Written by Gnostic Instructor | |
Throughout the history of humanity, there have been individuals whose mission it was to act as guiding lights within the darkness of the ignorance and hatreds of humanity. These individuals have been called saviors, prophets, masters, magicians, bodhisattvas, Buddhas, arhats, and sons of man… With wise words, miracles, and esoteric written texts, these men and women have brought about changes to advance human spirituality. I. MysticismWe read in books that these holy individuals undertake various missions and have belonged to different eras, regions, religions, sects, secret societies, and esoteric orders; yet, there is a common and exact doctrine that is inherent within all of their works. As if there were a cosmic plan, in all races and eras, to send these enlightened messengers to work for specific missions in regards to the evolution of humanity. In his book, “Orders of the Quest,” Manly P. Hall states:
To begin the said emancipation, the Gnostic student seeks to enhance and develop the intuitive principle within, that force that causes one to seek for the Truth, that principle which causes us to seek to know ourselves. That principle is the consciousness inside the individual, that which is the reason and cause for all mystical experience. The consciousness is the means or material used in all acts of Theurgy, mysticism or white magic. Eliphas Levi once wrote, “Magic is the divine in man, consisting of science in union with faith.” The true Theurgist, the mystic or prophet, is the aspect of divinity within the individual human, it is the Inner Being, the Innermost. It is the particular Inner Being of an initiate which expresses itself through the words and actions of the initiate by means of the essence or causal principle. We do not say that any individual personality is divine, no, as Samael states, “The Theurgist is more within, deeper, more profound.” (Logos Mantram Theurgy) It is not, as many fanatics believe, the personality of a saint that is divine, it is the divine within that saint that is holy. And it is here that the initiates of the Universal Lodge find real magic. Devoid of the guidance of the divine within, one can only find egotism, and thus all magic will turn black as it degenerates into darkness. Sadly this is happening to many of the psuedo-esoteric orders and religions of modern humanity. Therefore, for one to delve into the esoteric or occult mysteries, one must seek union and guidance solely from the “Lord God of Truth Within.” And this is the true meaning of Religion, as the word itself comes from the Latin Religare, which means “to unite (with the divine).” We see the same meaning in the Sanskrit word Yoga (see the book entitled “The Mysteries of the Fire – Kundalini Yoga” by Samael Aun Weor), which is the same process under the light of eastern mysticism. Therefore, the students of Gnosticism do not follow any Gurus or teachers, save for the inner Guru, by cultivating the relationship between themselves with the divine. The true teachings of the Masters, which have come to serve humanity, are meant only to give us the means to nurture this relationship. Eliphas Levi wrote in “The Paradoxes of the Highest Science”:
II. ScienceFor thousands of years, Gnosticism has offered keys to unlock the mysteries that lay deeply hidden within the soul and it has promised one thing: objective knowledge. We do not ask the students to believe in a particular dogma. “ Why believe when you could know? ” Why believe when you could know? That is why it is said that the Innermost Self-realization of the Being is our goal, but science is our method. We must be critical, attentive and determined if we are to reach such a lofty goal. Therefore, there are three esoteric sciences which have been studied since the dawn of humanity which offer the means to our goal. A. Psychology
The term psychology is a compound word coming from the Greek words Psyche (soul) and Logos (verb). Modern psychology only goes so far as to study the mind and the egotistical self. Gnosticism delves deeply into the esoteric aspect of psychology, seeking to incorporate the understanding of the spirit and the soul in relation to the mind and the various egos.
Esoteric psychology seeks to understand and eliminate the cause of suffering just as the Buddha Shakyamuni taught over 2500 years ago. In relation to this aspect of psychology, the Buddha gave to his disciples the four noble truths. In brief, the first noble truth is that all ego-centric life is suffering. The second noble truth is that desire is the cause of all suffering. The third noble truth is that to eliminate suffering, one must eliminate all desire in oneself. The fourth noble truth says to follow what is called in Buddhism “the Eightfold Path”; these are the ways in which one goes about to eliminate desire and suffering.
