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542
THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
To pass on to the final act in the tragedy of the Cross, John's account of the termination of the proceedings is probably correct. Pain was out of the question for such a strong personality as that of Jesus. Soldiers generally, and other persons less accustomed to suffer physical injuries, sometimes undergo serious operations, without showing any signs of terror and without feeling much pain. Subjects under hypnotic suggestion are free from it; and Adepts and Yogis of a higher order are above it. It mattered nothing to Jesus whether his hands and legs were pierced or not. By the power of his all-conquering will he was just as happy there, on the cross, as he would have been on Mount Olive, or anywhere else. He took his own time, and, knowing that he would not be allowed to linger on the cross, after the day had drawn to a close, waited till a sufficiently long time had elapsed, and, without making any fuss, or raising a hue and cry, or calling on Elias or any one else, threw himself into the state of Yoga Samadhi (trance), so that when he bowed his head 'it was finished' (John, XIX, 30). People who were looking on thought that he had given up the ghost ; but what they thought to be an act of giving up the ghost was, in reality, the act of drawing' or 'pulling' it ‘in.' The incredibly short time which elapsed between his crucifixion and 'the giving up of the ghost' amply confirms this view.
With his crucifixion, his career as a teacher necessarily came to an end. He could never be a preacher of the Gospel any more; his life's mission was finished; he had dilivered his message to the world.
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