Gnosticism and the Sat Nam

This article is where I got my inspiration for this blog. This article is not the end-all to Gnosticism. From my understanding, there are many schools within this discipline. 

I have capitalized “God” and “Sat Nam”, as though they are names/proper nouns. 

In Gnosticism, God, as we understand him, did not create anything, just as we did not create ourselves. Instead, He emanated, or brought forth his truth, that is the essence of the universe (which is in itself at this time incomprehensible, but my best knowledge there are only 16 particles that make up the entire universe, ergo, we are all much more connected than we recognize). When we seek our truth, our Sat Nam, we are also able to intuitively understand our purpose, which I believe is to find our peace. I believe that our Sat Nam can be understood as Sophia from one of the Gnostic myths. Sophia is referred to as the "divine spark" which is trying to be realized, and for me, the Sat Nam is the active connection between us and creation, trying to be reconciled so that we may find peace.

From my current understanding, the gnosis is the knowing of the spiritual truth of this mission, and is what liberates us. We want to be freed, and we can accomplish this through finding serenity, and helping us achieve this is the sole purpose of why Jesus came to earth. What is one way of being freed? One that I think most of us can relate to - losing our debt, a most crippling act of living outside our means. Another is live and let live, which also means to not engage in gossip, pointing fingers, or comparing ourselves to others.

So when this gnosis is released, and I will have to, hopefully, come back to this point in the future when I am fit to explain, though I can say now that it can partly be achieved through realizing that the material is not all that important, we begin to find ease (opposite of dis-ease) that comes with peace. I used to think that sobriety helped my gnosis, and that of course has helped me as I start to learn live without stress, but now I recognize that the support of a wonderful partner has also been key - and I have always believed that finding love has also been a key role in our quest - to reject the illusion of the external world, so that I may be more practical and comfortable. The Gnostics were right about not putting so much stock in the material, because today we scientifically know that only 5% of the universe is visible or knowable through sight or the other senses. Why would this be any different on earth?

Jesus repeatedly says do not worry: that he will go before us. Traditionally, Jesus was also referred to as “kurios”, which means “Name above all.” Since Jesus told us that the kingdom of God is within us, it can be argued that Jesus, the Saviour even in Gnosticism, was teaching us about our Sat Nam: our liberation, our peace.

Like myself, Gnostics do not believe sin is venial or mortal, but rather is the result of the ignorance of our reality that is blocked by all of our superficial wants and releases that make us miserable. We hate each other, we profit from war, we compete, and we are bitter when we lose, which we usually do. From my own experience, my greatest sins which are envy, pride, and wrath, all stem from my inability to see what is real. Now that I am improving spiritually through way of realizing that we all have our problems, through earnestly loving my partner, and in rejecting debt that is usually necessary to obtain the material to serve my ego, I can now fight my demons: I have been able to reject the terrible feelings that cause me to react to what I perceive to be threats.

For me at this time, the most important thing is to not become indoctrinated or conversely New Age. In discovering my Sat Nam, I have been able to discern, which has helped my confidence to the point that I can feel assured in my feelings and defend myself against what I believe challenges my autonomy and self-worth, because paradoxically, I recognize that there is no threat. 

I have been much happier since I have started to believe in myself, over something that I can not identify with. It does get a little tricky when I want something, and I would like ask someone in the sky to get it for me, but it doesn't feel hopeless. I tell myself that entity doesn't exist when I am tempted, such as when I am hoping for a new opportunity in my life, and I now say, "What will be will be".

No fear in the gnosis, no weakness in the eucharist

"Jesus said, 'Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all. And after they have reigned they will rest.'" The (Gnostic) Gospel of Thomas

The below are points that I agree with, taken from biblicalreader.com.  Some statements in the article, I do not support at all: most notably the assertion that Jesus did not die on the cross.  That said, the article does recognize that there are various forms of thought in what we call Gnosticism, due to a lack of creed, I suspect, and I consider that the many paths in the traditions to be heaven-sent, because mysticism is personal - a divine revelation between the individual and the Most High itself, whether that is the Adonai, our "Higher Self", or something still to be revealed (to me, at least).

After all, we are all on individual paths, being led to truths as our god, through his working relationship with us, and thereby knowing what we need, and what information we can manage to accept at the various stages of our searchings, reveals to us.  When we can, without ego and hierarchy, come together, inspire each other, and help each other to understand the ailments of this world, we can begin to reconcile with ourselves and our environments.

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1) This cross between Platonism and Christianity is now broadly referred to as ‘Gnosticism.’

2) Gnostics universally believed that the God of the Old  Testament, called ‘Yahweh,’ (or ‘Jehovah’) is not, in fact, the eternal and holy God, but rather a very powerful angelic-like being, often referred to as ‘the Demiurge’

3) To the Gnostic, Christ was not a redeemer from the power of sin, but a deliverer from the power of the false God of the Jews.

4) The serpent in the Garden was  actually an agent of good and tried to help man see the truth about the Demiurge.

5) Much of the Old and New Testament Scriptures reflect the religion of the Demiurge, and are therefore unreliable. 

6) Gnosticism can in no sense be viewed as an alternate form of Christianity as has been suggested by some.

To conclude, for those who read the full article and noticed the strong connection of Plato to Christianity, here is a note on Platonism and Christianity, taken from Wikipedia:

"Platonism influenced Christianity through Clement of Alexandria and Origen, and the Cappadocian Fathers.  St. Augustine was heavily influenced by Platonism as well, which he encountered through the Latin translations of Marius Victorinus of the works of Porphyry and/or Plotinus.

Platonism was considered authoritative in the Middle Ages, and many Platonic notions are now permanent elements of Christianity.  Platonism also influenced both Eastern and Western mysticism.

Meanwhile, Platonism influenced various philosophers.  While Aristotle became more influential than Plato in the 13th century, St. Thomas Aquinas's philosophy was still in certain respects fundamentally Platonic.

With the Renaissance, scholars became more interested in Plato himself.  In 16th, 17th, and 19th century England, Plato's ideas influenced many religious thinkers.  Orthodox Protestantism in continental Europe, however, distrusts natural reason and has often been critical of Platonism."

~ Adonai