In
1945, near the banks of the River Nile, a jar was unearthed which
contained one of the richest manuscript finds of modern history
- the Nag Hammadi codices.
Like
the Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered two years later, this library
of ancient documents (dated AD 350) contained texts relating to
early Christianity that the world had never seen. The Dead Sea
texts belonged to an earlier, Jewish branch of Christianity, and
the works from Nag Hammadi to a later philosophical movement,
called Gnosticism.
Since
their discovery scholars have long pondered their contents, questioning
their relation to original Christianity. In Share International,
May 1994, Benjamin Creme refers to these two sets of documents,
saying that their discovery "... was inspired by the Master Jesus
to shed a clearer light on the events of that time in preparation
for the Christ's return today."
We
suggest that the "clearer light" of the Christian Gnostics was
their understanding of esoteric wisdom or "gnosis" - those sacred
truths of the spiritual universe which sustain all human progress.
These writers of the Nag Hammadi documents belong to a long and
ancient line of similar teachers who, throughout the world and
over the ages, have kept these truths alive. In many ways they
can be considered the true early Christians, the real inheritors
of a wisdom tradition which Jesus relayed, in secret, to a select
group of his disciples. Between 50 and 250 AD their ideas flourished
and were largely tolerated, but reactionary voices began to prevail
and by the end of the 4th century they were practically silenced,
their writings, until now, lost to history.
In
these pages we will look into their times to see the forces that
shaped their thought. We will see in their writings totally new
Gospels, teaching dialogues between Jesus and his followers, collections
of sayings, and cosmological myths of vast design. These deeply
mystical works express in their own language and style the same
ideas as are found in the works of Helena Blavatsky and Alice
Bailey, our own modern carriers of the esoteric flame.
The
scriptural writings of the Gnostic Christians are often described
as uncommon and bizarre. Their vocabulary is unusual; their concepts
defy the ideas of sin, the afterlife, and humanity's relationship
with God which underlie most Western traditions. Some call them
world-haters, immersed in an existential negation of life. Others
see them as too sublimely ecstatic, soaring to foolhardy heights
of spiritual bliss. In their own era, they made a huge impact,
drawing thousands to hear of Christianity, the new religion inspired
by the prophet Jesus Christ. They taught that the path to liberation
lay in the attainment of Gnosis, the knowledge of sacred truths
of the spiritual universe.
They
said that each human being is the inheritor of a divine spark,
a bit of fire given by the hand of God. Most men do not realize
this fire within and live in ignorance of their true nature, but
Jesus' life had as its mission the purpose of reminding humanity
of its true nature. He demonstrated, through his life and death,
the way to freedom and taught the secrets of the ascent. The Gnostics
wrote of an ongoing relationship with Jesus, even years after
his death, through revelation and vision.
They
knew the sciences of astronomy, divination, and healing, and the
great mysteries of human origin and immortality. They were brave
enough and bold enough to lay claim to this birthright, like Prometheus,
who stole the sacred fire from the very gods themselves. But like
Prometheus they were destined to suffer mightily for their daring,
for bit by bit their schools were condemned, their voices hushed
to a bare whisper. Their sacred and treasured writings, the mystical
words of the beloved Teacher, were destroyed with hardly a trace
by a Christian orthodoxy that was wedded too irrevocably to the
political power of the Roman State.
Christian
beginnings
As
a whole, we have little data to tell us of Christianity's early
growth, but we do know that the 400 years surrounding Jesus' birth
could be called a renaissance of spiritual seeking. It was an
era, like our own, which displayed the best and the worst of human
endeavor. By 30 BC the Roman empire had consolidated most of the
lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Its great highways and
shipping routes enabled populations freely to intermingle, exchanging
cultural and religious ideas. Its system of law unified the vastly
divergent populations that it ruled. The first 200 years of the
Christian era were generally peaceful ones, allowing a high achievement
in spiritual and philosophical ideals. Though Rome was unbending
in its demand of obeisance to the state, it tolerated a remarkably
free expression of religious thought. Within its borders could
be found groups adhering to ideas of Eastern Buddhism, Persian
Zoroastrianism, the Egyptian Hermetic tradition, Jewish monotheism,
the sun worship of Mithras, and Greek Platonic thought.
Gnosticism was one of these religions. It had its own sacred scriptures
and ideas but it also freely borrowed from other traditions, developing
a richly endowed theology. Alexandria was the main center of learning
in the empire, its library the most famous of antiquity.
In
this great city at the mouth of the Nile congregated groups of
varied culture and creed. Yet despite the outward signs of political
peace and unity there was raging within the Roman soul a moral
war. The accumulation of vast riches in the upper strata of society,
excessive and cruel taxation of the peasants, widespread slavery,
and disrespect for human life had risen to such a height that
the inner decay they spread was destroying the heart of the nation.
For this reason numerous groups were seeking to counter the prevailing
decadence with a return to a higher morality. Throughout the empire,
in the deserts or forests of the land, small societies of spiritual
seekers began to gather. Often they led ascetic lives, determined
to address the dissolution they saw in mainstream culture. In
cities like Alexandria were born schools of philosophy, and great
moral teachers sought to instil their students with higher ideals.
The
Christian groups in time became one of the loudest voices against
the evils of the empire. They taught simplicity and communal sharing.
Decrying the lot of the poor and oppressed, they denounced slavery
and the brutality of the Roman gladiatorial games which slaughtered
the underprivileged by the thousand. Many of the disaffected joined
their ranks. Rome had always speedily silenced such popular protest,
either by death or by bribery. But the Christians were a different
lot. Unafraid of the former and untempted by the latter, their
numbers continued to grow, despite rigorous and widespread persecution.
And by AD 300 it was apparent that a moral tide had turned. The
new faith was focusing the ideas of a new evolutionary cycle,
one which began to speak for the rights and equality of all humanity.
It was one voice that Rome could not bend to her ways. Conversions
began to be made among the upper classes and politicians. In the
end, because it had always been able to perceive the source of
power in a society and use it to advantage, Rome capitulated.
Under the Emperor Constantine, in AD 325, Christianity was accepted
as the official state religion.
A
union was born which permanently altered both Rome and the church.
On its side, Rome began certain reforms to lift the lower classes
from their bondage. But on the Christian side, perhaps the brush
with Roman power was too heady a temptation, for the church leadership
began to show the same hunger for wealth and power which had so
marred the Roman rule. This new class of orthodox church leader
began to accumulate riches and rule the congregations with an
iron will. Within this stream of competing factions and ideas
the flame of Gnosticism burned brilliantly for a brief time. In
the first two centuries of the Christian era it enjoyed its triumph,
spreading rapidly through the eastern Mediterranean. It mainly
influenced the intellectuals and philosophers, drawing to its
ranks a more highly educated adherent than did the mainstream
sects which were often composed of the peasants and slaves. When
the latter more mainstream groups began to be organized around
orthodox leaders demanding strict adherence to the newly forming
church rules, the Gnostics fell into disrepute.
Because
they had always voiced the absolute necessity of individual freedom
in finding salvation and because they refused to bow to any authority
other than their own, they began to be viewed as renegades, a
danger to the growing power base of Constantine's church. Consequently,
they were disdained and persecuted, not so much by forces outside
the Christian community, but by the very community to which they
had once belonged. Later sections will further discuss this interplay
between the Roman state, the Christian leadership and the Gnostics.
The
Gnostic teachers
Although
we have copious information about many other personages and events
of the Roman era, few facts are left of the lives of the Gnostic
teachers, for their personal remains were erased as thoroughly
as their written ones. It is only our modern manuscript finds
that have begun to reconstruct a more accurate picture of their
life and thought. There follows a description of some of the most
prominent thinkers. Blavatsky thinks that the Apostle Paul was
the first really to understand that Christ's life was a symbolic
path of initiation.
