Gurdjieff's teaching and the Fourth Way - the path of the cunning. Gurdjieff G.I.

Georgy Ivanovich Gurdjieff(wrong Gurdjieff; January 14, in other sources 1874, January 13 or December 28, Alexandropol, now Gyumri, Armenia - October 29, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) - Russian occultist of Greek-Armenian roots, mystic, spiritual teacher, writer, composer, traveler and a forced emigrant, whose activities were devoted to the self-development of man, the growth of his consciousness and being in Everyday life, and whose teachings among followers were called the “Fourth Way”. Gurdjieff was a novice of the Sarmoung Brotherhood (1899-1900 and 1906-1907; English Sarmoung Brotherhood) and the founder of the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man (1917-1925).

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  Father is Greek Ivan Ivanovich Gurdjieff(Greek Ἰωάνης Γεωργιάδης ), mother is Armenian from the family Tavrizov-Bagratuni(Armenian Թավրիզ - Բագրատունի ); residents of the Armenian border city of Alexandropol, famous for its trade and handicrafts, the center of the district of the same name in the Erivan province. According to Gurdjieff, his own father and his spiritual father, the rector of the local Christian church, Father Borsch, instilled in him a thirst for knowledge of the life process on Earth, and, in particular, the purpose of human life.

  Uspensky's acquaintances, representatives creative intelligentsia, became interested in Gurdjieff, and a small group was also created in St. Petersburg. Ouspensky adapted Gurdjieff's ideas to the European mentality, translating them into a language understandable to Western psychological culture.

  Caucasian period

  In Tiflis he joined Gurdjieff theater artist and decorator Alexander de Salzmann (1874-1934), an ethnic German from Georgia. His wife, the Frenchwoman Jeanne de Salzmann (1889-1990), will subsequently greatly contribute to the dissemination of Gurdjieff’s teachings in France and bring students to him after the closure of the Institute in Prieureux.

  In exile

  Institute of Harmonious Human Development

  Gurdjieff tried several times to found the “Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man” - first in 1919 in Tiflis (Tbilisi), then in 1920 in Constantinople (Istanbul). In 1921, Gurdjieff had to leave for Germany, and then, following Ouspensky, he tried to move to Great Britain, but the authorities did not allow his followers to enter the country. Gurdjieff at that time was accompanied by a group of men and women who knew him from Moscow and St. Petersburg, and during the revolution followed him to the Caucasus, then - due to the outbreak of civil war - to Constantinople and further west to Europe. Gurdjieff selflessly spent his own money to purchase food for the entire group and took care of their life. In the summer of 1922 they arrived in France. On collected English groups Assumption remedy, in 1922 Gurdjieff bought the Prieuré estate (French: Prieuré d'Avon), near Fontainebleau near Paris. The estate was purchased from the widow of Fernand Labori (Fernand Labori; 1860-1917), lawyer in the Dreyfus case. In it, finally, and the “Institute of Harmonious Human Development” was founded, which existed for several years.

  The community of new residents of the vast estate attracted the most lively curiosity. The first students to come to Prieuré were the English, followers of Ouspensky; then the Americans began to arrive. Among them were critics, publishers and doctors with famous surnames:

  Among the French students, the poet and prose writer Rene Daumal (1908-1944) and the writer Luc Dietrich (1913-1944) - seekers of metaphysical knowledge - stand out. Daumal was Gurdjieff's student for ten years; his philosophical novel“Mount Analog”, dedicated to Alexander de Salzmann, who introduced him to Gurdjieff, is a poetic expression on paper of the inner experiences of Daumal and his comrades at the Institute.

  Among the Sunday visitors to Prieureux was the university intellectual Denis Saurat (1890-1958), at that time the director, who came to visit his friend A. R. Orage; the conversation with Gurdjieff made a strong impression on him.

  Gurdjieff said that the main idea of ​​the teacher is to awaken the sleeping thought and sensation true reality in man. Fearing that followers will quickly drown in abstractions instead real practices, he decided to rely on art (sacred dances) and practical work in groups where like-minded people could help each other understand themselves. The brief material of excerpts from his lectures to his “students” testifies to the simplicity of his language, which tends more towards Hodja Nasredin or Aesop. The clearest presentation of some of Gurdjieff’s ideas can be found in P. D. Uspensky’s book “In Search of the Miraculous,” where the author systematizes his basic concepts. Gurdjieff himself chose a completely different style to present his ideas - the style legomonism(English legomonism), so that the reader comprehends the scriptures not just by logic, like Uspensky, but by intuition.

