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Aspects of Gnosis
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The Beauties of True Godliness
There are different schools of Gnosticism and many different aspects
to Gnosis but there are two aspects of this system of belief that are
relevant in the context of this article.
The first one is the definition of Gnosis itself:
The doctrine of salvation by knowledge. This definition, based on
the etymology of the word (gnosis “knowledge,” gnostikos,
“good at knowing” ), is correct as far as it goes, but it
gives only one, though perhaps the predominant, characteristic of
Gnostic systems of thought. Whereas Judaism and Christianity, and almost
all pagan systems, hold that the soul attains its proper end by
obedience of mind and will to the Supreme Power, i.e. by faith and
works, it is markedly peculiar to Gnosticism that it places the
salvation of the soul merely in the possession of a quasi-intuitive
knowledge of the mysteries of the universe and of magic formulae
indicative of that knowledge. Gnostics were “people who
knew,” and their knowledge at once constituted them a superior
class of beings, whose present and future status was essentially
different from that of those who, for whatever reason, did not
know.
— Catholic Encyclopedia
This definition shows us that Gnostic systems of belief place all the
emphasis on knowledge, a knowledge that was accessible at one time but
that became occult and out of reach.
The second one, which Gnosis has in common with Buddhism, is the
belief that the capacity for Enlightenment is within us. We all have a
Divine Spark within which must be accessed in order for us to know God
and transcend the boundaries of matter. We are now, according to basic
traditional Gnostic belief, trapped in the prison of matter and victims
of a false Creator or Demiurge but in truth we are all sharers of the
divinity and according to Hermes' Emerald tablet:
“That which is below is as that which is above, and that which is
above is as that which is below, to perform the miracles of the one
thing”
In simple terms, Gnosis could be understood as self-knowledge and
knowledge of the Divine.
Freemasonry isn't part of the Gnostic tradition, although there are
similarities between some Gnostic sects1
and Freemasonry, it is clear the Craft hasn't, from a historical point
of view, descended from the Gnostic sects of the II century. However,
it is safe to say that Freemasonry has been informed by Gnostic beliefs
or that there is an underlying Gnostic component present in Masonic
ritual.
If we look at knowledge, at the definition of Gnosis itself, we will
notice its presence and mention throughout Masonic ritual: in the First
degree, for example, the very preparation of the candidate and his quest
for light are emblematic of this search for knowledge. This is a search
that starts as a journey of self-discovery, a journey in which Ritual
removes us completely from the familiar reality we live in and does so
by restricting our senses and immersing us in a radically different
world full of strange yet beautiful symbols and archaic eighteen century
language.
This journey of self-discovery from the first degree is further
defined and shaped by moral virtue in the second degree with the
ultimate objective of turning our attention towards the “paths of
Heavenly Science”
“Thus the Square teaches morality, the Level equality and the
Plumb Rule justness and uprightness of life and actions, so that by
Square conduct, Level steps and upright intentions we hope to ascend to
those blessed mansions whence all goodness emanates”
— Second degree working tools, Taylor's workings
It could be easy to interpret the last sentence from a traditional,
Christian eschatological point of view, i.e. if we follow the rules of
morality when we die, we will go to Heaven but I resist this
interpretation since it is too simplistic. Couldn't those blessed
mansions be our higher self, us reunited with the divine, our divine
spark being reignited?
Then again, what is God or the Divinity? Like our very existence, God
is another mystery that confronts us and to try and “know”
God, we cannot use the medium of science or rational discourse. Why
should we immediately anthropomorphize our idea of God? Does God really
look like Blake's depiction of the Architect — God in his painting
“Ancient of Days”? We shouldn't use the language of science
to tackle this important question. In today's world to transcend from
our material reality and to accept that we have a spirit to feed as well
is a miracle in itself. And spirit cannot be fed with logic and
matter.
The third degree has many levels of meaning and lends itself to
various interpretations, one could be that death awaits us all as the
last unfathomable mystery of our existence and we must confront it and
prepare for it. The way to do this is to “know” (to acquire
Gnosis) to penetrate that “mysterious veil assisted by that Light
which is from above.” In the third degree we are also reminded to
continue with our journey of self discovery and self knowledge in very
clear terms:
“Let the emblems of mortality which lie before you lead you to
contemplate your inevitable destiny and guide your reflections to that
most interesting of all human studies, the knowledge of
yourself”
— Third degree charge, Taylor's working
I will let the reader to unfold the relationship of the title with
the content of my humble piece.
Darren Lorente
Master Mason
St Mary Islington 5451
United Grand Lodge of England
1. The Essenes with their grips and tokens spring
to mind, but to read any direct links or connections with Freemasonry is
pure fantasy and wishful thinking
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Freemasonry main page.
A Page About Freemasonry is http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/Masonry/
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