a plain introduction
What is Gnosis?
Gnosis is a Greek word for knowledge that comes from direct experience rather than belief. In practice it is a path of self-knowledge, meditation and awakening, taught in South Africa by volunteers in the lineage of Samael Aun Weor, with free introductory lectures in Midrand.
etymology
What the word means
Gnosis is the ordinary Greek word for knowledge, but it names a particular kind: what you know because you have seen it for yourself, rather than what you have been told and asked to accept. You know the taste of water, you have not been persuaded of it. Gnosis treats the deepest questions, who you are, what happens when you die, whether there is anything divine in you, in the same way. Nobody at a class will ask you to believe an answer. You are given a practice and invited to find out.
That is also why the teaching calls itself practical. Every subject comes with something to do that week, and the class the following week begins with what you noticed.
a shared root
Where it comes from
Gnosis is not the property of one people or one century. The teaching holds that every genuine tradition, whether Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish or older, carries the same practical core underneath its own language, rites and stories. Self-observation, prayer and meditation, the transformation of desire, the death of the false self and the birth of something real within: these appear again and again, and Gnosis studies them side by side so that you can see the one thing they point to.
The modern form of the teaching was gathered by Samael Aun Weor, a Colombian writer born in 1917 who spent his life studying the esoteric traditions and setting out their practical method in plain language. He wrote more than seventy books, gave away the rights to all of them, and founded the schools that still teach this material around the world today. You can read more on our Samael Aun Weor page.
what you actually do
What the teaching asks of you
It asks for sincerity and a little time each day, and nothing else. You are not asked to join anything, believe anything or give anything up. You are asked to watch yourself honestly, to sit still for a few minutes each day, and to test what you are taught against your own experience. If it proves true for you, you keep it. If it does not, you leave it, and that is the whole of the method. These are the main subjects the classes work through.
Meditation
Learning to observe the mind and reach inner stillness, taught in our meditation classes in Midrand.
Self-knowledge and the ego
The many small selves that run us automatically, and how watching them takes their power. Read self-knowledge and the psychology of the ego.
Dreams and astral projection
Staying conscious as the body sleeps, taught gradually and gently. Read astral projection and dream yoga.
Gnosis and religion
Why the teaching sits alongside your own faith rather than replacing it. Read is Gnosis a religion.
Kabbalah and symbolism
An ancient map of the levels of consciousness, studied as a practical tool rather than as theory.
The three factors
Being born within, dying to the ego and helping others, the three things every genuine path asks of a student.
to be clear
What Gnosis is not
It is not a religion, and it is not a church. There is no membership, no fee to join, no priest and no creed. It is not a self-help programme, because the aim is not to make the ego more comfortable but to understand and dissolve it. It is not a secret society either: everything is taught openly in a rented hall, the books are free to read, and you may leave whenever you like. And it is not the historical Gnosticism that some churches warn against. What is taught here is a practical psychology drawn from the living traditions, not a rival doctrine.
in midrand
How the classes work
Each intake begins with a free introductory lecture at Rabie Ridge Community Hall, on the eastern side of Midrand next to Tembisa. After that the group meets once a week for a talk and a guided practice, and newcomers can join at any session. The introductory lectures are free. The weekly classes that follow are run on donations. Students come from across Johannesburg, Centurion and Pretoria, and our page on Gnosis classes in Johannesburg and Pretoria explains how people travel in. The next lecture dates are on the Midrand course page.
Frequently Asked Questions
From the practical core shared by the world's genuine traditions. Its modern form was set out by Samael Aun Weor in the twentieth century, drawing on Christian, Eastern and older esoteric sources.
No. Gnosis is a practical method of self-knowledge that studies the shared root of the genuine religions, so you can hold it alongside your own faith.
No. The introductory course starts from the beginning and assumes nothing. Reading is welcome but never required.
A Colombian writer, born in 1917, who gathered the practical core of the esoteric traditions into one method and founded the schools that teach it. He wrote more than seventy books and gave away the rights to all of them.
Come to the next free introductory lecture in Midrand. If you would like the date first, send a WhatsApp to +27 79 678 0991.
go deeper
Read More About the Gnostic Tradition
The Origins of Gnosis
Gnosis belongs to no single latitude or tradition: a deep dive into where this knowledge comes from.
Read the articleAn Introduction to Gnosis
The path of self-discovery and awakening in the writings of Samael Aun Weor.
Read the articleA Hindu Legend
The gods hid humanity's divinity in the one place we would never look: within.
Read the articleCome and see for yourself
Come to the next free introductory lecture in Midrand, or send us a WhatsApp on +27 79 678 0991 and we will tell you the date and place.
