes or No again.

I am out here to expose the hypocrisy of your "attempt" at salvation. My path to salvation lies pretty clear to me and in this path jesus doesn't figure any where. Can you live with this fact without the thought of me going to "hell" not coming in ur pious mind

Because my friend, even though you don't share my faith, my religion din't teach me that just coz you don't believe in what I believe, I am destined for heaven and you are destined to hell. Does your religion say the same? Yes or no?

You are fooling yourself by your wise talk. Anyway I will be praying for you and for your wife who is an orthodox christian to know the truth and I am sure that very sure you will be meeting Jesus in your life.

I never said that Christianity is the way to heaven, did I? That's only a religion and having religion doesn't take one to heaven. One must have a personal relationship with God to be able to go to heaven.

I started this thread talking about a dream of mine. I have the freedom of expressing my views. If you think differently, why don't you start your own thread and speak about it.

As I have written above,very soon, you will be confronting Jesus wherever you go.

[Neo]

You are fooling yourself by your wise talk. Anyway I will be praying for you and for your wife who is an orthodox christian to know the truth and I am sure that very sure you will be meeting Jesus in your life.

obviously there isn't any scope of fooling you, you are at the pinnacle of ignorance with ur dreams
have u met jesus yet Dr? If not, pls pray for yourself before praying for others. when u meet him, drop me a line and we will see. till then stop making tall claims abt ur dreams .

I never said that Christianity is the way to heaven, did I? That's only a religion and having religion doesn't take one to heaven. One must have a personal relationship with God to be able to go to heaven.

thats the hypocrisy i am talking abt. u people are never direct but as soon as i said the same thing about Krishna you brought out your real teeth
everything u say is implied. as i said my purpose was to expose you.

I started this thread talking about a dream of mine. I have the freedom of expressing my views. If you think differently, why don't you start your own thread and speak about it.

i told u why. because if u are on a path of personal salvation, keep it to yourself. if u put ur fantasies on a public forum, people will question it. if that irritates you, may be u shd focus more on the love all principle. if tomorrow u say that u dreamt and saved kerela from a hurricane, offcourse i will ask u if ur the only one dreaming here. are not enough dreamers present in new orleans? or may be they are all black so God flooded them with katrina ignoring ur prayers.

As I have written above,very soon, you will be confronting Jesus wherever you go.

as i said, since ur much more a devoted follower of Jesus, its you who should meet him first. talkin of personal preferences, I would prefer to meet Buddha.
As i can see, you couldn't stand my questions and want me go away. Do you want Jesus to do your unfinished task of convincing me?
Well, he doesn't carry much importance in my scheme of things. For me he was just a mortal philospher ahead of his time who said some wise things which many before him said. I will meet him like a man meets a man, not a slave a master.

who knows you will have a new messiah soon

[jeremiah7]

obviously there isn't any scope of fooling you, you are at the pinnacle of ignorance with ur dreams
have u met jesus yet Dr? If not, pls pray for yourself before praying for others. when u meet him, drop me a line and we will see. till then stop making tall claims abt ur dreams .


thats the hypocrisy i am talking abt. u people are never direct but as soon as i said the same thing about Krishna you brought out your real teeth
everything u say is implied. as i said my purpose was to expose you.


i told u why. because if u are on a path of personal salvation, keep it to yourself. if u put ur fantasies on a public forum, people will question it. if that irritates you, may be u shd focus more on the love all principle. if tomorrow u say that u dreamt and saved kerela from a hurricane, offcourse i will ask u if ur the only one dreaming here. are not enough dreamers present in new orleans? or may be they are all black so God flooded them with katrina ignoring ur prayers.



as i said, since ur much more a devoted follower of Jesus, its you who should meet him first. talkin of personal preferences, I would prefer to meet Buddha.
As i can see, you couldn't stand my questions and want me go away. Do you want Jesus to do your unfinished task of convincing me?
Well, he doesn't carry much importance in my scheme of things. For me he was just a mortal philospher ahead of his time who said some wise things which many before him said. I will meet him like a man meets a man, not a slave a master.

who knows you will have a new messiah soon

He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away. (Job 5:13)

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. (Proverbs 3:7)

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. (Proverbs 10:19)

This is what the LORD says:

"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD , who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,"
declares the LORD ." (Jeremiah 9:23,24)

[sunilkumar]

My Real Experience….

