The birth and development of Gnosis was not limited to the first two centuries of Middle-Eastern history.  While Europe was still in the Dark Ages, many of the civilizations of the New World were moving beyond their golden ages.  However, it could be said that Gnostic enlightenment in the New World fared much better than it did in the Old World.  

There are basically three reasons for this effect: the environment in which each lived, the ideology upon which the civilizations were based,  and population.  There are only certain agriculturally fertile areas where civilizations could flourish in the arid climate of the Middle-East where the majority of the population gathered.  Because of the high concentration of people in those areas each parcel of land became precious.  Thus arose the desire to "possess" as much as possible and defend it from those who wanted to take it. 

On the other hand, the New World possessed vast areas of land that were agriculturally fertile and had wild game in abundance.  Most importantly, this land could easily support the existing populations because they were comparatively small in relation to the land that supported them. Therefore, because resources were plentiful, the acquisition of possessions became less important.  For the people of the New World, civilization was a luxury, not a vital necessity for survival. 

Until the last two decades, archeologists have only been able to speculate reasons for the rise and fall of the New World's lost civilizations.  However,  recent discoveries have given us a window into their past.  Today, the reasons for the rise and fall of the great civilizations, is no longer a matter of speculation.

From the moment anyone tries to evaluate the reasons for the rise and fall of the great Civilizations of the Americas, one can easily see that they share certain basic commonalties.  There is still a great deal of work to be done in the field of archeology and anthropology, but perhaps one day these dedicated men and women will discover and prove what Gnostics already know.  Gnosis has given us the insight to understand what many consider the most perplexing mysteries of the New World.  You see, even as the spark of enlightenment flamed the imaginations of Middle-Eastern philosophers, it also worked its way into the minds of the Indigenous Americans.

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It has been well chronicled that the indigenous Americans possessed a keen intui­tive reason, free will, and a unique determination that resulted in a sense of logic. These faculties were used in the observation of nature.  As the Maya acquired further experience of their environment, they came to realize that they were also part of nature. 

Since they were part of nature there had to be a common element for everything in nature, and this they determined to be a "Soul".  The Soul, as defined by the Maya, was perceived to have a material form due to the fact that everything has form.  The Soul should not be confused with Spirit.  For the Maya, Spirit was perceived as energy - more exactly solar energy.  Spirit was named "k'inan", derived from the word for the Sun "k'in" and the suffix "an", which is a conditional form of the verb "to be".  Thus, "k'inan" is spirit or solar energy, and by inductive reasoning, they determined that the "Soul" is the materially manifested form of "Spirit".

Surprisingly, some Greek philosophers had only begun to contemplate what was a solemn truth for indigenous Americans.  Democritus, for example, proposed that the intimate relation between soul and organic life reveals that souls are atoms of fire, composed of the most subtle and flighty material. It is notable that, despite Democri­tus' ideas, the notion persisted that the soul could be both corporeal and incorporeal.  In contrast, the Maya understanding of the concept of the soul is as a manifestation of spirit, that is, of intelligent energy sublimated in body, form and figure.  So the soul was perceived by the Maya as the object which is a conduit for spirit, the energy which permits human intellectual manifestations 

The pre-conquest Maya, through deduction and synthesis, came to a monotheistic conclusion with a mathematical sense. Their concept of an "Absolute Being" was defined as measure and movement-measure of the Soul and movement of the energy which is Spirit.  Modern research has demon­strated that cells and molecules conform to geometric patterns whose dimensions are maintained by molds of vibrational energy.  Atomic research has confirmed that matter is essentially energy - trapped energy.

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The Maya did not formulate a God with a determined and or determin­ing personality, as in other mythologies.  Hunab K'u, traditionally thought to be the father of the gods, symbolizes form and energy; the perfect and ultimate union of the Soul and the Spirit. This unique Giver of Movement and Measure represents the Absolute Being, the architect of the universe.  The Sun is one of Hunab K'u's most powerful sources of information.  It is for this reason that the spirit-energy was called k'inan, the solar factor. The Maya knew that, within the scientific realm, the Sun was the governor of all forms of life without whom nothing was possible.

Despite their marvelous knowledge, the Maya did not repudiate their sense of spirituality and fall into materialism.  On the contrary, their ethics and aesthetics were highly spiritual, establishing a binding truth based on the conviction that each individual was one with every other being.   This conjugation of human with human is the human being.  Thus, ethics were based on the law of mutual respect elevated to the category of religion, but religion in the highest scientific sense, rather than a merely metaphysical one

The Maya did not have a mythical concept of deities, but instead maintained that the "gods" represented the forces of nature.  The result was a plurality in unity and unity in plurality.  Thus, the Mayan thinker maintained that "gods", humans, and numbers were one and the same.  And all, without exception, were dependent on the Absolute Being, Hunab K'u, whose symbolic representation is found on the pyramids as the Giver of Movement and Measure, in the geometric form of a square within a circle.

