The Mahasamadhi of Jesus the Christ
Christ Pantocrator and the Vesica Piscis in Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, CA
TL;DR - The liberation of Christ on the Cross is way less gruesome than you’ve been led to believe and it’s the heart of the teachings in my new workshop “The Gospel of John Unbound.” See you there!
Christians are kind of obsessed with the crucifixion, amirite?
Most Catholic churches have a bloody, skeletal Jesus on the cross right up front. Monastics of all kinds wear a little crucified Jesus around their necks or on their prayer beads. You’ll usually find him strung up on a rosary. And protestants have cross jewelry galore, some covered in gems and sparkles, some made of simple gold.
This obsession with suffering along with “Christ died for your sins” (which Christ never actually said) was a major turn off for me and I avoided Christianity for a long time.
It was just too much focus on a suffering God and being encouraged to feel guilty for that suffering.
But one day in seminary I went with a friend to the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, CA.
There was no gaunt Jesus bleeding out for my sins up front, but rather Christ the Pantocrater, a book in one hand and his other forming the ancient prana mudra for revitalizing life force energy. The ceiling of the cathedral formed the vesica piscis and in the gift shop I found the cross that has guided my theology every since.
Here she is:
A little cross holding the waters of life and blooming eternally? Now this is a theology that’ll preach.
I also learned around this time that if on the horrible off chance you are crucified, it would take you about 5-7 days to die of suffocation. Jesus died in 6 hours and anyone who heard this back in the first century would know he explicitly hadn’t suffered, despite our modern obsession.
In fact, that was the miracle. That even one of the most brutal empires on earth intent on making an example of this upstart preacher had failed. Something else was happening here.
Let me pause here for Atonement theology, or the theology of Christ suffering and dying for our sins.
There is nothing simple about a theology of the cross. And in my journeys even I have witnessed miracles arising from the powerful belief that Christ died for our sins. I’ve seen addicts and alcoholics find this life raft and land on the shores of permanent sobriety.
I’ve met folks who’ve murdered people and the only way they can keep living a life that means something to them is to bring atonement theology deep into their hearts and live from there.
I’ve also met women who were abused by the church as young girls for ‘sinning’ (i.e. kissing boys) and told Jesus was disappointed in them. And queer folks who had mountains of shame and guilt piled on their heads because how dare they be sodomites when Jesus already died for that, too.
So, it’s complex. And I bow before that. But I also insist on a theology that has life and love at its core.
So imagine my surprise when I discovered last year what Jesus was really up to on that cross.
It was during one of my rabbit holes into the life of Yogananda and his unusual death. He had been touring publicly for decades when one night in 1948 the disciples in his house witnessed an all night conversation between him and Divine Mother who he was fully embodying.
In other words, he had become God and was talking with Her through his own mouth, wondering outloud if She was going to take his spirit from his body that night. One of his students described entering the room like walking into the body of God.
It’s an astounding story worth its own deep dive, but from that point on he stopped touring, moved to a small ashram in the Mojave desert, and devoted all his energy and borrowed time to finishing his books, including the Second Coming of Christ.
Yogananda’s death is also incredible.
He died - or rather his spirit consciously exited his body in mahasamadhi - moments after he spoke the final line of his poem “My India” at a banquet for Indian ambassador Binay Ranjan Sen in 1952.
Right before the banquet he said to one of his students, "Do you realize that it is just a matter of hours and I will be gone from this earth?" (Sound familiar?!)
He stood on stage in front of hundreds of people at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel, shared his poem, spoke the final line - “Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves, and men dream God. I am hallowed; my body touched that sod!” - and freakin’ left his body, which promptly fell over on stage then refused to show any signs of decay for the next 21+ days.
The more I learn about conscious mahasamadhi deaths, the more I suspect this is exactly what Jesus did.
He retreated into the Garden of Gethsemene to have a heart to heart with God just before his actual death. He laid down some major teachings in his final hours including the unforgettable seven last words, of which my favorite is, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Then he dies. Like, so easily and peacefully that the guards don’t even know he is dead til they try to break his legs and realize he’s gone. They stick a lance in his side and out flows the blood and waters of life. I mean, come on! Is that a conscious death or what!
There’s soooooo much more to say about the mahasamadhi of Jesus the Christ.
And you can bet your tuchus we’ll be talking all about it in my new course, The Gospel of John Unbound. In fact (hint hint) it’s kind of the heart of the whole teaching.
But for now, as 1/3 of the people on earth move towards Good Friday, the crucifixion, and the pernnial mahasamadhi of Christ, just know this: the masters and communion of saints are all gathered round as he approaches the cross. The eternal light of consciousness that can never be harmed, broken, or even affected by the death-dealing forces of empire is preparing to shine through once again.
May it shine through you always, no matter your spiritual path, and may your suffering always be blissfully short.
MAHASAMADHIS AHEAD!
Eight live weekly sessions start Wednesday June 3rd. Recorded for later viewing. EARLY BIRD PRICING $185 thru April 15th. REGULAR PRICING $245
MODULE ONE: LOGOS AND LIGHT
Together let’s enter the Prologue of John's Gospel, one of the most wild pieces of spiritual writing in any tradition, and find the eternal intelligence of Logos emerging in human flesh. Not above it. Not despite it. In it.
We'll explore what the Greek word Logos actually means before centuries of doctrine got hold of it, why the word sarx — raw, mortal, tender flesh — is the most important word in the Prologue, and what it means that the light is shining within and has never been overcome.
This session ends with a clairvoyant meditation to help you find and see the light that has been living in your body all along.
Students will gain:
A completely new understanding of the Prologue of John, freed from doctrine and returned to its original mystical depth
Direct experience of Spirit as indwelling presence rather than authority from above
A clairvoyant practice for recognizing and working with your own light body
Teachings of embodiment as sacred rather than a spiritual obstacle
A daily morning practice to begin each day with holy knowing
Learn more about the course here ⤵︎
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