So in Gnosis, we go further into the soul of the matter. In esoteric psychology, we must understand how the desires and defects of the mind trap and condition the consciousness of the human soul. Therefore, under the light of the teachings of Samael Aun Weor, we study three main facets of psychology: the ego, the essence, and the personality. EGO (Latin for “I”): These are the various vices, errors, wants, desires, conditionings, mechanicities, etc. in one’s mind, heart, and actions. By observing ourselves, we will see in a clear and obvious manner, that we have many different desires, often conflicting and contradicting each other, without any rhyme or reason. It is said that we have many thousands of these egos that dominate our mind, feelings and actions at a given moment. These are the elements in our psyche that cause us to identify with a particular self-gratifying sensation, these make up the false identity. These are the elements that lead to all the suffering of humanity. These elements, called psychic aggregates by the Tibetans, condition the human soul by trapping the essence or causal principle in the many deluded states of desire. The ego is a multiplicity, its name is legion. PERSONALITY (from Latin Persona, which means mask): This is the visible aspect of one’s character, as it impresses others. This is formed from the time of birth to the age of seven. It has three major influences that are studied in the Gnostic curriculum. Our personality can give us the keys to understanding our psychological make-up and ourselves. Yet the personality is just a mask, it can be worn by the various egos or it can be the passive instrument for the Innermost to express itself in the world. ESSENCE: This is the intelligence of one’s own Inner Being, inside the mind, heart and body. This is what we can call the Consciousness, Buddha nature, Buddhata etc. The Innermost has two souls, one divine and the other human; these three aspects make up our own particular individual Monad. The Innermost who is the aspect of the androgynous internal spirit, the Inner God, sends the essence of the human soul into the world in order to create. It does so, so as to acquire more knowledge in regards to the mysteries of nature. Thus, with divine intelligence, the Monad sends the essence into the world, our own psychological-physical world: mental, emotional/astral, vital and physical bodies. These bodies, intended to be vehicles of the cosmic intelligence of the Innermost (Monad), become identified and the mind becomes lost in the world, due to the identification with the desire for physical sensation. Thus, we must understand the egos, how they use our personality and how they trap the essence causing us to remain trapped in the base and superficial level of being that is so common and natural in this day and age. Yet it is only through re-connecting oneself to the essence that such a mission could be possible, for an ego cannot work on an ego, suffering only perpetuates more suffering. Therefore, the essence is what the students of Gnosticism seek to contact; it is only experienced in the moment, bringing knowledge, happiness and understanding. It is through the essence that the student can experience Gnosis (an intuitive and direct knowing), it can be experienced in different mystical states and various dimensions, as the essence is multi-dimensional. 2. Alchemy:
This ancient metallurgical science implies to us the notions of those who attempted to transmute base metals into gold. The word Alchemy is said to come from ancient Egypt (the land of Kem or Chem) and is a compound word containing Al, from the Arabic Allah, and kimia, a Greek term meaning “to fuse or cast a metal. Thus the true intention of Alchemy is “to fuse with God.” Here we should also understand that EL (Hebrew for God) and El[o]ah (Hebrew for Goddess) is analogous to the Arabic word Allah. This science is not one that can be taken purely at face value. The flamboyant alchemical instruments in the laboratories of the middle ages were merely used as symbolic tools to teach a secret doctrine to the initiated, so that it would not be destroyed- by the inquisition. The Keepers of the Great Arcanum have jealously guarded this science. This is the science of creation and perfection. Remember when Jesus said, “With patience ye shall possess thy soul.” And truly it is patience that one needs to perform the Magnum Opus, the Great Work. Symbolically speaking, this science is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
3. Kabbalah: This word comes from the Hebrew word Kibel, which means “to receive.” This reception, the ancient Hebrew Rabbis would say, refers to the reception of a hidden doctrine. While the masses would follow the precepts of exoteric religion and study the body of the doctrine, the Bible, Torah or Tanakh, these books were only supplemental to the secret doctrine studied by the Kabalistic Rabbis. To the Rabbis, the cryptic symbolism within the books the “Zohar” and the “Talmud” was the body of the secret doctrine. Gnosticism has unveiled this most valuable tradition in the light of esotericism.