In year 2001-2002 I had given one interview in St. Xavier’s college for post of lecturer in City: - Ahmedabad., I cleared first round of that interview and college people told me to come after 5 days… At that time there was one girl she was Christian she was out in first round of interview. But after 5 day me and other candidate went there for interview for second round they told us sorry we don’t have any requirement without conducting second round…. But we all non-christian candidate come to know that we were not offered a job coz we were not Christian. The Christian girl who was out in first round was offered job…..

Yea I hadn’t got that Job coz I was not believing in Jesus.. Few may think that Jesus may be GOD but for me he was devil.

As per the history what I know about Nero (once who was king of Roman empire) during time of Christ… his wife was pregnant but the saint were not able to save his wife and kid, saint were saying that they can cure any one … ha ha ha so Nero killed many follower of Jesus… coz they were liar.

I had seen this in history channel.

[jeremiah7]

My Real Experience….

In year 2001-2002 I had given one interview in St. Xavier’s college for post of lecturer in City: - Ahmedabad., I cleared first round of that interview and college people told me to come after 5 days… At that time there was one girl she was Christian she was out in first round of interview. But after 5 day me and other candidate went there for interview for second round they told us sorry we don’t have any requirement without conducting second round…. But we all non-christian candidate come to know that we were not offered a job coz we were not Christian. The Christian girl who was out in first round was offered job…..

Yea I hadn’t got that Job coz I was not believing in Jesus.. Few may think that Jesus may be GOD but for me he was devil.

As per the history what I know about Nero (once who was king of Roman empire) during time of Christ… his wife was pregnant but the saint were not able to save his wife and kid, saint were saying that they can cure any one … ha ha ha so Nero killed many follower of Jesus… coz they were liar.

I had seen this in history channel.

Your post has nothing to do with this thread. This thread is about our afterlives, heaven and hell. Your getting a job/not has nothing to do with this post. Don't post topics that are "off" the thread. Be relevant.

Many people called Jesus "devil" even when he was alive. You have just added yourself to that list.

[Neo]

He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away. (Job 5:13)

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. (Proverbs 3:7)

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. (Proverbs 10:19)

This is what the LORD says:

"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD , who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,"
declares the LORD ." (Jeremiah 9:23,24)

Yada yada hi dharmasya,glanirbhavati
Bharatah,Abhiyutthanam dharmasya,tadatmanam srijamyaham!Paritranaya sadhunam, vinashaya cha dushkritam,Dharmasamsthapanarthaya,
sambhabami yuge yuge!!

Lord Krishna to Arjuna
(Shrimat Bhagavat Geeta)

Whenever and wherever there is decline of dharma (righteousness) and ascendance of adharma (unrighteousness), at that time I manifest Myself in visible form. For the protection of the righteous and destruction of the wicked, and for the sake of establishing dharma again, I incarnate Myself on earth ages after ages.

[Neo]

sunil, if you din't get the message, the Dr. here is finding his way to heaven and anything you shows what a hypocrite people like him are, it becomes out of context...haha

i understand the christian philosphy as practised by most for achieving heaven as follows now:

you can commit any sin on this earth against humanity but in the end if you go to the church and pray to the lord,he will give you a one way ticket straight to the seventh heaven....haha

[jeremiah7]

sunil, if you din't get the message, the Dr. here is finding his way to heaven and anything you shows what a hypocrite people like him are, it becomes out of context...haha

i understand the christian philosphy as practised by most for achieving heaven as follows now:

you can commit any sin on this earth against humanity but in the end if you go to the church and pray to the lord,he will give you a one way ticket straight to the seventh heaven....haha

You are laughing at yourself Mr. Neo not at me. So enjoy yourself.

