JESUS UPANISHAD:

YOU WHO HAVE EARS TO HEAR, LISTEN!

Compiled and edited by Joseph Molleur, Vedanta Society of Iowa, July, 2007

“Behold the Christ, who shed His heart’s blood for the redemption of the world, who suffered a

sea of anguish for love of men. It is He, the Master Yogi, who is in eternal union with God. It is

Jesus, Love Incarnate.” (Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p. 34)

PEACE INVOCATION

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled,

and do not let them be afraid. (John 14:27)*

OM. Peace, peace, peace be unto all.

I. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE SPIRITUAL LIFE

1. The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the

gospel. (Mark 1:15; cf. Matthew 4:17)

There needs to be a sense of urgency about living the spiritual life—it requires our

decision now, our action now. The Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi once said: “My child,
*
Words of Jesus are printed in boldface type. The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised
Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

1
 austerities or worship, practice all these things right now. Will these things be possible

later on? Whatever you want to achieve, achieve now; this is the right time” (Gospel of

the Holy Mother, p. 177).

2. Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be

opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds,

and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Mt. 7:7-8; cf. Luke 11:9-10,

Jn. 14:13-14, 15:7, 15:16, and 16:23-24)

Swami Prabhavananda’s commentary: “In this passage Jesus sums up the whole truth of

religion. Before the door to the kingdom of God is opened, the spiritual aspirant must

have both longing for God and faith” (Sermon on the Mount according to Vedanta, pp.

116-117; hereafter abbreviated as SMV).†

3. Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the

kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of

God as a little child will never enter it. (Mk. 10:14-15; cf. Mt. 18:3-4 and Lk. 18:16-

17)

Sri Ramakrishna frequently taught that the safest and surest way for us to enter into

intentional relationship with God is by considering oneself to be a child of God, who is

our Divine Mother and Heavenly Father.

†
This book, published by Vedanta Press, is highly recommended. As will become apparent, I have relied heavily on
the interpretations and commentary of Swami Prabhavananda throughout this “Jesus Upanishad,” and I gratefully
acknowledge my indebtedness to him.

2
4. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this

mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be

impossible for you. (Mt. 17:20; cf. Lk. 17:6)

A distinction made by Swami Vivekananda seems apt here: “Faith is not belief, it is the

grasp on the Ultimate, an illumination” (Collected Works, vol. VII, p. 60; hereafter

abbreviated as CW). And according to Sri Sankaracarya, faith is the means by which

Reality is perceived (Vivekacudamani 25).

5. Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to

destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is

hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Mt. 7:13-14; cf. Lk. 13:24)

Swami Prabhavananda: “Jesus warns us that the realization of God is not easy. Purity of

heart can only be achieved after a great struggle” (SMV 119).

6. Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you

rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in

heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is

light. (Mt. 11:28-30)

A promise reminiscent of Lord Krishna’s reassurances to Arjuna (who represents all

those seeking to “fight the good fight” in living the spiritual life) in the Bhagavad-Gita.

3
7. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will

drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the

body more than clothing? (Mt. 6:25; cf. Lk. 12:22-23)

Swami Prabhavananda: “These teachings of Christ are impractical for any individual

who is not completely devoted to God. But if you truly seek the kingdom of heaven, then

you will not care where you live, what you eat, or where you sleep. There have been men

and women in past ages, and there are some today, who live in this spirit of complete

dependence upon the Lord” (SMV 108).

8. If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross

daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who

lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the

whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? (Lk. 9:23-25; cf. Lk. 14:26-27, Mt. 10:38-

39 and 16:26, Mk. 8:34-37, Jn. 12:25)

Swami Prabhavananda: “What does it really mean to deny yourself, to renounce? It does

not mean escape from the world and its duties. It means giving up selfishness, the sense

of ‘me’ and ‘mine.’ It means loving God with all one’s heart, soul, and mind” (SMV

107). By renouncing our egotistical “small self” or “false self,” and endeavoring to

become a devoted, faithful follower of the Lord Jesus, we will, sooner or later, discover,

rejoice in, and BE our “true Self,” our “real Self.”

