This picture of the Christ statue in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, is being used for representational purposes onlyThe hello echoing on the line from Durban, South Africa, sounds eerily distant.
It sounds as if transported from another time, another universe.
However, when the voice at the other end claims it is several billion light years old you believe you have got one more oddball on the roll.
But Katherine Jhawarelall would have us believe she is firmly rooted to earth even though she is on a mission from heaven.
The Hindu woman from Durban, South Africa means serious business when she says she is Jesus Christ, reborn in the New Millennium.
That assessment comes from the marks she carries on her palms, feet and stomach, which she says represent the stigmata of Christ after his ordeal on the cross. She claims there have been other miracles as well.
Scholars of different faith have dismissed her claims as that of a mad woman and a hoax, but the 35-year-old maintains she is the Universal Messiah never mind gender or religion that the world has been waiting for.
Excerpts from an exclusive interview:
Yes, I am Jesus Christ!
I have the winnowing forks in my palms. The belief that I am Jesus comes from innate knowledge, which comes from God, not from any religious text. As to being reincarnated as a woman it is God who chooses the form of his servant.
How does it feel being Jesus? Whats your assigned role?
I am the Messiah which means the one chosen by God. Thus, it is my duty to fulfill this chosen path.
Do you feel like a man trapped in a womans body?
Definitely not! I am 100% female and feminine. You cannot understand this process because God ordains it.
You were born with the marks on palms, feet and stomach. Did you suffer any kind of pain?
Yes. I never went through any trauma as such from them because they were part of my anatomy. But I always suffered from severe bodily pains. Especially, there was something different about my throat.
It always irritated me and the pediatrician, diagnosed my condition as having double tonsils. This troubled me until I matured at 33. Hereafter, my voice changed and became resounding. The eye-like features under my feet were always painful. I have consulted a GP in this regard. He was mystified to the cause of my pain.
At what point of time did it occur that the marks you carry on your body was the stigmata?
I am a Hindu and the word stigmata is foreign to me. During theological research, as directed by God, someone via the phone mentioned it. I innately asserted myself on my birthday. It all began on morning of my 33rd birthday on May 15, 2004. I woke up with a swollen arm and was surprised to see a message written on my skin, which said: Happy birthday Katherine. God gave you life! Thats when I became aware of my Christ connection.
Is it true that ancient Hebrew symbols suddenly surfaced in your home?
We had mysterious markings such as a cross, angels and ancient structures appearing on the walls of our house and even etched on our garden lawn.
These first appeared when we lived in another place. When the word of these happenings spread we began to receive death threats and had to relocate to our present home in Sea view. But even here the miracles have continued to happen.
The threats you speak of was this from a person or group?
For security reasons, we cannot answer presently.
Should you fear anyone if you are Christ?
Remember I am also human. I have social responsibilities. This is a new millennium and not 2000 years ago. Furthermore, my work is anew for this era, the problems are of today.
If as you say you are the Messiah, Jesus Christ reincarnated, whats your mission in this life?
I am the living Jesus. I am incarnated and re-incarnated. My primary aim is to spread the word of Universalism, which is the word of God, for the volatile world we are living in. Irrespective of colour, creed and kind, one should have both respect and tolerance for one another.
God has created the world, and man has technologically improved it. However, the current volatility of the world can result in man destroying both himself and the earth. I am here to reaffirm peoples faith in God, and hereby promote unity amongst all people, no matter who you are.
Thus, when people understand each other well, compromises and agreements will be made in the name of God. Peace and preservation of earth is the ultimate goal.
They say you use the stigmata to perform miracles and that a pulse and a beam of blue or golden light emanate from them?
I do not perform the miracles. It is God, who performs them. As a child of God I merely offer blessings and prayers to those in need over the phone. I do not ask people to come home because of security concerns for the family.
There is no money involved in the healing. I tell people to keep a glass of water alongside with them and to drink it after the prayer session.
The result is that there are many for whom severe spinal problems have healed or the effects of chemotherapy have disappeared. There are those who have regained feelings in their hands and can now use them like before
What do you plan to do in your avatar of Jesus Part II? Doesnt it worry you that Jesus could be crucified yet again?
The world is currently going through a period of miracles. It is a very strong indication from God that the people of the world should reaffirm their faith in him. No, I am not worried. This Second Coming will be completed in order to achieve salvation and peace on earth.
You have also claimed to see strange things like clouds changing colour and the moon radiating the seven colours of the rainbow. Is there symbolism in all this?
It is a time where heaven and earth embraced once more. It is a period of the Renaissance of Angels, where good will occur and triumph.
Your claims have elicited angry reactions from representatives of various religions. You are being dismissed as a hoax.
None of these religious leaders have personally met me. They are talking out of ignorance. They only know book knowledge. They not even prepared to investigate because primarily I am a female, secondly because I am a Hindu. Jesus Christ is universal irrespective of race, colour or creed
Have you read Dan Browns Da Vinci Code? What is your opinion about his theory that Jesus married Mary Magdalene? If, as you say, you are Jesus shouldnt you be in a position to confirm or deny what is claimed in the book?
