The Gospel of Thomas

Delivered by Bob Bongiovanni, MA

We spend a lot of time talking about the principle of individuation. We define it — Andrew Samuels defines it as “becoming oneself, whole, indivisible, and distinct from other people or collective psychology (though also in relation to these).” Clear enough? Perhaps, on the intellectual level. But, individuation is a vital, lived experience, not just an abstract notion. Which means, of course, it is best understood by encountering it in stories and in symbols, which feel very personal and very alive.

Imagine, for a moment, that the principle of individuation actually became embodied, became a living human being. I am not talking here about someone being inspired by individuation and writing or talking about it. I am talking about the full incarnation of the principle of individuation. Some would say that this is the esoteric side of the story of Jesus Christ. If, indeed, Christ embodied the principle of individuation, then the entirety of the Gospel takes on vivid new meanings. Every time Jesus say, “I will . . . “ he is, in essence, saying “individuation will . . “ Since we are talking about the esoteric Christ, I would like to use an esoteric text to illustrate my point — The Gospel of Thomas, a gnostic work dating back to 100 AD, omitted from the approved Gospels.

In this Gospel, Jesus proclaims “I shall give you what no eye has seen and what no ear has heard and what no hand has touched and what has never occurred to the human mind.” (verse 17) He also proclaims, “Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All.” (verse 2) Now, there is an invitation for you! No promise of pearly gates and pie in the sky by-and-by. No, he invites us into a deep and mysterious journey. If you imagine this message coming directly from the process of individuation — the process itself finding the words to convey, through the voice of Jesus — these phrases hold out the promise of what will transpire in the lives of humans who take up the path and individuate. We will see far more than the obvious and superficial world we are accustomed to, and we will never feel completely comfortable with a superficial life again.

If the voice of Jesus in this Gospel is actually the voice of individuation, what advice may we take concerning the best way to take up this path? Well, he is clear on a couple of points. First, looking to traditional religion is a fruitless task. He says, “The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of Knowledge and hidden them. They themselves have not entered, nor have they allowed to enter those who wish to. You, however, be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.” (verse 39) What about our comrades, the collective opinion, can we rely on population to acclaim the truth? No, says Jesus, who says, “I took my place in the midst of the world, and I appeared to them in flesh. I found all of them intoxicated; I found none of them thirsty. And my soul became afflicted for the sons of men, because they are blind in their hearts and do not have sight; for empty they came in the world and empty too they seek to leave the world. But for the moment they are intoxicated. When they shake off their wine, then they will repent.” (verse 28) Empty, superficial, stupefied by the intoxicating pleasures of the everyday world. So then, should we look for inspiration in the forces of nature — either embodied in the gods of the airs and waters, or in that more scientific awe of the sheer magnitude of the natural world? No, says Jesus, the path is not there. Listen to this quote: “If those who lead you say to you, ‘See, the Kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fishes of the sea will precede you. Rather, the Kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are sons of the living Father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty.” (verse 3) Of course, he is not just talking about material poverty here. He is talking about a diminished vision of the incredible richness that is our life as human beings.

So, the voice of individuation tells us to give up reliance on religion, popular paradigms, and even the natural forces, and instead come to know ourselves. The beginning, it seems, is to defy conventional labels, to peel back the persona. Jesus advises, “When you disrobe without being ashamed and take up your garments and place them under your feet like little children and tread on them, then will you see the Son of the Living One and you will not be afraid.” (verse 37)

So, the journey is not in developing an acceptable ego. It lies within, going on a perilous inward journey. And what does Jesus, the voice of individuation, tell us about the nature of these perils? “Blessed is the lion which becomes man when consumed by man. And cursed is the man whom the lion consumes, and the lion becomes man.” (verse 7) So, does this mean we should stay off the Serengeti plain, for fear of fierce felines? I suppose, if the fundamentalists got ahold of this text and applied their literal interpretation, that is what it would mean. But, listen to this quote for the Cirlot Dictionary of Symbols: “For Jung, the lion, in its wild state, is broadly speaking an index of latent passions; it may also take the form of a sign indicating the danger of being devoured by the unconscious.” The path of individuation means either consuming, integrating, the unconscious or being consumed by it. And, depending on our outcome, we are either blessed or cursed.

Jesus offers further advice on this matter. “Blessed are they who have been persecuted within themselves. It is they who have truly come to know the Father.” (verse 69) “That which you have will save you if you bring it forth from yourselves. That which you do not have within you will kill you if you do not have it within you.” (verse 70) “Therefore, I say, if he is undivided, he will be filled with light, but if he is divided, he will be filled with darkness.” (verse 61) So, what is the principle of individuation trying to tell us here, in the voice of Jesus. Remember the definition of individuation supplied by Samuels that I offered at the beginning of this talk? An individuating person is becoming whole and indivisible. So long as we are persecuted within by complexes — split off parts of our personality — we are divided within ourselves. If we project these complexes outward, hope is lost, and we will be destroyed. If we bring these divisions out of ourselves, we will survive and grow ever more whole.

And, then what? What can we look forward to, on this difficult path? Jesus says, “When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside, and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male be not male nor the female female; and when you fashion eyes in place of an eye and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness, then you will enter the Kingdom.” (verse 22) Esoteric? Yes — and rich with meaning. Basically, perhaps overly simplistically, the human voice of individuation is telling us that all opposites, even those most personal to us like our gender, will be transcended. In its place, pure conscious living, fashioning our very being with conscious thought. The Gospel of Thomas is filled with even more esoteric passages, of which we can only have a glimmering. Listen to this one: “The images are manifest to man, but the light in them remains concealed in the image of the light of the Father. He will become manifest, but his image will remained concealed by his light. When you see your likeness, you rejoice. But when you see your images which came into being before you, and which neither die nor become manifest, how much you will have to bear!” (verses 83-84) I am only speculating, but is this passage possibly about archetypes? The archetype of the Father has become so dominant in our monotheistic time, it obscures all others. The images of the Father, in particular, conceal the other aspects of the Father archetypes as well as the other archetypes. If we were to glimpse these other archetypes, it would be awesome indeed.

In taking up the path of individuation, with its tremendous promise and ever-present perils, we are never alone, Jesus tells us. If only we paid attention, life would be full of evidence that the Self is with us on this journey. We would know, with absolute certainty, that every step we take toward the Self on this path, is met by a step toward us taken by the Self. Jesus tells us, “It is I who am the light which is above them all. It is I who am the All. From me did the All come forth, and to me did the All extend. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there.” (verse 77)