Self-Knowledge: The Journey to Spiritual Transformation
The teachings on self-knowledge in the apocryphal gospels, such as those of Thomas and John, take center stage in their theological framework. These texts view self-knowledge as the key to discovering the true “self,” which is connected to divine nature and the source of light. In their view, understanding one’s inner origin and true destiny enables a return to the original, pure state of being, free from the decay of the material world. For example, the introduction to the Gospel of Thomas states: "According to the Gospel of Thomas, the fundamental religious experience is not so much the acknowledgment of the divine being as the understanding of your own origin (light) and destiny (rest)." (source: link txt)This teaching emphasizes that true transformation occurs not through external worship or blind faith, but through a deep exploration of one’s essence. This is further confirmed by other passages, which assert: "Know yourself, what you are made of... and thus you will achieve the beauty of the Archetype. There is work for you, my soul, and, if you please, work of considerable importance.
Investigate yourself: what you are, where you are to go, where you came from, and where you should remain; is the life you live truly the life there is, or is there another besides it?" (source: link txt, page: 14, 360)In the apocryphal gospels, self-knowledge is seen as a path to the birth of a new Self—a renewed spiritual state that allows one to transcend ordinary human existence. Thus, the process of self-knowledge becomes a prerequisite for personal transformation and inner renewal, as illustrated in the following aphorism: "Self-knowledge is discovery—a unveiling, the birth of oneself as a new Self (‘...he who has found himself is not worthy of the world’...)" (source: link txt)Regarding the exclusion of such texts from the canon, one reason was their esoteric content. The apocryphal gospels convey teachings intended for a select group of believers who sought a deeper level of spiritual understanding. They offer esoteric knowledge that was not meant for a broad audience, in contrast to the basic teachings available through the canonical texts. As one scholar notes: "Elaine Pagels, one of the leading scholars studying early Gnosticism... believes that canonical and Gnostic gospels can be studied in parallel, drawing from the canonical texts the basic teachings intended for the masses, and from the Gnostic ones, the esoteric, advanced teachings." (source: link txt)Thus, the apocryphal texts with their teachings on self-knowledge were excluded from the canon because they offered an alternative vision of the spiritual path—one focused on individual inner transformation—which did not conform to the generally accepted dogmatic principles aimed at mass spiritual instruction and the historical recording of the events of Jesus’ life.