Selected
Excerpts from the
Talks
and Writings of G. I. Gurdjieff
~ • ~
Working For the Third World of Man
There are
two struggles—inner-world struggle and outer-world
struggle, but never can these two make contact, to make
data for the third world. Not even God gives this possibility
for contact between your inner- and outer-world struggles; not
even your heredity. Only one thing—you must make
intentional contact between outer-world struggle and
inner-world struggle; only then can you make data for the
Third World of Man, sometimes called World of the Soul.1
Struggle Unceasingly
To possess the
right to the name of ‘man,’ one must be one.
And to be
such, one must first of all, with an indefatigable persistence
and an unquenchable impulse of desire, issuing from all the
separate independent parts constituting one’s entire common
presence, that is to say, with a desire issuing simultaneously
from thought, feeling, and organic instinct, work on an
all-round knowledge of oneself—at the same time struggling
unceasingly with one’s subjective weaknesses—and then
afterwards, taking one’s stand upon the results thus obtained by
one’s consciousness alone, concerning the defects in one’s
established subjectivity as well as the elucidated means for the
possibility of combatting them, strive for their eradication
without mercy towards oneself.2
Objective Conscience
In all
three-brained beings of the whole of our Universe without
exception, among whom are also we men, owing to the data
crystallized in our common presences for engendering in us the
Divine impulse of conscience, “the-whole-of-us” and the whole of
our essence, are, and must be, already in our foundation, only
suffering.
And they must be
suffering, because the completed actualizing of the
manifestation of such a being-impulse in us can proceed only
from the constant struggle of two quite opposite what are called
“complexes-of-the-functioning” of those two sources which are of
quite opposite origin, namely, between the processes of the
functioning of our planetary body itself and the parallel
functionings arising progressively from the coating and
perfecting of our higher being-bodies within this planetary body
of ours, which functionings in their totality actualize every
kind of Reason in the three-centered beings.
In consequence of
this, every three-centered being of our Great Universe, and also
we men existing on the Earth, must, owing to the presence in us
also of the factors for engendering the Divine impulse of
“Objective Conscience,” always inevitably struggle with the
arising and the proceeding within our common presences of two
quite opposite functionings giving results always sensed by us
either as “desires” or as “nondesires.”
And
so, only he, who consciously assists the process of this inner
struggle and consciously assists the “nondesires” to predominate
over the desires, behaves just in accordance with the essence of
our COMMON FATHER CREATOR HIMSELF;
whereas he who with his consciousness assists the contrary, only
increases HIS SORROW.3
A-Field-of-Hope
You are
given legs to walk; hands to prepare and take the necessary
food; your nose and the organs connected with it are so adapted
that you may take in and transform in yourself those
World-substances by which there are coated in the three-brained
beings similar to yourself both higher-being bodies, on one of
which rests the hope of our COMMON
ALL-EMBRACING CREATOR for help in His
needs, for the purpose of actualizations foreseen by Him for the
good of Everything Existing. . .
Although you were created for the purpose of the common-cosmic
existence on planets, and although you were created also as
‘a-field-of-hope’ for the future expectations of our
COMMON ALL-EMBRACING CREATOR—that
is to say, created with the possibilities of coating in your
presence that ‘Higher-Sacred’ for the possible arising of which
the whole of our now existing World was just created—and in
spite of the said possibilities given to you, that is to say, in
spite of your having been created three-brained with
possibilities of a logical mentation, yet you do not use this
sacred property of yours for the purpose for which it was
foreordained.4
Seven Aspects of Work in Life
At the end
of the meal, several people left the table to wash up. Mr
Gurdjieff then turned to his neighbour on the left and
reproached him for having carried out badly his role as
Director.5
This seems a
small thing to you. But for those who know how to conduct
their affairs in life, it is a big thing.
There is not
just one aspect. In reality there are seven of them. If you
know how to conduct one of your affairs well, the others
could go well, even automatically. But if you neglect only
one of these aspects the result will be bad, even though you
followed this business through your whole life.
If you assume
the role of director you must control all aspects of
it. You must be able to supervise very precisely all the
details.
