Gnosis - It's Concept and Origin
Like a sun of bliss, today and ever, rises the Gnosis of yesterday announcing the dawn of a new day for the confused man of our present time.
This word «GNOSIS» encompasses the image of an ardent and impassioned knowledge longed by a mysterious elite -self-selected- completely divorced from the prattling, dull, ambiguous, speculative and absolutely vain intellect.
The word «GNOSIS» defines the science of all sciences, and the art of which the fruit of a revealed inspiration, rises within the artist until fusing him with his work, conforming therefore a binomial of transcendental expression. Although Gnosis is not a philosophy, it is the link that connects the historical chain of the development of human thought, and it also gives exact and logical answers to the disquieting dilemma of TO BE OR NOT TO BE, that struggles in the field of the consciousness and thinking of every person.
GNOSIS is not a religion per se, and in spite of it, is the key of the legitimate «RELIGARE», which is the goal of all religious systems, no matter the epoch when the religious system appeared or their place of expression.
Many purported definitions have tried to monopolize, for themselves, the true meaning of what we must understand by Gnosis or Gnosticism. This brings some difficulties when we want to talk in extensu about the development of the Gnostic thought, mainly, due to the fact that many of the trustworthy documents that structured the Gnostic system in the past times, no longer exist today; and consequently this has been the origin of many «adventurous» assertions unleashed by some researchers without a suitable basis around this matter.
Dictionaries emphasize that the word GNOSIS has a Greek origin and in general stands for a kind of KNOWLEDGE. However, in a deeper meaning, the word GNOSIS refers to a «Modus Operandis» that explains the physical and metaphysical phenomena concerning the Universe and man as «protagonist».
The eclectic -impartial- researchers have always stated that GNOSTICISM is a very peculiar phenomenon connected to the activity of the CONSCIOUSNESS in man, in his attempt to decipher the mysteries that link his existence to his creator and the events derived from this unknown link.
The scientific study of the Christian Gnosticism had its pioneers: Mr. Chieslet in the 17th century; Mr. Beausobre and Mr. Mosheimin in the 18th century. However, it was in the beginning of the 19th century when this study progressed and included works by Mr. Horn, Mr. Neander, Mr. Lewald, Mr. Baur, etc. The outstanding work «Histoire crítique du gnosticisme» by Mr. Jacques Matter, Paris 1828, reedited in Strasbourg in 1843, was considered for a long time a classic work on Gnosticism.
All these authors and many others illustrated to us in their assessments that: «If Gnosticism was nothing more than a set of doctrinal aberrations due to the heretic Christians of the first three centuries, its interest would be purely archaeological. However, it is much more than that; the Gnostic attitude will appear spontaneously beyond any direct transmission. Gnosticism is a mystical ideology that tends to reappear incessantly in Europe and in other places of the world at times of great ideological and social crises ».
Mr. Paul Masson Dursel himself says about the Gnosis:« One possesses the Gnosis, the beatific knowledge, when one can distinguish the absolute, in all its depths, from what is relative ».
The French researcher Mr. Serge Hutin states: «Although many Gnostics speak an astonishing language for the contemporary men, and seem to constitute, at least at first sight, a heterogeneous set of innumerable groups, in the bottom their attitude is very modern: they appear like men worried about the fate of the world, and looking for solutions to the problems that surround them ».
Other concepts about Gnosis say things Duch as this: « Gnosis was a sacred knowledgezealously kept in secret by the Magicians. This knowledge was only taught to the Initieates as an esoteric teaching ».
The word “Gnosticism” within its grammatical structure portrays the idea of systems or currents devoted to studying Gnosis.
This Gnosticism implies a coherent, clear and precise series of fundamental elements which may be verified by means of direct mystical experience: “Damnation from a scientific and philosophical point of view”; “Adam and Eve in the Hebraic Genesis”; “the Original Sin and the expulsion from Paradise”; “the Mystery of the Nahualt-Lucifer”; “the Death of the Myself”; “the Creative Powers”; “the Salvator Salvandus’ Essence”; “the Sexual Mysteries”; “the Intimate Christ”; “the Igneous Serpent of our Magical Powers”; “the Descent into Hell”; “the Return to Eden”; “Lucifer’s Gift”...
Only the Gnostic doctrines that include the above mentioned ontological, theological and anthropological foundations are part of the authentic Gnosticism.
Thus the word GNOSIS has given origin to other derivations as the following ones:
PRE-GNOSTIC: Adjective that indicates the ways of thought which are externally similar to the authentic Gnosticism, although they do not include the principles of Gnosis in their general structure.
PROTO-GNOSTIC: It is all incipient or developing system that aspires to reconciliating with the Gnostic source.
As these grammatical and semantic clarifications are completed, we will continue to explore the historical environment of this «knowledge revealed to the few». According to an eminent researcher:
On the other hand, the «searchers of phenomena» have proceeded in a dissimilar and different valuable way, but really, they have been the main propelling force of an independent and authentic conception of Gnosticism. Thus, they have made possible the rich flowering of researches on the religious history of Gnosticism that are appearing since thirty years ago. A history of Gnosticism that fortunately is enriched today thanks to the discoveries of Nag Hammadi, Turfán and Qumran, and thanks to the every day greater attention that is paid to the traditional thought from Eastern
The Gnostic testimonies that we presently have come from different times and places. And what is a disadvantage for many authors, on the contrary, is an advantage for us, because no matter what its origin, the Gnostic testimony always expresses the same reality: A TOTAL COMPREHENSION OF THAT WHICH IS, and that allows us to understand the existence of everything. There are two elements that take part in this comprehension:
a) The GNOSIS.
b) The expression or account that this Gnosis gives of itself.
