Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment

Most of the other reviews have already said anything positive that I can say about the book. However one thing that hasn't been mentioned that I feel is very important is the very last part of the book. The story itself was good, but the last section is kind of what brings everything together and helps you find the deeper meaning in the story Chopra was trying to relay. Don't skip the end...it turns a so-so book into an amazing experience.

This book was absolutely enlightening! Let us, first of all get one thing straight: DEEPAK IS NOT TRYING TO PASS THIS OFF AS THE REAL JESUS!!! He says so in the very first sentence! it is merely a personal interpretation! It offends me when people say that he is a fool or a heretic for portraying Jesus as a dynamic, fresh face who had struggles and obstacles along his own path with G-d! again, great work!

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.

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.