Includes an extensive commentary by Samael Aun Weor. "The Pistis Sophia" is a sophisticated and deeply mystical teaching given by Jesus about the suffering of Sophia as she attempts to ascend to the highest spiritual truth. This scripture is remarkable for its profound mysticism, its clear rebuke of unethical behavior, and its perspective on the spiritual role of women. Having read this text, it becomes very clear why the established religious powers attempted to obliterate the Gnostics, but failed. Study of this teaching also inspires a re-evaluation of how the Christian Gospels have been interpreted for centuries.About this scripture, the commentary author Samael Aun Weor said, ""The Hebrew Bible clearly connotes the Word of the Eternal One. However, we, the Gnostics, also have our very special Bible. I want to emphatically declare that this is The Pistis Sophia, whose original is in Coptic. It was found underground in Egypt, the land of the Pharaohs. The Pistis Sophia contains all the words of the adorable Savior of the world. It was written by the Apostles. Thus, all the Esoteric-Christic instructions that Jesus Christ gave to his disciples on the Mount of the Olives and other holy places is written within this book. This book had been conserved in secret for many centuries. In this book, the Adorable One left an extraordinary, formidable body of doctrine."

    The core of this great work is the epic struggle between five heroic brothers, the Pandavas, and their one hundred contentious cousins for rule of the land. This is the third volume of van Buitenen's acclaimed translation of the definitive Poona edition of the text. Book 4, The Book of Virata, begins as a burlesque, but the mood soon darkens amid molestation, raids, and Arjuna's battle with the principal heroes of the enemy. Book 5, The Book of the Effort, relates the attempts of the Pandavas to negotiate the return of their patrimony. They are refused so much as a "pinprick of land," and both parties finally march to battle.

    It is generally assumed that this process and its agents are screened from human eyes, but this book suggests otherwise.