Gnosis is defined as "knowledge" and it refers to a knowledge gained through direct personal experience of what is real, of what is true. This is a spiritual experience of the consciousness and it is this experience that has formed the basis of all mystical schools throughout history.
The legends of the gods and goddesses, the struggles of the mythical hero and the creation of worlds have been detailed by mystics throughout time. The teachings of love and compassion, the wisdom of nature and knowledge of the human condition have been revealed through the Gnosis.
The Gnosis, direct knowledge, is what frees us from the cause of our sufferings: ignorance.
The work of one who undertakes this path, is summarised in the “3 Factors for the Revolution of the Consciousness”, which are:
1) To die- elimination of the undesirable psychic aggregates, the ego or the ‘I’ through comprehension of our defects.
2) To be born- to conserve our energies, to crystalise the virtues of the soul, of the Being.
3) To sacrifice for humanity- charity, well understood. This is to give of ourself to help humanity.
The work that is referred to above is a work of the consciousness itself. It is explained in the Gnostic teachings that the consciousness is asleep and dreams profoundly. This sleeping consciousness is the cause of our errors, and our pain. To awaken from this sleep requires that we comprehend our own habits, our thoughts, and our emotional impulses via the sense of self observation and self remembering.
However, comprehension of a defect is not all. Later, we need to progress to its elimination in order for the consciousness to be free and for the corresponding virtue to crystalise. This is the path of birth and death- the fabrication of the Soul and the realisation of the Spirit which proceeds in accordance with each person’s particular nature and circumstances.
The third factor allows a person to live the path of compassion, to help humanity and in doing so we begin to realise our own humanity and live our life as a soul.
- by Gnosis New Zealand
Tantra aims to expand our consciousness and merge with the Absolute. It is a profound experiential knowledge about every aspect in life. It is about understanding our true nature and balancing the physical, emotional and mental aspects of our life, elevating consciousness and opening a pathway to the absolute truths of the Universe. Tantra involves the development of the intuition, removing the veils of illusion and moving towards liberation and emotional freedom, by becoming aware of the factors that influence us, and letting the consciousness choose how we feel, think and act, and what kind of energy we can bring into the world.
It is said that Tantra was born in India on the 5th century AD. The Tantric tradition includes all levels of the Universe, and incorporates knowledge that was brought by astronomy, biology, parapsychology, anatomy, meditation, medicine, music, philosophy, art, sexuality, psychology, religion, science, quantum physics, yoga and traditions such as Hindu, Buddhist and Jain.
Through Tantra we can use both the forces that exist in the Universe and inside ourselves for our inner transformation, so that we can return to the state of wholeness that we came from. It is common to feel that something is missing in our lives, or that even though nothing is missing we still feel unhappy or incomplete. That can happen because we have dived into the deepness of duality, and moved away from our true Self. Tantra can help us find the way back, and become aware of the oneness of all things.
As far as practices go, Tantra uses physical postures (asanas), breathing techniques, purification exercises, mental practices, visualisations, mantras, mudras, mandalas, yantras, principles such as the yamas and niyamas, and powerful meditations, designed to reach the subconscious and unconscious aspects of ourselves. One of the problems of regular psychology is exactly that it is only “talking” to our conscious mind, and therefore it is sometimes only addressing the tip of the iceberg.
In Tantra, every event of our lives is seen as a tool for our spiritual evolution. So the goal is to take the specific circumstances of our daily routine to go deeper and deeper into the study of the self, and not so much to go to a mount and meditate for decades. It is also about embracing every aspect of life and using it for a higher purpose, rather than negating some parts of our life. Some traditions negate the sexual energy, and repress it to a point where we almost loose consciousness of it, whereas Tantra makes use of the sexual energy by transmuting and sublimating it into an elevated and sublime energy that can transform our lives from within. So it’s really about making the most out of the internal and external factors and using them to benefit the world.
It is a magic and beautiful journey that leads us to profound unconditional love and immense happiness.