The Birth of Jesus and the Adoration of the Three Wise Men - Part 2

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The Birth of Jesus and the Adoration of the Three Wise Men - Part 2

 

(p.56) Legends abound concerning the worship of the infant Jesus by the " wise

men from the east. " A common tradition is that they were magi (Hebrew

'chartumim'; Greek 'magoi'), a priestly class of mystics among ancient Medes and

Persians credited with esoteric powers and knowledge by which they were able to

interpret hidden meanings in the scriptures and to read secrets of the past and

divine the future. The Roman Church honored the Wise Men with the title of

kings, based on Psalms 72:10 relevant to the future coming of the Messiah: " The

kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and

Saba shall offer gifts. " The kings are sainted by the Church and identified as

Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar; relics of these kings are enshrined at Cologne.

The Wise Men are presumed to be three in number, commensurate with the New

Testament account of the offering of three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

 

Jesus' connection with

India through the

" wise men from the east "

 

The adoration of the Wise Men is far more significant than merely another scene

of pageantry recognizing the holy birth. It was the defining stamp of God placed

on the life of Jesus that would in future characterize his mission and

message--a reminder that Jesus was born in the Orient, an Oriental Christ; and

that his teachings bore the influence of the Eastern culture and customs. (p.57)

There is a very strong tradition in India, authoritatively known amongst high

metaphysicians in tales well told and written in ancient manuscripts, that the

wise men of the East who made their way to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem were,

in fact, great sages of India. Not only did the Indian masters come to Jesus,

but he reciprocated their visit. During the unaccounted-for years of Jesus’

life--the Scripture remains silent about him from approximately ages fourteen to

thirty--he journeyed to India, probably traveling the well-established trade

route that linked the Mediterranean with China and India. [1] His own

God-realization, reawakened and reinforced in the company of the masters and the

spiritual environs of India, provided a background of the universality of truth

from which he could preach a simple, open message comprehensible to the masses

of his native country, yet with underlying meanings that would be appreciated in

generations to come as the infancy of man’s mind would mature in understanding.

 

(p.58) As civilization takes giant strides in the proliferation of material

knowledge, man will find that the underpinnings of many of his old familiar

religious dogmas may well begin to crack and crumble. What is needed is a

reunion of the science of religion with the spirit, or inspiration, of

religion--the esoteric with the exoteric. The yoga science taught by Lord

Krishna, which provides practical methods for actual inner experience of God to

supplant the feeble life-expectancy of beliefs, and the spirit of Christ-love

and brotherhood preached by Jesus--the only sure panacea to prevent the world

from tearing itself apart by its unyielding differences--are in tandem one and

the same universal truth, taught by these two Christs of East and West, only

with a variant outward emphasis according to the times and conditions of their

respective incarnations.

 

Note:

 

[1] See also Discourse 5.

" Tradition pictures the world of Jesus as a peaceful and pastoral place,

governed by the ancient rhythms of field and farm. But recent archaeological

evidence has revealed a different environment, " reports the PBS television

documentary 'From Jesus to Christ' (Frontline, 1998). In the early 1970s,

archaeologists began to excavate the ruins of the ancient city of Sepphoris, the

capital of Galilee, located less than four miles from Jesus' hometown of

Nazareth--within an hour's walking distance. " What the excavations at Sepphoris

suggest, " says Professor Holland L. Hendrix, president of Union Theological

Seminary, " is that Jesus was quite proximate to a thriving and sophisticated

urban environment that would have brought with it all of the diversity of the

Roman Empire. "

 

Professor D.P. Singhal writes in 'India and World Civilization' (Michigan State

University Press, 1969, Vol. I): " The traditional account of Christian origins

concentrates almost exclusively on the incidents connected with the rise of

Christianity, giving the impression that nothing else was happening at that time

in the area. Actually the situation was vastly different. It was a period of

intense political activity and diverse religious practices, and it would hardly

be an overstatement to suggest that in every city and village in the Roman

Empire there were activities, customs, and rituals that eventually played a part

in the moulding of Christianity....

 

" Hinduism, though not a proselytizing religion, had also reached western Asia. A

Hindu settlement was established in Armenia in the Canton of Taron in the second

century B.C. under the patronage of King Valarasaces of the Arsacidae dynasty.

These Hindus built fine cities and temples, but the temples were destroyed early

in the fourth century by St. Gregory the Illuminator. " Dr. Singhal cites the

Syrian writer Zenob as saying that by " early in the fourth century A.D. there

were about five thousand followers of Krishna in Armenia. "

 

Dr. Singhal further avers: " Jesus, no doubt, principally enlarged and

transformed the Jewish conceptions but he did so in the light of personal

experiences in a cosmopolitan area where a variety of cultures, including that

of India, had intermingled to produce a distinct religious environment. "

('Publisher's Note')

 

The Second Coming of Christ (The Resurrection of the Christ Within You) Volume

1, Discourse 3, pg. 56-58

Paramahansa Yogananda

Printed in the United States of America 1434-J881

ISBN-13:978-0-87612-557-1

ISBN-10:0-87612-557-7