The Three Kinds of People There Are in the World According to the Valentinian Gnostics, by James Bean

 

The Three Kinds of People There Are in the World According to the Valentinian Gnostics, by James Bean

The three kinds of people in the world: "The Valentinian threefold designation of people as hylics, psychics, and pneumatics (people of fleshly body, soul, and spirit)." (Marvin Meyer, The Nag Hammadi Scriptures)

Have always thought of this tripart view of humanity as being rather accurate. We have 1) the hylics ("matter", materialists), 2) the psychics (of soul), and, 3) the pneumatics ("spiritual", from Greek πνεῦμα, "spirit").

Psychics (of the soul) are sort of the in between, between the spiritual and material realms with some belief in supernatural possibilities, and this category also includes people following one religion or another. Mystics in the world are few but followers of religions are many. Pneumatics are in the mystics category, those who are knowers (Gnostics), experiencers, in addition to whatever their intellectual beliefs might be about God, heavens, universes, souls and whatnot.

My only concern with what might be said in old Gnostic texts is over the question of WHO has a soul. If some of those folks were espousing the view that not everyone has a soul or the same kind of soul, I would strongly disagree, believing that everyone has a soul, IS a soul incarnate. If they are saying that many people are stuck at the level of the five senses and the outer material world, believe only what they happen to see (the hylics) or are attached to various theological ideas but don't experience the things they believe (God, heavens) and so it's all just abstract theory to them (psychics), then I do agree with that. Gnostics weren't anti intellectual and had lots of ideas, but their goal was to experience, to know. One begins with faith but then moves on to gnosis, to be spiritual, pneumatic, through an initiation into The Mysteries gain access to one's spiritual senses which can have perception of the beyond, spiritual seeing, spiritual hearing. One becomes an explorer of heavenly realms. Gnostic texts are filled with descriptions of visionary and auditory experiences, and the ascension of the soul through the various heavenly realms.

I believe animals also have souls, which is one of the reasons why I'm vegan. Being heavily influenced by Neo Platonism and Pythagoreanism the gnostics were veg or vegan also. See the last verses of the Nag Hammadi book, The Prayer of Thanksgiving: https://medium.com/sant-mat-meditation-and-spirituality/two-vegetarian-prayers-of-thanksgiving-one-is-gnostic-the-other-from-jainism-f34f8e11a7cf

Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj, the Great Scholar Sant, on the Occasion of His Jayanti — Birthday Commemoration

 

 

Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj, the Great Scholar Sant, on the Occasion of His Jayanti — Birthday Commemoration

We Remember Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj (12–20–1920 — 6–4–2007)

The Goal of Sant Mat Spirituality and Meditation: Our Path Back to the Source — The Inward Journey Back to God

“Sant Mat (the path and teachings as taught and practiced by Saints [Sant Satgurus]) delineates the path of union of soul with God. The teachings of the saints explain the re-uniting as follows:

“The individual soul has descended from the higher worlds [the Realm of the Divine] to this city of illusion, bodily existence. It has descended from the Soundless State to the essence of Sound, from that Sound to Light, and finally from the realm of Light to the realm of Darkness. The qualities (dharmas, natural tendencies) of the sense organs draw us downward and away from our true nature.

“The nature of the soul (atman) draws us upwards and inwards and establishes us in our own true nature. Returning to our origins involves turning inward: withdrawal of consciousness from the senses and the sense objects in order to go upward from the darkness to the realms of Light and Sound. [We experience this phenomenon of withdrawal as we pass from waking consciousness to deep sleep.] Another way to express this is to go inward from the external sense organs to the depth of the inner self. (Both of these expressions are the metaphors that signify the same movement). The natural tendencies of the soul (atman) are to move from outward to inward. The current of consciousness which is dispersed in the nine gates of the body and the senses, must be collected at the tenth gate.

“The tenth gate is the gathering point of consciousness. Therein lies the path for our return. The tenth gate is also known as the sixth chakra, the third eye, bindu, the center located between the two eyebrows. This is the gateway through which we leave the gates of the sense organs and enter in the divine realms and finally become established in the soul. We travel back from the Realm of Darkness to the Realm of Light, from the Light to the Divine Sound, and from the Realm of Sound to the Soundless State. This is called turning back to the Source.

“This is what dharma or religion really intends to teach us. This is the essence of dharma.” (Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj, “Harmony Of All Religions”).

Know Yourself and Know God: “Practice ‘Drishti Yoga’ (Yoga of Inner Light) and ‘Nadaanusandhana’ (Yoga of Inner Sound, Surat Shabd Yoga). This will remove the layers of Darkness, Light and Sound (that conceal your Soul from the Supreme Sovereign Soul, i.e. God). You will, thus, get to know ‘Who You Are’. And, when you know yourself, you will also know God.” (Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj)

Satsang Video: Santsevi Speaks about Qualification of the Guru -- Hindi With English Subtitles: 

https://youtu.be/XD69XRKIGq0?si=OZW-_IXChz2fbMVs

For a Biography of Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj, See:  

https://medium.com/sant-mat-meditation-and-spirituality/biography-of-swami-santsevi-ji-maharaj-the-great-scholar-sant-on-the-occasion-of-his-96th-jayanti-d47efe871de0