His
statement: "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col.1:27) well
expresses his belief that Christ came into the world, not as its
sole means of redemption but as an example, to illustrate a way
of redemption, which each person can follow who wishes to help
in the uplifting of the world. Everyone, Paul makes clear, can
eventually imitate Christ's glory. His influence was the true
beginning of the Christian Gnostic movement.
Simon
Magus (Acts 8:9-24) was a contemporary of Paul known for his magical
feats. Because of this, stories about his life are fantastic and
bizarre, but many historians say that all the later sects derive
from him. Blavatsky says that he and many other Gnostics were
powerful workers of occult miracles (The Secret Doctrine III,
pp117-121).
Menander,
Simon's disciple, was also known for his practice of transcendental
magic. He took the teachings to Antioch, a city in Asia Minor
which developed a strong Christian community.
Satornilos
of Syria was an ascetic who also taught at Antioch in the early
2nd century.
Cerinthus
(mid-1st century) from Asia Minor, taught ideas about the Unknown
God and the overshadowing of Jesus by the Christ.
Carpocrates (c. AD 117-138) headed a Gnostic school in Alexandria,
and Marcellina, a female disciple, spread his teaching to Rome
about AD 160.
These
were the early teachers, of whom little is known. More can be
said about the three giants of Gnosticism - Basilides, Marcion
and Valentinus.
"Secret
Words"
Blavatsky
says of Basilides that "the founders of other Gnostic sects group
round him, like a cluster of stars borrowing light from their
sun" (Isis Unveiled II, p123). Clement of Alexandria, third Bishop
of Rome (c. AD 150-215), describes him as "a philosopher devoted
to the contemplation of divine things" (IU II, p155). Basilides
claimed to have received "secret words" of Jesus from the apostle
Matthias, and also to have been taught by Glaucias, Peter's interpreter.
He
was learned in Hellenic, Egyptian and Hebrew wisdom. Around AD
130, he gathered a group of students in Alexandria. Also a prolific
writer, he is said to have written a Gospel plus 24 volumes of
Interpretations Upon the Gospels, as well as poetry and song.
All that survive are a few fragments; one is a prayer to the Unknown
God. His school is said to have celebrated the baptism of Jesus,
thus indicating that it understood the nature of the overshadowing
of Jesus by the Christ. After he died, his disciple Isodore carried
on his work.
New
Wine
Marcion
was a rich ship owner who lived on the south shore of the Black
Sea. He held office as a bishop, as did his father, and lived
in Rome around AD 155. He based his teachings on those of Paul,
and rejected most of the other Gospels that were circulating at
the time. He is perhaps best known for his complete rejection
of the Old Testament. This disavowal came from his objection to
the Jewish God. He claimed that the Jewish Jehovah was indeed
a just God, but that the God of Jesus was not only just but was
also a good God.
To
illustrate the point he meticulously collected the sayings and
doings ascribed to Jehovah in the Old Testament and arranged them
side by side with the sayings of the God of Jesus. The striking
contrast served to support his contention. In this way he voiced
and illustrated part of the revolution of ideas within those sects
with Jewish ties. The vengeful God of wrath and restitution no
longer suited the new ideas of Christian thought. The new wine
needed a new wineskin.
Genius
Valentinus
(c. AD 100-175) was a philosopher, religious leader and teacher.
He wrote sermons, hymns, myths, letters, poetry and psalms. The
most widely discussed of all Gnostic philosophers, he was known
for his eloquence and the genius of his theological ideas, derived
from a blend of Platonic, Hermetic, Jewish, and Christian elements.
He was born on the Egyptian delta at Phrenobis and educated in
Alexandria, where he taught early in the 2nd century. It is said
that he was instructed by Theudas, a disciple of Paul. We know
that at some point he traveled to Rome, perhaps expecting to be
elected bishop because of his great renown. His failure in this
regard may show that orthodox voices were already prevailing.
Nevertheless, he gained a wide following throughout the eastern
Mediterranean, and trained many distinguished intellects to his
philosophy - Ptolemaeus, Heracleon, Theodotus and Marcus.
Known
as a great mediator, Valentinus acted as a conciliatory force
between the Roman Church and the more radical branches of Gnosticism.
"The Gospel of Truth" from the Nag Hammadi find is sometimes attributed
to him. Public branches of Valentinianism survived until the 4th
century and some probably practised in secret a few centuries
more. His successor, Marcus, conducted ceremonies that were connected
to the ancient mystery cults, and claimed that by revelation he
was shown how to transpose the whole Valentinian system into numerals
and letters.
The Heresiologists
Since
Catholic orthodoxy had so thoroughly destroyed any trace of original
Gnostic thought, practically our only knowledge of it has been
through the eyes of its most bitter opponents, patristic fathers
who brutally condemned all groups which did not conform to orthodox
thought. With the Nag Hammadi discovery of a large cache of Gnostic
works, scholars were most anxious to see how valid was the orthodox
view in presenting the Gnostic ideas. These early church fathers
are known to history as the heresiologists.
Those
described below were the most influential.
Irenaeus,
Bishop of Lyons (c. AD 130-200), wrote a lengthy treatise of five
books called Exposure and Refutation of the falsely so called
Gnosis, later abbreviated to simply Against Heresies. In this
work he attempts systematically to classify the sects and their
founders, but it turns instead into a long and tiresome attack.
He states that his main principle is "not only to expose but also
from every side to wound the beast." Irenaeus above all became
an important information source for the other heresiologists.
To
the theologian Hippolytus of Rome (c. AD 170-236) is usually ascribed
the book Refutation of all Heresies. Most of this work was considered
lost until 1842 when a manuscript was discovered in a monastery
on Mount Athos. (See IU II, p52fn. for an interesting corollary.)
In this work he tries to discredit the ideas of Gnosticism by
tracing their origin to the Greek philosophical systems, which
were considered 'pagan' and therefore heretical by the church
leaders. In doing so, he not only describes 33 Gnostic systems,
but gives to history an outline of the contemporary Greek ideas
of astrology, magic, and religious mystery.
Tertullian
(c. AD 150-225), Christian apologist and writer, wrote a treatise
he called a Plea for the prosecution against the heretics.It is
not so much a condemnation of heresy as an assertion of orthodox
belief. It lays a claim that in time became a rallying cry for
orthodoxy - that of direct apostolic succession. Any who could
claim their teachings were directly handed down from the original
apostles could assume an authority and position over those who
had no such claim. Although many Gnostic teachers made similar
claims, theirs were given no credence by the heresiologists.
Clement of Alexandria, and Origen, theologian and teacher (c.
AD185-254), also wrote against heresy. Their position shows how
comparatively flexible the Church was in its early years, because
the writings of both have much similarity to Gnostic thought.
Origen is particularly known as a champion of belief in reincarnation.
Within a few centuries he and his teachings would also suffer
condemnation by the Church.
The
Nag Hammadi finds
The
documents from Nag Hammadi first showed up in Cairo in 1946, when
Togo Mina, Director of the Coptic Museum, purchased one of the
manuscripts for 250 Egyptian pounds. Mina and Jean Doresse, a
French graduate student in Egyptology, thought the find was of
great historical significance and worked together to reunite the
rest of the collection. In 1948 the world was informed of the
discovery, but the announcement caused barely a ripple. In 1950
Doresse tracked down the original site of discovery to Nag Hammadi,
280 miles south of Cairo. Some peasants in the area directed him
to the site of the ancient town of Chenosboskion. Its ancient
Coptic name, Shenesit, means "acacias of the God Seth". The name
may have been chosen by a Gnostic group, for in many of the Scriptures
they honor and claim descent from Seth, who they say was the righteous
son of Adam and Eve. The influences in the area that visibly survive
are Egyptian and orthodox Christian.
