‘His name was Yeśhu not Jesus, because in the Bible it becomes confused when we read that Anna was not Anna it was Hannah. John was Yohan, every name has been corrupted in the English Bible. In the same way they have corrupted The Lord Jesus Christ’s name, Yeśhu into Jesus, actually some people called him Jeśhu.’
H.S.H. Shri Mataji, 10-03-83, Melbourne
In Sahaja Yoga mantras we can take the names ‘Shri Jesus Mary1’ or use the Indian names ‘Shri Yeśhu Mariya’. But what was Jesus actually called by those around Him, by His Mother, His friends and disciples?
The answer is that no one is quite sure. Pronunciation of Aramaic, the language Jesus would have spoken, varied with local dialects. His name was YSWA (Yodh Shīn Waw Ain) generally pronounced Eisho (which is the same root as Joshua) translated as ‘God (Yahweh) is the saviour.’ As He was from northern Israel (Galilee) it might have been Eiso rather than Eisho. Yodh is pronounced Ei or Ye in different areas at different times. These are the same letters used in Hebrew.
In Greek (the original language of the Gospels) this became Iesous (the –s ending being the nominative case ending) and in Latin as IESVS2
1 In the early 1980’s we used to say ‘Shri Mary Jesus’ until a message was circulated that Shri Mataji had suggested we say ‘Shri Jesus Mary’ and also ‘Shri Brahmadeva Saraswatī’ rather than ‘Shri Saraswatī Brahmadeva’ as we had before. ‘Shri Shiva Parvati’ always had the male Deity first, but normally the female principle precedes.
2 The Latin alphabet had only 23 letters without J,W or U (V was U).
(again –S is the nominative ending and the vocative, dative and genitive is IESV (Yesu)). In the Middle Ages the letter I separated into the vowel I and the consonant J (which, as the consonant form of I, was pronounced more like Y); and V (the Latin U) separated into the vowel U and the consonant V (and later W –‘double-U’ when V became a fricative).
So His name became Jesus in Latin (pronounced ‘Yesus’ – how the Pope says it), the language of the Bible used by the Roman Catholic Church. Hence this is the standard European spelling, although variously pronounced ‘Hayzoos’ or ‘Yeshas’ in Spanish, ‘Jezus’ in Portugese, ‘Jezoo’ in French, ‘Iezoos’ in Dutch, Swedish or German, ‘Ieyzoos’ in Italian, etc.
You’ll notice that they are all closer to the original name than the English ‘Jeezus’. So why is the English so far removed from the original?
The answer lies in the ‘Great Vowel Shift’ of the English language which occurred between 1400 and 1650, where all the long vowels moved up and forward in the mouth. Before this Jesus would have been pronounced with the e as in ‘bed’ but longer, and J more like Y as in other north European languages. Āmen (Aah-men) also changed into the American Amen (Ay-men).
In India He is known as Yeśhu, Yīśhu (Hindi), Eeśho (more in the south; Eeśho nādha are Christian songs). Muslims call Him Īsā, Īssa or Eisa. His native name is given in Wikipedia as Yēšūă. In Shri Mataji’s quote below he is known as Eeśha-nāth (Īśha –‘Lord, controller’, Nāth –‘master’).
Christ
The title Christ comes from the Greek Christos which is a translation of the Hebrew ‘mashiakh’ (usually written ‘messiah’) meaning ‘the anointed’. This becomes Christus in the Latin Bible and Christ in most European languages. Jesus probably never heard the Greek title ‘Christos’ (although people were proclaiming Him the Messiah) but it is possible as Greek was the cultural language of the Roman empire, of which Judea (modern-day Israel) was a part.
Mother Mary
Mary is the English name from the Greek and Latin Maria in the Bible. In Aramaic, Mary’s name was Maryam (MYRM with a bit of inversion), which is the same root as Miriam. MYRM in the local language (Caananite) means ‘the exalted one’. The English Mary probably came from the French Marie used in early English translations of the Bible, which would originally have had the final e pronounced, before the French got into the habit of not pronouncing the last letter of any word.
