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Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment | 
 enlarge | Author: Deepak Chopra
Publisher: HarperOne
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 803
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0061448737
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780061448737
ASIN: 0061448737
Publication Date: November 1, 2008
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Product Description
The New York Times bestselling author of Buddha captures the extraordinary life of Jesus in this surprising, soul-stirring, and page-turning novel. Uncovering the transformational "lost years" that are not recounted in the New Testament, Deepak Chopra has imagined Jesus's path to enlightenment moving from obscurity to revolutionary, from doubt to miracles, and then beyond as the role of the long-awaited Messiah. As a teenager, Jesus has premonitions of his destiny, and by the end, as he arrives to be baptized in the River Jordan, he has accepted his fate, which combines extremes of light and darkness. With his characteristic ability for imparting profound spiritual insights through the power of storytelling, Deepak Chopra's Jesus portrays the life of Christ as never before, ultimately leading us closer to understanding the nature of God and the soul. As the author shares, "I don't want the Jesus in this book to be worshiped, much less to push him forward as definitive. The events of the tale are pure fiction. But at a deeper level, the Jesus in this book feels real because we've gotten a glimpse into his mind. One flash of insight answers many prayers."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 Christianity as a Path to Enlightenment November 4, 2008
Mommy Mystic (Los Angeles, CA)
75 out of 83 found this review helpful
In his preface to Jesus, Chopra is very straightforward about his purpose in writing the book, saying "[there is] a Jesus left out of the New Testament - the enlightened Jesus. His absence, in my view, has profoundly crippled the Christian faith, for...making [Jesus] the one and only Son of God leaves the rest of humankind stranded...What if Jesus wanted his followers - and us - to reach the same unity with God that he had reached?"
`Crippled' is a strong word, and this book will undoubtedly anger many. Yet Chopra's Jesus maintains the divinity at the heart of mainstream Christianity - he is not just some average Joe who happens upon God. Nor is he simply a spiritual teacher or `guru', as other Eastern teachers have characterized him. The novel mostly covers the 'lost years' of Jesus' life left out of the Bible - the years in which he transforms from a serious and insightful young man into the son of God - and throughout that period he is surrounded by signs of his future divinity.
Chopra's Jesus himself is not comfortable with these signs, but they draw others to him. The early part of Jesus' spiritual journey is dominated by his relationships with Mary Magdelene and Judas - both of whom of course feature prominently in the later part of his life, as told in the New Testament. Chopra's earlier versions of these figures each have delusions about Jesus, and want to possess him for their own purposes. It is through them that he comes to understand the human condition, and the forces - both external and internal - that prevent many from pursuing a deeper relationship with God.
After leaving Mary and Judas, Jesus studies with the Essenes, a mystic Jewish religious community now believed by many to have authored the Dead Sea Scrolls. Ultimately he disappoints them also, as he will not conform to their view of him as King of the Jews. After leaving them, Jesus travels to a mysterious holy man in distant mountains, also the story's narrator, and it is here that the path of Chopra's Jesus most closely resembles that of his Buddha (as told in his novel of Buddha's life.) Both struggle with their concepts of good and evil, and both are tempted by demons with promises of greatness. They both come to understand they must abandon all concepts and personal identity to truly allow God to work through them. As Jesus' mysterious teacher tells him, "Only someone who can see the demons as part of God is free. Good and evil dissolve. The veil drops away, and all you see is divine light - inside, outside, everywhere...Your soul is the world's soul. In your resurrection will be the resurection of the world."
Jesus' awakening is powerfully told, and the new Jesus returns to his homeland as an agent of enlightenment. Encountering Judas and Mary once again, he transmits a grace that literally wipes away their past. Or, as Mary puts it when asked `what has he done to me' by others who receive Jesus' grace, "He killed who you were, so that who you are can be reborn."
Chopra's Jesus is not a perfect book. Scenes change rapidly, and many conversations seem stunted in a way that occasionally left me disoriented. But it conveys a profound message in an accessible and passionate voice (something I can't always say about Chopra's nonfiction.) If you are interested in considering a new vision of Christianity, and of all religions, give it a read, and consider reading Buddha as well.
An engrossing read -- Jesus as you've never seen him before November 7, 2008
G. Brown
37 out of 43 found this review helpful
I think the main purpose of Deepak Chopra's Jesus was to be a teaching novel, if I can use that term. A lot of readers will be happy with that, because Chopra's reputation is primarily as a spiritual teacher. But a lot of readers don't turn to fiction for lessons. They want a good story and an engrossing read. I'd like to reassure them that this book is definitely a good read. It might even be that rare thing, a religious page-turner.