The jar containing the codices had been unearthed from an abandoned
Christian cemetery at the foot of a mountain called Gebel et-Tarif.
In the cliffs above are caves, the burial places of ancient Egyptian
officials. Nearby are the ruins of a monastery established by
St Pachomius, known in church history as one of the 'desert fathers'
who established monastic communities in the Egyptian desert. Perhaps
it was pressure from such communities, widely spread and known
for their strict orthodoxy, which caused the Gnostics to hide
their books.
There
survives a letter from Pachomius' successor, dated AD 367, condemning
heretical writings. This corresponds to the dating of the finds.
The documents that were found are called codices. Bound in leather,
they were a forerunner of the modern book. At the time of their
composition, the codice had begun to replace the scroll because
it was more durable and easier to read. In all, there were 13
codices, containing 52 tractates (separate texts). Forty of them
were entirely new to the modern world. They were written in Coptic
- the Egyptian language written in Greek characters, and probably
translated from an original Greek text. Because of the tumultuous
post World War II situation in Egypt, efforts to translate and
publish the Nag Hammadi codices were continually thwarted.
It
was a tremendous frustration for biblical scholars because they
knew that the codices would contain answers to important historical
questions. Despite repeated efforts by Mina and Doresse, the Gnostic
scriptures would have to wait 30 years to be properly translated.
The American theologian James Robinson was instrumental in finally
gathering a team to translate the texts. The Nag Hammadi Library,
published in 1977, is a result of this effort.
Gnostic
Esotericism
In
approaching the Gnostic texts, one is immediately struck by the
many concepts which have a root in esoteric tradition. Without
this key, the writings are elusive, mysterious and sometimes incomprehensible.
Though certain of their texts claim to be secret teachings, it
is probable that there was an even more secret teaching shared
by an inner circle, possibly contained in only one copy or transmitted
by word of mouth. To make sense of their writings, first we will
outline a few concepts from the writings of Blavatsky and Bailey.
These will give us a framework in which to view Gnostic thought.
We propose that the truths we find in these ideas were the same
as that taught by the Gnostics.
Unknown
God
The
latter-day religion of Jesus Christ has never really encouraged
an inquiry into the nature of God. Its emphasis has always been
on Jesus as the Son of God, the second person of an original Trinity.
Beyond assigning creation as the function of this Trinity, ideas
are nebulous about its nature and mechanism. By contrast, every
esoteric tradition devotes much thought to cosmological ideas
and presents a view that is vast in its complexity.
Of
importance in this approach is the distinction made between the
highest God and the Gods of manifestation. The highest or Unknown
God can never be described because our finite minds are wholly
unable to comprehend its nature. It can only be described in terms
of what it is not.
It
sets in motion the process of manifestation and remains as the
underlying energy, but at no point does it take an active role
in the creation of the physical order. All we can know of the
Unknown God is that "it shows its face from time to time." We
assume that the Unknown God is the essence of perfection. But
the material creation, though a reflection of the Unknown God,
can never be called perfect. Therefore we have an uncreated sphere
of unity and perfection and a created sphere of physical manifestation.
When the process of manifestation begins, from this Unknown God
issues the seed matter of the future creation. It implants a spark
of life to awaken the seed matter and thus begins the evolution
of solar systems and worlds.
Symbolically,
from the first union of spirit/male and matter/female, the son
is born. This is the first primordial trinity. Creation then proceeds
in stages. Forces or entities, called emanations, shape and occupy
the vast and varied layers of creation. These layers are called
planes and they are arranged in steps like a ladder, proceeding
from the highest and most spiritual, downward, to the densest
and most material. Each higher plane gives birth to the one below
it. Each higher plane holds an image of the ideal plan of perfection
as a goal for the lower to strive towards. The further from the
original Godhead, the less perfect and pure is the creation.
Similarly,
as the Unknown God is an essential unity, so the densest matter
of manifestation exhibits characteristics of extreme differentiation
and separation. This movement proceeding from the essential unity
of the original Unknown God to the vast separation of our manifested
universe is called the involutionary arc. At the end of the involutionary
process, when matter is the most dense, the process reverses and
what was a vast differentiation moves back again to the original
unity which gave it life. This is called the evolutionary arc.
It is this constant interplay between spirit and matter, unity
and separation, involution and evolution, which produces a middle
region, that of consciousness, a totally new quality which comes
of the interaction between the opposite poles. Essentially it
is an electrical phenomenon, an interplay between positive and
negative polarities which creates (much like a light bulb on the
physical plane) the quality of light or consciousness. This is
the dynamic which propels evolution.
Second-ray
solar system The Seven Rays are the seven streams of
universal divine energy, each the expression of a great Life,
whose interaction, at every conceivable frequency, creates the
solar systems, galaxies and universes. Movement of these energies,
in spiraling cycles, draws all Being into and out of manifestation,
coloring and saturating it with specific qualities and attributes.
The
Master DK through Alice A.Bailey says that the solar system that
preceded, and gave birth to, ours, was a 3rd-ray system, expressing
the predominantly material aspect of Active Intelligence. Our
own system is 2nd ray, perfecting the purer, more spiritual, expression
of Love-Wisdom. In its next incarnation the system will express
the even purer attribute of 1st-ray Will. In knowing this, we
can understand that the solar system itself is on the evolutionary
arc, evolving towards an increasingly unified spiritual expression.
When evolution is thus proceeding upwards there is always a great
resistance to change. The lower forces try to hold to a separative
tendency while the higher are seeking a more unified expression.
All duality, the eternal conflict between good and evil, arises
from this interplay; when the lower refuses to give way, and evolve,
into the higher, the result is evil. This duality pervades creation.
Humanity is always confronted with challenges to its expression
of a more adequate spiritual truth by the sheer resistance of
matter itself. In the end humanity must make a personal decision,
and choose to overcome the resistance if it wishes to proceed
to a higher level. If, however, mankind chooses apathy, it can
negate many possibilities for upward growth. With these ideas
as background, perhaps we can better understand the dualism of
the Gnostics. They knew the nature of creation and the challenges
of humanity within that creation. They accepted that all evolution,
both material and spiritual, was merely part of the larger plan,
but they also knew that for their era it was time to overcome
the resistance of material existence and orient themselves as
totally as possible towards spiritual life.
World
view of Gnostic Christianity
The
Gnostic scriptures are of three kinds: esoteric cosmological works,
gospels that contain discourses between Jesus and his followers,
and ethical books of sayings or pure teaching. Some books combine
these aspects. In sophistication, scope and insight they take
us far beyond our biblical teachings. One scholar has described
their effort as nothing less than an attempt to chart the very
mind of God. The Gnostics were a group of thinkers with their
heads, almost literally, in the clouds and their eyes on the stars.
In this section we will look into their teachings, and draw analogies
with our own esoteric tradition. Interestingly, they spoke little
of reincarnation, probably because it was an implicit assumption
among the religions of the day. They probably accepted, as well,
the idea of the cyclic return of Avatars, understanding that the
work of the Christ was such a manifestation. We know that they
drew a distinction between the Unknown God and the lower hierarchies
for, as we shall see, this became a very divisive issue in their
time.
Aeons,
Archons and Emanations
The
Gnostics drew heavily on the pure Buddhist idea of overcoming
desire. They were acutely aware of any influence that kept them
bound too closely to physical life. These included the world of
the passions, whether for money, sex, intoxicants, or fame. They
were aware, beyond these obvious temptations of the flesh, of
the invisible influences that hold mankind in bondage. A Gnostic
tenet that became hated by the heresiologists was that of emanations.
