The Rozabal Line (Chapter two)

by Ashwin Sanghi

Ladakh, India, 1887 
 Dmitriy Novikov was tired.6 His expedition from Srinagar through the 3,500-metre-high Zoji- la Pass into Ladakh had been exhausting in spite of several men taking on the burden of luggage and equipment. The onward trek to Leh, the capital of Ladakh, and thereon to Hemis had sapped all his energy. To make matters worse, he had injured his right leg as a result of a fall from the mule that was carrying him.
  Hemis was one of the most respected Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh, and their visitor was welcomed as an honoured guest. The monks quickly carried him into their simple quarters and began tending to his injury. While he was being fed a meal of apricots and walnuts washed down by hot butter tea, he met the chief Lama of the monastery.
  ‘I know why you are here, my son,’ said the Lama. ‘We too honour the Christian Son of God.’
  Dmitriy was dumbfounded. He had not expected such a forthright approach. ‘Would it be possible for me to see the writings that talk of Issa?’ he began cautiously.
  The wise Lama smiled quizzically at Dmitriy and then quietly continued, ‘The soul of Buddha certainly was incarnate in the great Issa who, without resorting to war, was able to spread the wisdom of our beautiful religion through many parts of the world. Issa is an honoured prophet, who took birth after twenty-two earlier Buddhas. His name, his life and his deeds are noted in the texts that you refer to. But first you must rest and allow yourself to heal.’
  Dmitriy’s leg was throbbing with pain. The Buddhist monks applied a wide assortment of herbal remedies and packs, but they were of little help. He attempted to ignore the pain and continue his animated conversation with the Lama.
  The Lama was turning his prayer-wheel when he stopped and said, ‘The Muslims and Buddhists do not share common-alities. The Muslims used violence and battles to convert Buddhists to Islam. This was never the case with the Christians. They could be considered honorary Buddhists! It’s truly sad to seethat Christians decided to forget their roots and wander further and further away from Buddhism!’
  Dmitriy was sweating profusely. The Lama’s words seemed to be questioning years of conventional wisdom. He realised how momentous his discovery was, but he also knew the danger of exposing his knowledge to the Western world. He would be branded a traitor and a liar. His words would be considered blasphemous. He would need to proceed carefully.
  Dmitriy quickly asked again whether he would be able to see the sacred writings that the Lama was referring to. The Lama looked at him and smiled. ‘Patience is a Buddhist virtue, my son,’ he said. ‘Patience.’
  Dmitriy was as patient as could be. He waited for several days to see the writings that the Lama had spoken of, the ones about Issa. It was difficult to conceal his anticipation and he had been sorely tempted to ask for the manuscripts without further delay. Today his patience had finally paid dividend. The Lama brought him a number of ancient scrolls written in Tibetan by Buddhist historians.
  An interpreter was called for and began to translate the scrolls while Dmitriy attempted to make copies of them.
  The scrolls told the story of a boy called Issa, born in Judea. The story went on to explain that sometime during the fourteenth year of his life, the boy arrived in India to study the teachings of the Buddhists. His travels through the country took him through Sindh, the Punjab and eventually to Maghada, the ancient kingdom of Ashoka, where he studied the Vedas, the Hindu texts of knowledge. However, Issa was forced to leave when he began to teach those whom the Hindu Brahmins considered ‘untouchables’ under the rigid caste system of Hinduism.
  Issa then took refuge in Buddhist monasteries and began learning the Buddhist scriptures in Pali, the language of the Buddha. Thereafter he headed home to Judea via Persia. In Persia he made himself unpopular with the Zoroastrian priests. They expelled him into the jungles, hoping he would be eaten alive by wild animals.
  He finally reached Judea at the age of twenty-nine. Because he had been away for so long,no one seemed to know him. They asked, ‘Who art thou, and from what country hast thou come into our own? We have never heard of thee, and do not even know thy name.’
  And Issa said, ‘I am an Israelite and on the very day of my birth, I saw the walls of Jerusalem, and I heard the weeping of my brothers reduced to slavery, and the moans of my sisters carried away by pagans into captivity. While yet a child, I left my father’s house to go among other nations. But hearing that my brothers were enduring still greater tortures, I have returned to the land in which my parents dwelt, that I might recall to my brothers the faith of their ancestors.’
  The learned men asked Issa, ‘It is claimed that you deny the laws of Moses and teach the people to desert the temple of God.’
  And Issa replied, ‘We cannot demolish what has been given to us by God. As for Moses’s laws, I have striven to re-establish them in the hearts of men, and I say to you that you are in ignorance of their true meaning, for it is not vengeance, but forgiveness, that they teach.’ 7
  Dmitriy was excited. Then petrified. He knew there was no going back on his discovery. He now knew that he held in his hands one of the most stunning revelations in two millennia.

  A revelation about Issa, the Arabic form of the Hebrew name Yeshua, also known as Jesus.   

Click here to read chapter one 
Click here to read chapter three

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rozabal Line

Chapter One    Srinagar, Kashmir, India, 2012    The onset of winter in idyllic Kashmir meant that the days were gradually getting shorter. Even though it was only three in the afternoon, it felt like nightfall. Icy winter winds, having wafted through the numerous apple and cherry orchards of the area, sent a spicy and refreshing aromatic chill to the man’s nostrils. The leather jacket and lambswool pullover underneath it were his only comfort as he knelt to pray at the tomb.   Father Vincent Sinclair rubbed his hands together to keep warm as he took in the sight of the four glass walls, within which lay the wooden sarcophagus. The occupant of the tomb, however, resided in an inaccessible crypt below. Standing in front of a Muslim cemetery, the tomb was located within an ordinary and unassuming structure with whitewashed walls and simple wooden fixtures.   Vincent’s blond hair, blue eyes, together with his athletic build and pale skin clearly ma...
Read more

The Alchemist (Part two)

Image
BY - PAULO COELHO  PART TWO The boy had been working for the crystal merchant for almost a month, and he could see that it wasn't exactly the kind of job that would make him happy. The merchant spent the entire day mumbling behind the counter, telling the boy to be careful with the pieces and not to break anything. But he stayed with the job because the merchant, although he was an old grouch, treated him fairly; the boy received a good commission for each piece he sold, and had already been able to put some money aside. That morning he had done some calculating: if he continued to work every day as he had been, he would need a whole year to be able to buy some sheep. "I'd like to build a display case for the crystal," the boy said to the merchant. "We could place it outside, and attract those people who pass at the bottom of the hill." "I've never had one before," the merchant answered. "People will pass b...
Read more

The Rozabal Line (Chapter Six)

Image
By Ashwin Sanghi Harare, Zimbabwe, 1965    Terry Acton was born on 11 November, the very day that Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia, made a unilateral declaration of independence for the country.   Terry’s father had moved to Rhodesia from England upon being offered a position at the De Beers Mining Company. He had married the daughter of his British supervisor a year after moving and had decided to make Rhodesia his home. Terry had been born two years later.   Unfortunately, Rhodesia was in turmoil. The government of Prime Minister Ian Smith was a white minority running an apartheid regime. The country was in civil war with the rebels being led by Robert Mugabe, who eventually seized power in 1980.   Mugabe’s regime was one of corruption, sleaze, torture, and dictatorship.24 The Actons were forced to leave the country and return to England in 1991.   London, UK, 1991    Terry’s parents ended up losing their lifesav...
Read more