Back in 1970, when I was running a yoga ashram and teaching yoga at four universities (prior to becoming a follower of Jesus), I taught my students that Jesus spent the years between 12 and 30 studying under spiritual masters in the Far East who initiated Him into the secret principles of awakening the Christ nature. I based this view on the general opinion that prevailed among my peers, but even more so, on the teachings of Edgar Cayce and The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus Christ written by Levi Dowling.
Edgar Cayce’s Proposition
Edgar Cayce was a mystic and psychic who lived from 1877 to 1945, also known as “the sleeping prophet” (because he received his readings and supposed flashes of insight while in a self-imposed hypnotic sleep state). According to Cayce, Jesus was discipled by an Essene teacher named Judy. She later instructed him to travel to Persia and India to learn astrology and other yogic and spiritual disciplines. It should be noted that this is highly unlikely because the Essenes traditionally did not regard women as capable of filling such positions of prophetic influence.
Levi Dowling and the Aquarian Gospel
Levi Dowling shares an altogether different version. He explains that an Indian prince named Ravanna obtained permission from Jesus’ parents to take Him to India in order to learn from the wisdom of the Indian sages. Dowling proposes that Jesus studied under Brahmic masters for a season, then went on to Benares of the Ganges where he was mentored by Hindu healers who taught him their art, then on to Tibet. Finally, He journeyed to Egypt where He allegedly became part of a “Secret Brotherhood” in Heliopolis. There He advanced through seven degrees of initiation to become the Christ.
The Aquarian Gospel promotes other New Age and Far Eastern concepts and should not even be tagged with the word “Gospel” (a word meaning “Good news”), because the “Gospels” always present the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus as being essential to the salvation of humanity. Besides, Jesus never ‘became’ the Christ; when He was born the angel announced, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”—“is,” not “will become” (Lk. 2:11).
The Akashic Records
Here’s the clincher. Both Cayce and Dowling claimed to receive their insights on this matter from the Akashic Records. This is supposedly an immense field of knowledge surrounding the earth that contains a complete record of every thought, emotion, or action in this world since its inception. The word “Akashic” means invisible or etheric. Proponents of this concept propose that these extensive records exist in the “astral plane” (supposedly, a vast spiritual plane just beyond the physical universe).
Adherents also teach that these records can be accessed through a prayer called “The Pathway Prayer.” This prayer is often described as a vibrational frequency, with specific words and phrases designed to resonate with the Records’ high-frequency energy. The prayer is not necessarily composed of mystical sounds in the sense of specific mantras or chanting, but rather it’s about the vibration of the words themselves and the intention behind their recitation. Sometimes, appeals are made to spirit guides, Masters, or Guardians to assist in accessing the records. Practitioners often say a cleansing prayer afterward to clear away any negative energy or negative spiritual influences that may still be lingering.
After becoming a Christian, I came to three important conclusions about these Far Eastern and New Age concepts:
First and foremost, the accounts given by Dowling and Cayce contradict each other in major ways. Had they received ‘inspired insights’ from the same source, their ‘revelations’ would have been the same.
Second, some occultists attempt to access the ‘Akashic Records’ by communicating with spirit-beings for assistance. Doing so is strictly forbidden in the Bible. (See Dt. 18:9-13, Lev. 19:31.) The true God is not withholding a legitimate experience from those who are spiritual-minded and probing for revealed truth. Rather, He is trying to protect them from the inevitable deep deception that streams from demonic entities who present themselves in these supposedly benevolent roles.
Third, though the concept of this ‘field of knowledge’ is found in some ancient Far Eastern traditions, the term “Akashic Records” was introduced by Helena Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society. She was an occultist whose teachings are far from the truth and totally anti-biblical. There is no such concept to be found in the pages of God’s Word, neither is there any esoteric methodology offered in Scripture to give curious seekers secret access to such an imagined realm. In reality, true spiritual revelations are not so mechanically or psychically obtained. When a person has a right relationship with the true God (the Lord Jesus Christ), revelation insights into the past or the future come at His will, not through some manipulative esoteric, religious methods.
