This book was conceived by Adi Da Samraj at the end of 2005. He was first moved to make his own rendering, or 'interpretive translation', of a traditional Advaitic text, The Heart of the Ribhu Gita, in order to elucidate (and thereby honor) its full meaning. Adi Da Samraj then did the same with other great teachings from the traditions of Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism. In each case, he brought the essence of the instruction to the fore, with elegance and illumined understanding. Texts whose meanings were only partially (or cryptically) expressed even in the original suddenly shone forth, like rough gems cut by an expert hand.
Such was the original kernel of The Gnosticon, an anthology of these masterful 'translations', together with discourses about the traditional texts, given by Adi Da Samraj.
In the course of 2006, Avatar Adi Da transformed the nature of the book by adding many of his own teachings relative to 'Perfect Knowledge' of Reality, such as Eleutherios and The Teaching Manual of Perfect Summaries, as well as essays on 'radical' devotion and right life. In order to present these Reality-Teachings in their full context as the apex of human wisdom, Adi Da Samraj also added essays he had written over the years about the more preliminary stages of human understanding, including commentaries on popular 'God'-religion.
Avatar Adi Da's final work on The Gnosticon (only months before His passing in November 2008) included the addition of the essays Atma Nadi Shakti Yoga and The Boundless Self-Confession.
The words of Adi Da Samraj, as his devotees and others can confess, carry a potency that is vastly beyond the verbal meaning, a force that can activate fundamental transformations in the being. This potency is not restricted to hearing him speak. He invests himself spiritually in all of his writing. That transmission of his person can be received through reading any of his books--and certainly this 1200-page masterwork, The Gnosticon.
From the foreword to The Gnosticon:
Adi Da Samraj has created a body of work that surpasses in its force and insight that of any other author and teacher of our time. . . . The present book [is] a mature document that culminates forty or more years of reflection and articulation on Adi Da Samraj's part. I can only add my own humble invitation to all to plunge into its ecstatic waters and savor The Gnosticon.
Paul E. Muller-Ortega, professor of religion, University of Rochester, author, The Triadic Heart of Shiva