The Gnostics claimed that the whole spiritual and material universe
is peopled with countless numbers of entities which make up the
many varied levels of existence. These are all the successive
creation of an original primordial Trinity.
They
gave the name aeon to the higher classes of inhabitant, those
which beckon humanity upwards. The inhabitants of the lower classes,
those below the level of the human kingdom, they call the archons.
These entities are depicted as jealous of the higher state that
mankind has reached. They constantly try to pull him back into
a lower, more material realm. When reading Gnostic descriptions
of the cosmos, one encounters a bewildering array of these entities,
with strange and unusual names.
In the Master DK's Treatise on Cosmic Fire through Alice Bailey,
however, we see the very same picture of multiplicity, the same
descriptions of the higher and lower forces influencing mankind
for good or for evil. The whole intent of the Gnostic path was
to extricate itself from the influence of the archons, to learn
to manipulate the lower forces rather than constantly being at
their mercy. In this way the Gnostics themselves became participants
in the creative process.
Denigration
of the Demiurge
In
the Palestine of Jesus' day people in general viewed their Gods
as intimately watchful of their private lives. Personal success
was counted as a demonstration of righteousness - failure and
misfortune as punishment for wrongdoing. Worship was, therefore,
centered around placating the Gods.
The
Jewish priesthood held an iron grip on the minds of the people.
Their temples were the center of sacrificial rites, and worshippers
went to great expense to mollify the Gods. In breaking free of
this narrow religious model, the Gnostics directly confronted
the Jewish idea of God. Because of the biblical descriptions of
him as a jealous and wrathful God, they introduced the idea that
Jehovah, whom they called the Demiurge (Gk. demiourgos, builder
or public worker) is not the highest God, the Unknown God over
all, but a much lower one. He is merely one of the lower emanations,
the builder of the physical planet earth, and though powerful
in his own sphere of material creation, overall he occupies a
very low plane on the ladder of evolution. They said, in fact,
that humanity could surpass the Demiurge in spiritual attainment.
Blavatsky expresses this idea of the lower and the higher creators
(emanations) in her concept of creative hierarchies, classes of
beings or entities which are responsible for producing the various
kingdoms and forms of manifested life. She says that there are
seven hierarchies which fashion our present world. The four lower
are responsible for purely physical creation, the world of forms
visible to the eye. The three higher groups, though, cannot work
on the physical plane. They create in subtle matter, producing
thought, intuition and spiritual faculties that the human kingdom
is just beginning to sense. She says that Jehovah belongs to one
of the lower class of creators. He is able to create purely physical
man but cannot endow him with the spark of mind and soul that
will enable him to become truly human. That Divine Spark has to
come from a higher plane.
In
this sense the Gnostics could make the claim (considered outrageous
at the time) that humankind could surpass Jehovah, the Demiurge.
Because humanity has been endowed with a soul, fashioned by the
higher order of creators, it belongs to an order of evolution
beyond the physical, and can, therefore, aspire to the heights
of the spiritual kingdom. The Gnostics considered those who worshipped
the Demiurge to be centered on the material plane; they had not
yet found their connection to the spiritual universe. It is the
attainment of the human stage of evolution that marks the transition
from the lower world of the physical into a higher spiritual realm.
Ideas such as these were bound to cause great resentment in both
Jewish and orthodox Christian circles and further threaten an
already tenuous relationship with these groups, but few there
were who could grasp the subtle distinctions that the Gnostics
drew.
The
Gnostics understood God on a mystical level and suggested a much
more mature relationship. Instead of being at the whim of the
Gods, they spoke of man himself as a potential god, with the capability
of assuming power over the physical world. Thus could Jesus heal
the sick and walk on water. This the Gnostics understood.
Overshadowing
by the Christ
Many
of the Gnostics accepted the idea that the Christ occupied the
body of the disciple Jesus from his baptism to the crucifixion.
Irenaeus reported that Cerinthus and other teachers understood
this concept in the following way: "Jesus was not born of the
virgin, but rather he was the son of Joseph and Mary, just like
all other men, but more powerful in righteousness, intelligence
and wisdom. After the baptism Christ descended upon him from the
authority which is above all in the form of a dove and thereafter
proclaimed the unknown Father and accomplished wonders. But at
the end Christ again departed from Jesus and (only) Jesus suffered,
and rose again; Christ however remained impassable, since he has
a spiritual being." (Gnosis, p165)
Modern
scholars, not knowing what to make of such ideas call this docetism
(Gk. dokesis, to appear), meaning, in this case, that Christ appeared
only in semblance and did not really suffer or die. The Gnostics
had a unique way of expressing why the Christ chose this way of
manifestation. They taught that the lower world of the archons
and rulers had managed in the early days of creation to capture
some of the heavenly light, and that it was the task of the Christ,
as Savior, to recapture the light and release it again into the
higher spheres. He could do this, the Gnostics said, because he
was able to trick the archons by disguising himself in the body
of Jesus. They therefore did not know that he was of a higher
order.
Path
of Initiation
The
central motif of all of the Gnostic scriptures was the liberation
brought by Christ's death and resurrection. They understood this
in a different sense from the atonement and redemption of later
Christianity. They understood it as an example for humanity to
follow. There is indication in many of the texts that they understood
the five initiations. In Trimorphic Protennoia we read: "These
are the glories that are higher than every glory, that is, [the
Five] Seals complete by virtue of Intellect. He who possesses
the Five Seals of these particular names has stripped off [the]
garments of ignorance and put on a shining Light. And nothing
will appear to him that belongs to the Powers of the Archons.
Within those of this sort darkness will dissolve and [ignorance]
will die." (NHL- 521/XIII,1 49,25-35)
The
Gospel of Philip lists five steps: "The lord [did] everything
in a mystery, a baptism and a chrism and a eucharist and a redemption
and a bridal chamber" (NHL-150/II,3 67,28-30). The bridal chamber
was considered the final step of redemption, the heavenly marriage
between the initiate and the Christ.
The
Word of God
In
Blavatsky we read that the whole process of creation was carried
on by the means of sound or speech or the Word. Every letter has
its occult meaning and rationale. The vowels are the most potent
and the vowel combination OEAOHOO is "the septenary root from
which all proceeds" (SD I, pp68-9;93-6).
The
Master DK says that: "Speech is one of the keys which opens the
doors of communication between men and subtler beings. It gives
the clue to the discovery of those entities who are contacted
on the other side of the veil.... Magic consists ... in addressing
the Gods in Their own language; therefore the speech of average
man cannot reach Them." (Treatise on Cosmic Fire, pp977-82)
The
Gnostics must have experimented with the magical formulas. In
a number of their texts we find long strings of phonetic utterances.
For them Christ was The Logos, "The Word" who had shown the way
to triumph and rule over the lower elemental powers of the world.
The Gospel of the Egyptians, and Marsanes are tractates which
give particular attention to such expressions of the creative
powers.
Resurrection
In the early years of Christianity there was a long and heated
debate about the parousia or Second Coming of Christ. There was
a widespread belief that humanity was about to enter a glorious
era and that it would begin when the Christ returned to set up
his kingdom, to reward the faithful, punish the wicked, and restore
physical life to those who had died in his favor.
The
Gnostics held no such beliefs. We find no mention of the parousia,
an imminent Second Coming, or a physical resurrection. Just as
the crucifixion was understood in a totally different way from
many of the Christian groups, so were these concepts. A physical
resurrection held no attraction because they knew that the true
victory lay in transcending the physical body, not carrying it
into the afterlife. For them, the resurrection was something that
happens inwardly, in the present-day living of the mysteries that
Jesus taught.