[jeremiah7]

The story of Sadhu Sundar Singh

One hundred and twelve years ago on September 1889, Sundar Singh was born to Sher Singh of Rampur, Punjab in northern India. His mother, a deeply religious woman, nurtured him in the noble traditions of the Sikhs. Sundar often spoke of his mother with much love and respect because of the good foundation she laid for his life to come. Little did anyone know what God was about to do with this keenly intelligent and disciplined young man.

He was raised in the luxury of his family's wealth. As a Sikh, Sundar was taught about Hinduism and came along with his parents to Hindu and Sikh temples. By the age of seven he had already memorized Bhagavadgita, the intricate Hindu dialogue containing spiritual life lessons. At sixteen, not only had he mastered the Vedas, the ancient sacred books of Hinduism, but he had also read Qur'an, the sacred book of Islam. He then got acquainted with some sadhus who taught him Yoga.

A sadhu is a Hindu who devotes his entire life to his religion and forsakes all the worldly pleasures. Sundar remained single and jobless. He travelled all over India wearing a yellow robe without any food and without having any permanent residence. He lived only on the charity of others.

The life of Sadhu Sundar Singh was most remarkable in its Christ-likeness. Being born amidst the depths of Indian culture and religion, and into a Sikh family, during the early part of his life Sundar's mother would take him week by week to sit at the feet of a sadhu, an ascetic holy man, who lived some distance away in the rainforest. It was his mother who first encouraged him to become a sadhu. She once told him, "Do not be selfish and materialistic like your brothers, but seek for your peace of mind and hold steadily onto your faith. Be a sadhu." However, he never achieved peacefulness in his meditations. Owing to his mother's connections with some women from a British mission in Rajpur, Sundar was able to enter the school run by the missionaries. It was there that Sundar was first exposed to the Bible. He wasn't interested in the Bible at that time. Instead, he ardently buried himself in Hinduism and yogic practices.

His Encounter with Christ
But with the death of his beloved mother when he was only fourteen years old, his life had changed dramatically. The young Sundar grew increasingly despairing and aggressive. Convinced that what Jesus had taught was completely wrong, he tore the Bible apart and burned it. He even threw stones at preachers and encouraged others to do likewise. His hatred of the local missionaries and Christians culminated in the public burning of a Bible which he tore apart page by page and threw into the flames.

Still, however hard he tried, he couldn't find the peace he had been seeking for in his own religion. He reached a point in his life where committing suicide crossed his mind. Yet before long Sundar was intent on taking his own life. Sundar had arrived at a point of desperation: he had decided to throw himself under the Ludhiana express if God did not reveal to him the true way of peace.
Three days after he burned the Bible in front of his father, he woke up at three in the morning and went out into the moonlit courtyard for the ceremonial bath observed by devout Hindus and Sikhs before worship. He then returned to his room and knelt down, bowed his head to the ground and pleaded that God would reveal himself. Yet nothing happened. He was thinking of throwing himself in front of the train that would pass at 5 a.m. every morning behind their house, in the hope that he would find peacefulness in his future reincarnation.
He had not known what to expect: a voice, a vision, a trance? Still nothing happened, and it was fast approaching the time for the Ludhiana express. He repeated his prayer once again. He lifted his head and opened his eyes, and was rather surprised to see a faint cloud of light in the room. It was too early for the dawn. He opened the door and peered out to the courtyard. Darkness. Turning back into the room he saw that the light in the room was getting brighter. At first he feared that the room was on fire. But nothing happened. He then thought that it might be an answer to his prayer. While watching the light, he suddenly saw Jesus' figure in the radiance. To his sheer amazement he saw not the face of any of his traditional gods, but of Jesus the Christ.
Jesus Christ was there in the room, shining, radiating an inexpressible joy and peace and love, looking at him with compassion and asking, "Why do you persecute me? I died for you ..." [Acts 9:1-5] At that time, Sundar realized that Jesus was not dead but alive. Sundar fell on his knees before Him and experienced an astonishing peacefulness which he had never felt before. The vision disappeared, but peace and joy lingered within him.

