Who are the Gnostics? The quest for Gnosis existed in the ancient esoteric schools of Egypt, Greece, and India, in the mystical civilizations of the Aztecs and Incas, among the Buddhists, Zen monks, and Sufis, each with their own legends, symbols, artworks, architecture, and sciences like astronomy and medicine - all containing an amazing wealth of spiritual knowledge. Historically however, the Gnostics are most commonly referred to as a group of people who emerged around the time of Christ. According to the second century doctrine of Valentius, Gnosis appeared one hundred years before Christ among the Hellenistic Jews in Syria-Palestine and Alexandrian Egypt. Others believe that Gnosis began to appear in the spiritual community of the Essenes, who lived in the desert of Egypt shortly before the time of Christ and are renowned for The Dead Sea Scrolls.

Jesus and the apostles taught and practiced Gnosis, although most people until now have thought that their teachings were Christian (according to the traditional understanding of Christianity). It has only been through the ground-breaking discovery of some ancient texts in Egypt known as The Nag Hammadi Library that new light has been shed on Jesus - what he really taught, and who the Gnostics were. These texts are Gnostic in their content and are thought to have been written around 50-100 A.D. They contain never before seen sayings of Jesus, that have radically changed the way he has been perceived.

The impact that the life of Jesus had upon history is evidently significant. In his own time, he stirred up profound controversy and was condemned by many religious leaders who believed he was a threat to their traditions. Jesus challenged the common perceptions towards humanity and divinity, inviting the ordinary person to extraordinary possibilities.

Yet even during his life, few grasped the deep meaning of his parables and symbolic teachings. Commenting to his small group of disciples, he said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand”. Gnosis was taught in this way during the time of Christ and also whenever else it was given, because the nature of the teachings so challenged the opinion of the day throughout all the ages in which it appeared, that often for concern of ridicule and even death, it had to be taught in secrecy and contained in seemingly incomprehensible parables, myths, legends, and even art and music.

In this way, those who were truly seeking spirituality and more to life dedicated themselves to deciphering the mysterious words and symbols and were able to extract their deeper esoteric meaning, whilst those who took the teachings at face value were unaware of their real content.

The version of Christianity that most people are familiar with today was taught by Paul of Tarsus, which broke away from the teachings of the disciples. His version was the one eventually accepted by the Roman government and became the foundation of the orthodox Christian Church, which was officially established in 312 A.D. – throughout the centuries branching off to form the many different versions of Christianity we see today.

The magnificence behind Jesus’ death and resurrection attracted a mass of believers who joined the church, where the parables were taken literally. The church then endeavored to spread the teachings of the Bible throughout the world, in which the Nag Hammadi texts were excluded.

However, Jesus demonstrated through the events of his life and death how to actually walk the spiritual path – illustrating in a real way how each person can die, resurrect, and be born again through the secret techniques he taught in parables - showing how man can become god and obtain immortality.

And so there were those who joined the orthodox or public aspect of Christianity, and those who understood the true meaning of Jesus' words and life. And in this way the Church grew and spread the teachings of Jesus, and those seeking spiritual truth had the opportunity to find Gnosis.

Those who understood his teachings used them to begin their own spiritual transformation and discover their own innate divinity. They carried on, in many cases underground, spreading the actual practical keys of Christianity to those who sought them. These people were the Gnostics, who connected the human and the divine, and who professed that every person could reach an immortal spiritual state if they dedicated themselves to changing profoundly into a wholly new being.

However, it was not long before the Church began its violent campaign of suppression against the Gnostics and other spiritual groups in an attempt to eradicate what it saw as threats to Christianity and its power. The majority of believers, who did not pursue the practicalities of Jesus’ teachings - preferring only to worship him, were outraged at the Gnostics' statements of connection with the divine and the possibility of man becoming God through mystical practice. They eventually attempted to wipe the words of the Gnostics from history, destroying their spiritual texts wherever they were found in an effort to reduce all opposition to their beliefs. Due to this, most historical information about the Gnostics has been documented through the writings of those who opposed them, and consequently the world's remembrance of who they were is largely distorted.

In the 380's, the first laws of heresy were introduced – and this is when The Nag Hammadi Library was ordered to be destroyed, and The Pistis Sophia banned. In an attempt to save the writings from destruction, The Nag Hammadi Library was buried and The Pistis Sophia disappeared. In the fifth century there were over 100 statutes aimed at heretics. Entire volumes were written by members of the orthodoxy in an effort to denigrate the Gnostics publicly. Later, the infamous Holy Inquisition began, burning books and those deemed as heretics. It is estimated that up to 35,000 were killed under the investigations of just one man.

However, Gnosis itself survived. Small groups of people continued its study, and over the centuries it re-emerged in such forms as that of Medieval Alchemy, very early Freemasonry, and early Rosicrucianism. The teachings were instead concealed in legends and myths such as the Quest for the Holy Grail, which is like a coded guide to the spiritual path, and to the illumination and salvation referred to in the Gnostic texts. The Order of the Knights Templar, formed in 1118, used this as the foundation of their spiritual practices.

The persecutions continued however, as in 1307 the Grand Master of the Templars and sixty of his senior knights were arrested on charges of idolatry by the King of France at the time, and tortured. The remainder of the order are said to have fled to Lombardy, Scotland, Portugal and the Baltic states. It was in Scotland that they are speculated to have founded two branches of underground Gnostic study – that of Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism.

It is unclear, however, exactly when these mystery schools began, but the time is said to have been generally around the 15th to 16th centuries in Europe. Medieval Alchemy also began around this time. It was characterized by an external or exoteric practice of converting lead into gold. However, hidden from the public eye was the esoteric practice of converting the lead of the personality into the gold of the spirit.

This type of alchemy is the one enshrouded in the visions and sayings of the ancient Gnostic texts with all their symbolism. The 'bridal chamber' mentioned in the Bible and in Gnostic texts, refers to the tantric practice in which the philosophical stone of the Alchemists is formed. This is the same stone Jesus refers to in The Gospel of Thomas in The Nag Hammadi Library, when he says, “Show me the stone which the builders have rejected. That one is the cornerstone,” which the spiritual work or Magnum Opus of the Alchemists is built upon.

Of course, this would have been deemed perverse and outrageous at the time, and so the Medieval Alchemists encoded it all in their beautiful illustrations – like the parables of old, doing them in symbolic form.

However, the meaning of these mysteries became lost over time, and so too did the ability to understand them. In order to preserve them from destruction they were shrouded in secrecy, and thus, as those who were able to unlock their secrets became fewer and fewer, they became locked in the past.

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