Kailash

Exploring Early Christian and Gnostic Texts

Recently I published the fourth volume in the History Enlightened book series, Exploring Early Christian and Gnostic Texts.

In this book the reader will find an exploration of the surviving texts written and used by the early Christians and Gnostics that were discarded by later generations as heretical and thus excluded from the Christian Bible. In so doing I have made use of the latest academic research to present these texts with commentary that enables an understanding of the societal context, thus equiping the reader who wishes to reflect on the deeper meaning of the texts.

In addition to the main corpus of texts from the early Christian and Gnostic writers, I have included also a sampling of extracts from later writers in the Syriac tradition, and also from Mani and his tradition, together with a few extracts from Muslim writers showing how their traditions have understood the teachings of Issa (Jesus).

Then follows a section entitled ‘Comparative Contemplations’ in which some spiritual themes are followed through to the present day. I contrast early Christian and Gnostic handlings of each theme with extracts from later writers, including the contemporary Indian spiritual teacher, Her Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi.

This is of course a secondary study in English of texts originating mostly in Aramic and Greek. I have thus been dependent on successive generations of scholars who rescued, conserved and assembled the physical fragments, and then translated these texts into English. I have consulted the various English translations available for each text – both those composed in the tradition of the King James Bible, and those of more recent date. I take responsibility for the resulting renderings. In so doing I have made use of the meditative techniques practised by those of the Sahaja Yoga meditation tradition, particularly the technique known as Vibrational Awareness.

I do hope the resulting book is of use to readers. I certainly enjoyed the challenges of the research.

All the History Enlightened volumes are now available as print-on-demand books through lulu.com

Gospel of the Hebrews

A lost gospel from the late first century CE known only from fragments that have survived in later writings, including those of Origen (185-254), Jerome (347-420), and Cyril of Jerusalem (313-386).
The title may suggest usage by a group of Egyptian Jewish-Christians who wished to differentiate themselves from a nearby group of Egyptian Gentile (ie. non-Jewish) Christians and their Gospel of the Egyptians.
This text is influenced by the mythological and Gnostic-type ideas prevalent in Egypt in the first and second centuries CE.
Originally written in Hebrew (possibly Aramaic), it was later translated into Greek and Latin by Jerome.

Odes of Solomon

The Odes in their present form clearly have their origins in Jewish hymnal tradition, with Christian overlays, and Gnostic references. Like other texts of this tradition, the Odes are not of course by the much earlier King Solomon (tenth century BCE), merely invoking his memory as a purveyor of wisdom.
It has been suggested that the original language of the Odes was Syriac, a Semitic language spoken in Syria, and therefore the work provides an insight into early Syrian Christianity.
A number of the concepts and expressions found in the Odes have their parallels in the letters of the Syrian writer, Ignatius, bishop of Antioch (d.110CE), suggesting that the Odes may have been produced as early as c.100CE. Familiarity with the Gospel of John is also a common characteristic of Ignatius' letters and of the Odes.
The earliest surviving parts of the text are in Greek from the third century, and in Syriac from the fourth century CE.

Gospel of the Ebionites

A lost text that belonged to the Ebionites, a group of Greek-speaking Jewish-Christians in Palestine, possibly east of the river Jordan.
The only surviving fragments of text are preserved in the form of citations given by Epiphanius of Salamis (315-403) in his Panarion. Unfortunately his statements are hostile, contradictory and confusing.
This gospel is mentioned in the writings of Irenaeus (135-200), so it is likely to date from the first half of the second century.

Gospel of Thomas

This record of the sayings of Jesus has excited scholars and ordinary readers alike since the discovery of the Coptic text (c.350CE) at Nag Hammadi in the mid-twentieth century.
The Coptic text is the only complete copy to have survived. It is a translation into Coptic from the earlier Greek text (pre 200CE) which has only survived in fragments from three separate copies, two dated to 200CE, and one to 250CE. All four copies have been found in Egypt.
Some scholars have hypothesised that the core of the text may have originated in Aramaic but we have at present no way of evaluating this. It is however probable that Aramaic was the language in which these sayings would have been delivered to their original audience.
If we take the view that this text was assembled by Thomas himself, then we can assume a date in the 40-65CE range.

South Asian Calendar

there's an interesting widget available for the Calendar of South Asian History:

Google launch Indic transliteration service

Google India have launched their Indic transliteration service.
Automated transliteration between English and Hindi.
Also available for Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, which are not Indic but Dravidian languages, as Indian bloggers are pointing out.