  The only one public speaking Gurdjieff and his disciples of that moment had a performance of sacred dances and movements at the Parisian Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in October 1923. Theater performance was announced as dervish dances and sacred ceremonies, as well as a teaching method. The public demanded the keys to understanding the dance language.

  In January 1924, Gurdjieff and Ouspensky's paths in life diverged. Ouspensky continued his journey on his own, returning to Great Britain. Gurdjieff, accompanied by four dozen disciples, traveled to New York on January 4, 1924, to present two series to the American public. theatrical performances- at the Neighborhood Playhouse and at Carnegie Hall. In July 1924, a few weeks after returning from America, Gurdjieff found himself in car accident, in which he almost lost his life. Having recovered from the accident with difficulty, Gurdjieff decides to partially close the Institute and begin his writing activity, - to “communicate ideas in a form that others can understand.” After this, the Prieuré becomes more closed, although many of Gurdjieff's students remain there or continue to visit it regularly.

  Writing and musical activities

  After the accident, Gurdjieff began work on All and Everything, ten books organized into three series:

  1. "Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson";
  2. "Meetings with wonderful people»;
  3. "Life is only real when I am».

  He chose Russian as the language of his books, preferring it to other languages ​​he knew (Greek, Armenian, Turkish, Persian, English). He wrote everywhere - in Prieureux, on trips, on the tables of provincial cafes and especially in the Parisian Café de la Paix, which he called his office. Having finished the chapter, he gave it for translation for subsequent reading by everyone who was part of his social circle, while reading, carefully observing the reaction of readers and making corrections in the text. Thus he was engaged in writing for more than ten years.

  At the same time, he did not stop playing music, almost daily improvising hymns, prayers or simply melodies of Kurds, Armenians and Afghans on a portable harmonica. Together with his student, the composer Thomas de Hartmann, during this period he wrote 150 short pieces of music for piano, often based on Armenian and Turkic folklore, as well as music for “sacred dances”.

  Having completed “Everything and Everything” and finally closing the institute at Prieuré, Gurdjieff moved to live in Paris, continuing to visit the USA from time to time, where, after his previous visits, Alfred Orage, former owner of the English magazine “The New Age”, led groups his students in New York and Chicago. In Paris, Gurdjieff continued to work with French students, organizing meetings in city cafes or at home. His activities decreased, but did not stop even during the Second World War, a period that he spent continuously in Paris.

  Post-war period

  The largest musical composition Gurdjieff and Hartmann became ballet "Struggle of the Magicians". Ballet plot: The White Magician teaches his students freedom; The Black Magician suppresses their will, using them for his own selfish interests, he instills fear in them. If the result of the activity of the first is the elevation of the spirit; then the result of learning from the second is personality degradation.

  Gurdjieff didn't know musical notation(although he played the harmonica), so the collaboration with Hartmann was of a specific nature:

  "Mr. Gurdjieff used to whistle or play the piano with one finger very complex type melodies, which, despite the apparent monotony, are all oriental melodies. To grasp this melody, to write it down in European notation, something like a “tour de force” was required... Mr. Gurdjieff's music was unusually diverse. The greatest impact was that which he remembered from his travels to remote Asian monasteries. Listening to such music, you plunge into the depths of your being..."

  A. Lyubimov. In search of forgotten rituals. Booklet for the concert. St. Petersburg Philharmonic. P. 6.

  Gurdjieff often tapped the rhythm on the top of the piano. In 1929, Hartmann ended his collaboration with Gurdjieff. He later recalled:

  "I think to torment me, he would start repeating the melody before I had finished recording - usually with subtle changes, adding embellishments that would drive me crazy."

  Thomas de Hartmann. Our life with Gurdjieff.

  Heritage

  Ideological heritage

  After Gurdjieff's death, his student Jeanne de Salzmann brought together students from various groups, which marked the beginning of a community known as the Gurdjieff Foundation (the name in the USA, in Europe the same community is known as the Gurdjieff Society, "Gurdjieff Society") . Also actively disseminating Gurdjieff’s ideas after his death were the British mathematician John G. Bennett (1897/1974), the British psychiatrist Maurice Nicoll (1884-1953), English writer Rodney Collin (1909-1956) and Lord Pantland (1907-1984). The books of the journalist and spiritualist researcher Peter Ouspensky (1878-1947) also contribute to the dissemination of the foundations of Gurdjieff's teachings.

