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The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) · 476 of 530

The Cross and the Crucifixionk

The figure is nailed to the cross, which symbolizes the death and surrender of the self-will, and that it should not attempt to accomplish anything by its own power, but merely serve as an instrument wherein the Divine will is executed. Above the head are inscribed the letters: I. N. R. J. whose most important meaning is: In Nobis Regnat Jesus (Within ourselves reigns Jesus). But this signification of this inscription can be practically known only to those who have actually died relatively to the world of desires, and risen above the temptation for personal existence; or, to express it in other words, those who have become alive in Christ, and in whom thus the kingdom of Jesus (the holy love-will issuing from the heart of God) has been established." One of the most interesting interpretations of the crucifixion allegory is that which identifies the man Jesus with the personal consciousness of the individual. It is this personal consciousness that conceives of and dwells in the sense of separateness, and before the aspiring soul can be reunited with the ever-present and all-pervading Father this personality must be sacrificed that the Universal Consciousness may be liberated.
Themes
◆Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis

Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.

The passage explicitly describes the death of self-will and surrender to divine will as a core requirement for liberation.

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◆Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

The inscription's meaning is reserved for those who have died relatively to desires.

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◆Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

The inscription 'In Nobis Regnat Jesus' explicitly states that Jesus reigns within ourselves.

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◆Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

The text describes the soul's reunion with the Father and the establishment of the kingdom of Jesus within.

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◆Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The text describes the soul's journey back to its divine origin by sacrificing personality to liberate Universal Consciousness.

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Related passages · 1 parallel
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1‚
“Aug., Transcende mundum et sape animum, transcende animum et sape Deum. 307 This shows that the Via Negativa starts from something positive. It is a transcendence, not a mere negation. 308 Prov. iv. 6, 8 . 309 ὁ ἐμὸς Ἔρως ἐσταύρωται&g…”
Both passages discuss the concept of sacrificing the personal self or earthly affections to achieve a higher spiritual state, with the crucifixion symbolizing this surrender. The passages share a conceptual parallel in the idea of transcending the individual self to unite with the divine.