A Marathi glossary

A 'mini' glossary for enlightened historians:

Abhanga - Marathi four- or -six-line verse.
Amritanubhava - a text by Gyaneshwara (Jnaneshwara).
Bhaktavijaya and Bhaktilamrita - two important compilations by the 18th century pandit, Mahipati, of information on the Maratha saints.
Bhavarthadipika - also known as the Gyaneshwari (Jnaneshwari), a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita written by Gyaneshwara (Jnaneshwara).
Bharud - dramatic poem in Marathi, much used by saint Eknath.
Charita - a biography of a notable person, thus Eknath Charita.
Dasbodha - the major text by Guru Ramdas.
Devanagari – the standard script for Marathi and several north Indian languages including Hindi.
Gatha - a collection of works by an author, thus Tukaram Gatha.
Johar - a particular form of the bharud used by Eknath.
Kirtan(a) - a sung performance of abhangas, bhajans, bharuds, in the Maratha tradition.
Maharashtradharma - term used by Guru Ramdas to install a sense of integrity and greatness in the Maratha people.
Mahars - the untouchables of Maharashtra. Chokha is their best known saint.
Manache Shloka (Manobodha) - text by Guru Ramdas.
Modi - script used by the commercial classes to write in Marathi in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Pandharpur - town in Maharashtra sacred to the bhakti sants who went (and still go) on pilgrimage to its temple dedicated to Lord Vittala.
Pasayadan - epilogue to the Gyaneshwari.
Povada - a narrative song usually chronicling heroic achievements.
Pratishthana (Paithan) – the capital of the Satavahana (Shalivahana) empire.
Purana - a sacred text
Shalivahana (a.k.a. Satavahana) - royal dynasty in Central India. Paithan (Prathistan) was their capital.
Shloka - verse, similar to a stanza
Skanda - section (chapter) of a purana
Stotra - a prayer
Stotramala - a collection of stotras
Varkari - a devotee of Vittala (the Lord) who goes on annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur.

John of Jerusalem - again!

Once more: the John of Jerusalem prophecy does NOT exist before its publication in Paris in 1994. No writer in either French or English has mentioned this prophecy in any books or scholarly articles published on the Crusades or the knight orders.

The editor's name given on the 1994 publication, M.Galvieski, is fake (thanks go to the Russian yogi Maxim for researching this), and 'John of Jerusalem' is clearly an elaboration based on the biography (such as we know it) of Brother Gerard Tonque, the first master of the Hospitaller Knights of the Order of John of Jerusalem, who are in fact named after the 3rd/4th century Bishop of the same name.

In my view, this prophecy cannot be regarded as being from the 11/12th century. It is clearly a late 20th century text. As the latter it is of some interest as Dan Costian has noted.

The Wisdom tradition

Vol.3: The Wisdom Tradition: Visions and prophecies of the Goddess in the Sapiential (Wisdom) tradition. 178p. illus. pbk.
Available as a print-on-demand book through lulu.com

This volume examines the various ways in which a feminine Divine figure, described variously as the Goddess, Sophia and the Divine (or Eternal) Feminine, has manifested Herself throughout history to guide and encourage those who worship Her. Descriptions of these visitations - described in the present work as 'visions' - have been found in a wide range of written accounts including materials not traditionally regarded as 'religious', such as philosophy, literature, and those areas of study - alchemy, astrology, theosophy, and various magical traditions - known as Western Esotericism.

