The central teaching of most religions is the essential experience of renunciation, salvation or liberation of the soul from the bondage of time, space, and matter. The need to liberate the spirit of man from this world, in which he is inadvertently bound or cast out into, is no doubt the most prevalent theme in religious texts.

In Abrahamic religions man is cast out of paradise, and in turn seeks to find his way to heaven. In the religions of the East, man is bound to a cycle of life, death, and rebirth, and in turn seeks to free himself by reaching Moksha or Nirvana (alternate state of being akin to heaven, in some aspects).

In many other ancient texts and religions, the world is seen as a prison, from which the spirit of man must escape. This spiritual wisdom is called Gnosis, it is largely based on a personal experience of the Divine, once experienced, this vision of the one underlying reality behind all that comes to be and passes away cannot be doubted. For to have glimpsed it, if only for a moment, brings the conviction that death itself is an impossibility. The danger is that it introduces you into a world where all action is transcended and in which there can therefore be neither good nor evil. This too is the experience which the Buddhists call Enlightenment.

In Yoga, Gnosis is known as Jnana, which means knowledge, insight, or wisdom, it is a special kind of knowledge which is said to grant liberation. The ancient Egyptians and Greeks have described the wisdom that they received from the mystery schools in a similar manner:
“For by their means we have been brought out of our barbarous and savage mode of life and educated and refined to a state of civilization; and as the rites are called “initiations,” so in very truth we have learned from them the beginnings of life, and have gained the power not only to live happily, but also to die with a better hope.” -Cicero

The sages of the past have all spoke about the illusionary nature of the world, and insisted that initiation into the higher mysteries granted man the knowledge (Gnosis) to depart from this world in a far favorable state than those who were ignorant to these truths. Similarly the Egyptian and Tibenan Books of the Dead speak of the trials awaiting the dead, and those who have mastered meditation and know themselves have a far greater chance at liberation.

Just as there are many religions, there are also many ways of attaining Gnosis. Throughout history the most common ways were either through mind altering substances, meditation, out of body experiences, and near death experiences. All these paths offered man a glimpse of the world beyond himself, a glimpse of the reality beyond Plato’s Cave.

A gift of Gnosis is no doubt a second birth, it is more precious than all the gold and silver of this world, once this wisdom is attained the sages said that: “all obscurity will fly from you, and you will be enlightened.”