Books – Page 34 – Where is Zhenren?

Review of Introduction to Gnosis

Do you ever ponder the meaning of Life? Have you spent a lot of time seeking the Truth? If you have an open mind and a questioning nature then perhaps you found the answers to your questions often lacking, whether at the university or at church. That is because most explanations are based on opinion or theory, not on direct experience.

At a very young age I tried to reconcile the discrepancy between the historic record of paleontology and the book of Genesis. The answers I received were lacking in imagination and thought.

Were the stories of mythology just entertainment for savage people who had no movies or internet? Or did they, as I suspected, contain a depth of knowledge that was lost long ago – ideas that modern, educated people would laugh at and dismiss as primitive superstitions.

The enigma of the pyramids and the Sphynx were baffling. Who made them, how did they make them, what were they for? The theories of grave robbers and academics were unsatisfactory.

Have you ever perused a threaded discussion on the topic of evolution? Here you can find a multitude of idiots espousing an opinion on a topic where it is clear they are not well-read, let alone open-minded.

Along the same lines is the question of Creation. Was there intelligence behind it or did this mysterious universe happen by accident? And who can honestly say they know the answer to that one? Most of us (including the academics) can only guess and speculate.

Does Man have a soul or doesn’t he? This has always been a thorny question. If this question is to be resolved only by human reasoning, then for every plausible explanation which concludes that man does have a soul, there is an equally plausible explanation which concludes man does not have a soul. At some point it becomes apparent the such questions cannot be answered by the use of reason alone.

And yet there are a number of rare human beings throughout the Ages who have provided the answers to these questions. These masters and sages left behind books and teachings that contain the Truth. These truths were not garnered through reason, but are based on a higher intelligence along with their singular and unusual experiences.

Which brings us to the introduction to Gnosis which is based on the Greek word for Knowledge.

Muhammad

571 A.D. MUHAMMED. 632 A.D.
Prophet of God and Bringer of Light to Islam.
”The word this man spoke has been the life-guidance now of a hundred-and-eighty millions of men these twelve-hundred years. The hundred-and-eighty millions were made by God as well as we. A greater number of God’s creatures believe in Mahomet’s word at this hour, than in any other word whatever.” Thomas Carlyle. The Hero as Prophet. Mahomet : Islam. London: Chapman and Hall, Limited: Edition 1882: Page 53.

In the Koran, ”the light giving Book,” transmitted to Muhammed by the Angel Gabriel from the Lord “that He may stablish those who have believed, and as guidance and glad tidings to the Muslims,” it is written: “It beseemeth not a man, that God should give him the Scriptures and the Wisdom, and the gift of prophecy, and that then he should say to his followers, ‘Be ye worshippers of me, as well as of God;’ but rather, ‘Be ye perfect in things pertaining to God, since ye know the Scriptures, and have studied deep.’ God doth not command you to take the angels or the prophets as lords.
“Say: We believe in God, and in what hath been sent down to us, and what hath been sent down to Abraham, and Ismael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and in what was given to Moses, and Jesus, and the Prophets, from their Lord. We make no difference between them. And to Him are we resigned (Muslims) .” The Koran, Sura HI, The Family of Imran. Everyman’s Library Edition, pages 393-4.

The Egg and Serpent Symbol

“The serpent, separate or in combination with the circle, egg, or globe, has been a predominant symbol among many primitive nations. It prevailed in Egypt, Greece, and Assyria, and entered widely into the superstitions of the Celts, the Hindoos, and the Chinese. It even penetrated into America; and was conspicuous in the mythology of the ancient Mexicans, among whom its significance does not seem to have differed materially from that which it possessed in the old world. The fact that the ancient Celts, and perhaps other nations of the old continent, erected sacred structures in the form of the serpent, is one of high interest Of this description was the great temple of Abury, in England, in many respects the most imposing ancient monument of the British islands.”*
A celebrated example of the egg and serpent symbol is found in Adams County, Ohio, United States of America. It is an enduring witness to the fact that knowledge of the God-Mystery existed in North America at an early period. “It is situated on a high spur of land, which rises a hundred and fifty feet above Brush Creek. ‘Conforming to the curve of the hill, and occupying its very summit, is the serpent, its head resting near the point, and its body winding back for seven hundred feet, in graceful undulations, terminating in a triple coil at the tail. The entire length, if ex- tended, would be not less than one thousand feet. The work is clearly and boldly defined, the embankment being upwards of five feet in height, by thirty feet base at the centre of the body, but diminishing some-what toward the head and tail. The neck of the serpent is stretched out, and slightly curved, and its mouth is opened wide, as if in the act of swallowing or ejecting an oval figure, which rests partially within the distended jaws. This oval is formed by an embankment of earth, without any perceptible opening, four feet in height, and is perfectly regular in outline, its trans- verse and conjugate diameters being one hundred and sixty, and eighty feet respectively.’ When, why, or by whom these remarkable works were erected, as yet we know not. The present Indians, though they look upon them with reverence, can throw no light upon their origin.”
Sir John Lubbock, Pre-Historic Times. Edition 1890. Pages 276-277.

Sir Thomas Browne on Man’s Place in Nature

“We are onely that amphibious piece between a corporal and spiritual Essence, that middle form that links those two together, and makes good the Method of God and Nature, that jumps not from extreams, but unites the incompatible distances by some middle and participating natures. That we are the breath and similitude of God, it is indisputable, and upon record of Holy Scripture; but to call ourselves a Microcosm, or little World, I thought it only a pleasant trope of Rhetorick, till my neer judgement and second thoughts told me there was a real truth therein. Continue reading “Sir Thomas Browne on Man’s Place in Nature”