The Esoteric Nature of Gnosis

The Esoteric Nature of Gnosis PDF Author: Oluwatobi Peter Ayanlola
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
For the esotericist, the reality of Christ is something that ought to be sought after. It is the living manifestation of profound spiritual insight. The early civilizations of humanity held a firm conviction in the reality of a metaphysical realm with forces and activities that, under ideal circumstances, manifested as the many kingdoms of nature on the outer plane of existence. The sages and initiates of the period learned about this underlying reality through an objective view of clairvoyant insights and perceptions. Because of the significance of these insights, those ancient cultures acquired a sense of veneration for the metaphysical nature of the human being and of the divine. This was distinguished by their various religious activities (rites, ceremonies, etc.), which became embodied as philosophical traditions. One of such traditions is the doctrine of Gnosticism, or Gnosis, which offers a reliable stream of esoteric knowledge and insight. The nature of Gnosis is thus looked at through the framework of esotericism.

The Esoteric Nature of Gnosis

The Esoteric Nature of Gnosis PDF Author: Oluwatobi Peter Ayanlola
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
For the esotericist, the reality of Christ is something that ought to be sought after. It is the living manifestation of profound spiritual insight. The early civilizations of humanity held a firm conviction in the reality of a metaphysical realm with forces and activities that, under ideal circumstances, manifested as the many kingdoms of nature on the outer plane of existence. The sages and initiates of the period learned about this underlying reality through an objective view of clairvoyant insights and perceptions. Because of the significance of these insights, those ancient cultures acquired a sense of veneration for the metaphysical nature of the human being and of the divine. This was distinguished by their various religious activities (rites, ceremonies, etc.), which became embodied as philosophical traditions. One of such traditions is the doctrine of Gnosticism, or Gnosis, which offers a reliable stream of esoteric knowledge and insight. The nature of Gnosis is thus looked at through the framework of esotericism.

Gnosis

Gnosis PDF Author: Daniel Merkur
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791416198
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
Traces the use of powerful gnostic visionary techniques from Hellenistic Gnosticism and Jewish merkabah mysticism, through Muhammad, the Ismaeilis, and theosophical Sufism to medieval neoplatonism, and renaissance alchemy.

Gnosis: The exoteric cycle

Gnosis: The exoteric cycle PDF Author: Boris Mouravieff
Publisher: Praxis Research Institute
ISBN: 1872292100
Category : Gnosticism
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description


Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times

Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times PDF Author: R. van den Broek
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791436110
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
This volume introduces what has sometimes been called "the third component of western culture". It traces the historical development of those religious traditions which have rejected a world view based on the primacy of pure rationality or doctrinal faith, emphasizing instead the importance of inner enlightenment or gnosis: a revelatory experience which was typically believed to entail an encounter with one's true self as well as with the ground of being, God. The contributors to this book demonstrate this perspective as fundamental to a variety of interconnected traditions. In Antiquity, one finds the gnostics and hermetics; in the Middle Ages several Christian sects. The medieval Cathars can, to a certain extent, be considered part of the same tradition. Starting with the Italian humanist Renaissance, hermetic philosophy became of central importance to a new religious synthesis that can be referred to as Western Esotericism. The development of this tradition is described from Renaissance hermeticists and practitioners of spiritual alchemy to the emergence of Rosicrucianism and Christian theosophy in the seventeenth century, and from post-enlightenment aspects of Romanticism and occultism to the present-day New Age movement.

The Gnostic World

The Gnostic World PDF Author: Garry W. Trompf
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317201841
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 833

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Book Description
The Gnostic World is an outstanding guide to Gnosticism, written by a distinguished international team of experts to explore Gnostic movements from the distant past until today. These themes are examined across sixty-seven chapters in a variety of contexts, from the ancient pre-Christian to the contemporary. The volume considers the intersection of Gnosticism with Jewish, Christian, Islamic and Indic practices and beliefs, and also with new religious movements, such as Theosophy, Scientology, Western Sufism, and the Nation of Islam. This comprehensive handbook will be an invaluable resource for religious studies students, scholars, and researchers of Gnostic doctrine and history.

Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism: I

Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism: I PDF Author: Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 656

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Book Description
Now available in one volume, this is the first comprehensive reference work to cover the entire domain of Gnosis and Western Esotericism from the period of Late Antiquity to the present. Containing around 400 articles by over 180 international specialists, it provides critical overviews discussing the nature and historical development of all its important currents and manifestations, from Gnosticism and Hermetism to Astrology, Alchemy and Magic, from the Hermetic Tradition of the Renaissance to Rosicrucianism and Christian Theosophy, and from Freemasonry and Illuminism to 19th-century Occultism and the contemporary New Age movement. Furthermore it contains articles about the life and work of all the major personalities in the history of Gnosis and Western Esotericism, discussing their ideas, significance, and historical influence. This one volume edition is an unabridged version of the two volume edition, published in 2005.