While the people of the Old World were locked in philosophical discussions and debates, in the New World, conclusions were made with certainty about what nature is, what it is to be human, and what are the laws that unite them.

The answers to those questions were found in the understanding of the intimate bond among God, humans, and numbers.  For indigenous Americans, religion was and still is, more than a simple belief to be fanatically adhered to. Their religious understanding explains clearly and simply the truths of human existence as a living reflection of cosmic consciousness, wherein energy (Spirit) conveys life and its material existence to all beings. This conviction came from simple observation of their surroundings, the great environment wherein vibrates the essence of the Absolute Being, Hunab K'u, that has empowered the human being.  Such perception was based on a sense of reason, free will, and volition.

The Mayan thinker knew the natural consequences of actions, good or bad, but education provided a sense of responsibility and freedom.  All debts, whether large or small, would necessarily be repaid sooner or later.  These circumstances permitted, in turn, the maintenance of ethical standards based on mutual respect.  For the Maya, love for one's own kind is love for one's self and, by extension, love for the Absolute Being-Hunab K'u, since humans are an inte­gral part of nature, and hence, part of God.

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The Mayan conception of the world was based on education.  Such a concept is neither abstract, unknowable, mysterious, or enigmatic. They attained a perfect understanding of life and their oneness with the Earth. The Maya developed human values but knew that they remained to be perfected, just as a precious stone requires polishing and refinement to enhance its value.  So it is with human beings: their innate qualities and virtues need the teacher's guidance to reach perfection.  It can be said that the Maya were not ones to ignore their value and worth as human beings.

From the perspective of Mayan philosophy and science, the gods need human beings and human beings need the gods. This statement is a fundamental precept of Mayan theology because it refers to gods, humans, and numbers as a sin­gle entity.  Reciprocity with forces that surround them basically explained their presence on this planet.  They believed themselves to be a projection and a reflection of that cosmic consciousness upon which all of life depends. 

Thus they were able to achieve an acceptable resolution to the disturbing mystery of the hereafter.  Simply stated, upon death, the soul or physical form remains on Earth.   The spirit, however, as igneous energy, reintegrates with the great cosmic force which is the Sun.  Thus, if the departed has earned a reward, it is here on Earth that it will be enjoyed.  Likewise, if punishment is merited, Earth will be the scene of the suffering.

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This is the essence of the Gnosis achieved by not only the Maya, but most likely all the great civilizations of the Americas at one time or another.  As each indigenous American came to this realization, their need for a civilization disappeared into time and the memory of man.  As each civilization rose to attain its own brand of highly pragmatic Gnosis, its people reverted to a simple existence without the need of kings, priests, government, or civilization.  However, each vanishing civilization left the seeds of their knowledge so that those who would eventually come after might replant, nurture, and perhaps bring forth an even more beautiful creation. 

This was the pattern of history of the Americas.  First came the Olmecs, then the Teotihuacanos, then the Maya, the Toltecs and so on.  The Aztecs were also destined to follow in those footsteps, but their development was halted by the Spanish Conquest.  To the South, the Nazcas were replaced by the Moche.  When they fell, the Chimu carried the standard until they themselves passed it to the Inca.  The Inca were also kept from attaining their ultimate evolution by Pizzarro and his band of Conquistadores. 

However, it is also vitally important to realize that at all times the land and environment of the New World offered its Gnostics the advantage of being able to lead a simpler and less complicated existence.  Once attained, the need for a materially oriented civilization disappeared.  However, without the cooperation of the land and environment, New World civilizations would have followed the path of their Old World counterparts. 

Therefore, when one asks, "Why did those great New World civilizations fail to continue?  Today's Gnostic can provide the answer in one word - Gnosis.  They took the road to historical oblivion because they "knew" they did not need a civilization.  They did not need kings to tell them they had to wage war for some idealistic and yet wholly intangible purpose.  They did not need priests as intermediaries for conversations with the "gods".  More than any other reason, Gnosis caused the great civilizations of the New World to simply "disappear".   

But there is no need to grieve.  The Gnostics of the New World left us something more precious than pyramids of stone, ornate murals, or memories of civilizations in their golden age.  They left us the words to describe the very essence of the Gnosis that will lead us into the next millennium and beyond.  "Our spirits are energy that will one day reintegrate into the great cosmos.  Thus, it is on Earth that we reap our fortunes or suffer our conse­quences, and nowhere else." 

For more information on Gnosis from the viewpoint of the modern man we invite you to visit our Book Store and obtain a copy of THE IMMORTAL WITHIN, currently, the only definitive work on New Age Gnosticism.