Jesus in India Film

The teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda about Jesus Christ are highlighted in Jesus in India, a groundbreaking new film by Paul Davids, which explores the "missing years" of Jesus. Journeying across three continents to uncover evidence of Jesus' sojourn in India, the film features probing conversations with world-renowned scholars, religious leaders, and historians, including an interview with Brother Chidananda, a Self-Realization Fellowship monk and minister.

In footage filmed at the SRF Mother Center, Brother Chidananda shares Paramahansa Yogananda's perspective on Jesus' years in India visiting the land's ancient sages, and discusses the deeper meaning of Jesus' teachings as revealed in Yogananda's monumental commentary on the New Testament (The Second Coming of Christ. )

In responding to the question about Jesus' missing years and the visit of the Wise Men from the East, Brother Chidananda states in the film: "Paramahansa Yogananda said that actually those three Wise Men were great sages, great rishis, who had traveled from India. From the very beginning of Jesus' [life], we have this very significant connection with the spiritual traditions of India... Jesus himself, when he got to be about 12 or 13 years old, joined up with one of the common trade caravans that were constantly going back and forth from Palestine and traveled to India — where he spent many years (both in India and also in Nepal and Tibet), responding to the connection that was established between him and these great sages of India at the time of his birth."

The film chronicles the return trip of Edward T. Martin (author of King of Travelers: Jesus' Lost Years in India) to India to uncover evidence of Jesus' years in the East, and also includes interviews with the Dalai Lama; the current Shankaracharya of Puri, India; Princeton University professor and author Dr. Elaine Pagels (The Gnostic Gospels); Monsignor Corrado Balducci (Apostolic Nuncio of the Vatican); and others.

Jesus in India premiered on the Sundance Channel on December 22, 2008. It will be shown again on April 6th, 2009 at 7 p.m EST.

For more information, please visit Jesus in India.