Eternal Wisdom: The Esoteric Gnosis of Perennial Philosophy

Eternal Wisdom: The Esoteric Gnosis of Perennial Philosophy PDF Author: Gwendolyn Taunton
Publisher: Manticore Press
ISBN: 9780648766056
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 114

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Book Description
Eternal Wisdom explains the connection between art, mythology, spirituality, and religion through the language of symbols. These concepts are taken outside of the context of religious philosophy to explain how these ideas should be revised to achieve a positive cultural outlook for the increasingly bleak modern era. Archetypes and mystical experiences possess an inherent immortal existence in the collective human subconscious. They are eternally existent in artistic symbolism and spiritual traditions. Part earthly and part-other worldly, these hidden forces interact with humanity by providing a primordial source for the creative facets of human existence that are channeled into the diverse range of spiritual, mystical, and cultural experiences. This book examines the strands of esoteric thought and gnosis provided in the teachings of perennial philosophy - a topic that has been predominantly associated with prestigious authors such as Carl Jung, René Guénon, Frithjof Schuon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, Huston Smith, and Aldous Huxley. Eternal Wisdom aspires to expand on the existing corpus of teachings by advocating for the inclusion of polytheist cultural sources. Additionally, esoteric practices - including divination and the alchemy - are discussed within the context of perennial philosophy and the primordial tradition.

Gnosis

Gnosis PDF Author: Kurt Rudolph
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 9780567086402
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 438

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Book Description
Translated by R. McL. WilsonA full-scale study based on the documents of the Coptic Gnostic library found at Nag Hammadi providing a comprehensive survey of the nature, the teachings, the history and the influence of this religion.

From New Age to New Gnosis

From New Age to New Gnosis PDF Author: Peter Wilberg
Publisher:
ISBN: 1904519075
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
Peter Wilberg presents a political history of the subversive 'gnostic' theologies of the first century, and with it, a theo-political critique of the ruling god-concepts of the 21st century. 'From New Age to New Gnosis' is spiritual Marxism and a powerful spearhead aimed at the 'New World Order' of economic 'liberalism', neo-conservatism and military imperialism. It challenges all four faces of its famous dollar pyramid - the 'i-dollartry' of new technologies, the reduction of the human being to a genetic machine, the politically illiterate platitudes of New Age 'spirituality' - and the spiritual illiterate 'literalism' of Christian biblical fundamentalism and racist Zionazism - which now see their own zealotry mirrored and confronted by militant Islam. What Peter Wilberg's recognises is that what our divided world now calls for is not a revival of fundamentalisms of any sort but a New Gnostic spirituality that understands the "wordless knowledge within the word" (Seth).

Gnostic Philosophy

Gnostic Philosophy PDF Author: Tobias Churton
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1594777675
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 574

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Book Description
An extensive examination of the history of gnosticism and how its philosophy has influenced the Western esoteric tradition • Explains how the Gnostic understanding of self-realization is embodied in the esoteric traditions of the Rosicrucians and Freemasons • Explores how gnosticism continues to influence contemporary spirituality • Shows gnosticism to be a philosophical key that helps spiritual seekers "remember" their higher selves Gnosticism was a contemporary of early Christianity, and its demise can be traced to Christianity's efforts to silence its teachings. The Gnostic message, however, was not destroyed but simply went underground. Starting with the first emergence of Gnosticism, the author shows how its influence extended from the teachings of neo-Platonists and the magical traditions of the Middle Ages to the beliefs and ideas of the Sufis, Jacob Böhme, Carl Jung, Rudolf Steiner, and the Rosicrucians and Freemasons. In the language of spiritual freemasonry, gnosis is the rejected stone necessary for the completion of the Temple, a Temple of a new cosmic understanding that today's heirs to Gnosticism continue to strive to create. The Gnostics believed that the universe embodies a ceaseless contest between opposing principles. Terrestrial life exhibits the struggle between good and evil, life and death, beauty and ugliness, and enlightenment and ignorance: gnosis and agnosis. The very nature of physical space and time are obstacles to humanity's ability to remember its divine origins and recover its original unity with God. Thus the preeminent gnostic secret is that we are God in potential and the purpose of bona fide gnostic teaching is to return us to our godlike nature. Tobias Churton is a filmmaker and the founding editor of the magazine Freemasonry Today. He studied theology at Oxford University and created the award-winning documentary series and accompanying book The Gnostics, as well as several other films on Christian doctrine, mysticism, and magical folklore. He lives in England.