Shankaracharya made the statement while addressing a congregation at Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
Not only Jesus Christ, Shankaracharya also claimed that Prophet Mohammed was a Hindu by religion too.
As per his claims, there is no documentation about 10 years of Jesus’ life in the Bible. The fact is, Jesus was in India during that time and out of that, he stayed at Puri for three years during which he came in contact with the then Shankaracharya. He was a Vaishnav and followed all the rituals, Shankaracharya claimed.
Speaking to a reporter of IBC24, the Shankaracharya further said, “Ancestors of both Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed were Sanatani Vaidic Aryas.”
On the allegations of him following the path of the RSS, Shankaracharya said, “I do not follow RSS. If they want, they can follow me. Even the RSS Chief, Mohan Bhagwat sits in front of me like ‘Bal Gopal’ (Baby Krishna).”
Defending Shankaracharya’s claims, the Public Relation Officer (PRO) of the Govardhan Peeth, Matrudatta said, “This is not the first time, in fact, Shankaracharya has many times said that Jesus Christ was in India for 10 years and his ancestors were Hindu. If you take the birth of Christ into account, then Hinduism is way older than him. It’s natural that his ancestors would be Hindus.”
However, the Christian community did not take these remarks on a good note. Refuting the claims, Father John Barua, the Arch Bishop of Satyanagar Church in Bhubaneswar said, “Nobody has ever said this and the Bible does not have such mentions as well. It is impossible to think that Jesus was really a Hindu and converted to Christianism, because then how did Christianism born?”
“If he (Shankaracharya) has any proof about his claims then he should make it public,” the Bishop said.
A culture expert, Manoj Rath urged the Christians to speak to Shankaracharya in person and discuss the dispute without outright refuting his claims.
(Reported By Madhusudan Mishra, OTV)
Christmas fever gripped several parts of the State including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Balasore, Kandhamal and Sambalpur as cathedrals, churches, shops, commercial establishments and individual houses belonging to Christian community were adorned with colourful illuminations, X-mas trees, balloons and candles.
Starting from cattle shed to crucification, the life of Jesus Christ was depicted at the churches.
"We are happy that Jesus Christ descended on the earth on this day to relieve us from our sins," said a person at a church in Bhubaneswar.
Another Christianity follower said, "We celebrated the Jesus Christ birth with pomp and gaiety."
https://youtu.be/IYHmkJCXT-k
The days falling between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are together termed as Passion Week. It includes Palm Sunday, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Spy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.
A series of events happened on each day of this week shows the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Though each day has its significance, Christians gather together to commemorate Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Later, they celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday.
The love of Christ has such impact on the minds of his believers that even retired Police Inspector PC Nayak, a man with a lion’s heart, on Good Friday, was unable to control his tears while narrating the events Christ had faced during these days.
Bible reading and special prayers were organised at several churches in the State. In Bhubaneswar, Christ lovers thronged the churches to attend special functions in midnight during which the Jesus Christ is born as per the belief.
Starting from cattle shed to crucification, the life history of Jesus Christ was depicted at the churches giving a glimpse to his lovers on the occasion of the special day.
Also read: Odisha in festive mood as people celebrate Christmas
In the Catholic Church located in Cantonment Road of Cuttack, carols were sung and cakes were cut to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ in midnight.
Locals in Rourkela celebrated the Christ birth in midnight on a special note. With the same euphoria, the Adarsh Pada Samaj in Balangir celebrated the Christmas by beating cymbals and chanting prayers.
In Phulbani of Kandhamal district, the Christ birth was observed by lighting candles at churches and distributing cakes.
Newly dressed children have completed rehearsal of the classic ‘Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way!’ song at the churches as only few hours are left for arrival of Jesus Christ on the earth.
In the oldest city of Odisha, Cuttack, locals have made arrangements in a traditional way to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. At 10 pm, mass prayer at churches will be organised followed by carol and special prayers will begin at 10.45 pm.
In Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha, coloured lights, stars and bells gave a amazing looks to the Catholic Church located in Satyanagar and Unit-4 church. People were seen congregating around the Santa Claus to get blessings and gifts. Both the churches have made arrangements for special cultural programmes.
Also read: Odisha in festive mood as people celebrate Christmas
Three-day Christmas gathering has begun under the sponsorship of seven churches in Rourkela on eve of Christmas.
Catholic and Baptist churches in Phulbani of Kandhamal district were decorated with maginicent decorations on this occasion.
The Kandhamal district administration has tightened security keeping in view of the call of the Kui Samaj Samanya Samiti (KSSS) to observe the Sahid Diwas tomorrow.
The pontiff on Sunday night said that Christ's parents found no place to stay in Bethlehem except for a lowly manger and noted that Christian faith demands that foreigners be welcomed, reports Efe news.
