What is Gnosis?
Knowledge through direct experience

The term Gnosis itself is a Greek term meaning “knowledge”. It is not, however, a merely intellectual or bookish type of knowledge but rather one that comes from within- an innate understanding or comprehension of the world we are in. Generally most people have experienced this type of knowledge- one where suddenly, out of the blue, comes a flash of understanding and “the penny drops” so to speak. This experience is one of the human consciousness, distinct from the mind, that has the capacity to grasp the deep meaning- the hidden knowledge- lying behind or within a certain situation, thing, question or answer. Gnosis is therefore a type of intuitive illumination, transforming what is unknown or hidden into the known. It is a path: the path to self-realisation. The experiences of a greater Truth that guide us to a particular goal. It is the "Middle Path" of the Buddha, the Tao, or "Way" of Chinese Taoism. It is the "Straight and Narrow" path of Christianity, the climb back up the "Tree of Life" of the Hebrew Kabala: the way back to that from which we originally came.

This path is our own life, the way we live it daily. The goal and greater guide on this path is our own Inner Being - our "Inner Self". Each one of us has our own Being. The experience of our Being is the experience of the Truth, a Greater Reality, Divinity. Any true happiness and knowledge that we can possess comes via our Being. We live daily in a state which in India is known as 'Maya': illusion: feeling separated from nature and other people. Our Inner Being is our real inner Nature, in which we experience the interconnectedness of ourself with spirit, Man and Nature.

The goal of the Gnostic schools is to get the student onto their own path. With this in mind the school gives the necessary keys for awakening our consciousness here and now, and in the inner world that we normally label 'Astral' or 'Dream' World.

Tradition and Revelation

The Australian Gnostic Association is an esoteric school whose fundamental aim is the liberation, happiness and freedom of the person as a soul or spiritual Being. As a school it has its teachings and methods that are designed to assist a person to unfold their spiritual reality in accordance with their own volition and capacity. These teachings- from meditation, to the functions of the mind and psychology, to the mystical studies of alchemy, kabalah, the tarot etc.- form the body of the Gnostic doctrine, or the tradition of Gnosis. Any tradition exists simply as a guide; it is there to provide a language, a context, in which a person can work to understand themselves and their world. (See “The Four Pillars”)

The Gnostic tradition, however beautiful and sublime it maybe, is limited. No tradition or doctrine can tell a person what their spiritual reality is simply because reality can only be experienced by the person themself. This experience, or gnosis, is what reveals the reality contained within the tradition. In order to really know any teachings as a reality, we need to experience it and in this way we reveal to ourself the nature of what the tradition was describing. This is why in ancient times there were many different doctrines that could be termed “gnostic”- a tradition is simply a language that is used to describe the internal nature of things, like a myth or parable. Gnosis is really the “golden thread” that links all the various traditions. It is the experience of the real, the inner truth of the tradition that a person who declares themself Gnostic is concerned with- not the beliefs and theories that surround it.