  After Gurdjieff's death, his students taught famous musicians Keith Jarrett and Robert Fripp. Currently, Gurdjieff groups exist in many cities around the world. Gurdjieff's books are published in the West and in Russia in large editions, and his ideas resonate in the hearts of readers.

  Legacy in music

  In 1949, after Gurdjieff's death, Hartmann edited the works he had co-authored. After a long break, the music of Gurdjieff and Hartmann was performed publicly in 1980 jazz pianist, improviser and composer Keith Jarrett, he later recorded the disc “G.I. Gurdjieff Sacred Hymns". Large in Russia musical cycle piano works by Gurdjieff and Hartmann “Seekers of Truth (Journey to Inaccessible Places)” was first performed in January

  “Look back at the hour that has just passed as if it were your last hour on earth and you have just realized that you are dead. Ask yourself"Are you happy with the last hour of your life?" – George Gurdjieff asked his students. Quotes and aphorisms belonging to him make us think about how we live.

  Does a person understand why he lives at all? One can hardly be satisfied or dissatisfied about this without having a concrete idea of ​​​​what it really means to live for him. Is it really the vanity of vanities of everyday life with its demands of the struggle for a “place in the sun” - this is life in human sense? Look at yourself and your surroundings. How many people want the meaning of their existence to be different from the meaning of existence of plants and animals? Exists whole line reasons why this worries you so much, and does not bother anyone from your usual environment.

  The fourth path is an esoteric teaching about the evolution of the human being from the level of satisfying unusual desires and interests of the “white crows of the human flock” to the level of the formation in man of higher bodies capable of living after the death of the physical body.

  Accidentally or intentionally by someone, the irrepressible desire to understand the meaning of human life, formed in Gurdjieff’s childhood, resulted in years of his travels around the East in search of knowledge that would answer this question. Gurdjieff's path required complete dedication and superhuman efforts.

  After many years of wandering, he returned to Europe to convey to people the teachings belonging to esoteric schools. Moreover, in the words of Gurdjieff, “The fourth path is impossible without some kind of work of a certain significance, without some kind of undertaking, around which and in connection with which it only exists. When this work is finished, i.e. the set goal is achieved, the fourth path disappears, i.e. disappears in a given place, disappears in a given form, continuing, perhaps, in another place and in another form.”

  What does the Fourth Way according to Gurdjieff mean?

  George Gurdjieff believed that man is not able to evolve as long as he uses only the crumbs of his capabilities, being in a normal state, similar to “sleep”. A person’s attention is constantly attracted by various little things, and he cannot control himself. Therefore, plans are constantly changing - either he wants to really live, and not function as an animal, then he suddenly forgets, or even if he remembers, he no longer wants anything, then suddenly desires awaken in him again and he is ready to set goals for himself, etc. .d.

  And therefore, it is impossible to understand the essence of Gurdjieff's teachings without deeply studying oneself and gaining control over oneself.

  To begin moving towards this understanding, he offered his students special exercises, including movements - Gurdjieff’s sacred dances, explained the ideas of esoteric teachings using practical examples, not allowing them to be turned into mere material for thought.

  “Man-machine” according to Gurdjieff

  According to the teachings of George Gurdjieff, man is a mechanical “machine” that functions on the stimulus-response principle.

  That is, when a person “sleeps,” he cannot control himself, much less his life, since life is completely controlled by internal or external random mechanical stimuli. And thus, our every action is caused not by our Will, but by mechanical, often random reactions to these mechanical stimuli.

  The weather turns bad - and our mood worsens, they shout at us - and we immediately start shouting back.

  We do not live, but simply go with the flow, continuing to mechanically react to external randomly generated stimuli.

  At the same time, in a normal state, a person is unable to see and realize the mechanism of formation of these stimuli and reactions. Therefore, the work of change begins with studying and observing oneself, gradually developing the ability to become truly aware of oneself.

  Only full awareness of the nature of one’s mechanical reactions, the stimuli that trigger them and impartial observation of the present moment allow a person to see the full picture of what is happening and make a conscious choice of his reaction and, ultimately, to live and not function according to the stimulus-response principle. This is the beginning of Gurdjieff's technique.

  When you spill your morning coffee, argue with your loved ones over trifles and make mistakes at work, you are not aware of yourself - you are sleeping. All your attention is focused on one “subject” and you do not see the full picture of what is happening.

  When you are here and now, even spilling your morning coffee, aware of yourself, you notice the beauty of the early morning, you are not late for important meetings and you know how to achieve your goals - you are no longer quite a machine, you are no longer sleeping.