Chapter 1: Sophia and feminine Wisdom
The first chapter presents an overview of feminine Wisdom from Proverbs in the eighth-century BCE through to Suso and his contemporaries in the 14/15th centuries CE, with particular emphasis on the divine manifestations as received in visions and dreams, and recorded in a variety of written forms. Throughout this period of time much of the surviving literature presents Divinity in masculine terms as an omnipotent God, able to assert His authority over nature. In the Sapiential tradition however, Wisdom is presented in feminine terms, working with nature. It can be argued therefore that the descriptions of feminine Wisdom encountered in this time period, and particularly in the medieval period, can be seen as providing alternative forms for the (safe) expression of the matriarchal view of the Divine inside the increasingly rigid and authoritarian patriarchy of the Christian Church.
Chapter 2: From Boehme to Goethe: visions of Sophia in early modern Europe
This chapter is a survey of Sophianic theosophism from its beginnings in the writings of Jakob Boehme in the early seventeenth century. Included here are the English mystics, John Pordage and Jane Lead, the German theosophists, Johann Georg Gichtel and Gottfried Arnold, and their influence on the German Romantic writers, Novalis, Holderlin and Goethe at the turn of the nineteenth century.
Chapter 3: Sophia and the Russian mystical tradition
Awareness of Wisdom (Sophia) is not unique to the Western tradition. Relatively little attention has been given to the origins of the Russian understanding of Sophia. In this chapter I propose that there were in fact two sources: namely the understanding of Sophia as divine Wisdom in Byzantium, and the later introduction to Russia of the Boehmian theosophical understanding of Sophia. I then present and discuss the visions of Vladimir Soloviev (1853-1900) whose understanding of Sophia was so influential on later writers including those in the Symbolist movement. The chapter concludes with an examination of Soloviev’s influence on contemporary and later writers in the Orthodox tradition.
Chapter 4: Prophetic visions of the Divine Feminine in 19th/20th century Europe
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, writings about the Divine Feminine began to develop a vision of social transformation through the impending arrival of the Divine Feminine in human form. Included here are the English visionaries William Blake and Goodwyn Barmby, the writers Hans Christian Andersen and Nathaniel Hawthorne, the English and French spiritualists/theosophists, Lady Caithness, Anna Kingsford, and the Gnostics, Jules Doinel and Leonce Fabre Des Essarts. The chapter concludes with the theories of the forthcoming ‘third age’ of the Divine Feminine, some of which were inspired, directly or indirectly, by the writings of the twelfth-century Christian monk, Joachim of Fiore, and found across nineteenth and early twentieth century Europe in a diverse range of writings, including those of the Russian exiles, Zinaida Gippius and Dmitrii Merezhkovskii, and the later Russian dissident Daniil Andreev.

Gnostic and Esoteric Search Engine

Using Google Custom Search, I've created a new search engine for searching key websites in the history of spirituality, Gnosticism, Esotericism, Alchemy, etc. The search box is at the top of the side panel. Additions and comments welcome.

Further down the side panel, there are boxes for Nirmala Search, and other Google customised search engines of interest to enlightened researchers. Also there are search boxes for Google Scholar, Google Books and WorldCat.

In print

For nearly twenty years I have been researching the lives and writings of the realised souls of earlier centuries, and the prophecies they left for future generations. Many yogis around the world have provided invaluable leads and clues for this research, and this interchange of ideas continues through the historye yahoogroups and the accompanying weblog.

The History Enlightened series of books makes this research available in paperback book-length format. The first two volumes are anthologies of relevant texts. The later volumes will provide commentaries on specific themes in enlightened history.

Vol.1: Visions and prophecies of the Divine Feminine: a sourcebook of historical texts. pbk. 255p. AUD$30
Part 1: Visions and Worship of the Divine Feminine
Part 2: Prophecies
Part 3: Prophecies and visions from the Indigenous traditions

Vol.2: Seeking and Finding: a sourcebook of historical texts on Kundalini, yoga, realisation, Sahaja and nirvikalpa-samadhi. pbk. 198p. Available through lulu.com

Vol.3: The Wisdom Tradition: Visions and prophecies of the Goddess in the Sapiential (Wisdom) tradition. pbk. Available through lulu.com
Chapter 1: Sophia and feminine Wisdom
Chapter 2: From Boehme to Goethe: visions of Sophia in early modern Europe
Chapter 3: Sophia and the Russian mystical tradition
Chapter 4: Prophetic visions of the Divine Feminine in 19th/20th century Europe

William Blake in contemporary context

The Sick Rose
O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm.
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy;
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

Commentary:
This poem has to be considered in its context: as a handwritten text with integrated graphics; as part of a larger work, the Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794); and as a commentary on, and influenced by, London of the early 1790s, specifically the radical, working class circles that Blake moved in during this period of his life.

William Blake (1757-1827) was a prophetic visonary who used Biblical and other imagery in his work. The rose only occurs twice in the Authorised version of the Bible (Isaiah 35:1 and Songs 2:1) but both texts were used by Blake in his work. Traditionally, the rose has been seen as a female archetype, with specific sexual connotations, often linked to the Biblical story of the temptation of Eve by the serpent, as used by Milton in Book IX of Paradise Lost, a work with which Blake was familiar.

In this poem William Blake portrays the Sick Rose as a female figure representing the rose of England, the national identity, which had been blighted and corrupted by the invisible worm of moral decay in the England of the early 1790s. In so doing he draws on both Biblical imagery and on London's radical politics of the time, including the agitation against the intrigues and manipulations of press freedoms by the politician and journalist George Rose (1744-1818).

References
William Blake, Songs of Experience: fascimile reproduction (New York: Dover Publications, 1984), plate 11

Jon Mee, 'The "insidious poison of secret Influence": a new historical context for Blake's "The Sick Rose"', Eighteenth-Century Life, vol.22(1), 1998, pp111-122