The
Myth of Sophia
In
Atlantean days the Spiritual Hierarchy which directs our earthly
affairs worked alongside humanity, instructing it in the sacred
arts. But when that civilization fell, torn apart by internal
conflict, the Hierarchy removed itself from the external world
and worked instead behind the scenes. Since that time the ancient
truths have been released to the masses of humanity in the form
of allegory. The Myth of Sophia is such an allegory. It is the
central motif of the Gnostic books. Sophia is the Greek name for
wisdom; to the Gnostics she was revered because she was another
symbol of the Gnosis. Most of their cosmological texts contain
variations of this story. The story itself has parallels in many
religious traditions. First we will outline the myth, then present
an explanation, seen esoterically. There are many layers to any
allegory; Blavatsky says there are seven keys to unlock the secrets.
These thoughts are offered merely as an overview, a glance at
a few of the most obvious aspects.
Sophia
and the Demiurge
"And
when she saw (the consequences of) her desire, it changed into
a form of a lion-faced serpent. And its eyes were like lightning
fires which flash. She cast it away from her, outside that place,
that no one of the immortal ones might see it, for she had created
it in ignorance. And she surrounded it with a luminous cloud,
and she placed a throne in the middle of the cloud that no one
might see it except the holy Spirit who is called the mother of
the living. And she called his name Yaltabaoth.This
is the first archon who took a great power from his mother....
And he is impious in his arrogance which is in him. For he said:
'I am God and there is no other God beside me,' for he is ignorant
of his strength, the place from which he had come."- The Apocryphon
of John . (NHL-110/IV,1 10:7-20)
Sophia-Achamoth
is a very high spirit, an emanation (along with her consort, the
Christ) of her mother, the Elder Sophia. They all live in the
spiritual land beyond the earth called the Pleroma. Gazing down
into the world of matter, the younger Sophia sees reflected there
a transcendent light. Drawn by desire to possess this light and
duplicate its image she leaves her heavenly consort, the Christ,
and descends into the world of matter. There she rushes about,
hovering to and fro, trying to impart life to the chaotic inert
elements. Finally she becomes helplessly immersed in mud, unable
to extricate herself. Nevertheless, just by sheer contact with
matter, she produces a being - an odd, lion-faced entity, whom
she calls Ildabaoth (Ilda, child; Baoth, chaos).
When
she sees the imperfection that she has produced, she realizes
she has acted in ignorance. She escapes from the lower space and
builds a strong barrier, or veil, between the world of spirit
and the world of matter. Ildabaoth is, therefore, the "son of
darkness" who cannot see that there exists anything above him.
Ildabaoth is ambitious and proud but despite his many imperfections
he has captured some of the pure light from his mother Sophia-Achamoth.
In
his domain he produces seven sons, declaring himself the highest
God, demanding they do only his bidding and exalting himself above
them. In his great ambition Ildabaoth decides to create a man
after an image he had seen reflected in the waters of space. He
employs all the powers of his various creations, but the creature
proves a failure, helpless and ignorant and crawling on the ground
like a worm. So he is forced to call on the help of his mother
who sends him an impulse of divine light. This animates the man
and he rises to life. But seeing the newly made creation soar
higher and higher because of the spiritual light from Sophia,
Ildabaoth flies into a rage of jealousy. Angrily staring into
the deep abyss of matter, his image is reflected back to him and
there arises a serpent with eyes flashing red. It is Satan, the
Ophiomorphos (having the form of a serpent), an embodiment of
envy and cunning. After this Ialdabaoth encases his creations,
symbolized in Adam and Eve, in mud to keep them closely tied to
the earth. He builds for them the Garden of Paradise, giving them
all of the gifts therein. But lest they taste death, he forbids
them to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Sophia-Achamoth,
from her kingdom above, is always watching over and protecting
humanity. Seeing the world that Ialdabaoth has fashioned, she
sends her own serpent, the Ophis or Agathodaemon (a divine instructor),
who induces Adam and Eve to taste of the forbidden fruit of knowledge.
Though they are cast from the Garden of Eden, and do indeed learn
the sorrow of death, the divine wisdom stays with them through
every trial of worldly life. In the final act, after watching
mankind struggle through aeons of pain and conflict, constantly
pursued by Ialdabaoth's cunning, Sophia-Achamoth begs her mother,
Sophia the Elder, to send the Christ to help humanity in its unending
torment. It is through his crucifixion and resurrection that the
kingdom of matter is finally subdued and Ialdabaoth's reign of
blindness comes to an end. From his throne in the heavens the
Christ continues to reign, collecting all of the souls who have
triumphed like him, each one freeing a portion of light encased
in the kingdom of matter.
Creation
of humanity
The
Myth of Sophia can be seen as a retelling of cosmological events
that focus on the creation, or individualization, of the human
kingdom on earth. The Elder Sophia is the creative force behind
our 2nd-ray solar system of Love-Wisdom. Just as the job of the
former 3rd-ray solar system was to develop physical life, so the
job of our 2nd-ray system is to develop the mentality that will
lead us out of purely physical living into a greater expression
of spirituality. The creation of humanity is a key element of
that profound evolutionary step, as the human kingdom is the one
which develops the quality of mind or manas, which bridges between
the world of matter and the world of spirit.
In
the myth we see a variety of creators. The lower Sophia does the
bidding of the higher Sophia and the Christos acts as a go-between,
but each, in a different way, expresses the 2nd ray, or the higher
light that is trying to be born. When Sophia-Achamoth goes about
her task of creating she can only produce a creature of the lower
order - Ialdabaoth, who becomes the creator of our physical world.
The Gnostics say he is identical with the Demiurge or Jehovah
of the Old Testament. He and his seven sons represent the lower
order of material creators. Just as we say that matter is blind,
so, in the story, is Ialdabaoth (known also as Sakla, "the blind"),
because when Sophia sees the imperfection that she has created
she draws a veil, or "ring-pass-not", which keeps him from seeing
the higher light. What we see in the allegory is the tremendous
power which Ialdabaoth thinks he possesses. Because he is blind
to the higher realms he thinks he is the only God and arrogantly
declares (as does Jehovah): "I am God and there is no other God
beside me." He represents, in a personal sense, our own narrowness
of vision, our blindness to the higher realms, which, when accessed,
can animate and enlighten all of our efforts. He also represents
the resistance to growth of the lower to the higher order, the
duality and 'evil' discussed in the section 'Second-Ray Solar
System'.
In The Secret Doctrine II Blavatsky writes of the creation of
a human being and her story parallels that of Ialdabaoth and his
sons, their trials and retrials in attempting to fashion an upright
and thinking human being. She recounts a story identical to the
myth - the lower creative spirits try and try again to fashion
a human but they all fail, and the entity is left amorphous, crawling
on the ground, like a worm. We see, therefore, that the allegory
is a true telling of a true and ancient happening. She goes on
to describe how it took a higher order of creator to give life
to man.
The
Master DK relates that it was the energy of Venus, the alter ego
of the earth, which instilled the quality of mind, or manas, into
the animal kingdom 18.5 million years ago and evolved the human
being. This is analogous to the action of Sophia, who gives her
higher light to man and endows him with a soul. Ialdabaoth is
lion-headed because astrologically Leo rules the crisis of self-individualization.
During the Age of Leo nascent humanity came to the first realization
of its evolutionary step beyond the animal kingdom. In many of
the Gnostic symbols we see portrayed the lion, the serpent, or
the dual lion-headed serpent. These symbols represent human beginnings.
