The term Gnosis comes from the root of the English word "knowledge." Gnosis is not only knowledge of an intellectual type, Gnosis is a universal perennial teaching that seeks the innate Divine wisdom within our selves. The word Gnosis has been used by many philosophers throughout history such as Pythagoras, Jesus of Nazareth, Buddha, Moses, Quetzalcoatl, but the wisdom of Gnosis really refers to t
he Truth beyond philosophy, dogma, personality, or theory. Gnosis is "direct, experiential knowledge of the divine," and it provides the knowledge and meditative techniques to know oneself. Gnosis is the intimate experience of the Truth as well as the path that takes us there. Just as fire burns, gravity exists; these are truths that cannot be denied once experienced. Therefore, Gnosis is not built from spiritual fantasy; it is the foundation from which we can see beyond our fantasy. This is the same path taught by the awakened masters of all great traditions. There is Gnosis throughout the Christian Gospels and also in the Buddhist doctrine, in the Ta***ic Buddhism from Tibet, in the Zen Buddhism from Japan, in the Chan Buddhism of China, and in the Taoist teachings. Hinduism is rich with Gnostic stories, symbols and guidance. The wisdom of Jewish Kabbalah, the Tree of Life, the mysteries of Islam, in Sufism and the Whirling Dervishes, in the Egyptian, Persian, Chaldean, Pythagorean, Greek, Aztec, Mayan, Inca, etc., wisdom. Gnosis has been present and available under many names and with many faces, but the understanding of this Gnosis is now misunderstood or lost from our modern religious interpretations, yet the principles always remain the same.
