Christ: the mystery in history

The book systematizes Panikkar's thought, offering a criticism, both positive and negative. Panikkar observes that Christ must not be limited to the Christian mythical context, a saviour in history. The Hindus speak of a transhistorical mediator having ten thousand echoes. Christ is not only Jesus, the symbol of the Unknown Christ of Hinduism. Panikkar's 'cosmotheandric mystery' can be helpful for an eco-Christology. The book, however, critically points out that sharing history is not shedding mystery. Christ is the mystery in history. Hinduism stresses the mystery of mediator Isvara . Christianity shares also the historicity of Christ. Moreover, the sense of history and the expectation of a saviour in history are not totally alien (if not central) to the Hindu religion. Jesus Christ can be the realization of the asvattha , an Upanishadic tree of life whose roots are in heaven, the divine essence, and the branches in the world.