"I want the truth." "You can't handle the truth!"

It seems as though I was not far off the mark last January when I wrote the post about jivanmukti. Jivanmukti, it seems, is the same as the Gnostic initation with fire of the Inner Mysteries. What is this, you ask? Feb. 1, 2007, I came to the realization that Gnosticism describes my ideas on God. And this was before even reading The Jesus Mysteries by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy. Freke and Gandy say that if you believe in gnosticism, you intrinsically will have respect for all other religions, which I can see very plainly now after having read a little about Gnosticism and the Pagan Mysteries.

I cannot do justice to this thoroughly-researched text in this blog, but I will try to summarize:
There were once upon a time the Pagan Mysteries. Each culture had their unique names for their characters (Osiris, Dionysus, Attis, Mithras) and a few different traditional beliefs, but they were all essentially the same. The Jews were not excluded - the "Gnostics" had a name for this mythical figure; they called him Jesus. All of these cultures taught the Outer Mysteries and the Inner Mysteries. Because of obliteration of many Pagan and Gnostic works (including by way of many forged documents that appear as part of the canonical New Testament today), the eradication of Gnosticism by the Roman Empire around the 4th century C.E., and the fact that the Gnostic gospels at Nag Hammadi were not found until a few decades ago - only the Outer Mysteries survived time and have become Literalist Christianity - what the world today considers Chrisitanity. People today consider the works in the New Testament to refer to a real man named Jesus, but Freke and Gandy's research reveals that the gospel writers wrote several different gospels - for people at different stages of initiation into the Mysteries. The gospels that got published by the Church were meant to be for beginners who had not been initiated yet; other gospels (such as The Secret Gospel of Mark found at Nag Hammadi) were meant for those who had passed the first stage of initiation. The Inner Mysteries reveal that the story of Jesus is a myth and that the Truths that "Jesus teaches" are that humans are made of 2 parts: the eidolon (the Lower Self) and the Daemon (the Higher Self). There are 3 baptisms associated with the initiation: (1) by water, which represents the change from identifying solely with the body to with the personality or psyche; (2) by air, which represents identifying with the Higher Self; and (3) by fire, which represents true Gnosis, or learning of "their true identity as the Universal Daemon, the Logos, the Christ within, the 'Light-power'." (see Matthew 3:11 where John the Baptist says "But He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to take off or carry; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.") Those who do not reach true Gnosis will be reborn again and live another life (after "drinking the cup of forgetfulness"), but the souls who reach true Gnosis will be freed from the "tomb" of the body.

As you can see, this fits well with many different religions - The Jesus Mysteries makes references to Hinduism and Buddhism - for, after all, "Buddha" means "Knower" - the same as "Gnosis." Also there are many "motifs" that overlap between the different religions: the fact that there is only one God, even though sometimes His different facets may be misinterpreted as polytheism (the Trinity in Christianity & the Greek "gods"); in Hinduism, that the Higher Self (Atman) is the same as the Supreme Spirit (Brahman); reincarnation; and the concept of "The Way" (Christ: "I am the way, the truth and the Life", and Buddhism); - and I'm sure there are many more similarities. Not to mention that virtually all of the Mediterranean cultures accepted the "Osiris-Dionysus" myth.

And what of the ancient Greek sages? Pythagoras coined the term "philosophy" - literally, love of Sophia, with Sophia representing the "Holy Spirit" (the "lost goddess") - the one whom Mary Magdalene represents. Along with Pythagoras, there were Socrates and Plato and many others. They were all extremely gifted, and is it a coincidence that they were all Greek sages, initiates into the Mysteries who had many followers? I think not. Rather, it was because they had achieved the Gnosis that they themselves were part God and therefore had the ability to do anything. ("I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13) - sound familiar?)

Then there is also the fact that I came to many of these conclusions myself without even knowing they came from the Pagan Mysteries. What should I make of that? Perhaps that I was an initiate of some degree in a previous life and somehow was in touch with my Higher Self? That must be what makes me intelligent and willing to use that intelligence for the Greater Good - something I have in common with Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato. And, if Jesus did exist in the same way as He's described in the Bible (even though it is unclear if the evidence supports it), this must have been the case for him too - he would have been an initiate of the Pagan Mysteries in a previous life and came back to teach the Divine Wisdom he had learned.

Do you have a better explanation? If you do I'd love to hear it.