An intellectual study of Gnosis inevitably begins with what is called the “Classical Gnosis” of the early centuries of Christianity.

“Because, undoubtedly, if there is a classical Gnosis, it is that of the century of the Antonines and the widespread of Pax Romana. The Gnostics par excellence will always be Basilides, Valentinius, Ptolemeus…; all others will be Gnostics by referencing the prodigious philosophical and theological speculation of those great masters.”

Gredos Classical Library

And only when we penetrate into the true hidden meaning of the Greek word Gnosis do we understand that its principles do not belong to “some exclusive spiritual latitude;” that this Gnosis, clothed in many cultural forms, has always been present throughout the whole history of humanity. Therefore this contemporary definition presents Gnosis not only as a “knowledge of the divine mysteries,” but also as “a very natural functionalism of the consciousness, a Philosophia perennis et universalis.”

“Although it is true that we must take into account the Hellenistic oriental elements of any Gnostic system, including those from Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, India, Palestine, Egypt, etc., we should never ignore the Gnostic principles perceptible in the sublime religious cults of the Nahuas, Toltecs, Aztecs, Zapotecs, Mayans, Chibchas, Incas, Quechuas and others from the pre-Columbian Americas.”

Samael Aun Weor

When “Gnosis” is understood as a natural function of an awakened consciousness, then the terms derived from and that usually accompanies this word, such as Gnostic and Gnosticism, are better explained and defined:

“The authentic Gnostic, feeling intimately the secret impulses of the Being, wants a definitive change, and from this comes his anguish, rejection and embarrassment when faced with the diverse infra-human elements which compose the “I.”

“The word Gnosticism contains in its grammatical structure the idea of systems or currents dedicated to the study of Gnosis.”

Samael Aun Weor

Today, contemporary Gnosis asserts, as did the Gnosticism of the 2nd century, that, “there is in man a divine spark emanating from the higher world, fallen into this world and subjected to destiny, birth and death. This spark must be awakened by her divine counterpart so that she may finally be reintegrated to her origin.”