Jesus proclaimed "salvation through knowledge, the self-knowledge of the divine light within"

"The knowledge claimed by these people (gnostics) is not worldly knowledge but mystical knowledge, knowledge of God and self and the relationship between God and self. In the Gospel of Judas, the word gnosis is used twice (50, 54), and in the second instance the text mentions 'knowledge to be [given] to Adam and those with him, so that the king of chaos and the underworld might not lord it over them.' This passage suggests that the knowledge coming to Adam and the descendants of Adam—the human race—offers protection and salvation from the powers of this world. As Bart Ehram also points out in his essay, the Gospel of Judas and Jesus himself in this gospel thus proclaim salvation through knowledge, the self-knowledge of the divine light within."

The Gospel of Judas, pages 138-9
National Geographic, April 6, 2006

"The reappearance of the Gospel of Judas will rank among the greatest finds from Christian antiquity and is without doubt the most important archaeological discovery of the past 60 years. What will make this gospel famous—or infamous, perhaps—is that it portrays Judas quite differently from anything we previously knew. Here he is not the evil, corrupt, devil-inspired follower of Jesus who betrayed his master; he is instead Jesus' closest intimate and friend, the one who understood Jesus better than anyone else, who turned Jesus over to the authorities because Jesus wanted him to do so. This gospel has a completely different understanding of God, the world, Christ, salvation, human existence—not to mention of Judas himself—than came to be embodied in the Christian creeds and canon. It will open up new vistas for understanding Jesus and the religious movement he founded."

—Bart D. Ehrman

Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His principal areas of research interest include New Testament interpretation and history of ancient Christianity (first three centuries), especially orthodoxy and heresy. Ehrman came to UNC in 1988, after four years of teaching at Rutgers University. He has published extensively in the fields of the New Testament and Early Christianity, having written or edited 19 books, numerous articles and dozens of anthologies of early Christian writings. Among his most recent books are Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew (Oxford Press), Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It Into the New Testament (Oxford) and Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why (HarperSanFrancisco). Ehrman has served as president of the Southeast Region of the Society of Biblical Literature, chair of the New Testament textual criticism section of the Society, book review editor of the Journal of Biblical Literature, and editor of the monograph series The New Testament in the Greek Fathers. He currently serves as co-editor of the series New Testament Tools and Studies. Ehrman received his bachelor's degree from Wheaton College in Illinois and completed his M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees at Princeton Seminary, where his 1985 doctoral dissertation was awarded magna cum laude.

"Did You See The Sun, A Light?"

On the very first day of Sahaja Yoga self-realization and meditation Kash found himself standing on an endless cover of clouds. Where was this incredible, utterly peaceful Shangri-La he had stumbled upon?

There was one distinguishing celestial landscape that held him spellbound — The Light! It was shining high above at a distance.

He kept gazing at it, spellbound by its indescribable uniqueness and infinite luminosity. It was an extremely bright globe, much brighter than many suns. In spite of its dazzling brightness it never hurt the eyes.

Since Kash had never seen anything that bright he thought it must be the sun, but at a much closer proximity. His father, finding no other logical explanation, also agreed.

After months of meditation it began to slowly dawn that what Kash was seeing could not possibly be the sun.

But Kash kept on insisting that it had to be as nothing he had seen on Earth shone so bright.

Uncertainty came into his father's inquisitive mind. He had this peculiar habit of not believing anything unknown or speculative unless proven beyond a shadow of reasonable doubt. The sun that his son was seeing did not make sense. Not only was it just above the Great Adi Shakti but it did not emit heat!

On September 11, 1994, at 13:05 p.m., the word Shaibhang (Self-illumined) at the opening stanza of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib indicated that there was more to this Truth than met the mind. If Guru Nanak had described Shaibhang to be Self-Illumined, then the "very bright sun" that Kash spoke about could not be true. Moreover, his extraordinary observation of this 'sun' created more questions and doubts. He maintained that:

     i) This "Sun" is always behind Her at an angle but is not directly above, that is, at about 45 degrees.

     ii) It did not rise and fall like the earthly sun. The "Sun" above Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi is fixed and stationary.

     iii) This "Sun" illuminates the entire Kingdom of God. Every thing is seen very clearly and in fine detail, down to the different hues of skin tone. (That is why Kash was absolutely sure that Shri Jesus had a light brown skin, and wearing whitish gray clothes stretched taut by the sheer size of His muscular body.)

     iv) Kash could not ascertain the exact size and distance of this "Sun" despite numerous visits.

     v) In spite of its intense brightness this "Sun" emitted no heat. On the contrary, Kash said that the rays are cool!

Then one day he astounded his father by claiming that there are no shadows from the rays of this Sun! In all his journeys Kash insisted he never saw any shadow in the Kingdom of the Spirit.

Though questioned many times he maintained that this "Sun" does not produce any shadow, physical properties that are ubiquitous in our universal sun.

Kash was told by his father to clarify this issue with Shri Viswamata Nirmala Devi. There was something strange about this "Sun" that Kash daily witnessed.