English versions of the name include Marian, Marion and Mariah.
In India She is called Mariya or Mariyam.
As with the name Jesus, the English ‘Mary’ is the furthest removed and the Indian ‘Mariyam’ the closest to the original.
More Quotes by H.S.H. Shri Mataji
‘Jesus, Jesu or Yeśhu, this is the name of *Yeśhodā, was given by Rādhā to Her son. We say Jesu or Yeśhu.’ 22-02-77, New Delhi
‘The Guru and Eeśha Nāth established an Ashram at foothills of the Himālayas where Eeśha Nāth offered three years rigorous penance. He died at the age forty-nine years. His grave is still shown in the Kashmir as the grave of Issa Saheb. His name Eeśha got changed into the name Yeśhu.’ Handwritten Note, Jesus was Eeshanath
‘Yeshodā (the spelling is Yaśhodā –‘bestowing glory’, but it sounds like Yeśhodā) is called also as Jeśhoda in the northern parts where Kṛiṣhṇa lived. She was called actually like Jeśhoda and the small form of Jeśhoda is Jeśhu. And that’s why He was called as Jeśhu or Yeśhu. In Indian languages He is called as Yeśhu, as Jeśhu. And even in Hebrew He is called as Yeśhu, not as Jeśhu. You see this Y and J like Yugoslavians and all these people use, is a confusion between Y, ya and ja.’
‘The short form of Jeśhoda is Yeśhu or Jeśhu we have both the things. From there the name Jesus has come. She wanted to name Her after the foster mother because she was a lady so She was called as Jeśhoda, but for a man She selected the name Yeśhu and Jeśhu. Moreover the word Jeśhu or Yeśhu is very important. `J’ in Sanskrit language means, every word has a meaning in Sanskrit language, means to know, is to know, the knowledge, Gñyāna –‘the one who knows’. But Jeśhu, `śhu’ means auspicious. `śhu’ means `that brings auspiciousness, that brings blessings’. Jeśhu is the one who knows how to bring auspiciousness on this Earth. People never told this, they never knew who went from here with the message that Christ was born.’ 06-10-
‘The mother of Śhrī Kṛiṣhṇa, Śhrī Yaśhodā Mātā; was addressed as `Yeśhu’. Even today, we notice that in northern Indian somebody named `Yeśhu’ is not addressed as such but as `Jeśhu’. It is therefore clear that from `Yaśhodā‘ came the word `Yeśhu’ and then further became the word `Jesu’ and finally the name `Jesus Christ’.
‘She has arisen out of the sea, so She is Miriam, you can call Her. She is Marie. That’s why Christ’s Mother’s name was Mary because She came out of the sea. I don’t know if people think about it, why She was called Mary? Why this name Mary? Now, this power which came out of the sea, because the whole thing, the seeking started in the sea first of all, as you know. It had to be in the sea because first the animals were born in the sea only. When She comes out of the sea, becomes a Rājalakṣhmī –‘queen’ and a Gṛuhalakṣhmī –‘housewife’.’
‘Now She (Mahālakshmī) was born in the sea. She was called as Nīrajā –‘born from water’ (nīra –‘water’, ja –‘born’). So this Nīra part means what? That She was born in the sea, that the name of Mary is also the same. Miriam or Mary, I don’t know how you say in English, but Maria comes from Marie, the word Mari (Latin mare – ‘sea’, as in ‘maritime’). Mari itself comes from the word Mīra –‘sea, ocean’ (Sanskrit) (mer –‘sea’ in French).
So this Mahālakṣhmī, Mary is named, because She was born in the sea and that’s how Her name was Mary. Mariana they call Her, some people call Her Mariana, sometimes call Her Miriam. All these words are indicating that She was born in the sea.’09-11-80, UK
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