I don't think Chopra would be happy with the tag "religious," however, since his ambition is to portray Jesus as someone who belongs to the world, not simply to Christianity. for that purpose, he takes the young Jesus to a far-off mountain setting somewhere in the East, where he meets an enlightened master. Here Chopra is tapping into the lore that has Jesus going to the Himalayas, although he never explicitly mentions if this nameless master is Buddhist or Hindu -- no religious affiliation is given at all. Orthodox Christians may rebel at that, but there's a long tradition of sending Jesus to other countries during his missing years. Albert Schweitzer, among others, speculated that Jesus learned from other traditions, and many Biblical scholars (not the fundamentalist stripe, of course) find many links between Jesus's teachings and the Buddha's.
If those things intrigue you, then this book will prove fascinating. But even if you come to it fresh, the tale holds lots of surprises. Having young Jesus be friends with Mary Magdalene and Judas, for example, throws a new perspective on how those characters fit into the New Testament. There have been many there attempts to write a prequel to the four gospels, but I think Chopra's is one of the most successful, thanks to his deep knowledge of consciousness and his growing ability to tell a riveting story.
 Finally someone gets it November 12, 2008
Kevin Arnold (Las Vegas, NV USA)
18 out of 94 found this review helpful
The west has imposed a very narrow view upon us. It is our sacred duty to inject depth and meaning into their unimaginative traditions. Jesus is a warm cup of coffee, a sunset, and the feeling you get when you hold hands with a girl. Jesus is babies and sunflowers and rainbows with a pot of gold at the end. Jesus is a leprechaun who makes everyone happy if we can only summon the courage to wish upon a star. We all need to be more tolerant, particularly those narrow minded Christians with their lame ideas about Jesus being a historical figure who actually existed.
Enlightened! November 20, 2008
Ted Brassfield www.bookwriting-coach.com (Southfield, Michigan)
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
This book provided me with such insight on Jesus' pathway to enlightenment. Deepak brings this to life, so we can see clearly that Jesus was not just a one dimensional character in the Bible, but a man who had experiences, drama, questions and choices just like we do. I have a better understanding of my own beliefs and faith after reading this book. I also have a more clear vision of what I can do to live a more fulfilled life.
The Jesus-Buddha-India Connections November 16, 2008
Suzanne Olsson (New York and India)
7 out of 14 found this review helpful
To be honest with you,I am going out on a limb here and writing a "review" before I have read the book. After reading the reviews here about 'Jesus, A Story of Enlightenment' and because I am already familiar with Deepak Chopra's literary style and approach, I have ordered this book and look forward to reading it.
When I lived in India to study and research the Jesus-Buddha connections, it soon became apparent that the similarities were no chance accident. In fact, after seeing the genaeology records of Guatama Buddha, it became apparent that he and Jesus shared a common bloodline.
Jesus would go to India to study the movement of Buddhism because it sprung from a branch of Judaism in the same way Abraham had branched off from idol worship to monotheism. There were many Hebrew colonies in ancient India, written about by such as Flavious Josephus, who said in his 'History of the Jews'
"These Jews are derived from the Indian philosophers; they are named by the Indians Calani."
Megasthenes, sent to India by Seleucus Nicator, also said that the Jews were called "Kalani" and that they were an Indian tribe.
Clearchus of Soli said: "The Jews descend from the philosophers of India. The philosophers are called in India Calanians and in Syria Jews. The name of their capital is very difficult to pronounce. It is called Jerusalem." (Note: They also carried their place-tribal village names with them, thus we have Ayodia-Iodia, located in the kingdom of Magadha (from which Magdalene's title is derived) in India which is called Judea in the Holy Land)
To this day many Jews go to Nepal and India and Thailand to study the Buddhist approach to meditation and spirituality. This 'Buddhist' approach to meditation is also followed by many Christians. This is possible because Buddhism can be absorbed and its approach incorporated into most any religion without the demand for conversion nor any change of your core religious beliefs.
I believe this is the message of the Buddha that Jesus went in search of, that is, how to mediatate and find enlightenment.
I also believe that Deepak Chopra has managed to understand this and express it in written words that will again draw us to Christianity without the need for accomodation or change. I am anxious for this book to arrive so I can read it. Then I will take the liberty of posting another review based on the actual book. The reviewers who have posted here have given enough information that I can determine this will add to my love, understanding, and knowledge of the real Jesus. Thanks for your excellent reviews!
Sue
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