What is Gnosis?
"There is light
within a man of light, and it lights up the whole world. If he does not shine,
he is darkness." – Gospel of Thomas
“Gnosis” is a word that comes
from ancient Greek. It means, “esoteric
knowledge of spiritual truth held by the ancient Gnostics to be essential to
salvation,” according to Merriam-Webster.
It is very close to the Sanskrit term, Jñana (Gyan), the Sanskrit word
for spiritual knowledge. It is not
solely intellectual knowledge but a deeper intuitive perception, “knowledge of
the heart.” As Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault,
Ph.D. states, “Gnosis means, basically, knowledge by experience or love . . .
the same knowledge that Jesus brought, taught, and imprinted.[1]
” It is the universal essence of spirituality to be found across ancient
religions. Both the ancient Greek Gnostics and the Vedantic Jñanis (Gyan-ees) hold
that spiritual realization is the ultimate purpose of human life.
We need to distinguish Gnosis
from Gnosticism. “Gnosticism” is a
twentieth century fabrication, an attempt to define a religious movement based
on historical documents including the Nag Hammadi Codices. As anyone knows who has encountered them,
they are a diverse group of treatises, alternative Gospels, mythological polemics
and, perhaps, even information about extraterrestrial interactions with
humanity. Gnosis is the antithesis of
religion. As John Lamb Lash writes, “Gnosis
. . . is not merely an alternative
religion, it is an alternative to religion itself. It is a path of direct
knowing, a passage beyond belief.”[2] Religion, as we have come to know it, means
subscribing to a set of beliefs; about the world and the universe, who we are and
our purpose in life and the afterlife, etc.
Gnosis is spiritual seeking, practice and realization. As Deepak Chopra, MD says, “Religion is
belief in someone else’s experience. Spirituality is having your own experience.”
Gnosis necessarily opposes religion,
as religion is a social mind-control mechanism.
Religion teaches us a basic sense of morality which shouldn’t be
jettisoned. However, it often conditions
us with guilt, shame, group isolation, prejudice and misogyny. Certain religious groups preach hatred
towards those of other faiths, sexual orientation or practices. It is common these days for people to say,
“I’m spiritual, not religious.” Gnosis
belongs to the spiritual side of this distinction. On the other hand, a merely “spiritual” orientation
does not lead one in the direction of authentic spiritual undertaking and the
realization of Gnosis.
Science, of course, is regarded
as the modern alternative to religious superstition. Science, however, is based on its own set of
presuppositions known as the Newtonian-Cartesian paradigm. Isaac Newton is credited with developing the
idea of the universe as a mechanism, while Rene Descartes defined the absolute
separation between the observing subject (consciousness) and the objective,
material universe. Both assumptions have
been called into question by science itself.
Modern physics reveals a universe in which consciousness plays an active
role, matter is nonexistent, and space and time are relative. Things get worse when science presumes to examine
the other side of Descartes’ ultimate boundary.
Instead of sensory material reality as primary, Quantum theory suggests
that consciousness may be so. As
physicist Peter Russell writes, “In the current metaparadigm, consciousness is
assumed to emerge from the world of space, time, and matter. In the new
metaparadigm, everything we know manifests from consciousness.”[3] Given this new metaparadigm, we can say that
science supports gnostic spiritual principals.
Ultimately, Gnosis transcends
both religion and science. It is a state
of inner knowing and certainty. Gnosis
is our connection to universal love and wisdom beyond belief and beyond
rationalization. It is our recognition
of our transcendent being. We spend so
much of our lives in anxiety, anger and separation, but it is based in
illusion. We are all interconnected at
the Source: Consciousness.
[1]
Gnosis and Gnosticism, lecture delivered by the Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault, Ph.D.
at the Calvin Didier Memorial Lectures, sponsored by
House of Hope
Presbyterian
Church, St. Paul, Minnesota, April 24, 2010.
[2] Lash,
John Lamb. Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology, and the Future of
Belief (p. 120). Chelsea Green Publishing. Kindle Edition.
[3] Russell,
Peter. From Science to God: A Physicist's Journey into the Mystery of
Consciousness (p. 55). New World Library. Kindle Edition.