Ultimately we see that the efforts of both Sophia and Ialdabaoth
(spirit and matter) are needed to fashion the human being. It
was only through a combined effort, beset by blunders and setbacks,
that all of the creative hierarchies are able to create a breathing,
walking, and thinking being. Lest these concepts seem like the
mere splitting of esoteric hairs, we can remember that both the
Master DK and Mme Blavatsky repeatedly remind us that the mystery
involved in humanity, that of the divine being within the earthly
being, is great indeed.
In
the unraveling of its secrets can be found answers to the puzzles
of creation. The eternal conflict that we see expressed in such
ancient allegories is generally personified in one or more figures
like Ialdabaoth and Sophia, but this, of course, is a purely symbolic
device - they represent the various energies behind manifestation.
Conflict is inherent in the universal scheme. In the end, we are
told, when the vast plan of the Unknown God is finally accomplished,
there will be harmony. Until then we must learn the secrets of
duality, for it is that mysterious energy which propels evolution
on its upward advance.
Garden
of Eden
The
allegory's story of the Garden of Eden and the fall of man mirrors
our own Genesis myth. Though many Christians have interpreted
it as illustrative of an inherent and possibly permanent flaw
on the part of mankind, Blavatsky tells a different tale. The
serpent is a dual symbol, both of good and evil. First we see
it as a symbol of evil, actually created by Ialdabaoth in his
jealousy and rage. We see again that the resistance of the old
form, in failing to give way to the new in itself creates evil
in the world. Later, in the Garden of Eden, we see it as a symbol
of wisdom, the opposite side of the duality, when it appears as
the serpent which tempted Eve. This is precisely where Blavatsky
opens a whole new world for us. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good
and Evil, she says, represents all of the Arhats, Adepts and Masters
of the Spiritual Hierarchy who have taught humanity everything
it has learned since its first cautious steps into intelligent
awareness.
The
knowledge humanity has accumulated in the present day does not
represent the mere growth of its own inherent mentality so much
as stimulation given by the Hierarchy through many cycles of evolution.
In Lemurian days millions of years ago, when individualization
occurred, the Spiritual Hierarchy stimulated and ensouled the
lower kingdom of animals to produce humanity. Later, in Atlantean
days, the process of Initiation was begun when another stimulation
was given by Hierarchy to hasten mankind's entry into the Spiritual
Kingdom. But all of this did not happen flawlessly or without
cost.
The
Garden of Eden represents the easy way of material living and
the mindless instinctual way of the lower life forms. The serpent
of duality represents the climb upward onto the next plane of
growth when animal man takes a soul, develops mentality, and steps
into the most difficult stage of the evolutionary journey. When
Adam and Eve succumbed to temptation, they 'disobeyed' the lower
law of physical creation in order to respond to a higher law of
spiritual growth. The stimulation from the Hierarchy and the spark
of soul received by Adam and Eve became their means of receiving
the higher knowledge that would lead them into the kingdom of
spirit. This is the story of the human kingdom. It is caught,
so to speak, between the enticements of spirit and those of matter,
often not knowing which voice to hear. It is still strongly tied
to its past evolution in the lower worlds, but it has a new voice
from the higher realms that beckons it upwards.
This
is why it so strongly experiences the pull of dualities. Its path
of progress lies in finding the middle way between the opposites.
The only way to do this is to embark on the long journey of human
evolution, willingly to open itself to all of its trials - the
pain, sorrow and death of terrestrial life. It is a phase that
every kingdom in creation must pass through, and is the only way
to move into the higher realms, because nothing is given without
merit. Every entity must forge its own way and earn its right
to progress on the path of evolution. Without this eternal rule,
the evolutionary journey would be meaningless. When Adam and Eve,
symbolizing humanity, left the Garden of Eden, they did so by
choice, leaving the comforts of a known existence for an insecure
and probably treacherous future. As we hear it from Blavatsky,
it is anything but a shameful act. It is the journey of the Hero,
pure and simple. It is a labor of Redemption, symbolized in its
final act by the long path of initiation. Sophia prevails on her
mother to send her consort of higher light, the Christ, as go-between,
for the final stage of the human journey. He
is the "Son" or the Redeemer of physical creation.
In
every myth of every Sun God we find him acting as a link between
the higher and lower. What we often fail to realize is that each
human being is itself that same link. In their deep comprehension
of this, the Gnostics did not represent Jesus so much as a savior,
but rather as one who issues a call to humanity to awaken from
a long sleep and remember its godly mission. He shows the way
by his sacrifice - the crucifixion and resurrection. This is our
pattern for the final abnegation of matter and birth into the
Spiritual Hierarchy.
Jewel
of uncommon price
A
body of writings has been attributed to St Didymus Jude Thomas,
the apostle of the East, who traveled to Syria, Mesopotamia and
India. He was said to be the identical twin or double of Jesus.
'Didymus' means twin in Greek and 'Thomas' means twin in Syriac.
In the ancient tradition this twin motif does not necessarily
mean a physical relationship, but could suggest the idea of relationship
between a Teacher and his disciple. Some of the Thomas literature
survived into modern times. It has little of the cosmological
imagery and extreme dualism of the other Gnostic works. It is
known for its loftiness of thought, purity of expression, and
noble system of ethics. There is little speculation about the
life beyond, but a simple realization of the kingdom of God as
a present and living reality, attainable by all.
Benjamin
Creme claims that one work, called The Gospel of Thomas, is, "more
or less, a genuine account of the acts (less so of the words)
of Jesus." (Share International, December 1986)
The
Hymn of the Pearl
The
Hymn of the Pearl is of the Thomas tradition and is one of the
most poetic and mystical of all Gnostic works. It is the story
of the Divine Pilgrim's sojourn on the earthly plane. The central
figure is a young Prince who is asked by his royal mother and
father to journey to the land of Egypt. There, they say, he will
find a precious jewel, a pearl of uncommon lustre. It is guarded,
though, by a fearsome dragon. The prince must somehow charm the
dragon to release the sacred jewel. In leaving the palace of his
homeland, the little Prince must leave behind the exquisite garments
of his office, a princely robe, luminous and covered with jewels.
He dons a simple dress and starts on his way. Arriving in Egypt
he takes care to dress in the clothes of the land, but is recognized
as a foreigner and given tainted food to eat. He falls into a
deep and forgetful sleep. The Prince's parents, on hearing of
his trials, send a messenger with a letter reminding him of his
stately birth and promised task.
He
awakens and reads the letter. Heartened by its message, he remembers
the dragon, and in a great act of courage snatches away the precious
pearl. Triumphant in his mission, he leaves for home. His former
life seems far and distant, for when he left he was just a boy.
But when his parents greet him in joy and celebration, returning
to him his jeweled robe, he remembers all that he has forgotten.
"As I now beheld the robe, it seemed to me suddenly to become
a mirror-image of myself: myself entire I saw in it, and it entire
I saw in myself, that we were two in separateness, and yet again
one in the sameness of our forms.... And the image of the King
of kings was depicted all over it. "Once I had put it on, I arose
into the realm of peace belonging to reverential awe. And I bowed
my head and prostrated myself before the splendor of the father
who had sent it to me. For, it was I who had done his commands,
and likewise it was he who had kept the promise. And I mingled
at the doors of his archaic royal building. He took delight in
me, and received me with him in the palace." (The Gnostic Scriptures,
374-5/77, 78, 86, 98-102)
Divine
Pilgrim
In
esotericism, it is the Monad, the divine spark, which informs
the human entity. Since it is too spiritual to be involved in
physical-plane happenings, it uses the soul as its means of communication
with the lower personality. It is known as the eternal Pilgrim,
which waits and watches through aeons of evolution while the lower
personality becomes increasingly purified. By the time the soul
is subsumed at the 4th initiation, the lower personality can finally
contact the Monad directly. In The Hymn of the Pearl the mother
and father can be seen as the Solar Logos, the highest entity
which holds the plan of evolution for our system. The little Prince
can be seen as the Monad. Leaving behind the Vestures of his high
estate, he puts on those of the common man (the lower personality),
and embarks on a long and lonely journey, suffering the painful
trials of earthly life. The pearl, in antiquity, was a symbol
of the soul, the link between Monad and man. The journey of the
lower man is to find the soul (pearl), his connection with his
true and princely self, the Monad. Braving the challenges of physical
life, at times he forgets his royal birth. But when he awakens
and remembers who he is, he steals the precious pearl from the
fearsome dragon (the serpent of matter/evil).