Amid heavy security at the solemn Mass at which Catholics commemorate the birth of Jesus, which this year was not celebrated at midnight but it rather began at 9.30 p.m., Francis delivered his remarks to about 10,000 people inside the St. Peter's Basilica here, while thousands of others followed the service outside.
The shepherds who first welcomed Baby Jesus were "forced to live on the edges of society" and were considered undesirable foreigners, Francis said, adding "Everything about them generated mistrust. They were men and women to be kept at a distance, to be feared."
"Many other footsteps are hidden in the footsteps of Joseph and Mary. We see the tracks of entire families forced to set out in our own day. We see the tracks of millions of persons who do not choose to go away, but driven from their land, leave behind their dear ones," the pontiff said.
The 81-year-old Argentine pope - born Jorge Bergoglio - has consistently defended the situation of migrants, and in his homily at the Mass he called for a "new social imagination ... in which none have to feel that there is no room for them on this earth."
Francis told the assembled faithful that "Our document of citizenship" comes from God and thus respect for migrants is - and must be - an integral part of Christianity.
"This is the joy that we tonight are called to share, to celebrate and to proclaim. The joy with which God, in his infinite mercy, has embraced us pagans, sinners and foreigners, and demands that we do the same," the pontiff said, going on to call people traffickers the "Herods of today," and declaring that they have blood on their hands.
Pope Francis is scheduled to deliver his traditional Christmas Day blessing and "Urbi et Orbi" (To the city and to the world) message from St. Peter's Basilica on Monday.
Starting this Sunday till Easter Sunday, it is known as 'Passion Week', when most Christian households generally turn vegetarian.
The convention in Kerala is that coconut fronds are distributed to the faithful to commemorate Jesus Christ's entry into Jerusalem, when palm leaves were placed in his path, before his arrest and crucifixion on Good Friday.
On Sunday, traffic was regulated in cities and towns for a while as devotees took to the street with the coconut fronds held high.
Most denominations of the Churches have varying duration of observing lent, but the Orthodox Church has the longest, which extends 50 days, when non-vegetarian food items are not consumed.
Of the 33.4 million Kerala population, Christians number 61.41 lakh (29.94 lakh males and 31.47 lakh females), out whom the Catholics constitute around 50 per cent.
At most households, the coconut fronds that are received at the Church are placed before the picture of Christ and are kept there till the Christmas eve, when these are given back to the churches, to be used in bonfire then.
He said we should remember Lord Christ and his commitment to truth, service and justice on this day.
Lord Christ devoted his life to serving others. His courage and righteousness stand out and so does his sense of justice.
On Good Friday, we remember Lord Christ and his commitment to truth, service and justice.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 10, 2020
Similarly, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took to twitter and offered his prayers on the occasion.
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“Offer my solemn prayers on Good Friday. May Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice guide us in the path of peace, love, compassion, harmony and universal brotherhood,” tweeted the CM.
Offer my solemn prayers on #GoodFriday. May Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice guide us in the path of peace, love, compassion, harmony and universal brotherhood. pic.twitter.com/QRgxpbL84q
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) April 10, 2020
Good Friday is a solemn day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The Christians believed that Jesus came back three days after being crucified, on the day known as Easter.
Good Friday is also known by various other names as the Great Friday, Black Friday, Easter Friday or Holy Friday. There is no fixed date for the day and it is calculated determining the date for Easter as per ‘paschal full moon’ (Pascha is an Aramaic word for Passover which is a Jewish festival).
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Generally, Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon that is usually on or after March 21. Therefore, the date of Good Friday keeps changing each year and this year, it is being observed on April 9 while the Easter will be celebrated of April 12.
The day is observed by the Christian community by keeping fast, doing church services in several parts of Odisha, including Kandhamal district. This year, the day is being marked in a subdued manner as people skipped gathering at churches due to the ongoing nation-wide lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda also remembered Jesus Christ on the auspicious occasion of Good Friday.
On this Good Friday, may we be blessed with peace, compassion for our fellow beings and the spirit of self sacrifice. #GoodFriday pic.twitter.com/6ICKaka1UZ
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 10, 2020
#GoodFriday
May the Lord's blessings be showered on all ???? https://t.co/Y9DmpApfB0— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) April 10, 2020
Besides, sand artist Sudarsan Patnaik extended his greetings on Good Friday by sharing the picture of one of his sand arts on Puri sea beach.
Greetings to all on the auspicious occasion of #GoodFriday. #StayHomeStaySafe pic.twitter.com/SzMcvQMtDn
— Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) April 10, 2020
https://youtu.be/oWNbWSaN0_A