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'Christianity is not a Western religion'

April 28, 2008
'Me' refers to my consciousness that has transcended my personal ego and has become universal. By the way, Aramaic is a dead language. The only place where they speak and use Aramaic is part of Ethiopia, part of Syria and part of Kerala.

What else troubles you about the way Christ is portrayed in the Western world?

The people in the United States have somehow been hypnotised into believing Jesus was a white male, Caucasian, blue-eyed and blond, probably born in Manhattan. These people are so nutty! They do not realise that Christianity is not a Western religion. It comes from the Middle East and it is an accident of history that St Paul (Saul as he was) went West. He brought it (Christianity) to Rome. The Romans felt threatened so they adopted it and modified it to suit their political purposes. Christ does not belong to the Christians, he is universal.

You have been going around the country publicising the book. What are some of the most interesting questions people ask you at your book readings?

In two places, people threatened to attack me with words: Anti-Christ, Devil, go home. One was outside Chicago; one was, I think, in Texas. They were escorted out by security.

How about a question that pleased you?

A good question is: If Jesus is a state of consciousness, how do we acquire this state of consciousness? Well, I take them to the second part of the book. There are two sections in the book: One is called The Gospel of Enlightenment and the other is called 15 Steps to God Consciousness.

Let me tell you how many Christians are reacting to the book favourably. There are 800 Unity Churches in this country. Each church has a congregation between 2,000-5,000. Multiply 800 by 2,000, you get several million. We are starting the 15 Steps to God Consciousness course with them through the Internet. They are all registering. We are going to do a 10 part series and will be reaching millions of people.

Image: Mike Myers with Jessica Alba, who co-stars with him in the movie The Love Guru
Photograph: Andrew H Walker/Getty Images

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