While
fulfilling your obligations nothing else must count. Even if
you have business worth millions, you must forget it. If you
do this, when the time comes to transact your deals in
millions you will know how to act in the same way. If you
accustom yourself to do well the task of the present moment,
you will learn to do everything well.
You are here,
now. Sacrifice everything else. All your presence
(attention), all your thoughts, all your associations must
relate to the matter on which you are working.
In the
ordinary things of life you must fulfill all your
obligations. You must think of what is needed one or two
weeks in advance and never fail. You have the time—you will
know how to find it. Think well about all these
aspects—prepare yourself. In reality you always lose time:
with such an interior organization a man will never go far.6
Separating Mind from Essence
Our mind, our
thinking, has nothing in common with us, with our essence—no
connection, no dependence. . .
The mind is
capable of functioning independently, but it also has the
capacity of becoming identified with the essence, of becoming a
function of the essence. In the majority of those present, the
mind does not try to be independent but is merely a
function. . .
At present we are
not capable of controlling our states, and so it cannot be
demanded of us. But when we acquire this capacity, corresponding
demands will be made.
In order to
understand better what I mean, I shall give you an example: now,
in a calm state, not reacting to anything or anyone, I decide to
set myself the task of establishing a good relationship with Mr.
B., because I need him for business purposes and can do what I
wish only with his help. But I dislike Mr. B. for he is a very
disagreeable man. He understands nothing. He is a blockhead. He
is vile, anything you like. I am so made that these traits
affect me. Even if he merely looks at me, I become irritated. If
he talks nonsense, I am beside myself. I am only a man, so I am
weak and cannot persuade myself that I need not be annoyed—I
shall go on being annoyed.
Yet I can control
myself, depending on how serious my desire is to gain the end I
wish to gain through him. If I keep to this purpose, to this
desire, I shall be able to do so. No matter how annoyed I may
be, this state of wishing will be in my mind. No matter how
furious, how beside myself I am, in a corner of my mind I shall
still remember the task I set myself. My mind is unable to
restrain me from anything, unable to make me feel this or that
toward him, but it is able to remember. I say to myself: “You
need him, so don’t be cross or rude to him.” It could even
happen that I would curse him, or hit him, but my mind would
continue to pluck at me, reminding me that I should not do so.
But the mind is powerless to do anything.
This is precisely
what anyone who has a serious desire not to identify himself
with his essence can do. This is what is meant by “separating
the mind from the essence.”
And what happens
when the mind becomes merely a function? If I am annoyed, if I
lose my temper, I shall think, or rather “it” will think, in
accordance with this annoyance, and I shall see everything in
the light of the annoyance. To hell with it!
And so I say that
with a serious man—a simple, ordinary man without any
extraordinary powers, but a grown-up man—whatever he decides,
whatever problem he has set himself, that problem will always
remain in his head. Even if he cannot achieve it in practice, he
will always keep it in his mind. Even if he is influenced by
other considerations, his mind will not forget the problem he
has set himself. He has a duty to perform and, if he is honest,
he will strive to perform it, because he is a grown-up man.
No one can
help him in this remembering, in this separation of oneself from
oneself. A man must do it for himself.7
What Obligations Am I Under?
Only now have I
come very clearly to understand that everything we have at the
present time and everything we use—in a word, all the
contemporary amenities and everything necessary for our comfort
and welfare—have not always existed and did not make their
appearance so easily.
It seems that
certain beings in the past have during very long periods labored
and suffered very much for this, and endured a great deal which
perhaps they even need not have endured.
They labored and
suffered only in order that we might now have all this and use
it for our welfare.
And all this they
did, either consciously or unconsciously, just for us, that is
to say, for beings quite unknown and entirely indifferent to
them.
And now not only
do we not thank them, but we do not even know a thing about
them, but take it all as in the natural order, and neither
ponder nor trouble ourselves about this question at all. . .
