Post 9

Gnosticism means seeking for the gnosis or spiritual knowledge, no to be confused with worldly knowledge. There are two forms of spiritual knowledge. The first, is knowledge of a God and the second, is knowledge of the passwords or multiple God’s names. These passwords are known because the spirit will take on a human form known as the Redeemer and purify the souls of the people on Earth in order to grant them access to their primordial home, in the Devine. The Redeemer will take a human form multiple times, not just once like Jesus and other religious figures. The Gnostic tradition has sometimes been viewed as pessimistic. Although Professor Diem argues that they are not pessimistic in regards to the treatment of human beings, I would beg to differ. The Gnostic tradition has been related to Jewish and Christian cultures in the past. The Gnostic tradition may have found similarities within these cultures in order to gain more followers, but the faith and believe system of the Gnostic tradition is almost opposite of these two religions. When attempting to be a sect of Christianity, the Gnostics adjusted the story of Adam and Eve in order to show that the God that Christians see as God is really an evil God “that is a lower deity than the true Godhead”. The serpent, in Christianity a symbol of evil, is actually viewed as good. These alterations to the Adam and Eve story demonstrate the difference in view the Gnostics have from Christianity. In regards to the Gnostics being viewed as pessimistic, this I believe to be true because of the Gnostic stance against reproduction. Gnostics believe that an evil karma, Kal, holds the soul as long as possible within the world in order to keep the soul from finding the true Godhead. Therefore, not procreating is ultimately helping keep the supply of human souls depleting so that Kal cannot control any souls eventually. Since Kal cannot create humans the Gnostics do not want to help populate the world that he controls. This is a beneficial view for society if the world is overpopulated, but the point of animals is to procreate and humans are animals. There are many different sects of Gnostics around the world and it is hard to describe this tradition as one religion. Although each sect is a little different, all of the Gnostic sects recognize the original creators which transform the Gnostic tradition into a religion.

In regards to the Sant Mat tradition there are many similarities that encourage the idea that Sant Mat and Gnosticism arose form the same origins. Professor Ninian Smart provides a definition of religion that consists of seven required pieces in order to be classified as an authentic religion. Although within all seven aspects the Sant Mat tradition and the Gnostic tradition are comparable, only three are clearly undisputable. The three dimensions are doctrinal, experiential and ethical.

First, looking at the doctrinal dimension, both traditions follow the idea of a transcendent God. Both traditions also believe that there is “an illegitimate lower demiurge, the creator god, responsible for entrapping souls in material existence”. This creator God in the Sant Mat tradition is known as Ialdabaoth while this same God is known as Kal to the Gnostics. Both traditions believe that the spirit will be reincarnated until the reunification with the Devine occurs. This reunification can only occur when in the human form in order to "break all the shackles and get deliverance from the ceaseless cycle of births and deaths”.

The next dimension examined was the experiential dimension. This dimension consists of the path taken to reach the Devine. Both traditions believe that meditation is the only way that the soul can again become a part of the Devine. Both traditions talk about 5 levels that must be passed through before reuniting itself. On each level a different combination of light and sound must be recognized and followed in order to pass into the next realm. There will be distractions on each level and temptations to distract the follower from his/her goal, but the 5th level is the goal. Each spiritual realm is controlled by a demiurge or lower God. The name of this God must be known in order to pass into the next realm. Knowing the names of each God is needed to be learned from a spiritual guide. This is where the two traditions differ; the Sant tradition must have a live person as a guide. It is unclear if the Gnostics need a live person or if the original person was considered an enlightened being or simply another follower.

The final dimension is the ethical dimension. Although there are three main branches of Gnosticism, the branch that best compares with the Sant Mat tradition is the moderate group of the Gnostic tradition. The other two are called libertines and ascetics. Family life and marriage are highly regarded. Only by maintaining a balance between renunciation and libertism can a person overcome the worldly demands. Although there are small differences between the Gnostic schools and the Sant tradition in regards to ethics, there is still many similarities between the two traditions.