He
returns triumphant to his father's kingdom, throwing off the old
clothes of the lower, material personality and reclaiming his
rightful heritage, the princely Vesture, or spiritual body. The
Gnostics would call it recapturing the light, redeeming the kingdom
of matter, like Adam and Eve facing the fearful challenges of
the unknown when they leave their Paradise in Eden. The evolutionary
journey is of unimaginable duration and the human cycle is particularly
shrouded in mist and forgetfulness. But in the end, however long
the years, we are assured that victory will be won. The light
will be recaptured; the triumphant Pilgrim will return to the
home of his family. This is known, in the sacred books, as the
great day "Be with us," the day at the end of the cycle of manifestation,
when all are gathered back into the embrace of the One and Unknown
God, resting for a while until the next great cycle of manifestation
begins.
The
'triumph' of Christianity
Alas,
alas! How little has the divine seed, scattered broadcast by the
hand of the meek Judean philosopher, thrived or brought forth
fruit. He, who himself had shunned hypocrisy, warned against public
prayer, showing such contempt for any useless exhibition of the
same, could he but cast his sorrowful glance on the earth, from
the regions of eternal bliss, would see that this seed fell neither
on sterile rock nor by the wayside. Nay, it took deep root in
the most prolific soil; one enriched even to plethora with lies
and human gore! (IU II, p303)3
The
'triumph' of Christianity cannot be separated from the political
influence of the Roman Empire. When the Roman Emperor Constantine
declared Christianity as the only state religion one of his motives
was almost certainly to fuse the disparate parts of a flagging
empire. What happened afterwards can largely be seen as a wedding
between church and state - leaders of the church became veritable
monarchs and Constantine became a 'saint'. It happened in increments
and had worldwide effects. But even before its official acceptance,
the Church had already begun to adopt Roman characteristics -
admirable genius in the arena of political organization and law,
and a somewhat vacuous approach to religious ideas.
The
Roman giant which had proved so grand in forging a kingdom was
a fumbling child in the subtle air of the philosophical arts.
Consequently, a major concern of the Church leadership became,
not theology, but the elimination of those elements which stood
in the way of absolute power. The first thing to go was diversity,
the lifeblood of the early movement. Towards the end of the 1st
century, the Church theologians Ignatius of Antioch and Clement
of Rome began to systematize and monitor the teachings of the
various groups, with the idea of making them accountable to a
central federation, ruled by bishops. As a justification for this
kind of centralization, the will of the bishop began to be identified
with the will of God. Consequently, God became accessible only
to the hierarchy and not the individual.
The
morality that Jesus taught began to assume an air of abstraction
when Ignatius postulated the idea that belief in the historical
events of his life was enough for salvation. Whereas the Gnostics
were intent on moving beyond what they considered the narrow view
of the Old Testament, orthodoxy maintained an affiliation, particularly
pointing to the prophetic books as proof that Jesus was the Messiah.
The Christian Apologist Justin Martyr (AD 100-165) decreed that
Jesus' life held the final revelation for humanity, and declared
an end to further prophecy or revelation.
Thus
was lost the idea of personal participation in the mysteries and
the cyclic return of avatars. Irenaeus and his successors divorced
Jesus even further from the world by making him co-equal with
God, the creator of all. They also began the insidious doctrine
of mankind as a flawed creation devoid of the divine spark because
of the sin of Adam and Eve.
Eve
was presented as the female temptress; this began the degradation
of both women and the sexual function. Macchio tells us that Irenaeus
single-handedly negated the idea of the Unknown God, of emanations,
and the inherent divinity of every person. He taught that since
mankind's original 'fall' came by an act of disobedience, salvation
was gained by adhering to the law. The outline of that law was
only available through the Church. Any other path meant personal
damnation. In this way Christian believers were forced to view
themselves as lowly and subservient, robbed of both self-esteem
and any hope of influence over their own destiny. The final debasement
came from Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430). His doctrine of original
sin stripped away what few shreds of dignity may have been left
to the Christian believer. To his mind we owe the doctrines of
eternal hell, infant damnation, predestination, and the abrogation
of free will. The debates of many of these early apologists of
the faith were hardly conducted in a spirit of scholarly exchange.
They
were vicious, employing all manner of character condemnation and
personal defamation, presaging, perhaps, the cruelty of the Church's
later actions - the inquisitions and crusades. Gnosticism became
a primary target of attack and by AD 200 its influence began to
wane. In AD 325 Roman orthodoxy was sealed in two ways. Constantine
declared Christianity the only state religion and the Council
of Nicea declared that Jesus was identical with the one and only
God of the universe. Thus was formed an eternal chasm between
the world of God and the world of man. Humanity could now be but
a passive observer of the divine mysteries. Dissenting voices
were tolerated a while longer, but in AD 381 the Emperor Theodosius
I officially recognized one single branch of orthodox Catholicism.
This
opened the way for even more extensive sanctions, including violence,
against the Gnostics and other non-Christians.
In
its zeal for absolute authority the Roman church attacked with
equal fervor those expressions that it labeled the pagan religions.
In a rampage it destroyed ancient temples and monuments. When
its attack extended into systems of pure philosophy and science,
the library at Alexandria, a repository of the greatest learning
in the East, was burned to the ground. Thus did the Church forge
its legacy. The Roman empire, begun on the banks of the Tiber
1,000 years before, extended its hand of brute force into the
future, to become in time the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by pope
and king alike. It was only the military genius of no less a commander
than Napoleon which brought the awful marriage to its rightful
end. In 1798 his General, Berthier, entered Rome, imprisoned the
pope, and decreed that no pope would ever rule the secular world
again.
After
the fall
After
the triumph of orthodox Christianity, we don't know how many Gnostic
sects survived in secret. The Persian prophet Mani (AD 215-277)
inspired a later sect, the Manichaeans, which survived publicly
until the 13th century. In its day, despite bitterly persistent
and bloody persecutions, it rivaled Christianity in number of
adherents. The Mandeans of Iran and Iraq, who claim a direct lineage
from John the Baptist, today still practise a form of Gnosticism.
Blavatsky also writes of the Druzes of Mount Lebanon as descendants
of the Gnostics (IU II, Ch.VII).
From a psychological perspective Carl Jung has been instrumental
in reawakening the world to Gnostic thought. Claiming a lifelong
affinity with their ideas, he has inspired other authors to view
the ancient texts in a modern framework. The true importance of
the Gnostic Scriptures is that they give us back a Christianity
that, even in its own time, barely saw the light of day. They
offer an answer to the restlessness of modern Christians who question
the representation of the Jesus that has been presented to them,
his place in history, the purpose of his life, his meaning in
modern times.
