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Date Posted: 03:02:27 10/28/03 Tue
Author: Hendrik - 7 Sep 2003
Subject: Re: Yogananda, Notovitch and nonsense
In reply to: ketch - 3 Sept 2003 's message, "Yogananda, Notovitch and nonsense" on 02:33:37 10/28/03 Tue

Roerich claimed to have seen writings about Issa, but again these documents have not been discovered by subsequent researchers.

Did he claim to have seen ancient writings about "Issa" somewhere in Tibet (or rather Kashmir), or was he referring to the Hemis documents on Jesus? That is a big difference.

I have an informative book, Jesus in Indien - Das Ende einer Legende by Günter Grönbold, published in 1985. I doubt that there is an English version of the book. Dr. Grönbold was then director of the Oriental Collection of the Bavarian State Library in Munich. He was born in 1943 and has studied Indology, Tibetology, and German language and literature. His small book is a survey of the Jesus-in-India-Legend, as he calls it, investigating most of the available literature on this topic from various countries, including about 50 books and articles that sympathize with the legend.

I am asking because according to Grönbold, Roerich in his diary (Altai-Himalaya, London c. 1929, p. 89ff.) mentions legends about Jesus that he got told in Ladakh, but he never claimed to have seen the documents in question himself. -- I can't confirm this as I don't have Roerich's book.

Grönbold also mentions that Roerich knew Notovitch's book, but he believes him to have gotten his knowledge rather from Levi Dowling's The Aquarian gospel of Jesus the Christ, first published in 1908.


Grönbold presents a number of contemporary sources that dispute the accuracy of Notovitch's report, the most probative ones being the Hemis Lama who called Notovitch a liar and Professor Douglas, who are both mentioned by you. - There are a number of contradictions and impossibilities in details of Notovitch's travel report which hint at Notovitch's book rather being a work of fiction than fact; Douglas called it "literary forgery". A Frenchman and Executive Engineer for the Indian Government, Favre, who knew Notovitch personally from his own stay in Kashmir (1886 to 1889) later called his book "a tissue of lies and bragging" from beginning to end and a mere product of his imagination.

Notovitch's knowledge of religious traditions was also disputable since he called Buddhism a "monotheistic" religion. Interestingly he also claims that the Hemis cloister was a seat of the Yellow Cap Buddhist sect, although actually it always has been one of the Red Cap sect. I.e. in all likelihood Notovitch has never been there; and in fact no one there remembered him when asked about him by later visitors.

At least it was confirmed that Notovitch did visit Tibet at all. He attempted to get to Ladakh in 1887 but was sent back by the local governor and had to return to Kashmir. He got to Leh, but not to Hemis - the place where he claimed he was shown the mysterious documents.

It is safe to assume that Notovitch's book is simply one of the many literary travel literature hoaxes of the 19th century, situated somewhere between Karl May and Jules Verne. -- But still I wonder how he got the idea that Jesus had been to India and that there are documents. Perhaps there may be something else. - The other legend that Jesus survived the crucifixion and died in Kashmir came into existence only after Notovitch was there however and in fact Notovitch never mentioned it although he visited Srinagar twice. Grönbold in his book deals with this legend at great length.


The "documents" Notovitch mentions have never surfaced. There is one possible exception. The book In the world's attic by the Englishwoman Henriette Merrick, published around 1931, allegedly contains translations of some documents from Hemis. But what documents? Really about Christ, or merely standard Buddhist texts? Or is she simply quoting Notovitch? I don't have the book.


There is also mention of Notovitch in the book Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo, page 411, from a conversation from June 25, 1926:

Disciple: A manuscript is said to have been found in Tibet which says that Christ came to India and learnt Buddhism, then went back to Jerusalem and preached his gospel.

Sri Aurobindo: It is a very old story. I believe it was a Russian who invented it. I heard it when I came back from England.

His return to India took place in 1893, a year before Notovitch published his book. Note the phrase "invented".


So what shall we make of P Yogananda’s apparent belief in the existence of the Notovitch document. Was this something added by later editors of his work, perhaps influenced by the Theosophists?

Are you referring to Tara Mata's editorship? -- Where in his works does he mention that Jesus was in India and that there are documents?


Did Yogananda have some insight that Notovitch’s claims were true? Was Yogananda simply unaware of the fact that Notovitch’s claims had been refuted quite conclusively, or was Yogananda perhaps referring to another document?

I remember having read that Jawaharlal Nehru once mentioned that Christ had been to India. It seems to have been a popular belief among educated Indians for some time. I don't know Nehru's source.

Hendrik

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