Theologically, we can affirm that a Gnostic is one who possesses the GNOSIS, the Knowledge. But it is clear that this Knowledge is beyond normal rational analyses and that the sphere of this Knowledge is the infinite and spiritual intimacy of each person.
Therefore, we can conclude the following statement, in the words by Mr. Samael Aun Weor:
«If we have the Gnosis of the Great Ancient Mysteries, it is because some very holy men managed -due to their doctrinaire loyalty- to approach the Being's revealing dynamism».
Therefore, it is obvious that wherever a human being has managed to approach the supreme reality that dwells within himself, that being will have been able to perceive the true light that emanates from that primeval source constituted by his «Divine Monad», in the language of Leibniz.
This is the reason why in other occasions it is said:
The Jana, Yana, Gnana or Gnosis is Janus’ science, that is, the science of the Initiatic knowledge, Enoichion’s or seers’ science. And the variants of his name are such that there is one in each tongue, such as Jan, Chan or Kan, Dan, Dzan, D’Jan, Jain, Jian, Ioan, Kwan-Swan, Thanos, Thoan, Chohan, all equivalent to the most sublime conception of a planetary Spirit, the Regent of Saturn, a Nazada, a Kabir in the most complete sense of the word.
Regarding the sublect of the KABIRS or MAGICIANS -men enlightened by the consciousness or revealing knowledge of the BEING- there has been a lot of speculation. For the satisfaction of our patient reader, we quote the following paragraphs:
“MAGICIAN”, word etymologically derived from MAGH or MAHA, which means GREAT. The MAHATMA -Great Soul- had priests in the PRE-VEDIC times of India. The word “MAGI” is applied to the priests who understood the esoteric science.
On the other hand, it is good to know that CHRISTIANITY -after exposure to the Gnostic thought- found in the Gnostic philosophers, the first strongpoint for its development in those times.
The Nazarenes were known as Baptists, Ebionites and Christians of Saint John. Their belief was that the Messiah was not the Son of God, but he was just a prophet who wanted to follow John».
Origenes -Book II, page 150- noticed that «there are some people who say that John was the Anointed -the Christ.
When the metaphysical conceptions of the Gnostic groups -which saw in Jesus the Logos and the Anointed one- began to be accepted, the primitive Christians separated from the Nazarenes, who accused Jesus of corrupting the doctrine of John and of changing the Baptism in the Jordan -Codex Nazaraeus II, page 109.
In his work THE SECRET DOCTRINE OF ANAHUAC, the President Founder of the Contemporary Gnosticism, Mr. SAMAEL AUN WEOR, clarifies the universality of the Gnostic thought:
Although it is true that in any Gnostic system we must take into account its Eastern Hellenistic elements, including Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, India, Palestine, Egypt, etc, we should never ignore the Gnostic principles perceptible in the sublime religious cults of the Indo-American Nahuas, Aztecs, Zapotecs, Mayas, Chibchas, Incas, Quechuas, etc, etc, etc.
Talking quite frankly and straightforwardly, we will say: Gnosis is a very natural function of the consciousness; a Philosophia Perennis et Universalis.
Taking into account what we wrote in the above paragraphs and in the preceding pages, the reader can objectively conclude the clear and definitive fact that Gnosis was already pre-Christian and that, as living foundation for the revelation, it is inherent to all primeval cults on the Earth.
The Gnosis is found wherever we discover a coherent doctrinal body which teaches:
a) The psychological self-annihilation, that is to say, the elimination of that which is not real, that is, the EGO.
b) The creation of new psychic structures, having as basis for that creation, such as the science of the ancient Medieval alchemists. This science brings a symbolic “second birth” as Jesus told Nicodemus.
c) The disinterested and constant exercise of the SACRIFICE for our brother: the man...
Thus we will be continuously attending to the revaluation and updating of the concept of GNOSIS; because the drama of the union of the human being and his divine prototype has been a permanent quest throughout historical time and place. That is the reason why GNOSIS will never be fanatical nor dogmatic, because its universal character is the cause of its eternal adaptation to all places of our suffering world and to all cycles that constitute the time.
Thanks to Gnosis, mysticism becomes scientific, and science becomes religious. In this way, the abyss created by the intellect between what we call GOD and man as protagonist of Creation can be crossed.
It is obvious that the final objective of the JINN or GNOSTIC science, is to awaken all the infinite possibilities that are latent in man. This work is known in the Gnostic jargon as the INTIMATE SELF-REALIZATION OF THE BEING.
The Gnosis, allegorized by the enlightening fire, awakens the soul from the deep sleep in which has fallen, and this is the reason for the use of different methods of spiritual training directed to enrich or generate special states of CONSCIOUSNESS and SUPRACONSCIOUNESS.