Guardian on The Aquarian Gospel

The Guardian has picked up on the Aquarian Gospel story I covered in September, and they seem to have unearthed a good deal more about it.

"The Bible devotes just seven words to the most formative years of Yeshua's life saying: 'The boy grew in wisdom and stature'. The [film] will follow Christ's journey to the east where he encounters other traditions, and discovers the principles that are the bedrock of all the world's great religions," said Drew Heriot, the film's director, whose credits include the cult hit The Secret.

The film, which is due for release in 2009, sets out to be a fantasy action adventure account of Jesus's life with the three wise men as his mentors. Although the producers say the film will feature a "young and beautiful" princess, it is not clear whether Jesus is to have a love interest.

There are a few other themes coming through that the Variety piece suggested on such as ideas of meditation, loyalty to untouchables, Jesus's teachings having roots in Indian traditions, and so on. The piece also quotes Fida Hassnain, former director of archaeology at the University of Srinagar as mentioning that a tomb of Issa is still venerated in Srinagar, and claiming that there is archaeology to back up the film's unusual premise. "I have seen the scrolls which show Buddhist monks talking about Jesus's visits. There are also coins from that period which show Yuzu or have the legend Issa on them, referring to Jesus from that period.