Thereafter his life was transformed. He wanted to be baptized. Although his family tried to prevent him from his intention, he was determined. In 1905, on his birthday, he was baptized in an English church in Simla. At that time, he decided to become a sadhu, so that he could dedicate himself to the Lord Jesus. He was convinced that this was the best way to introduce the Gospel to his people since it was the only way which his people were accustomed to.

[Neo]

You are laughing at yourself Mr. Neo not at me. So enjoy yourself.

i donno when ur dreaming and when ur awake Dr.
either ways the opinion of a dellusional person doesn't matter

[Neo]

When Prime Minister Vajpayee was in the US in September (2000), the National Association of Asian Christians in the US (whom nobody had heard about before), paid $ 50,000 to the New York Times to publish "an Open Letter to the Honorable Atal Bihari Vajpayee, prime minister of India."

While "warmly welcoming the PM," The NAAC expressed deep concern about the "persecution" of Christians in India by "extremist" (meaning Hindu) groups mentioning as examples "the priest, missionaries and church workers who have been murdered," the nuns "raped," and the potential enacting of conversion laws, which would make "genuine" conversions illegal. The letter concluded by saying "that Christians in India today live in fear."

The whole affair was an embarrassment (as it was intended to be) to Mr. Vajpayee and the Indian delegation, which had come to prod American businessmen to invest in India, a peaceful, pro-Western and democratic country.

I am born a Christian and I have had a strong Catholic education. I do believe that Christ was an incarnation of Pure Love and that His Presence still radiates in the world. I also believe there are human beings who sincerely try to incarnate the ideals of Jesus and that you can find today in India a few missionaries (such as Father Ceyrac, a French Jesuit, who works mostly with lepers in Tamil Nadu) who are incarnations of that Love, tending tirelessly to people, without trying to convert them.

But I have also lived for more than 30 years in India, I am married to an Indian, I have travelled the length and breadth of this country and I have evolved a love and an understanding of India, which few other foreign correspondents have because they are never posted long enough to start getting a real feeling of this vast and often baffling country (nobody can claim to fully understand India). And this is what I have to say about the "persecution" of Christians in India.

Firstly, it is necessary to bring about a little bit of a historical flashback, which very few foreign correspondents (and unfortunately also Indian journalists) care to do, which would make for a more balanced view of the problem.

If ever there was persecution, it was of the Hindus at the hands of Christians, who were actually welcomed in this country, as they have been welcomed in no other place on this planet. Indeed, the first Christian community of the world, that of the Syrian Christians, was established in Kerala in the first century. They were able to live in peace and practice their religion freely, even imbibing some of the local Hindu customs, thereby breaking the Syrian Church in two.

When Vasco de Gama landed in Kerala in 1498, he was generously received by the Zamorin, the Hindu king of Calicut, who granted him the right to establish warehouses for commerce. But once again, Hindu tolerance was exploited and the Portuguese wanted more and more. In 1510, Alfonso de Albuquerque seized Goa, where he started a reign of terror, burning "heretics," crucifying Brahmins, using false theories to forcibly convert the lower castes, razing temples to build churches upon them and encouraging his soldiers to take Indian mistresses.

Indeed, the Portuguese perpetrated here some of the worst atrocities ever committed in Asia by Christianity upon another religion. Ultimately, the Portuguese had to be kicked out of India, when all other colonisers had already left.

British missionaries in India were always supporters of colonialism. They encouraged it and their whole structure was based on "the good Western civilized world being brought to the Pagans." Because, in the words of Claudius Buchanan, a chaplain attached to the East India Company, "Neither truth, nor honesty, honour, gratitude, nor charity, is to be found in the breast of a Hindoo!" What a comment about a nation that gave the world the Vedas at a time when Europeans were still grappling in their caves!

