Ganid 

On March 22 CE in Jesus' twenty-eighth year, Jesus met a wealthy traveler, Gonod, and his teenage son, Ganid, who were from India. They were on their way to RomeRome (Italy) and other Mediterranean destinations and had purposely timed their arrival in Jerusalem during the Passover festival. Their purpose in going there was to find someone who could serve as an interpreter for both of them and a tutor for the son.

The father was very eager for Jesus to travel with them, and he made this request of him. Jesus, however, explained that he had family responsibilities and that it wouldn't be fair to leave for nearly two years during which time his family might face hardship. However, the traveler from India proposed a solution. He offered to provide Jesus with wages for a year in advance, with the condition that Jesus would entrust these funds to his friends to ensure the financial well-being of his family in his absence.

After considering Gonod’s offer, Jesus accepted the position. By a fortunate turn of events, it was while working four months during an earlier stay in Damascus that Jesus had picked up the rudiments of the language spoken by Gonod and Ganid which allowed him to be qualified to serve as interpreter and tutor.

During the Mediterranean Tour, Jesus spent about half of each day teaching Ganid and acting as interpreter during Gonod's business conferences and social contacts. For the remainder of each day, Jesus devoted himself to making the close personal contacts that he enjoyed so much and that characterized his entire life. Jesus became acquainted with the higher material and intellectual civilization of the Occident and the Levant through Gonod and Ganid.

They left Jerusalem on April 26, 22 CE. From Jerusalem, they went to Caesarea by way of Joppa. At Caesarea, they took a boat for Alexandria. From Alexandria, they sailed for Lasea in Crete. From Crete, they sailed for Carthage, touching at Cyrene. At Carthage, they took a boat for Naples, stopping at Malta, Syracuse, and Messina. From Naples, they went to Capua, where they traveled by the Appian Way to Rome.

After their stay in Rome, they went overland to Tarentum, where they set sail for Athens in Greece, stopping at Nicopolis and Corinth. From Athens, they went to Ephesus by way of Troas. From Ephesus, they sailed for Cyprus, putting in at Rhodes on the way.

They spent considerable time visiting and resting on Cyprus and then sailed for Antioch in Syria. From Antioch, they journeyed south to Sidon and then went over to Damascus. They traveled by caravan to Mesopotamia, passing through Thapsacus and Larissa. They spent some time in Babylon, visited Ur, and then went to Susa. From Susa, they journeyed to Charax, and this was the end of the journey where Gonod and Ganid left for India.

Later on in life, when Ganid heard of the strange teacher in Palestine who died on the cross, though he recognized the similarity between the gospel of the Son of Man with the teachings of his Jewish tutor, it never occurred to him that these two were the same person.

During the extended tour, Jesus and Ganid encountered hundreds of individuals and enjoyed all of the sites that time would allow. On evenings in Caesarea, they strolled out on the beautiful wall which served as a promenade around the port. Ganid enjoyed Jesus' explanation of the water system of the city and the technique of using the tides to flush the streets and sewers. The youth was impressed with the temple of Augustus and the colossal statue of the Roman Emperor. They attended a performance in the enormous amphitheater and in the evening they went to a Greek play at the theater. Ganid had never witnessed anything like this before and asked Jesus many questions. The travelers also paid a formal visit to the governor's palace.

Ganid began to notice that Jesus spent his leisure time in personal ministry to others and he was curious to find out his motive for these activities. Jesus explained that no one is a stranger to one who knows God. Jesus told him, “To become acquainted with one’s brothers and sisters, to know their problems and to learn to love them, is the supreme experience of living.” They also enjoyed playing with a very intelligent shepherd dog that afternoon which brought up questions about the soul.

Their journey continued in Alexandria and they spent much time at the great library that held nearly a million manuscripts. They also visited the university museum and philosophic lectures, the royal mausoleum of Alexander, the palace, the temple of Neptune, the theater, and the gymnasium.

The travelers found much poverty and distributed alms and spread much good cheer along the way. There was a widow with five children whose husband had been accidentally killed. Jesus mentioned the loss of his father by an accident, and they helped find a position for the eldest boy so he could help in the care of the family.

