“Gnosis depends upon distinguishing the psyche, or soul, from the deep self, which pragmatically means that any strengthening of the psyche depends upon acquaintance with the original self, already one with God. Originality is as much the mark of historical Gnosticism as it is of canonical Western literature; that C. S. Lewis simultaneously deprecates both the self and originality confirms the Gnostic negative analysis of those who assert that they live by faith rather than by knowledge. Christian faith is pistis, a believing that something was, is, and will be so. Judaic faith is a trusting in the Covenant. Islam means submission to the will of Allah, as expressed through his messenger, Muhammad, ‘the seal of the prophets.’ But Gnosis is not a believing that, a trusting in, or a submission. Rather, it is mutual knowing, and a simultaneous being known, of and by God.
“I cannot pretend that this is a simple process, it is far more elitist than C. S. Lewis’s ‘mere Christianity,’ and I suspect that this elitism is why Gnosticism always has been defeated by by orthodox Christian faith, in history.” ~Harold Bloom
Knowing is Gnosis
Bloom is writing more as a critic of traditional religion rather than a defender of Gnosticism. That needs to be taken into account when reading his comments on Gnosticism and Gnosis.
Before you can achieve Gnosis, you have to know what Gnosis means. Some say that it simply means knowledge, all knowledge, knowledge of anything. That is incorrect. Knowledge of how to make a chocolate cake is not Gnosis. Knowledge of how to build a house is not Gnosis. The knowledge found in a book is not Gnosis, even if the author of the book was a Gnostic.
Only one kind of knowledge truly qualifies as Gnosis and that is Divine Knowledge. This Divine Knowledge is all Knowledge, true knowledge with no veils, no distortions, no opinions. So the only way to get such knowledge is through a direct connection with higher levels of consciousness and the spiritual beings that live there. The ultimate Gnosis comes when we fully realize our connection to the One Consciousness that is God. That is true Gnosis, and it can only be gained by direct experience, never indirectly by reading books or watching videos. Continue reading “Gnosis is Knowing, But We Must Know Gnosis”