And it is in this way that the British allowed entire chunks of territories in the East, where lived tribals, whose poverty and simplicity made them easy prey to be converted to Christianity. By doing so, the Christian missionaries cut a people from their roots and tradition, made them look westwards towards a culture and a way of life which was not theirs.

And the result is there today for everyone to see: it is in these eastern states, some of which are 90 per cent Christian, that one finds the biggest drug problems (and crime) in India. It should also be said that many of the eastern separatist movements have been covertly encouraged by Christian missionaries on the ground that "tribals were there before the 'Aryan Hindus' invaded India and imposed Hinduism upon them."

THIS FROM THE RELIGION OF LOVE AND THE PROPAGATORS OF PEACE..HAHA..THE WORST HYPOCRITES ON THIS PLANET ARE THE CATHOLICS IN INDIA...THE SECOND HAND CONVERTS

[jeremiah7]

Death of a Guru - The Story of Rabi Maharaj

No matter how fulfilling life becomes, there are always certain regrets when one looks back. My deepest sense of loss involves my father. So much has happened since his death. I often wonder what it would be like to share it all with him, and what his reaction would be.

We never shared anything in our lives. Because of vows he had taken before I was born, not once did he ever speak to me or pay me the slightest heed. Just two words from him would have made me unspeakably happy. How I wanted to hear him say, "Rabi. Son." Just once. But he never did.

For eight long years he uttered not a word. The trance-like condition he had achieved is called in the East a state of higher consciousness and can be attained only through deep meditation.

"Why is Father that way?" I would ask my mother, still too young to understand. "He is someone very special -- the greatest man you could have for a father," she would reply. "He is seeking the true Self that lies within us all, the One Being, of which there is no other. And that's what you are too, Rabi."

Father had set an example, achieved wide acclaim, and earned the worship of many, and it was inevitable that upon his death his mantle would fall upon me. I had never imagined, however, that I would still be so young when this fateful day arrived.

When father died I felt I had lost everything. Though I had scarcely known him as my father, he had been my inspiration -- a god -- and now he was dead.

At his funeral, my father's stiff body was placed on a great pile of firewood. The thought of his body being sacrificed to Agni, the god of fire, added a new dimension of mystery to the bewilderment and deep sense of loss that already overwhelmed me.

After my father's funeral, I became a favorite subject for the palm-readers and astrologers who frequented our house. I was obviously a chosen vessel, destined for early success in the search for union with Brahman (the One). The forces that had guided my father were now guiding me.

I was only eleven and already many people were bowing before me, laying gifts of money, cotton cloth, and other treasures at my feet and hanging garlands of flowers around my neck at religious ceremonies.

How I loved religious ceremonies -- especially private ones in our own home or those of others, where friends and relatives would crowd in. There I would be the center of attention, admired by all. I loved to move through the audience, sprinkling holy water on worshipers or marking foreheads with the sacred white sandalwood paste. I also loved how the worshipers, after the ceremony, bowed low before me to leave their offerings at my feet.

While vacationing at an Aunt's ranch, I had my first real encounter with Jesus. I was walking along enjoying nature one day and was startled by a rustling sound in the underbrush behind me. I turned quickly and, to my horror, saw a large snake coming directly toward me -- its beady eyes staring intently into mine. I felt paralyzed, wanting desperately to run but unable to move.

In that moment of frozen terror, out of the past came my mother's voice, repeating words I had long forgotten: "Rabi, if ever you're in real danger and nothing else seems to work, there's another god you can pray to. His name is Jesus."

"Jesus! Help me!" I tried to yell, but the desperate cry was choked and hardly audible.

To my astonishment, the snake turned around and quickly wriggled off into the underbrush. Breathless and still trembling, I was filled with wondering gratitude to this amazing god, Jesus. Why had my mother not taught me more about him?

