Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment (Hardcover)

by Deepak Chopra (Author)
Key Phrases: temple lad, Dead Sea, The Father, Judas of Galilee

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Chopra's new novel expands on the themes advanced in his recent nonfiction title The Third Jesus. The narrative focuses on the mysterious span of time in Christ's life between the ages of 12 and 30. Chopra portrays the young adult Jesus as a malleable figure at the center of a host of pivotal political, cultural and religious shifts. The threads of his spiritual leadership become evident during these formative years, but Christ must devote himself to growing in enlightenment about the full nature of his identity and message. Not surprisingly, Chopra casts the sources of this revelation to include both Western and Eastern perspectives. Chopra's narration may not always maintain a natural flow of dialogue among characters, but the ethereal power of his voice and the evocative manner in which he sets the stage remain effective. Perhaps the most compelling elements of the story line involve Judas and Mary Magdalene, two of New Testament history's most complicated and controversial figures. A HarperOne hardcover. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From Booklist
In his book Buddha (2007), Chopra pretty much stuck to the accepted outlines of his subject’s life. Here, as he portrays the life of Jesus, Chopra twists the kaleidoscope and offers a very different Messiah than commonly imagined. From his teenage years, Chopra’s Jesus knows that something calls to him, but he is unsure what. He receives signs and portents; profound and profane characters come his way. Still, this restless soul is unsure of his role, even after spending five years among the Essenes before he begins his public ministry. More is learned when he finds in the mountains a holy man, who, we learn, is the story’s narrator. That encounter gives Jesus the knowledge (i.e., the enlightenment) to return to Jerusalem and fulfill his destiny. Although Chopra keeps returning to fiction, it is not really his forte; his philosophical ideas have much more potency when served up without characters, plotting, and dialogue—the latter is a particular problem. That said, Chopra has some intriguing ideas about Jesus and his true message that may prompt worthwhile discussion. --Ilene Cooper

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061448737
• ISBN-13: 978-0061448737
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #37,785 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christianity as a Path to Enlightenment, November 4, 2008

By	Mommy Mystic "www.MommyMystic.WordPress.com" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

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.

44 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An engrossing read -- Jesus as you've never seen him before, November 7, 2008

By	G. Brown - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The inner - rather than instituitonal -dimensions of Christianity , December 4, 2008

By	Kelly M. Lee "worried about america" (las vegas nev) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When the world was afire with with his message people came to Jesus , just as they did to Buddah , asking what he was. Not who are you with respect to name , origin or ancestry but what are you ? What order of being do you belong to ? What species do you represent ? Are you a god ? "No" Are you an angel? "No" Are you a saint? "No" . His answer was , in essence "I am awake" . Thats what " The Kingdom of Heaven is within you" means. That's what " I am the Son of God " means .That's what " The "Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon the Earth- men just do not see it" means. And that is what has been forgotten by institutionalized Chrisitanity.This book tries to cut through to that truth. We need as much help as we can get in that regard right now. So yes . Buy the book.