And so, my
dear and kind Grandfather, now that . . . I have gradually, with
all my presence, become aware of all this, there has arisen in
me, side by side with this, the need to make clear to my Reason
why I personally have all the comforts which I now use, and what
obligations I am under for them.8
Intentional-Suffering
One of the
best means of rendering ineffective the predisposition present
in your nature of the crystallization of the consequences of the
properties of the organ Kundabuffer is ‘intentional-suffering’;
and the greatest intentional-suffering can be obtained in your
presences if you compel yourselves to be able to endure the
‘displeasing-manifestations-of-others-toward-yourselves.’9
A
Simple Secret
In the common
presence of every being existing merely on the basis of
Itoklanoz, ‘something’ similar to the regulator in a mechanical
watch is present and is called ‘Iransamkeep’; this ‘something’
means: ‘not - to - give - oneself - up - to - those - of - one’s
- associations - resulting - from - the - functioning - of -
only - one - or - another - of - one’s - brains.’
But even if
they should understand such a simple secret it will be all just
the same; they still would not make the necessary being-effort,
quite accessible even to the contemporary beings and thanks to
which, by the foresight of Nature, beings in general acquire the
possibility of what is called ‘harmonious association,’ by
virtue of which alone energy is created for active
being-existence in the presence of every three-brained being and
consequently in them themselves.10
The Disease ‘Tomorrow’
Thanks to this
abnormal hope of theirs a very singular and most strange
disease, with a property of evolving, arose and exists among
them there even until now—a disease called there ‘tomorrow.’
This
strange disease ‘tomorrow’ brought with it terrifying
consequences, and particularly for those unfortunate
three-brained beings there who chance to learn and to become
categorically convinced with the whole of their presence that
they possess some very undesirable consequences for the
deliverance from which they must make certain efforts, and which
efforts moreover they even know just how to make, but owing to
this maleficent disease ‘tomorrow’ they never succeed in making
these required efforts.11
Abnormally Established Conditions
I wish to point
out to you one great ‘secret’ of their psyche. . .
You, no doubt, my
boy, have already guessed that by this secret of their psyche I
refer just to this same, as I called it, ‘psycho-organic-need’
of theirs to ‘teach others sense’ and ‘to put them on the right
road.’
This special
property formed in their psyche, thanks of course also always to
the same abnormally established conditions of ordinary
being-existence, becomes as it were—when each of them already
becomes a responsible being—an obligatory part of his presence.
Everyone there
without exception has this ‘psycho-organic need’; old and young,
men and women and even those whom they call ‘prematurely born.’
The mentioned
‘particular need’ of theirs arises in them, in its turn, thanks
to another particular property of theirs which is that from the
very moment when each of them acquires the capacity of
distinguishing between ‘wet’ and ‘dry,’ then, carried away by
this attainment, he ceases forever to see and observe his own
abnormalities and defects, but sees and observes those same
abnormalities and defects in others. . .
I might as
well here remark that thanks to this property of your favorites
always to grow indignant at the defects of others around them,
they make their existence, already wretched and abnormal without
this, objectively unbearable.12
The Snake Who Wanted To Become a Monk
During one meal,
Monsieur Gurdjieff told us the story of a snake who wanted to
take religious vows:
In the middle
of a forest a man-eating snake saw a monk coming along a
path. He went to meet the monk to ask if it was possible for
him to take religious vows.
After
listening to him, the monk said, “Yes, but if you take
religious vows, you will no longer be able to eat men, or
attack them!”
The snake
promised to obey his instructions.
So, the monk
gave the snake some advice, told him how to pray, and said
to him, “In one year I will come this way again, and we’ll
see how you are getting on,” and he went on his way.
One year
later, the monk came back through the same forest. He saw
the snake coming towards him. But the snake was emaciated,
and covered in wounds. The monk asked him what had happened.
The snake
replied that having kept to his promise of no longer
attacking men, these men and children had started to throw
stones at him.
“I
see!” said the monk. “Yes! yes! I certainly asked you not to
attack people, but I didn’t forbid you to hiss!”13
The Foundation of Essence
Your
weeping gives me the assurance also that in your future
responsible existence there will also be in your common presence
those being-data which are the foundation of the essence of
every bearer of Divine Reason and which are even formulated by
our COMMON FATHER
in words placed over the chief entrance of the holy planet
Purgatory decreeing the following: ‘ONLY
- HE - MAY - ENTER - HERE - WHO - PUTS - HIMSELF - IN - THE -
POSITION - OF - THE - OTHER - RESULTS - OF - MY - LABORS.’14
A
Real Man
I also very well
remember that on another occasion the father dean [Borsh] said:
“In order that at
responsible age a man may be a real man and not a parasite, his
education must without fail be based on the following ten
principles.
