Introduction

 

Under the heading Origins of Christianity I shall post texts intended to afford a deeper understanding of the origins of Christiany beyond the information supplied by Laurency in The Philosopher’s Stone (chapter 3.20 Religion at the Stage of Civilization) and Knowledge of Life One (the essays Gnostics and Gnostic Symbols).

Any student of Laurency knows that the Gospel narratives are not reliable descriptions of the life of the historical Jeshu, but symbolic tales intended to describe the path of the disciple to human perfection. Laurency furthermore points out that the saviour figure of the Gospels has numerous analogies or parallels to other similar figures:

“The manifest poverty and lack of detail of the gospels, particularly strange if any biography had been intended, should have clarified the fact of the matter to acute minds, especially since there are in the gospels numerous parallels to the lives of earlier avatars.” Knowledge of Life One 2.5.17

In his book, Den Jesus som aldrig funnnits (The Jesus Who Never Was, 2005, ISBN 91-631-7399-9, website: www.vimi.se), Roger Viklund makes a very full presentation of these Jesus parallels (op. cit., pp. 165-217). On pp. 214f he writes: “A probably pre-Christian, little known Sanskrit text is The Story of Gautama, the Progenitor of Ikshvaku, which is found in the Sanghabhedavastu [of the Mulasarvastivadins, added by me]. Here we are faced with a strange parallel to the crucifixion scene in the gospels.” In a note he mentions that I have translated this text, the same translation that I have now posted on this website under the heading The Story of Gautama, the Progenitor of Ikshvaku. Anyone familiar with the gospel legend of the crucifixion of Jesus must be amazed at the many and striking parallels to it there are in The Story of Gautama, the Progenitor of Ikshvaku, parallels which Roger Viklund enumerates in his book. I am very grateful to my friends, Christian Lindtner, Ph.D., the renowned Buddhologist, who first called my attention to the Sanskrit text, and to Giuseppe Orazi, who procured the Sanskrit original text for me.

I also add the text of my address to an international seminar held in Sweden in 2003, where these matters were discussed on the occasion of the publication of a book by Dr Lindtner.