Kash meditated and the Divine Kundalini at the sacrum bone took him up the Tree of Life into the Bridal Chamber. He burst through the clouds and reached His Kingdom within. The Infinite Light shone ever so brilliantly from above the Eternal Throne of the Great Mater Divinae Gratiae (Mother of Divine Grace) as She sat in Bliss and Joy. Shri Lok Mata Shri Nirmala Devi met him and the question of the "Sun" above Her was put forward.

The Spirit of the Living God then explained that it was not the sun that he was seeing but the Light.

A few years later on April 7, 1996 Kash's younger brother Arwinder was asked if he had seen any sun or light when meditating with the Great Primordial Mother.

He immediately replied that there was always a Light at Her place, but was not the sun. He was sure of the difference as this Light, though extremely bright, did not hurt the eyes. He added that unlike the Earth sun that blinds his eyes easily, one can look at this Light for as long as possible. However, he could not recall if there were shadows or not.

On February 23, 1998, at 11.40 a.m. he was again asked about this Light above Shri Mataji. He reconfirmed that it was always above Her. He was then asked if there were shadows or not. This time he immediately replied that there were none. He was asked if he was very sure. His reply was that he was definitely sure.

On July 10 1998, at 10.35 a.m. Arwinder was posed the same question as to whether this Light caused any shadows. Again he replied there were none.

We must understand that for a child to say that light causes no shadows in the Spiritual World, unlike the common daily experience on Earth, requires the overwhelming confidence of an authentic spiritual experience.

On May 4, 2004 at 7.30 am 10-year-old Lalita was asked about this Light:

Father: What is above Shri Mataji's head?

Lalita: The Light.

Father: Can you look at it for a long time?

Lalita: Yes, you can look at it.

Father: Does it not blind you?

Lalita: It doesn't blind me.

Father: Is it different from the sun you see on Earth?

Lalita: Yes.

Father: Why?

Lalita: It's smaller.

Father: Anything else?

Lalita: It doesn't blind you. What else? ...... It's brighter. OK?

Father: Thank you Lalita.

This Light is always above the Great Divine Mother, and this Spirit of God Almighty resides within the Sahasraras of all humans. Unlike Her incarnation on Earth as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi who is now an aging octogenarian, She is eternally youthful and of unsurpassable beauty. Kash, Arwinder and Lalita have always maintained that they have never seen any woman as beautiful as Shri Maha-Devi who is truly the Great Primordial Goddess. (Shri Saraswati, Laxshmi and Kali are also extremely beautiful but none are comparable with the Maha-Devi.)

"The Devi Gita, or Song of the Goddess, presents a grand vision of the universe created, pervaded, and protected by a supremely powerful, all-knowing, and wholly compassionate divine female. She is Maha-Devi, the Great Goddess, wielding all power (Shakti) in the universe. Yet power is not just an attribute of the Goddess; she is power or Shakti itself. To her most devoted followers, known as Shaktas (worshippers of the supreme Shakti) , she is the auspicious Mother of the World, ever anxious for the welfare of her children. Unlike the ferocious Hindu goddesses such as Kali and Durga, the World Mother of the Devi Gita is beautiful and benign, although some of her lesser manifestations may take on terrible forms. And unlike some other beneficent female divinities as Parvati and Lakshmi, she is subject to no male consort. Subject to none, she is the Shakti of all."

The Song of the Goddess,
State University of New York Press, 2002, pg. 1

"As Jesus talks with his three chosen disciples, Matthew asks him to show him the 'place of life,' which is, he says, the 'pure light.' Jesus answers, 'Every one [of you] who has known himself has seen it.' 53 Here again, he deflects the question, pointing the disciple instead toward his own self-discovery."
(53. Dialogue of the Savior 132.15 — 16, in NHL 233.)

Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels,
Random House, New York, 1989, p. 131

"It is such a powerful Light. You can verify it whether it is eternal or not. You have to see for yourself you have such a unique Light within you. In the history of spirituality of this world so many have got Realization — such a Light in them. How could these stupid, flimsy, useless conditionings dominate you now, when you are the carrier of Eternal Light?"

The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Being The Light Of Pure Compassion
Istanbul, Turkey—November 6, 1994

NOTE: If this page was accessed during a web search you may wish to browse the sites listed below where this topic or related issues are discussed in detail to promote global peace, religious harmony, and spiritual development of humanity:

www.adishakti.org/
www.al-qiyamah.org/
www.adi-shakti.org/  — Divine Feminine (Hinduism)
www.holyspirit-shekinah.org/  — Divine Feminine (Christianity)
www.ruach-elohim.org/  — Divine Feminine (Judaism)
www.ruh-allah.org/  — Divine Feminine (Islam)
www.tao-mother.org/  — Divine Feminine (Taoism)
www.prajnaaparamita.org/  — Divine Feminine (Buddhism)
www.aykaa-mayee.org/  — Divine Feminine (Sikhism)
www.great-spirit-mother.org/  — Divine Feminine (Native Traditions)

"Now, the principle of Mother is in every, every scripture - has to be there." Shri Mataji, Radio Interview 1983 Oct 01, Santa Cruz, USA

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