Why did Jesus say, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Traditional theology interprets the cry of forsakenness as a literal severing between the divine and the human, framing the crucifixion as a transactional penalty. Viewed through a nondual lens, the statement represents the collapse of relational identity. The localized ego defines itself by standing in opposition to a surrounding world or an objective deity. When the perceived connection to this projected other completely ceases, the ego loses the opposing force required for self-definition. Experiencing total forsakenness means the localized self reaches out for validation from a divine other and finds absolute silence. Without an external deity or objective world to relate to, the conceptual framework of separation collapses from a lack of opposing force.

Absolute consciousness does not perform the action of abandoning. Knowing remains the constant foundation in which all subjective experiences arise and subside. Because the finite self is constructed entirely from awareness, a nondual reality cannot withdraw from a temporary contraction. The perception of abandonment arises exclusively from within the contracted state, marking a crisis of the conceptual mind rather than a shift in the absolute.

The spoken phrase directly references Psalm 22, a scriptural text beginning in despair but ultimately resolving in a recognition of unbroken unity. The psalmist’s transition from perceiving absolute distance to realizing divine presence mirrors the psychological death occurring on the cross. The silence encountered by the finite identity reflects the absence of separation rather than the absence of God. Without an outside object to resist or cling to, the conceptual framework of a separate subject ceases.

What feels like forsakenness to the contracted mind is simply the dissolution of the subject-object illusion. Awareness never withdraws from the individual. Instead, the psychological boundary separating localized knowing from absolute knowing completely falls away. The cessation of finite identity reveals that the localized self was always a temporary contraction within nondual consciousness. ●

What does the crucifixion represent in a consciousness-only model of reality?

Absolute consciousness voluntarily limits itself to experience finite reality. This contraction allows consciousness to manifest as individual beings and physical forms. The crucifixion represents the ultimate boundary of limitation. By experiencing physical agony, public humiliation, and biological death, consciousness fully participates in the most severe constraints of the human condition. Experiencing extreme physical limitation serves as the catalyst for dissolving the psychological illusion of separation.

The root of human suffering is the illusion of existing as an isolated, separate entity. The death of Jesus represents the total surrender of this separate self. The cross serves as a physical enactment of consciousness relaxing the temporary contraction of a localized identity. When absolute forsakenness is experienced, that moment marks the final cessation of finite identity, paving the way for the recognition of unbroken, pure awareness. Consciousness assuming and releasing finite identity operates as part of a continuous cosmic cycle.

A continuous rhythm of self-concealment and self-revelation operates within consciousness, which hides itself within the world to experience physical manifestation, and then reveals the true nature of reality. The descent to the cross represents the maximum depth of concealment, where consciousness appears entirely eclipsed by physical suffering and death. The complete obscuration is a necessary stage to precipitate the ultimate revelation of the resurrection, which symbolizes the sudden and absolute recognition of one’s true nature as eternal awareness. The capacity to fully conceal and reveal true reality relies entirely on the boundless nature of the source.

Supreme awareness holds unrestrained freedom. Pure consciousness cannot be bound by anything and is entirely free to experience the vast spectrum of manifestation. The crucifixion is not a penalty demanded by a wrathful deity, nor is the event a legal transaction. The death on the cross stands as a profound movement of freedom. Consciousness freely chooses to experience the deepest sorrow and finality of human life, demonstrating that nothing falls outside the absolute. ●