Why should you consider anybody a gadol?
Because of their deeds & actions.
Apparently you have no idea who the Rebbe,ZT"L,ZY"A was or you wouldn't talk such trash!!
I have no idea what Gnosticism is.
Have you ever learned Chassidus?
Unless you have you have no right to make such a judgement!!!!!
Since this thread has gone off the rails..I will challenge you and Chassidus...You do realize that all Hasidic Thought has it's roots in the The Zohar?..So you are buying the line that it was authored by the Rashbi..I will tell you that this is a lie and falsehood..I know you will not take my word for it...So here is a clip to give you idea of what I am talking about...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyKOxdlDjVA...Chabad for all it's good works that it has done has also been equally destructive..Why would I say such a thing here is a link..
http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/3234049/jewish/Gala-Reinforces-Vibrant-Jewish-Life-in-Paris.htm...They want Jews in the GALUT..and are going to cause there death..They are steeped in superstition and mystycal thought...example 1.
This perception of mezuzah has been widely popularized during
the past several years in the literature of the Lubavitcher
movement, particularly since the terrorist attack at Ma'alot in
1,974, and more recently since Entebbe. One particular Chabad
brochure, circulated in the wake of Ma'alot, calls upon Jews to
marshal their spiritual "defenses," depicting specific mitsvo tand
mezuza& is prominent among thsrnl-2s "helmets," which "military strategy" advisesz ( a battlefield analogy which is more
than figurative). Following the rescue at Entebbe, and a discourse
by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in which the protective view was articulated
in learned formulation,3 a student'branch of the movement
distributed a flyer suggesting that the ordeal of the hostages
may be linked to the collective inefficacy of their mezuzot