I recently embarked on a deeper study of gnosticism through The Nag Hammadi Scriptures and YouTube videos. While still in the early stages, I studied enough gnosticism to know I am a gnostic–a heterodox mystic who follows the path of heart knowledge and love leading to mystic union with the divine. Gnosticism is not a doctrine or sect, and certainly not a religion. Rather, it is an attitude or approach to spirituality that takes many forms leading individuals to realize they are parts of God-dess.
Gnostics wrote of an androgynous God who divided into male and female halves, then created Adam androgynous in their image only to separate his feminine half as Eve. They were metaphorically driven out of the garden due to enjoying the forbidden fruits of sex. Now, our task is to return to the garden through the mystical union of husband and wife restoring their androgynous wholeness in relation to the divine. In addition to God the Father and Son, they also recognized the Mother and Sophia. Women were spiritual leaders, and Mary Magdalene was recognized as the leader of the apostles.
These teachings were banned by the Holy Roman Catholic Church, and many people who followed them were killed or went underground. Some buried their books so they would not be destroyed, and today we have those ancient manuscripts available again to renew the teachings. Universalist Radha-Krishnaism has a gnostic influence, and the two are compatible. As I continue my study, I hope to write more on the correspondences between the two teachings.
