Of all the gnostic texts discovered in a cave by an Egyptian shepherd in 1947,  The Thunder Perfect Mind might be the most mysterious and profound. Likely dating from the 3rd to 4th centuries CE, the epic poem is written in the voice of the Divine Mother (Sophia) who speaks in paradoxes that reveal the unity of opposites (the One manifesting as dualism).

“I am the first and the last.
I am the honored one and the scorned one.
I am the whore and the holy one.
I am the wife and the virgin.
I am the mother and the daughter.”

The author’s identification with opposites – purity and sin, wisdom and ignorance, strength and weakness – perfectly aligns with the teachings of Jesus, who consistently noted that God’s light shines equally on sinner and saint.

In fact, the entirety of the Nag Hammadi library is said to represent the ‘secret’ teachings of Christ Jesus, hidden by monks to keep them out of the hands of orthodox Christian leaders consolidating their power (and access to followers’ money) under Emperor Constantine. In 367 CE Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria issued a letter declaring which books were canonically acceptable and which were deemed heretical.

As their name suggests, the gnostic gospels speak to the idea (as did Jesus) that divinity exists within every human being and, as such, is fully accessible without the need for religious middlemen. (For more on the Nag Hammadi library, read or listen to Elaine Pagels’ marvelous book, The Gnostic Gospels.)

Alignment with the Perennial Way

As with other codices and texts that make up the Nag Hammadi Library, The Thunder Perfect Mind aligns with the many spiritual traditions that constitute the core of the perennial wisdom. Examples include:

The Unity of Opposites

The author clearly identifies with all opposites. “I am the knowledge of my inquiry… I am the hearing that is attainable to everyone and the speech that cannot be grasped.” The perennial wisdom similarly argues that reality transcends the illusion of duality; that opposites only exist with the One. Picture here the Tao’s yin/yang; Advaita Vedanta’s nonduality (one without a second); and Meister Eckhart’s “God beyond opposites.”

Omnipresence of the Divine

The poem reveals a God that is present in All, including the profane and the holy, the immoral and moral. Picture here the Sufi tradition of “God closer than your own breath” or the “Thou art That” in the Upanishads.

Self-Knowledge as the Path to Liberation

The author reminds her readers: “I am she who is knowledge and ignorance…. Hear me you hearers and learn my words you who know me.” The admonition to know thyself is, of course, central to all mystically-driven spiritual traditions.

Feminine Aspect of the Divine

Contrary to orthodox religious teachings (of virtually all faiths) that elevate men over women, the poem is delivered in an explicitly feminine voice embodying the Wisdom principle (Sophia). References such as “I am she,” “I am the wife,” and “I am the mother” appear more than 25 times in the poem. Many traditions in the perennial wisdom – Shakti in Hinduism, Shekinah in Kabbalah, and Prajnaparamita in Buddhism – venerate the feminine as the creative and knowing aspect of the One. Mystical Christianity also holds that it was Mary who was closest to Jesus and who best understood and embodied his teachings.

Mystical Paradox

As with virtually all mystical traditions, the poem uses paradox to trip or freeze the mind sufficient to allow Truth to shine through. Picture here Zen koans or Jesus’s use of wordplay (“the last shall be the first”) to overcome the conceptual mind.

Click here for one of many excellent guides to The Thunder Perfect Mind and its meanings.