Kabbalah is based upon the symbol called in Hebrew Otz Chiim or The Tree of Life. This symbol shows all the different aspects of the universe in all its dimensions in relation to the human, with the different aspects of the soul in relation to divinity. It shows the creation of the cosmos, the creation of individual life, and the creation of the soul. It shows the way every cosmic unit receives and is sustained by cosmic forces. This is the true Kabbalistic reception . In every ancient religion there is a symbolic “Tree of Life.” It is in the midst of Eden within the Judeo-Christian traditions, it is the Bodhi Tree of the Buddha Shakyamuni, it is symbolized by the Katums of the Popul Vuh of the Mayans, and the Oak Tree of the Nordic mysteries. Students are urged to read such books as Mystical Qabalah by Dion Fortune, Tarot and Kabbalah by Samael Aun Weor, and Transcendental Magic by Eliphas Levi to understand the in depth symbolical structures of Kabbalah. To have a clear understanding of the Tree of Life, in its basic applications, one can unlock the doors of the mysteries of the ages.
Therefore, the students of our institutions are urged to study these three sciences and how they are applied to all of the ancient religions. We do not exclude any religion, because we believe that the doctrine of the synthesis is the most accurate, objective, all encompassing and tolerant. Understand these three sciences and the three sciences will help you to understand yourself spiritually and psychologically. These sciences should be studied and applied. For what is science without experimentation, theories, and facts? III. Initiation
Initiation is a very important aspect of Gnosticism. The Initiation process reflects the cosmos, its order, and the laws of the universe within the “lodge.” We do not give grades and degrees to the students of our institutions, like many initiatory schools; that is not necessary. The initiations are received by the soul of the student in the temples that exist in the higher dimensions of nature. The true lodge, orders, and temples exist within the astral plane, and it is in the astral plane that the inner orders meet. The Gnostic student must become proficient in the arts of meditation and astral travel to be able to attend such meetings. Initiations are gained by the merits of the heart. The initiation expresses the evolution and development of the consciousness and the soul. To achieve these initiations, one must learn to conquer oneself and to purify the soul. It is the Innermost who gives the initiations. This purification is achieved through the comprehension and elimination of the undesirable elements within the psyche, those psychic aggregates that were referred to in the section of this leaflet entitled Psychology. Verily, there are three factors that lead to the true initiation, which we may call here, the Revolution of the Consciousness or the Awakening of the Consciousness. These three factors are as follows: 1. Mystical (Alchemical) Birth: This type of birth is in relation to the forging of one’s own soul, see the section in this leaflet entitled Alchemy. Let us reflect upon the words of Jesus when he spoke to the famous Pharisee Nicodemus:
Thus, Jesus spoke this symbolism for those who have the ear to hear. This is not, as many people think, to be taken literally, but to be understood on a deeper esoteric level. And He explains that in the words he speaks there is deep symbolism, not to be taken at face value:
2. Mystical (Psychological) Death: This refers to the dying of one’s egos or psychological I’s. This is the path that the serious Gnostic student takes to pay the Karma that one owes and to crucify one’s own desires, defects, and vices. By defects and vices, we are emphatically referring to those defects that can be called Anger, Pride, Envy, Greed, Gluttony, Lust and Laziness. We seek purification through comprehending our defects through the application of self-observation and meditation as our tools. It is only after comprehending a certain defect that it can be eliminated. All of the suffering of the world is caused by these defects and each of these defects has its corresponding selfish desires. The world and all of its problems is just a sum total of all the individuals who carry the defects within. Therefore, we must seek to change ourselves and thereby make a true revolution. 3. Sacrifice for Humanity: This factor is seen in the works of the great avatars and what they have done for humanity. Those who have given their life for suffering humanity, to give the teachings in different epochs, races and religions have shown us how to sacrifice for humanity. We read about many great Masters who gave their life for suffering humanity and received martyrdom in return. Sacrifice is to give without the desire to receive, and it is to give consciously. If we give money to a poor fellow, and he in turn spends that money on an unhealthy habit that harms him and humanity, how is that a conscious sacrifice? We must be wise and not careless in our actions. The road to the abyss is paved with good intentions. We must help in the way that best suits the individual and humanity. Therefore it is written, “Love is the Law, but conscious Love.” |
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