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Post # 9 – Gnosticism and Eastern Ideas

1). What is Gnosticism all about?
2). How does it compare to Eastern ideas? (similarities between Eastern thought and Western thought)

Answer:

Gnosticism is not really a form of organized religion but an assembly of various theological systems with its own minor slants. However, all forms of Gnosticism have the same overall goal, which is a quest for a particular kind of knowledge (or Gnosis.) It is the knowledge of a spiritual realm or that of the Divine, one experiencing and understanding God. For Gnostics knowledge comes in two forms, the first being self-knowledge (knowing self and therefore the essence of God) and the second being knowledge of the techniques used for the soul to rise through spiritual realms. In the quest, one attempts to increase one’s realization beyond the physical to that of a higher spiritual realm. Gnostics feel that as the soul move out of the body, it climbs through several realms. As it does this the soul becomes sterilized in each realm until it reaches its ultimate home, the highest Divine region.

Gnostics believe in a foundation of reality, an unknown, nameless God who never changes, can’t be measured by any human terms, and is beyond any description one can give. Furthermore, they believe that each soul is essentially the same essence of God. Gnostics place a high value on human life (soul.) They believe a human soul has the ability to break free from the bindings of ignorance of the truth. One who is still ignorant of the truth can be brought out of it through the assistance of one who is Divine (or a redeemer) who has taken on a human form. This Divine one travels downward from the highest spiritual realm to explain previously undisclosed divine information and calls souls back. Some Gnostics believe that the Divine one can incarnate in different human forms throughout history. Some Gnostics also believe that humans will reincarnate until consciousness of the Divine is realized. Gnostics also believe that the biblical God of the Old Testament is actually a lower god and not this Transcendent God. They assert that this lower god tries to keep one from realizing the true soul by keeping it focused on it as the creator of human life.

In summary, Gnostics theology includes the belief in a Transcendent God (God above gods), a human soul (which is a sub-creation of this Being) trapped in the body, tricked by a lower power (lower god), and thus misses out on understanding its higher nature. Gnosticism then strives to return to the unknown Transcendent God by overcoming the binds that hold the soul back.

Gnosticism holds similar ideas to that of Eastern Sant traditions. The two closely match each other in their Doctrinal, Experiential and Ethical dimensions. Within the first area, the Doctrinal dimension, both believe in the opinion of a Transcendent God viewing Him as immeasurable, unlimited (illimitable) and unnamable (unfathomable/nameless.) Both also believe in a lower deceiving god but with some differences. Gnostics believe that the biblical God of the Old Testament is actually a lower god and not the Transcendent God that he assets himself to be. They claim that this lower god tries to keep one from realizing the true soul by keeping it focused on it as the creator of human life. The Sant tradition on the other hand feels that he is a god who created material things, but not souls. This god pursues his own private adoration and so tries to subdue souls by attracting them to the material things of this world, thus keeping the soul from venturing toward self-realization and the Transcendent God. Only a select or limited one will be aware of a difference between the two and thus be able to circumvent the hold he may have on them.

Gnostics and Sant traditionalists have similar concepts of salvation. The Gnostics have two interpretations, the first one being extreme in that only the “elect” will be saved (souls who possess the special knowledge will return to God), and second one more liberal in which someday all souls will return to God, (souls who don’t possess special knowledge will be sent back or reincarnated until then can learn it.) This second interpretation more closely matches that of the Sant tradition. For the Sant, when a soul obtains a human form, then it has the ability to release the chains that break the cycle of reincarnation.

Within the second area, the experiential dimension, Gnostics are interested in intellectual learning where practicing the process of death is a key to learning about higher levels. To do this, one withdraws from the physical body to purify ones soul and intensify the reality of God, then as a soul ascends, awareness becomes more acute and to practice the act of dying, enacting process of death so that when death does come one will know the path to take. In the process of ascent, one experiences visions of light and sound, which are believed to be a guide/map for the soul. In the Sant tradition they to experience the visions of light and sound. They feel the light attracts ones attention and the sound pulls one up. Sant’s practice a shabd yoga which follows the light and sound. They feel the sounds come from the Highest Being (God). Both believe that there are roughly five basic realms one transcend through with the fifth being the highest where God presides. As one travels through the lower levels, they encounter a power of god of this region (who does not understand the god above them.) The names of these gods are very important, for one to pass through the realm, it must know the name of the god (sort of a password) which when called subdues the god and keeps it from holding the soul back. The name or secret passwords are only disclosed to appropriate disciples who teachers feel are ready for the ascent.

Both also have reference to divine guidance (heavenly powers) that comes to provide those who are ready with the guidance to reach God. For the Gnostics this guidance comes from the “Son”, who descended the realms and took a human form to explain its secrets. For the Sants their guidance comes from the “satguru” who has transcended the realms and can explain its secrets. However unlike the Gnostics, Sant’s only believe that in order to ascend one must be initiated by a “living” Sant.

Within the last Ethical dimension, there are some distinguishing differences. The Sant tradition stresses the same vows, to be vegetarian, abstain from intoxicants, and live a moral life and to meditate daily. Gnostics on the other hand fall into three different postures, the libertines, the moderate ascetics and the ascetics. The moderate group is the closest match to the Sant tradition, in that they value family and marriage.

In summary, Gnostic and Sant traditions are very similar in that they believe in the idea of a transcendent God, intermediate powers (gods), secret names (passwords), divine guidance and visions of inner light and sound.