In Cyrene, they rescued an injured lad named Rufus, and when Jesus handed the boy to his father, he met the man who would one day be ordered by the Roman Centurion to carry his cross during his visit to Jerusalem for Passover.

While at the library, Jesus told Ganid about the translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek. They discussed all of the religions of the world and Jesus endeavored to point out to this young mind the truth in each religion. Under Jesus' direction, Ganid made a collection of the teachings of all those religions of the world which recognized a Universal Deity. Although these translations were made at Alexandria, with his father employing more than sixty translators to assist, Ganid did not finally arrange these selections and add his conclusions until near the end of their time in Rome. He was surprised to discover that all of the world's sacred literature more or less recognized the existence of an eternal God and was in agreement concerning his character and his relationship with mortals.

Ganid's manuscript was preserved in India for hundreds of years after his death. It included the best truths from the existing world religions of that time: Cynicism, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Suduanism (Jainism), Shinto, Taoism, Confucianism, and an enlightened essay of Ganid's own faith after knowing Jesus (which he called "Our Religion"). He exclaimed to Jesus: "Teacher, let's you and I make a new religion, one good enough for India and big enough for Rome, and maybe we can trade it to the Jews for Yahweh." Jesus replied: "Ganid, religions are not made. The religions of men grow up over long periods of time, while the revelations of God flash upon earth in the lives of the men who reveal God to their fellows." Ganid was so impressed with Jesus, one evening he asked his Father if he thought Jesus might be a prophet. His father only sleepily replied, “My son, there are others —”

Gonod brought greetings from the Indian princes to Tiberius, the Roman ruler, on the third day after they arrived in Rome. The two Indians and Jesus appeared before him. The emperor was unusually cheerful on the day they visited and chatted long with them. When they had gone from his presence, the emperor, referring to Jesus, remarked to the aide standing on his right, "If I had that fellow's kingly bearing and gracious manner, I would be a real emperor."

Gonod had much business to transact, and since he desired that his son would grow up to be a worthy successor in the management of his vast commercial interests, he thought it was time the lad was introduced to the business world. Many of Gonod's employees accompanied him as interpreters, so Jesus was allowed whole days to himself, which gave him time to lay the foundations of truth that would allow his apostles’ acceptance in later years when they made their way to Rome.

One evening, as Ganid recited many of the experiences of helping others, his father said to Jesus good-naturedly: "I propose to make a scholar or a businessman of my son, and now you start out to make a philosopher or philanthropist of him." Jesus smilingly replied: "Perhaps we will make him all four; then he can enjoy a fourfold satisfaction in life as his ear for the recognition of human melody will be able to recognize four tones instead of one."

While at Caesarea, Ganid asked Jesus to tell him the difference between the will of God and the human mind's act of choosing which is also called will. Jesus responded that the will of God is the way of God, partnership with God, becoming more and more like God, and God is the source and destiny of all that is good, beautiful, and true. The will of man is the way ofman, the sum and substance of that which the mortal chooses to be and do. Will is the deliberate choice of a self-conscious being which leads to decision-conduct based on intelligent reflection.

While at the great lighthouse of Pharos, Jesus told Ganid: "And you, my son, will be like this lighthouse when you return to India, even after your father is laid to rest; you will become like the light of life to those who sit about you in darkness, showing all who so desire the way to reach the harbor of salvation in safety." To that, Ganid promised, "I will."

During their trip, Ganid noticed the way Jesus treated women, and it made a lasting impression on him and his father. In Rome, Jesus provided help for two courtesans who approached them during an evening stroll. He inquired of friends to help the women begin a new life of honest work, which they did.

In Cyprus, as they were enjoying a period of rest in the mountains, Ganid became extremely ill, and it was Jesus who tended to the boy throughout the time of his recovery. Gonod was amazed at Jesus' skill and tenderness in caring for Ganid. During this time, Jesus told them many stories and kept their spirits uplifted.

By the time they reached Charax, the destination where they were to part company, Jesus had so impressed Ganid that he believed that there was nothing his teacher could not do. Finally, the day had come when they bravely said their goodbyes, and although there were tears in their eyes, they were courageous of heart. Ganid expressed his love for Jesus and told him he imagined that the Father in heaven must be something like him. He promised to remember Jesus' teachings and never to forget him. The Master left his friends from India at Charax, never to see them again in this world.