Sarasota Gnostic Society

About Gnosis

The term Gnosis is the root of the English word “knowledge,” however it is not simply knowledge of an intellectual type. The word Gnosis has been used by varying philosophical or mystical groups throughout history, but it really refers to the Truth beyond philosophy, dogma, personality, or theory. Gnosis is “direct, experiential knowledge of the divine,” or in another words, knowing for oneself.

To have Gnosis is to have one’s own experience of the truth. Fire burns, gravity exists; these are truths that cannot be denied once experienced. Therefore, Gnosis is not built from spiritual fantasy; it is the platform from which we can see beyond our fantasy.

Gnosis can be expressed in theories and concepts, but it is neither the theory nor the concept. Gnosis is the intimate experience of the truth as well as the path that takes us there thru the 22 Major Arcana of the tarot and the Kabbalah.

This is the same path taught by the awakened masters of past great traditions. There is Gnosis throughout the Christian Gospels and also in the Buddhist doctrine, in the Tantric Buddhism from Tibet, in the Zen Buddhism from Japan, in the Chan Buddhism of China, and in the Taoist teachings. Hinduism is rich with Gnostic stories, symbols and guidance. The wisdom of Kabbalah, the Tree of Life, is absolutely Gnostic. Gnosis is found within the mysteries of Islam, in Sufism and the Whirling Dervishes, in the Egyptian, Persian, Chaldean, Pythagorean, Greek, Aztec, Mayan, Inca wisdom, etc.

Gnosis has been present and available under many names and with many faces, but the understanding of this Gnosis is now misunderstood or lost from our modern religious interpretations. Yet the principles always remain the same, as clearly stated by Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ…

“If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

These are the Three Factors present in any true teaching that leads on towards the POSITIVE awakening of one’s own consciousness.

The absence or disequilibrium of these three factors results in the degeneration of the teaching and subsequently its schools and students.

1. To deny oneself is to conquer one´s own Mind, to purify oneself from the psychological elements which keep us from seeing objective reality. That, which is called Mystical Death, is the elimination from our interior the defects of anger, hatred, envy, lust, gluttony, pride, vanity, laziness, fear, etc.
2. To take up the cross is a precise Alchemical work, the true Chemistry of God. It utilizes the creative potencies from above in a way that fused them with our own philosophical earth giving Spiritual Birth to a totally new creature inside,this aspect of the teaching was given in secret and because of this it is commonly misunderstood.
3. To follow the Christ means to live as Jesus did: with concern and compassion for the suffering of others, Sacrifice for Humanity.

Gnosis is called the path of the razor´s edge because to live with the level of integrity indicated by these teachings is a rare and refined path in this day and age. The experiential knowledge of Alchemy, Kabbalah, Esoteric Psychology, and Meditation can transform our common level of consciousness into the level of a Buddha, an Angel, a Master. This transformation, though, does not come about merely through beliefs and concepts or the acquisition of further research, book study, titles, and exoteric degrees. We are speaking of a total psychological transformation, a revolution of consciousness. Such transformation requires attention, guidance, progressive development, and the imparting of certain keys.