During my third year in high school I experienced an increasingly deep inner conflict. My growing awareness of God as the Creator, separate and distinct from the universe He had made, contradicted the Hindu concept that god was everything, that the Creator and the Creation were one and the same. If there was only One Reality, then Brahman was evil as well as good, death as well as life, hatred as well as love. That made everything meaningless, life an absurdity. It was not easy to maintain both one's sanity and the view that good and evil, love and hate, life and death were One Reality.

One day a friend of my cousin Shanti, whose name was Molli, came by to visit. She asked me about whether I found Hinduism fulfilling. Trying to hide my emptiness, I lied and told her I was very happy and that my religion was the Truth. She listened patiently to my pompous and sometimes arrogant pronouncements. Without arguing, she exposed my emptiness gently with politely phrased questions.

She told me that Jesus had brought her close to God. She also said that God is a God of love and that He desires us to be close to Him. As appealing as this sounded to me, I stubbornly resisted, not willing to surrender my Hindu roots.

Still, I found myself asking, "What makes you so happy? You must have been doing a lot of meditation."

"I used to," Molli responded, "but not any more. Jesus has given me a peace and joy that I never knew before." Then she said, "Rabi, you don't seem very happy. Are you?"

I lowered my voice: "I'm not happy. I wish I had your joy." Was I saying this?

"My joy is because my sins are forgiven," said Molli. "Peace and joy come from Christ, through really knowing Him."

We continued talking for half a day, unaware of how the time had passed. I wanted her peace and joy, but I was absolutely resolved that I wasn't going to give up any part of my religion.

As she was leaving, she said: "Before you go to bed tonight, Rabi, please get on your knees and ask God to show you the Truth -- and I'll be praying for you." With a wave of her hand she was gone.

Pride demanded that I reject everything Molli had said, but I was too desperate to save face any longer. I fell to my knees, conscious that I was giving in to her request.

"God, the true God and Creator, please show me the truth!" Something inside me snapped. For the first time in my life, I felt I had really prayed and gotten through -- not to some impersonal Force, but to the true God who loves and cares. Too tired to think any longer, I crawled into bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

Soon after, my cousin Krishna invited me to a Christian meeting. I again surprised myself by responding: "Why not?"

On our way there, Krishna and I were joined by Ramkair, a new acquaintance of his. "Do you know anything about this meeting?" I asked him, anxious to get some advance information.

"A little," he replied. "I became a Christian recently."

"Tell me," I said eagerly. "Did Jesus really change your life?" Ramkair smiled broadly. "He sure did! Everything is different."

"It's really true, Rab!" added Krishna enthusiastically. "I've become a Christian too -- just a few days ago."

The preacher's sermon was based on Psalm 23, and the words, "The Lord is my shepherd," made my heart leap. After expounding the Psalm, the preacher said: "Jesus wants to be your Shepherd. Have you heard His voice speaking to your heart? Why not open your heart to Him now? Don't wait until tomorrow -- that may be too late!" The preacher seemed to be speaking directly to me. I could delay no longer.

I quickly knelt in front of him. He smiled and asked if anyone else wanted to receive Jesus. No one stirred. Then he asked the Christians to come forward and pray with me. Several did, kneeling beside me. For years Hindus had bowed before me -- and now I was kneeling before a Christian.

Aloud I repeated after him a prayer inviting Jesus into my heart. When the preacher said, "Amen," he suggested I pray in my own words. Quietly, choking with emotion, I began: "Lord Jesus, I've never studied the Bible, but I've heard that you died for my sins at Calvary so I could be forgiven and reconciled to God. Please forgive me all my sins. Come into my heart!"

Before I finished, I knew that Jesus wasn't just another one of several million gods. He was the God for whom I had hungered. He Himself was the Creator. Yet, He loved me enough to become a man and die for my sins. With that realization, tons of darkness seemed to lift and a brilliant light flooded my soul.