9. You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are

tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great

4
 among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be

your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his

life a ransom for many. (Mt. 20:25-28; cf. Lk. 22:25-27)

Did not Sri Ramakrishna embody this teaching? After being moved to Cossipore,

“realizing that the end of his physical life was approaching, he gave away his spiritual

treasures without stint to one and all” (Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p. 931).

10. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be

exalted. (Lk. 14:11; cf. Mt. 23:12)

11. Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Mt. 5:48)

Swami Prabhavananda: “In this sentence, Jesus gives the central theme of the Sermon on

the Mount. The whole purpose of man’s life is stated here. And the same theme is at the

heart of every religion: Seek perfection! Realize God!” (SMV 67) “When the mind has

been purified through spiritual disciplines and is able to turn inward upon itself, man

realizes that his true being is Atman-Brahman. To uncover this true being, or divinity,

which lies hidden within oneself, is to become perfect” (SMV 69). The next two verses

give further indication of what Jesus meant by being “perfect.”

12. If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and

you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. (Mt. 19:21; cf. Mk. 10:21

and Lk. 18:22)

5
13. Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or

children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more

in this age, and in the age to come eternal life. (Lk. 18:29-30; cf. Mt. 19:29 and Mk.

10:29-30)

Note that the reward for such a “perfect” following of Jesus is not postponed to the

“hereafter”; it begins here and now.

II. RIGHT ACTION

1. Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Lk. 6:31; cf. Mt. 7:12)

Swami Prabhavananda: “Our goal in life is to experience union with God and all

beings. . . . If we practice trying to see the unity, if we do unto others as we would have

them do unto us, our consciousness will eventually be transformed. Then we will

actually see the one God vibrating in every atom of the universe and love him in all

beings” (SMV 118).

2. Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will

be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see

the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how

can you say to your neighbor, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” while the log

is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then

you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. (Mt. 7:1-5; cf. Lk.

6:37-42)

6
 Swami Prabhavananda: “Those who dwell on the faults of others develop the same faults

themselves; . . . the spiritual seeker must not criticize, gossip, or judge. ‘If you want

peace of mind, do not find fault with others,’ taught Sri Sarada Devi” (SMV 114).

3. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Lk. 6:36)

4. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you

also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,

if you have love for one another. (Jn. 13:34-35; cf. Jn. 15:12 and 15:17)

5. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (Jn. 15:13)

Has anyone embodied this teaching more fully and wonderfully than Jesus himself?

6. Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory

to your Father in heaven. (Mt. 5:16)

Swami Prabhavananda: “In order to transform people’s lives, one must first light one’s

own candle” (SMV 36). Well and good, but the next verse cautions us about proper (or

more to the point, improper) intention/motivation:

7. Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you

have no reward from your Father in heaven. (Mt. 6:1)

Swami Prabhavananda: “In order that we may reach perfection, we must free ourselves

from all attachment, from all craving for the fruits of action” (SMV 79).

7
8. Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other

also. (Mt. 5:39; cf. Lk. 6:29)

Swami Prabhavananda: “The householder, who must live in society and fulfill his duty

towards his family, may need to hiss now and then in order to defend himself against

hostile actions. . . . But although the householder may protect himself, he must never be

malicious or revengeful. He may hiss, but he must never inject venom. The monk, on

the other hand, must strive to practice non-violence in its higher form” (SMV 65-66).

The same rationale would seem to apply to the next two verses.

9. Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

(Mt. 26:52)

10. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children

of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and

sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. (Mt. 5:44-45; cf. Lk. 6:27-28, 35)

11. No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is

known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked

from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart

produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of

the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. (Lk. 6:43-45; cf. Mt. 7:17-20)

8
 Swami Prabhavananda: “The fruits of true religion are illumination, selfless love, and

compassion for all. Sri Ramakrishna followed the paths of many religions during his life

on earth, and always applied the same test to each, ‘Will it give me the illumination of

God?’ When told about some new sect, he would ask, ‘Does it teach love for God? Does

it teach people how to realize God?’ If not, he would have nothing to do with it” (SMV

122).

