Adyashanti -- born Steven Gray in 1962 -- has always been a spiritual seeker. Though he didn't grow up in a particularly religious family, the California native found himself interested in the story of Jesus, even as a child. In his late 20s, after devoting six years to the study of Zen Buddhism with hours-long meditations and prayers for enlightenment, Adyashanti began exploring stories of Christian mystics.
Adyashanti read literally hundreds of books about Christian mystics before finally sitting down to read through the entire Gospels.
Diving deep beyond what he's heard the church and culture's view of this religious icon, the "Resurrecting Jesus" author says that he was taken aback when he read about Jesus, the man.
"What took me aback was the revolutionary Jesus, how challenging he was," Adyashanti says, opening up about his findings on an episode of Oprah's "Super Soul Sunday."
Jesus' willingness to confront injustice is what Adyashanti believes made him such a revolutionary figure.
"He didn't sit there in a cave like an Eastern sage. He was out in the world and amongst the people -- and often amongst the poorest of people," Adyashanti tells Oprah. "He really wasn't afraid to point his finger at things that he saw were wrong and say, 'That's not right. That kind of abuse of power, abuse of situation, abuse of position, that's a defilement of… my father. Of God.'"
Adyashanti's full interview airs on "Super Soul Sunday" this Easter Sunday, April 20, at 11 a.m. ET on OWN, when it also live streams on Oprah.com and Facebook.com/supersoulsunday.
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