The divine mysteries of our universe reveal themselves to us as a pure and solitary gnosis, yet each culture and religion throughout the world has a divergent way of describing and approaching this divinity; this god shines through us as we project our various beliefs onto our traditional faiths that our ancestors have passed down to us. Each religion’s belief system holds certain common truths that are shrouded from most followers. Notwithstanding, they are realized by the initiates that seek enlightenment and follow the initiatory path found within every culture. It is our intention to disseminate information about these different esoteric schools of the world’s great religions in a series of articles that will compare the inner mysteries of these systems. We will then distill this timeless truth showing how it can be applied to bring one closer to illumination.

All of the various faiths throughout the world contain an outer and inner circle of teachings. The outer ring is exoteric and contains only the moral codes of conduct and it maintains a strict literalism to a holy book; the inner ring is the secret, esoteric teachings of each religion, which directs initiates into the sacred gnosis and how to awaken the divine within. The outer ring is the orthodoxy and literalism presented to the faithful as a tool for them to abate their fears of death, and it only contains half-truths of the true inner mysteries, a watered down elixir for the masses. The essence of truth is the providence of the inner ring, and differing traditions come together as one unified mystery tradition, the perennial wisdom. The great religious traditions have a common thread of truth that is intertwined into a latticework of metaphysical beliefs. At the center of all the great traditions lies the uniting monad, that one thing that unites us all. The monad is pure “No-thingness,” but it is the reservoir for all potentiality; this singular unity is referred to by many different names: the Ain Soph, the Logos, Brahman, Allah, and the Tao. The Buddhists refer to this monad as the great void and it is similar to the Jewish concept of the Ain Soph, a great boundless solution of the all.

From the great Judaic religion, we have the esoteric teachings of the Kabbalah, with its central symbol of the tree of life depicting the process of creation and the psychological makeup of man. The ancient sages of the Kabbalah codified the mysteries into a symbol (the tree of life) and the association of numbers with words (gematria), so that all later generations of mystics could ascertain the mysteries hidden therein.

The Judaic religion evolved into Christianity with the crucifixion and resurrection of the God-man, Yeshua, and it too veils the inner work of esoteric Christianity and Gnosticism. These inner mysteries reveal the path to gnosis and of acquiring a body of light. Through the Logos the initiate is illuminated by actual experience of the divine and not just a reliance on faith. Yeshua came to this Earth revealing certain mysteries; however, his teachings were manipulated and dogmatized by the then politically misguided Roman Church. 

The esoteric tradition of Vendantic Hinduism lies at the core of the Hindu religion, and it is the mystical ascertainment of the Vedas.  Additionally, the tantric yogis learn to control their subtle energies and use them to form the light body, taking on the garment of sacred geometry. It is very telling that modern cosmologists concur with the Hindu description of creation contained in the Vedas.

An outgrowth of the Hindu religion was the philosophy of Buddhism, and it too had an esoteric aspect. Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism is the practice of adopting additional techniques to enhance and quicken spiritual awakening. These practices are conducted in private with an experienced teacher, and the perceived secrecy is only there to protect the uninitiated from being harmed.

In the tradition of Islam, the more metaphysical Shiite broke off from the fundamental Sunni and incorporated elements of mysticism and formed the Sufis. The Sufis were interested in the esoteric meaning of Islam and developed and practiced procedures to activate and hasten spiritual awareness. In fact, much of the Hermeticism of medieval Europe, including alchemy, is thought to derive from Sufism.

The esoteric nature of Taoism is referred to as Zen and Taoist alchemy, and although like Buddhism it does not believe in a God, it sees totality dissolved in solution as a void. The world of appearances, Samsara, is but a mere reflection of no-thingness. The aim of pure Taoist alchemy is also to obtain a body of light and become immortal.

Like the mighty oak tree, our religious traditions have long, dendritic roots stretching far back into the Earth’s ancient past and sprouting a myriad of branches; they reach into the boundless sky of our future, giving direction to the wayward journey of our soul through the forest of life’s experiences. Despite the appearance of religious dogma, each tradition conceals an esoteric structure whereby an initiate can come to an awareness of the divine body of light within, for it is a golden thread of truth woven throughout the tapestry of esoterica.

Jonathan McGregor Bethel and David Colin Healy are both writers and researchers.  They are the founders of Omega Point Institute, an online magazine and think tank dedicated to the research and dissemination of information pertaining to esoteric modes of thought and how those modes are solidifying  our collective future.  Whether it is the Technological Singularity, 2012 End Times, or the all encompassing omega point, these two individuals have much to say to clarify our view of the future.  www.omegapoint.org www.JonathanBethel.com