After arriving home, Krishna and I found the entire family waiting up for us, apparently having heard what had happened. "I asked Jesus into my life tonight!" I exclaimed happily, as I looked from one to another of those startled faces. "It's glorious. I can't tell you how much he means to me already."

Some in my family seemed wounded and bewildered; others seemed happy for me. But before it was all over with, thirteen of us had ended up giving our hearts to Jesus! It was incredible.

The following day I walked resolutely into the prayer room with Krishna. Together we carried everything out into the yard: idols, Hindu scriptures, and religious paraphernalia. We wanted to rid ourselves of every tie with the past and with the powers of darkness that had blinded and enslaved us for so long.

When everything had been piled on the rubbish heap, we set it on fire and watched the flames consume our past. The tiny figures we once feared as gods were turning to ashes. We hugged one another and offered thanks to the Son of God who had died to set us free.

I found my thoughts going back to my father's cremation nearly eight years before. In contrast to our new found joy, that scene had aroused inconsolable grief. My father's body had been offered to the very same false gods who now lay in smoldering fragments before me. It seemed unbelievable that I should be participating with great joy in the utter destruction of that which represented all I had once believed in so fanatically.

In a sense this was my cremation ceremony -- the end of the person I had once been...the death of a guru. The old Rabi Maharaj had died in Christ. And out of that grave a new Rabi had risen in whom Christ was now living.

[Neo]

The Lost Years of Jesus:
The Life of Saint Issa

# Ancient scrolls reveal that Jesus spent seventeen years in India and Tibet
# From age thirteen to age twenty-nine, he was both a student and teacher of Buddhist and Hindu holy men
# The story of his journey from Jerusalem to Benares was recorded by Brahman historians
# Today they still know him and love him as St. Issa. Their 'buddha'

Notovitch In 1894 Nicolas Notovitch published a book called The Unknown Life of Christ. He was a Russian doctor who journeyed extensively throughout Afghanistan, India, and Tibet. Notovitch journeyed through the lovely passes of Bolan, over the Punjab, down into the arid rocky land of Ladak, and into the majestic Vale of Kashmir of the Himalayas. During one of his jouneys he was visiting Leh, the capital of Ladak, near where the buddhist convent Himis is. He had an accident that resulted in his leg being broken. This gave him the unscheduled opportunity to stay awhile at the Himis convent.

Himis Convent Notovitch learned, while he was there, that there existed ancient records of the life of Jesus Christ. In the course of his visit at the great convent, he located a Tibetan translation of the legend and carefully noted in his carnet de voyage over two hundred verses from the curious document known as "The Life of St. Issa."

He was shown two large yellowed volumes containing the biography of St. Issa. Notovitch enlisted a member of his party to translate the Tibetan volumes while he carefully noted each verse in the back pages of his journal.

When he returned to the western world there was much controversy as to the authenticity of the document. He was accused of creating a hoax and was ridiculed as an imposter. In his defense he encouraged a scientific expedition to prove the original tibetan documents existed.

One of his skeptics was Swami Abhedananda. Abhedananda journeyed into the arctic region of the Himalayas, determined to find a copy of the Himis manuscript or to expose the fraud. His book of travels, entitled Kashmir O Tibetti, tells of a visit to the Himis gonpa and includes a Bengali translation of two hundred twenty-four verses essentially the same as the Notovitch text. Abhedananda was thereby convinced of the authenticity of the Issa legend.

The lost years of Jesus map
Map of Jesus's eastern travels
Source: Summit University Press

In 1925, another Russian named Nicholas Roerich arrived at Himis. Roerich, was a philosopher and a distinguished scientist. He apparently saw the same documents as Notovitch and Abhedananda. And he recorded in his own travel diary the same legend of St. Issa. Speaking of Issa, Roerich quotes legends which have the estimated antiquity of many centuries.

... He passed his time in several ancient cities of India such as Benares.

BASICALLY JESUS WAS EDUCATED IN INDIA TO EDUCATE THE TRIBES IN THE WEST