Jesus in Britain
There are two other often-mentioned accounts of what Jesus supposedly did during His ‘hidden years’: a time of visiting Britain and a very different account of Him visiting the Far East.
The first story is based on a belief that Jesus travelled to Britain with ‘Joseph of Arimathea’, a tin trader who some believe was His uncle (though the Gospels describe him simply as a rich man, a member of the Sanhedrin, and a disciple of Jesus). This new slant is most likely related to a 14th century text written by Robert de Boron titled, Joseph d’Arimathie, that describes him bringing the Holy Grail to Britain. This became such a popular belief that by the 15th century, Glastonbury in Somerset was touted as the birthplace of British Christianity. Joseph was believed to have erected the first church there to house the Holy Grail. There is also an account that Joseph of Arimathea had earlier visited Glastonbury with Jesus as a child, which supposedly inspired artist and poet William Blake to compose a poem that became the words to the English hymn Jerusalem.
‘And did those feet in ancient time/walk upon England’s mountains green? And was the Lamb of God/On England’s pleasant pastures seen?’
However, all these proposed happenings surfaced long after Jesus walked the earth (over a millennium) which should make any truth seeker seriously question their legitimacy and label them merely as humanly manufactured legends.
Jesus in the Far East
In 1894 a controversial book was published titled The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ. It was written by a resident of Paris, born in Russia, named Nicolas Notovitch who lived 1858-1917. The literary work made the astonishing claim that during the lost years of Jesus’ life (between 12 and 30) he visited India and trained as a Buddhist monk. In the book, Notovitch explained that he had visited India seven years earlier. He also alleged that because he broke his leg, he was forced to recuperate in a secluded monastery at Hemis in the highlands of Ladakh, India.
During that time, he claimed the abbot of the monastery showed him two mysterious volumes, written in the Tibetan language. These texts described the travels and studies in India of a man called ‘Issa’ who could have only been the biblical Jesus (since Issa is the Arabic name of Jesus in Islam). The writing was entitled Life of Saint Issa: Best of the Sons of Men.
According to the ancient text, Jesus left Judea at the age of 13 and set out on an epic pilgrimage of self-enlightenment through studying other religions. Notovitch reported that Jesus crossed Punjab and reached Puri Jagannath where he studied the Vedas (sacred texts of Hinduism) under Brahmin priests. Six years were spent in Puri and Rajgir, near Nalanda, the ancient seat of Hindu learning. Then Issa went to the Himalayas and spent time in Tibetan monasteries studying Buddhism and through Persia returned to Judea at the age of 29.
Fake or Fact?
At the time of its release, Notovitch’s book became a global publishing sensation, and was translated into several languages including English. It went through eleven French editions in its first year of publication. Over a century later, however, Notovitch’s book was largely forgotten and its contents and claims relegated to the realms of fantasy by his contemporaries. However, some supporters of Notovitch believed that documents proving the author’s claims might be located in the Vatican.
Even at the time of Notovitch’s writings many people were skeptical and found his claims incredulous. German-born philologist Max Muller was a strong critic. [Philology is the study of language – it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history and linguistics with strong ties to etymology.] He insisted that either the monks at the monastery played a joke on the Russian author, or he had invented the entire story for money and faked the ancient manuscript.
Muller even wrote to the Head Lama at the monastery where Notovitch alleged he stayed after his injury and received a reply stating that there had been no western visitors at the monastery in the last fifteen years and that there were no ancient documents like the one described by the author. Shortly afterwards J. Archibald Douglas, Professor of English and History at the Government College in Agra, India, actually visited Hemis monastery in 1895 and interviewed the Head Lama who stated definitively that Notovitch had never been there. Both Muller and Douglas wrote articles refuting Notovitch’s claim that Jesus had travelled to India, even allying to write a book together titled Jesus Did NOT Live in India, insisting that Notovitch’s writings about Jesus’ ‘lost years’ were a total fabrication.