No, I never read it. It is fictional. If one has total faith in God any controversies regarding his realm would be ignored. As for the India part, as you yourselves mentioned, it is a tale.
Tell us about yourself, the family and the community in which you live.
I live at Bridge Road, Sea view in Durban. The community of Sea view is one of tranquility and harmony. It is like living in Paradise. I am 35 years old and have a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Africa, majoring in sociology and criminology
There are eight family members, my mum and dad, one brother and one sister, brothers wife and two nephews. Gardening is my prime hobby and pride. My likes are hot Indian curries and rice and KFC. I do not have any dislikes, because I find everything and every moment precious. We are originally from Gujarat.
There are relatives in India but we do not know them because we have not been able to maintain any links. I have never travelled abroad, always lived within the borders of Durban.
What is your profession? How do your friends, relatives and people around you react to your claims of being Jesus?
I am a worker of God. They are delighted because now, there is Gods angel on earth to help all.
Jews, Christians and Muslims not to mention Hindus, are obviously skeptical of your claims of being the Prophet? Are you ready to be interviewed by religious scholars about your Jesus claims? What will you do to convince them of your credibility?
Yes I will meet them depending on proper identification by security because of attacks. I dont have to convince no man. The proof is in the pudding. As for the proof I never meet those who I pray and bless, yet the power of the Holy Spirit transcends onto the believers. They heal. People who were on deathbed woke up. This is the power of Gods omnipresent nature.
What is your message to the world?
God says dont linger in the past. It does not last. I say think of now. Now sets the precedence of tomorrow. We cannot relive all moments gone by. They are there for history and wisdom. If one concentrates on the future, what happens to the magical moments of now? In addition, if we do not build on our current world and sustain it, there will be no tomorrow.
One cannot make claims till he/ she is checked by the Church
Father Tony Charanghat, Editor, Examiner
(Catholic magazine)
What do you make of Katherine Jhawarelall's statements?
There are many cases where people suffer from hysteria and psychosomatic behaviour. But one is not a true stigmatist until proven and the Church undertakes several examinations before saying that the person in question is a true stigmatist.
For example, Padre Pio in Italy, was a stigmatist, and was pronounced one only after the Church checked on his marks and his credibility. One cannot make claims till he/ she is checked by the Church, and has to be a Church-approved stigmatist.
Pio showed the stigmata, but did not claim to be Christ. For the Church, there have to be tests to determine if the person is a stigmatist.
What about her claims of having healing powers?
A hypnotist can do the same for you; one can tell you that he/she is making a change, and if you believe them then you will end up feeling better and think that a miracle has happened, but that is not true. The healing that takes place is more individual. It is like going to a doctor, and because of the positive energy, and the faith that you put in, you end up feeling better. The mind hastens healing.
The Evangelists and the Charismatic who conduct healing sessions do the same; they make you believe that you are healed.
And it is the work of the subconscious - if you feel you are healed, your body takes its cue from the mind. The body heals when you have the right disposition. Prayer heightens this, it is faith healing. These are not miracles. The church checks for genuine healings.
Have you come across other claims like Jhawarelall's?
Yes, just a few weeks ago when I was in Canada, a woman said that oil stains that appeared on her wall had made a mark like that of the sacred heart, and people who came to her house brought statues of Jesus and Mary and even those statues had oil oozing out of them.
These incidents have been reported. Some people claim to speak in Latin and say they are the voice of the Lord, but these are incidences of para psychology.
Incidents of the like when the Lady of Fatima appeared or when the Lady of Lourdes was seen, were not accepted by the Bishop in their own times; it was only after a lot of research, documentation and verification that the Church accepted these sightings of the Virgin Mary.
There is a procedure that the Church conducts: it goes to Rome where there is an academy of sciences - physical and mental, and once claims are documented and questioned it takes another 15-10 years for it to get recognised.
What about her claims of re-incarnation?
Re-incarnation is against the Christian tenet. There is no cycle of re-birth in the Christian tenet.
But doesn't the Bible say that there will be a second coming of Christ?
When there is a second coming, the church will feel drawn to the real Christ. The person who comes as the Christ again will come with a sense of peace, joy and unity. There will be a closeness to God that one can see clearly, there will be no ego. There will be no claim to power.
Sharon Fernandes
Other claimants to christs crown
1) John Nichols Thom (b 1799): Cornishman who claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, he was killed by British soldiers in 1838 in Kent, England.
2) Jim Jones (b 1931) was the founder and leader of Jonestown, Guyana, a community of over 900 members of The Peoples Temple. He believed he was a reincarnation of Jesus and Lenin.
3) Michael Travesser (b 1941) and his followers believe that he is the Son of God and that he, along with his followers, fulfill the second coming of Jesus.
4) Marshall Applewhite (b 1945), he posted a famous Usenet message declaiming, I, JesusSon of Godacknowledge on this date of September 25/26, 1995: .[5].
This was two years before he and his Heaven's Gate cult committed suicide to rendezvous with a spaceship hiding behind the comet Hale-Bopp.
5) Sergei Torop (b 1961): Russian who claims to be reborn as Vissarion, the returned Jesus Christ. He denies being God.