The
Nag Hammadi texts and the Dead Sea Scrolls are like priceless
time capsules, unearthed long after the original civilization
has decayed into the elements. They are the thoughts, unedited
and pure, of people who lived in one of the most significant periods
of history, who participated in events of profound importance
to the evolution of the race. The Christ himself may well have
known that the vision he brought would not be easy of accomplishment,
the peace he sought to give would only be won through centuries
of struggle. The Gnostic teachers sensed the same, yet for them
the fire never dimmed, they sheltered its flame through every
dark night, preserving its brilliance for a future dawn they knew
would someday shine. In turning from a world of turbulence and
clamor, rejecting fame and favor and the wiles of man, they followed
the way of their brilliant leader and entered a realm of pure
abstraction. For them it did not matter, the only blessing was
in action, expressing the truths that were blazing in their hearts.
For them it did not matter what history wrote or what award was
theirs, they knew that the cross and the crown were of equal glory.
These were the true inheritors of the teachings that Jesus brought
and through their writings we can view the sublimity which enveloped
their minds, the fiery aspiration which enlivened their hearts.
This is the real Christianity, sought by our scholars and people
of thought, but not yet found. These are its scriptures, which
speak to us now, with ancient beauty and grace, unveiling the
power of those momentous times returning a legacy, lost and buried
for 1,500 dark and silent years.
Notes:
(1)
Ray structures: Basilides: S: 3; P: 4(6); M: 3(7); A: 4(6); Ph:
3(7). PoE: 1.57. Marcion: S: 2; P: 6(4); M: 7(2); A: 4(6); Ph:
3(7). PoE: 1.5. Valentinus: S: 6; P: 1(6); M: 3(7); A: 2(4); Ph:
7(3). PoE.1.6. (As given in Share International and Maitreya's
Mission Volume Three (Share International Foundation)
(2) Editors' note: Benjamin Creme has confirmed that The Gospel
of Truth and the Pistis Sophia (another Egyptian Gnostic document
procured by the British Museum in 1785) were composed by Valentinus.
(SI April 1997)
(3) For part of the contents of this article, the writer is indebted
to Joseph Macchio, the author of The Christian Conspiracy, for
his brilliant work in tracing, step by step, the destruction of
Gnosticism and esoteric doctrines by the Roman Church.
Bibliography
Translations
of codices are from two sources (reference numbers designate book
and page, then number of codice, tractate, page, and line):
Robinson, James. The Nag Hammadi Library (NHL).
Layton, Bentley. The Gnostic Scriptures (GS).
Esoteric information is from the following sources:
Alice A Bailey. A Treatise on Cosmic Fire (TCF).
Helena Blavatsky. The Secret Doctrine I, II, III (SD I, SD II,
and SD III);
Isis Unveiled II (IU II).
Share International magazine (SI).
Benjamin Creme. Maitreya's Mission Volume Two (MM II)
BOXES:
On
suppression of Gnostics "... we limit our defense merely
to those Christian sects whose theories were usually grouped under
the generic name of Gnosticism. These are those which appeared
immediately after the alleged crucifixion, and lasted till they
were nearly exterminated under the rigorous execution of the Constantinian
law. The greatest guilt of these were their syncretistic views,
for at no other period of the world's history had truth a poorer
prospect of triumph than in those days of forgery, lying, and
deliberate falsification of facts." (From Isis Unveiled II, p326)
On
overshadowing "Yes, they saw me; they punished me. It
was another, their father, who drank the gall and the vinegar;
it was not I. They struck me with the reed; it was another, Simon,
who bore the cross on his shoulder. I was another upon whom they
placed the crown of thorns. But I was rejoicing in the height
over all the wealth of the archons and the offspring of their
error, of their empty glory. And I was laughing at their ignorance."
(NHL- 365/VII,2 56,4-19) From "The Second Treatise of the Great
Seth" "And I (Peter) said: 'What do I see, O Lord, that it is
you yourself whom they take, and that you are grasping me? Or
who is this one, glad and laughing on the tree? And is it another
one whose feet and hands they are striking?' The Savior said to
me: 'He whom you saw on the tree, glad and laughing, this is the
living Jesus, But this one into whose hands and feet they drive
the nails is his fleshly part, which is the substitute being put
to shame, the one who came into being in his likeness.'" (NHL-377/VII,3
81,6-25) From "Apocalypse of Peter"
Gospel
of Thomas "These are the obscure sayings that the living
Jesus uttered and which Didymus Jude Thomas wrote down. And he
said, "whoever finds the meaning of these sayings will not taste
death." (GS-380/1) Jesus said, "If you bring forth what is within
you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth
what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you."
(tr. by Pagels-70) "Jesus said, "People probably think that it
is peace that I have come to impose upon the world. And they do
not recognize that it is divisions that I have come to impose
upon the earth - fire, sword, battle. Indeed, there will be five
in a house. There will be three over two and two over three, parent
over child and child over parent. And they will stand at rest
by being solitaries." (GS-383/16) "Jesus said: "Be passersby."
(GS-387/II40:19) "Jesus said: "If two make peace with one another
within a single house they will say to a mountain 'go elsewhere'
and it will go elsewhere." (GS-389/48) "Jesus said: "Blessed are
those who have been persecuted in their hearts. It is they who
have truly come to be acquainted with the father. Blessed are
they who hunger for the belly of the needy to be satisfied." (GS-392/69)
"His disciples said to him: "When is the kingdom going to come?"
Jesus said : "It is not by being waited for that it is going to
come. They are not going to say, 'Here it is' or 'There it is.'
Rather, the kingdom of the father is spread out over the earth,
and people do not see it." (GS- 399/113) (From The Gospel of Thomas.
© 1987 by Bentley Layton.)
Irenaeus
on overshadowing
It is reported by Irenaeus that the Gnostic teacher Cerinthus
(as well as other Gnostics) taught: "Jesus was not born of the
virgin, but rather he was the son of Joseph and Mary, just like
all other men, but more powerful in righteousness, intelligence
and wisdom. After the baptism Christ descended upon him from the
authority which is above all in the form of a dove and thereafter
proclaimed the unknown Father and accomplished wonders. But at
the end Christ again departed from Jesus and (only) Jesus suffered,
and rose again; Christ however remained impassable, since he has
a spiritual being." (Gnosis, pg. 165)
Professor
of religion identifies parts of "lost gospel"
An
American professor and a colleague have identified fragments of
a "lost gospel" containing conversations between Christ and his
disciples. Paul Mirecki, Associate Professor of Religious Studies
at the University of Kansas, said he is confident the text is
an authentic early account of the teachings of Christ. The newly
discovered gospel places a strong emphasis on individual knowledge,
urging its readers to reject the confines of institutional religion.
"It's a non-orthodox text ... Salvation comes to these people
through knowledge rather than faith," Mirecki said. Mirecki said
the manuscript is written in Coptic, an ancient Egyptian language
that uses Greek letters. It was probably the work of an early
Christian group called Gnostics, or 'knowers', he said, and recounts
a rare "dialogue gospel" of conversations between Jesus and his
disciples that supposedly took place after Christ was resurrected.
Mirecki discovered the manuscript in 1991 in Berlin's vast Egyptian
Museum, and it has taken him until now to piece together the document's
content. He does not know how the manuscript found its way to
the museum. The newly-found gospel was written in the first or
second century, Mirecki said. "The context here is that there
were many gospels written in the first two centuries. This text
is ... identical to similar texts that are called gospels. It
fits the literary pattern and the contents." Only 15 pages remain
of the manuscript. Mirecki said it was probably the victim of
an orthodox book-burning in about the 5th century. Mirecki has
been editing and translating the manuscript with Charles Hedrick,
Professor of Religious Studies at Southwest Missouri State University
in Springfield, Missouri. Their book on the new gospel will be
published this summer by Brill Publishers in the Netherlands.
(Source: Reuters)
Reprinted
with the kind permission of Share International Magazine.