Though Notovitch claimed he visited the Hemis monastery and saw the document proving Jesus (Issa) had stayed there, no material evidence was found to corroborate his claim, such as a photograph of the mysterious manuscript itself. Notovitch detailed in the preface of his book that none were included, because though he took many, unfortunately, he discovered too late that the negatives were inadvertently destroyed and unusable. Later, when he came under heavy scrutiny, according to an author named Douglas McGetchin, Notovitch finally admitted that the evidence of his claims was fabricated.
Then in 1922, almost thirty years after the publication of the book, a colleague of Muller named Swami Abhedananda announced that he, too, had visited the monastery and that, on the contrary, he received an affirmation that Notovitch’s claims were true. He also wrote a book about it. Of course, being of a Far Eastern religious persuasion, Swami Abhedananda would have had a vested interest in validating the story.
So, there are witnesses on both sides of the aisle with conflicting testimonies. After considering all the facts, however, most serious scholars align with Muller.
The Biblical Explanation
The Bible is largely silent about Jesus’ hidden years. However, it does shed some light on what probably happened. When Jesus was twelve years old, He purposefully remained in Jerusalem after attending the Passover Feast with His family. Joseph and Mary, who thought He had been lost from their caravan, finally found Him in the temple area discussing vital spiritual concepts with the rabbis, teachers of the Word of God. Seeing their concern and responding to their request, the Bible explains, “He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them.” (See Luke 2:41-51.) The wording is very plain.
Years later, when Jesus announced His ministry in Nazareth at the age of thirty, “as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.” This wording (emphasis by author) suggests that this practice had been a pattern in His life for some time. When He announced His claim to Messiahship by quoting Isaiah 61, the awed listeners “marveled at the gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth” and questioned, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:16, 22) Obviously, this unique Nazarene was a familiar figure to them all. Because of these and other pertinent arguments, I now contend that Jesus never departed from the land of Israel during His hidden years.
It should also be noted that Jesus’ teaching never aligned with any Far Eastern religious views, Buddhist or Hindu. He is often quoted upholding the validity of the Ten Commandments, which begin with a clear mandate to never worship any other god but Yahweh and to never make graven images of supposed deities. That dual divine mandate cancels any connection with Hinduism, a religion that boasts 330 million gods and goddesses and heavily promotes the creation and worship of idols.
Inarguably, Jesus taught the existence of a Creator God and the existence of souls within human beings, both of which are contrary to Buddhist doctrine. Furthermore, He never inferred that reincarnation is the evolutionary path of a human being taken after death, but resurrection after one life—which disconnects with all Far Eastern religious views.
In His first recorded sermon (“The Sermon on the Mount”) Jesus insisted that when people pray they should never use “vain repetitions like the heathen do”—an utter rejection of the Buddhist and Hindu practice of chanting mantras (Mt. 6:7). So, even if He did visit the Far East (which is highly unlikely), He came back only to refute their most popular doctrines and practices.
The popular Christian author, Ron Rhodes, offers an informed, convincing, and insightful observation:
“Among those who became angriest at Jesus were the Jewish leaders. They accused him of many offenses, including breaking the Sabbath, blasphemy and doing miracles in Satan’s power. But they never accused him of teaching or practicing anything learned in the East. The Jews considered such teachings and practices to be idolatry and sorcery. Had Jesus actually gone to India to study under ‘the great Buddhas,’ this would have been excellent grounds for discrediting and disqualifying him regarding his claim to be the promised Jewish Messiah. If the Jewish leaders could have accused Jesus of this, they certainly would have.”1
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1 Ron Rhodes, The Counterfeit Christ of the New Age Movement (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1990) p. 52.
Copyright © 2025 Mike Shreve
Based on an article originally copyrighted in 2003
