Jesus

A Story of Enlightenment

By: Deepak Chopra MD

Narrated by: Deepak Chopra

Jesus is a fresh and inspirational re-imagining of a young man's transformational journey from carpenter's son to revolutionary leader to the man many believe to be the savior of the world.

Very little is known or recorded about Jesus in his formative years. In the Gospel stories, we witness the birth of Jesus and then see him as a young boy of 12 intensely questioning the Rabbis in the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus does not reappear until age 30, when he emerges as the potent and stirring rebel baptized by John at the River Jordan.

What happens to Jesus in those lost years? How did Jesus the young boy become Christ the Savior? With his characteristic ability for imparting profound spiritual insights through the power of storytelling, Chopra's Jesus will capture the life of Jesus as never before.

©2008 Deepak K. Chopra and Rita Chopra Family Trust. All rights reserved. (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America

Chopra should not have narrated

This might be an OK read in print but fails as an audiobook. It's an imaginative tale of how Jesus might have developed consciousness of the divine, but Chopra should restrict himself to narrating his nonfiction. For the novel to work well, the reader would need to be pulled into the tale by great narration and smooth prose, but anachronistic terms, added to the poor narration and uneven prose, kept pulling me out of the story: Jesus says, for example, "that would be megalomania;" Judas tells Jesus, "you're weird," etc.

The novel did contain interesting description of conditions of the Roman occupation of the Jews in 1st century CE. Other story elements might offend some Christian traditionalists. And those interested in the historical Jesus will be disappointed: This is a very supernatural Jesus, an eastern-philosophical Jesus, not a social justice, Jewish Jesus. I wish someone would create a novel about the historical Jesus based on the scholarship produced by cultural anthropology and the Jesus Seminar. This isn't it.

Ignore the whiners.

Contrary to other opinions here, I find Chopra's accent an asset to the story telling. It makes the story seem a bit more authentic and exotic. Once your ear adjusts to his cadence and pronunciations, it makes for much richer story telling.

I gave this four stars because I am only on Chapter 3. I may upgrade to five if the story holds up...but thus far it is a joy to read.

One hour in its great!

I read a lot of spiritual books and they are getting repetitive - yet I am struggling with the application of the concepts... I have recently fallen in love with parable/fiction books with spiritual messages. I have been listening for one hour now and it is truly captivating, well read, with all the suspense of a good parable. I love it and am sure that I will have soon finished!

From a scholar

Very good. Nice to hear the story of Jesus from someone who has studied religion and spirtuality and has no bias. Chopra's voice is wonderful for narration.

Enjoyable listen, definitely imaginative...

As another reviewer pointed out, this seems to be a more Eastern-flavored story of Jesus (which makes sense, given author's background), with very little that corresponds to any actual historical or Biblical documentation. But I knew that when I purchased it, so was not bothered by it. I enjoyed Deepak's narration - he always seems to have a calming and gentle manner about him that comes through in his reading (and writing). Though the story wasn't terrifically exciting or adventurous, it was interesting, and an enjoyable listen, which I'll probably listen to again some time.

A strange story of Jesus unlike any I’ve known

I found myself so confused by this story at first...I had never heard such a story of Jesus...or of Judas and Mary Magdalene...I found myself so curious that such a depiction could be conceived...I grew up in a traditional Christian home...knowing only the common bible stories...I had not known or understood how poor the people were at Christ’s time...anyway it was a story that stirred my soul...I think I will read it again very soon...in case I missed something....

enlightening

loved it! not the story I grew up with but a much deeper one that satisfies.

Gotta Love Deepak Chopra

I just love the sound of Deepak Chopra's voice, so his narration is marvelous for me. I also love what he's done with this story. He has created such a fascinating narrative around one of human's history's most enigmatic figures. The story is amazing and Deepak's narration makes it seem like we're all sitting around a cozy fireplace or camp fire listening to an amazing story. This book is best consumed in the audio version, in my opinion.

A creative unfolding in the reality of Jesus

The narrators expressive embellishments kept me intently in listen mode. I enjoyed the listen immensely.

Stays with you for weeks

This is an intelligent retelling of Jesus life. The spiritual issues in the book are the same ones all of us struggle with every single day. how can we surrender and know God's will if we aren't willing to accept the Mysteries of God's relationship with Good and Evil. Jesus acts as our tour guide drawing us through the inevitable path he was chosen to walk as Messiah.