“From early
childhood there should be instilled in the child:
- Belief in
receiving punishment for disobedience.
- Hope of
receiving reward only for merit.
- Love of
God—but indifference to the saints.
- Remorse of
conscience for the ill-treatment of animals.
- Fear of
grieving parents and teachers.
- Fearlessness
toward devils, snakes and mice.
- Joy in being
content merely with what one has.
- Sorrow at
the loss of the goodwill of others.
- Patient
endurance of pain and hunger.
- The
striving early to earn one’s bread.”15
Emerging from Hell
My ladder was
some sixty feet in length; I had not climbed up a third of its
height before I emerged from that hell. There above was a
beautiful starry and moonlit sky, silence and a stillness such
as is rarely found even at home in Eastern Persia. Below, there
still reigned something unimaginable; I had the impression of
standing on some high cliff on a sea-coast overlooking the most
terrible storm and upheaval. . .
It has been
shown that the sand-filled atmosphere has a definite and not
very high limit, and that the contours of it’s upper surface
always correspond to the contours of the desert itself; and one
must admit that it is absolutely necessary to make use of this
discovery in the journey we have ahead of us.16
Our Repertoire of Roles
You must
realize that each man has a definite repertoire of roles which
he plays in ordinary circumstances. He has a role for every kind
of circumstance in which he ordinarily finds himself in life;
but put him into even only slightly different circumstances and
he is unable to find a suitable role and for a short time he
becomes himself. The study of the roles a man plays
represents a very necessary part of self-knowledge. Each man’s
repertoire is very limited. And if a man simply says ‘I’ and
‘Ivan Ivanich,’ he will not see the whole of himself because
‘Ivan Ivanich’ also is not one; a man has at least five or six
of them. One or two for his family, one or two at his office
(one for his subordinates and another for his superiors), one
for friends in a restaurant, and perhaps one who is interested
in exalted ideas and likes intellectual conversation. And at
different times the man is fully identified with one of them and
is unable to separate himself from it. To see the roles, to know
one’s repertoire, particularly to know its limitedness, is to
know a great deal. But the point is that, outside his
repertoire, a man feels very uncomfortable should something push
him if only temporarily out of his rut, and he tries his hardest
to return to any one of his usual roles. Directly he falls back
into the rut, everything at once goes smoothly again and the
feeling of awkwardness and tension disappears. This is how it is
in life; but in the work, in order to observe oneself, one must
become reconciled to this awkwardness and tension and to the
feeling of discomfort and helplessness. Only by experiencing
this discomfort can a man really observe himself. And it is
clear why this is so. When a man is not playing any of his usual
roles, when he cannot find a suitable role in his repertoire, he
feels that he is undressed. He is cold and ashamed and wants to
run away from everybody. But the question arises: What does he
want? A quiet life or to work on himself?17
~ • ~
1 Kathryn Hulme,
Undiscovered Country: A Spiritual Adventure, Boston: Little,
Brown and Company, 1966, p. 103.
2 G. I.
Gurdjieff, Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson, New York:
Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1950, p. 1209.
3 Ibid.,
pp. 372–373.
4 Ibid.,
pp. 194–195.
5 The
director’s principal task was to direct the ‘toasts’ ceremony
during the meal.
6
Transcript from a Paris Meeting led by Gurdjieff, 1943.
7 G. I.
Gurdjieff, Views From The Real World, New York: Dutton,
1973, pp. 148–151.
8
Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson, pp. 76–77.
9 Ibid.,
pp. 241–242.
10
Ibid., p. 445.
11
Ibid., p. 362.
12
Ibid., pp. 1075–1077.
13
Solange Claustres, Becoming Conscious with G. I. Gurdjieff,
Netherlands:
Eureka Editions,
2005, p. 69.
14
Ibid., p. 1164.
15 G. I.
Gurdjieff, Meetings with Remarkable Men, New York:
Dutton, 1963, p. 57.
16
Ibid., pp. 171–172.
17 P. D.
Ouspensky, In Search of the Miraculous, New York:
Harcourt Brace, 1949, p. 239–240.
~ • ~
