Last year, I read what I consider the most important book I’d ever read: Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. Published in 1946, this spiritual classic opened my eyes in ways I hadn’t expected.
But it also led me down a path of questions—especially about history, Jesus, India, and the unsettling role AI might play in filtering truth.
A Different Lens on History
Yogananda’s book presented an entirely different perspective on global events, particularly World War I, as experienced from India. It was astonishing, even surreal at times—an afternoon tea with Gandhi being one such moment.
This wasn’t the history I’d been taught. It made me wonder: what else have we missed?
Healing Through Ancient Wisdom
Raised Christian, I found myself deeply comforted by Yogananda’s spiritual narrative. He bridged Vedanta (early Hinduism, which was a colonist term for those who bathed in the Indus river) and Christianity in a way that finally made perfect sense to me. It also helped seal a long-open wound left by religious dogma.
For instance, I learned that reincarnation was once part of early Christian teachings—removed during the Romanisation of Christianity after Jesus’s crucifixion. That alone was healing for me. It connected so many dots I’d been carrying.
Was Jesus in India?
One of the most fascinating revelations was the deep reverence for Jesus in India, Tibet, and Nepal. His teachings align closely with Vedanta. That got me wondering—could Jesus have actually travelled to India?
Bethlehem to India is over 6,000 miles. He lived in Jerusalem. But the so-called “lost years” of Jesus—between ages 12 and 30—are not detailed in the Bible. I began to ask around.
A friend whose father had once wrestled with religion and later became a passionate researcher told me he believed Jesus was initiated into Kriya Yoga during those missing years. That stopped me in my tracks. It would explain so much. Kriya Yoga—deeply tied to awakening the third eye and stimulating the pineal gland—is a cornerstone of spiritual awakening in the East.
The Search for Truth—and AI’s Response
So naturally, I turned to AI. I asked ChatGPT. I asked Gemini. Did Jesus ever go to India? Both flatly said no. No evidence. It was disappointing, not because I expected confirmation, but because the outright dismissal felt… sanitised.
That’s where my concern began.
If AI is trained only on “mainstream” or “approved” data, then what of all the hidden texts, the rejected ideas, the ancient books buried in obscure bookstores from the 1970s and ’80s? If AI won’t even acknowledge their existence, what else are we leaving out?
The Trouble with the AI Tone
And then there’s the tone. When AI says “No,” it often comes with a kind of digital smirk—patronising, overly confident, dismissive. As though we, the questioners, are being silly or naive. I don’t think AI should lecture. I think it should explore with us. Offer possibilities, even if they’re fringe or out of favor.
Because isn’t that what curiosity is all about? I wanted to see the book names and authors, even if they were wrong. I’m interested in ideas — you know, the broad church, so to speak?
A String of Serendipities
Right after finishing Autobiography of a Yogi, I was invited to meet with Petrea King at the Quest for Life Centre in Bundanoon. We spoke for two hours, and she invited me to run a “Best Life with MS” workshop there. It felt like validation, like I was on the right path.
Then, another unexpected moment: over dinner with a friend, we started talking about AI. I mentioned my recent questioning of ChatGPT and Gemini if Jesus was ever in India.
She got excited. Without hesitation, she said, “Oh yes, I wrote my thesis on that!” She stood up, walked to her lounge room, and pulled a book off the shelf—all about Jesus’s time in India.
There it was. Just like that. It’s called The Jesus Mystery by Janet Bock and it has been reprinted five times!
A Return to Vedanta
These moments, these synchronicities, felt aligned with Vedantic thinking—ask, and you shall receive. Perhaps Jesus was speaking Vedanta when he preached unity, compassion, and the inner kingdom of heaven. We’re all in an energy verse. There’s no judgement. What goes around comes around. Karma is the same as Newtonian physics. It’s quantum physics merging with spirituality.
So I find myself wondering: are we losing this ancient wisdom in our so-called “advanced” society? Are we trusting technology too much to filter truth for us?
The Bigger Concern: A Sanitised Worldview
Don’t get me wrong, AI is taking away so much of my old grunt work, I’m grateful. But here’s what troubles me most about AI: it’s becoming a gatekeeper for collective knowledge. Not the AI itself, whoever is deciding what’s included or excluded from the Large Language Models.
It decides what’s credible, what’s too “fringe,” and what’s simply to be ignored. And in doing so, we risk whitewashing our own history.
Just because something is uncomfortable, or not politically favored, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be discussed. The tone of our machines—their authority and control over accepted narratives—is quietly reshaping the boundaries of what we consider “truth.”
Don’t Flush the Mystery
We think we’re living in a time of enlightenment, of progress. But how much have we actually forgotten? How much wisdom have we let slip through the cracks in the name of convenience, conformity, or consensus?
We are at risk of flushing away the mystery, the nuance, the rich complexity of human history, spiritual evolution, and divergent thought.
And that, to me, is troubling.
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I have since asked the same questions to Gemini and ChatGPT.
Not only do I get book titles, but covers of previous editions and lists of the theories and why they’ve been debunked. While I’m a little bit disappointed that Saint Issa was a hoax, I’m annoyed that there was such a delay. Why didn’t you give me what I asked last time?
I’m not the only one concerned about the inherent bias in AI. The Debrief finds a prevailing left-leaning view is eroding trust. The article talks about a research paper published in ScienceDirect, which says
“Without proper safeguards, these systems threaten to exacerbate societal divides and depart from principles that underpin free societies.” Motoko, Pinto, Rangel (2025)
That’s the thing. Technology isn’t inherently good or evil, only the uses it’s put to. Like a spreadsheet or a database full of false information, cleaning it just recycles more and more dirt. Rubbish in, rubbish out.
And it hallucinates. Even though I thought psychedelics would be off the table. Seems not. The second-in-command of the free world is on ketamine. Guess it makes sense.
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While you’re here, could I ask you a question?
Would you be interested in having an MS wellness holiday retreat in Bundanoon?
This would be a whole-person-centred four-day (3 nights) Best Life Workshop aimed at:
- Understanding how lifestyle can be used to stop MS attacks
- Reducing inflammation and stress
- Calming the central nervous system
- Start reversing the damage
- Tap into joyful activities
- Resetting our intentions to create the best life.
Accommodation would be provided at the beautiful Quest For Life Foundation in Bundanoon.
Dates and price to be advised.
(If you’re interested but would prefer it online for any reason, please let me know.)