III. BEWARE LUST AND GREED

1. I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed

adultery with her in his heart. (Mt. 5:28)

Swami Prabhavananda: “Here Jesus is speaking of the necessity for self-mastery, for

mental control of the passions, particularly lust. Merely refraining from lustful actions is

not enough; lustful thoughts must be checked, too” (SMV 51). “Sex energy controlled

becomes spiritual energy” (SMV 53).

2. There are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been

made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs

for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can. (Mt. 19:12)

Of course, Jesus is referring to voluntary celibacy, not self-castration. Why would

spiritual aspirants choose such a path? Swami Prabhavananda’s response: “They

practice continence because they know worldly pleasures to be tasteless and empty

compared to the joy of God” (SMV 54).

9
3. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. (Jn. 3:6)

4. How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is

easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to

enter the kingdom of God. (Lk. 18:24-25; cf. Mt. 19:23-24 and Mk. 10:24-25)

The “danger of riches” is a common theme in Jesus’ teaching, as it was in Sri

Ramakrishna’s. The same concern is expressed in the next three verses.

5. Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in

the abundance of possessions. (Lk. 12:15)

6. No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or

be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (Mt.

6:24; cf. Lk. 16:13)

Swami Prabhavananda: “We cannot become absorbed in God as long as we are slaves to

cravings such as lust and greed” (SMV 106).

7. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and

where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Mt. 6:19-21; cf. Lk. 12:33-

34)

10
 Swami Prabhavananda: Jesus’ point here is “that one of the most important conditions

for successfully starting to live the spiritual life is to have right discrimination—

discrimination between the eternal and the non-eternal” (SMV 102).

8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Mt. 5:8)

Swami Prabhavananda: “The more we think of the Lord and take refuge in him, the more

we shall love him—and the purer our hearts will become. . . . As we continue to hold on

to the pillar of God and become devoted to him, our passions and cravings, which

obstruct God-vision, lose their strength” (SMV 25). And Swami Vivekananda claims:

“This sentence alone would save mankind if all books and prophets were lost. This

purity of heart will bring the vision of God. It is the theme of the whole music of this

universe” (CW VII:103).

IV. THE DIVINE MOTHER

1. Wisdom is vindicated by all her children. (Lk. 7:35)

In the 8th chapter of the Book of Proverbs (Hebrew Bible), Wisdom is portrayed as a

female personification of God’s creative power—a very interesting parallel to the idea of

Shakti as supreme divine female power, Ramakrishna’s “Blissful Mother of the

Universe.” Matthew’s gospel has preserved a very similar saying of Jesus (or perhaps a

different version of the same saying):

2. Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. (Mt. 11:19)

11
 St. Paul writes, “He [God] is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us

Wisdom from God . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Jesus is thus an embodiment of Divine

Wisdom, the Universal Mother.

3. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!

How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her

brood under her wings, and you were not willing! (Lk. 13:34; cf. Mt. 23:37)

In this saying, Jesus’ own “motherly instinct” comes to the fore.

V. KNOWLEDGE OF DIVINE TRUTH

1. To you [the disciples] it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to

others I speak in parables. (Lk. 8:10; cf. Mt. 13:11, Mk. 4:11, and Jn. 16:25)

Not many people are capable of receiving divine knowledge in an undiluted manner;

most require the assistance of parables, stories, myths, etc. That is why (for example) the

Puranas and Epics are needed as supplements to the Upanishads.

2. If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and

the truth will make you free. (Jn. 8:31-32)

This conviction that divine knowledge is spiritually liberating is one of the central themes

of the Upanishads. Jesus makes a similar assertion at his trial before the Roman governor

Pontius Pilate, just prior to his crucifixion, as follows:

12
3. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone

who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. (Jn. 18:37)

VI. THE ONENESS OF ALL BEINGS

1. The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say,

“Look, here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the kingdom of God is within you.

