BY ALEX KORITZ

The theory that Jesus spent his “lost years”—the time between his childhood and the beginning of his ministry, about which the New Testament says very little—in India, Tibet, and Nepal, is a subject of great fascination and controversy. This hypothesis fills in the gaps of Jesus’ life that the Bible does not account for, typically between the ages of 12 and 30.

The New Testament’s gospels provide little information about Jesus’ life during this period, leading to speculation and legend about what he might have been doing in those intervening years. One of the most intriguing theories is that Jesus traveled to India, and perhaps Tibet and Nepal, immersing himself in the philosophies and teachings of the East. I was recently in Nepal doing work with non-profit Choice Humanitarian and tried to imagine young Jesus toggling between Buddhist Stupas and Hindu Temples in search of the Great Mystery.

This theory (in its modern form) largely stems from a 19th-century Russian traveler and writer, Nicolas Notovitch, who claimed to have found evidence during his travels in India. According to Notovitch, a manuscript in a Tibetan monastery in Ladakh detailed the arrival of a holy man, named Issa (a name linked to Jesus), who matched Jesus’ description and teachings. Notovitch published his findings in a book titled “The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ,” which sparked immediate controversy and skepticism among scholars and theologians.

Despite the lack of concrete evidence, proponents of this theory argue that the moral and philosophical similarities between Jesus’ teachings and Eastern traditions suggest a link. They point out that principles such as compassion, non-violence, and the idea of overcoming the ego are central to both Christianity and Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism.

Critics of the theory argue that Notovitch’s accounts were either fabricated or grossly misinterpreted. Scholars note that historical evidence for Jesus’ presence in India is virtually non-existent and that the New Testament provides sufficient detail about Jesus’ life and ministry. They also point to the cultural and religious milieu of Judea and the surrounding regions to explain the origins of Jesus’ teachings.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/sacredkaleidoscope/2023/11/jesus-visited-india-and-tibet/