(Lk. 17:20-21)

Compare the upanishadic mahavakya (great utterance), “This Atman [Self within] is

Brahman [the Universal Self],” Mandukya Upan. 2. (An alternative translation is “the

kingdom of God is among you.”)

2. The Father and I are one. (Jn. 10:30)

Swami Vivekananda: “There is very little difference between the pure religion of Christ

and that of the Vedanta. You find there the idea of oneness. . .” (CW II:353). The next

several verses continue this theme of oneness: the oneness of Jesus and his heavenly

Father; the oneness of Jesus and his disciples; and the oneness of the disciples with each

other, Jesus, and the Father.

3. Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do

you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I

say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his

13
 works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not,

then believe me because of the works themselves. (Jn. 14:9-11)

4. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it

abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. (Jn. 15:4)

5. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. (Jn.

14:20)

6. I ask not only on behalf of these [the disciples], but also on behalf of those who will

believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in

me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that

you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they

may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become

completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved

them even as you have loved me. (Jn. 17:20-23)

With these words Jesus prayed to the Father for the unity of all his devotees—present and

future—shortly before he “shed His heart’s blood for the redemption of the world”

(Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p. 34).

14
 VII. JESUS’ TRUE IDENTITY

1. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes

in me will never be thirsty. (Jn. 6:35; cf. 6:48, 6:51)

As does Lord Krishna in the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita, in John’s gospel Jesus

makes a number of extraordinary statements beginning with the words “I am,” as a means

of revealing his true (divine) identity. It is also worth noting that the name of the God of

Israel, Yahweh, literally means something like “I am who I am” (see Exodus 3:13-15).

2. I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will

have the light of life. (Jn. 8:12; cf. 9:5, 12:35-36, and 12:46)

3. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (Jn. 10:11;

cf. 10:14)

4. I am the gate for the sheep. . . . Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in

and go out and find pasture. (Jn. 10:7, 9)

5. I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will

live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. (Jn. 11:25-26)

15
6. I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and

have seen him. (Jn. 14:6-7)

To see Jesus is to see the Father; to be in relation with Jesus is to be in relation with the

Father. This passage need not necessarily be understood in terms of traditional Christian

exclusivism. During his Inspired Talks Swami Vivekananda said, “A bit of Mother, a

drop, was Krishna, another was Buddha, another was Christ” (CW VII:27). These

avataras (divine incarnations) “show us the way to the Father”; for many of us, there is

simply no way to God other than through an avatara. The point being: in order to

eventually gain an experiential knowledge of the “formless” God, Brahman, it helps

greatly to avail ourselves of God “with form,” the avataras, prominent among whom is

Jesus of Nazareth.

7. I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. . . . I am the vine, you are the

branches. (Jn. 15:1,5)

8. Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am. (Jn. 8:58)

Since Abraham lived some eighteen centuries prior to Jesus, this is a clear claim of pre-

existence or eternality and, therefore, of divinity (as is Jesus’ appropriation of the divine

name—see note on VII.1).

16
 VIII. THE LORD’S PROMISED PRESENCE

1. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no

longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. (Jn. 14:18-19)

2. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. (Mt. 18:20)

3. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Mt. 28:20)

IX. A CALL TO ACTION

1. I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on

them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the

foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could

not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act

is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river

burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house. (Lk. 6:47-

49; cf. Mt. 7:24-27)

Swami Prabhavananda: “The testimony of these illumined teachers [such as Christ,

Buddha and Ramakrishna] is not enough—their testimony must move us to action.” It is

a “basic principle that religion is something we ourselves have to do, and be, and live—or

else it is nothing” (SMV 126).

17
 PEACE INVOCATION

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled,

and do not let them be afraid. (Jn. 14:27)

OM. Peace, peace, peace be unto all.

18