  Gurdjieff: development techniques

  All esoteric, in contrast to religious teachings, strive for the same goal as the Fourth Way - evolutionary development human being, but they work on a different principle.

  George Gurdjieff allegorically compared a person to a cart. He believed that man is divided into parts.

  According to Gurdjieff's system, there are four centers in a person: intellectual, emotional, motor and instinctive. They must fulfill their functions, but often they try to take on other people's responsibilities.

  For example, we often try to evaluate works of art only with our minds, although this should be done with our minds and feelings. Gurdjieff's exercises help to establish communication between different parts of a person.

  In various teachings, people work only with one center, fully realizing only its work, and then they have to do the same work with other centers.

  For example, a true monk can develop his emotional center through sincere faith, gaining unity and will to rule over his emotions.

  But his physical body and mental capacity may remain undeveloped. And in order to take advantage of what he has achieved for his evolution, he will have to develop his body and ability to think. At the same time, the monk’s attitude towards his body changes in a diametrically opposite way - from the idea that he is mute as the reason for the desire to fall into sin, to the idea that he is a divine vessel given by God in which the soul can blossom.

  The fourth path is the path of the cunning

  To explain the idea of ​​centers, Gurdjieff compared a person to a cart. The driver is the intellectual center, the horse is the emotional center, the cart is the instinctive-motor center.

  Now they don't work harmoniously. The horse does not understand what the coachman is telling it, and the cart is not properly cared for. Likewise, the emotional center does not obey the mind, because it does not understand ordinary language. We must observe the work of the centers in order to connect them with each other.

  Gurdjieff's teachings

  “A beginning pianist can never learn except little by little. If you want to play without preliminary practice, you will never be able to play genuine music. The melodies that you play will be a cacophony and will make people suffer and hate you,” said Gurdjieff. Path 4 also starts with small exercises.

  Gurdjieff's system helps a person to be here and now. You should work on small things first and gradually increase the load.

  You should start with simple exercises: for example, do not cross your legs while eating, try to look into the eyes of the person who is talking to you, then the level of difficulty increases.

  By making small efforts and gaining the first victories, we gradually become able to give up useless thoughts, give up bad habits, and work hard for days and weeks.

  We, as it were, pump up the muscles of attention and awareness, preparing our body and mind for more powerful exercises.

  George Gurdjieff and the Enneagram

  G.I. Gurdjieff believed that all of our lives proceed under the influence of cosmic laws. To explain them he used ancient symbol, which is called Gurdjieff's Enneagram. Deciphering this figure gave his students an understanding of the laws of the world.

  According to ancient esoteric literature and archaeological excavations, it is known that the Enneagram existed in the Middle East at least 2,500 years ago.

  This sign is found in Christianity, Judaism and Kabbalah, Sufism, ancient Greek philosophers and mathematicians.

  Hydrogens and octaves in the Gurdjieff system

  The octave is the line of development of any process in the Universe: from the birth of a new planet to the appearance human soul. For processes to proceed intentionally, you need to know that in any business there are points that change the direction of movement. In order for the work you have started to be completed successfully, you need to make additional efforts. Gurdjieff's theoretical lessons included these topics.

  Sometimes, in order to successfully complete an octave, we need a special kind of subtle matter, which the author of the system called hydrogen. This is not hydrogen in the scientific sense of the word.

  In order for subtle matters to form in our bodies, we will have to stop energy leaks and provide pleasant impressions.

  Gurdjieff's practice and exercises

  Gurdjieff's method is based on self-remembering. This means that we must be aware of our actions every second, and, as it were, see ourselves from the outside.

  Without impartial observation of ourselves, when we commit unconscious actions, some part of us rearranges the present to justify itself and thus takes us away from actual reality into imagination.

  Talk to two in turn ordinary people after a quarrel. Surely, each of them will present a point of view in which he is right and the other is wrong. When we observe ourselves, it is more difficult for our machine to perform this trick, so we perceive the present more adequately and objectively.

  Self-remembering will not happen immediately, so Gurdjieff’s practice begins with small exercises that require some effort. For example, when we sit in an uncomfortable position or do things that are new to us, it requires higher concentration and constantly reminds you of yourself.

  In Gurdjieff's system, special attention is paid to dividing attention into several parts. For example, we can hold our body in a certain position and listen carefully to music. Try it, it's not as easy as it seems.

  Gurdjieff School

  The main center for work on the system during the life of George Gurdjieff was the Institute of Harmonious Human Development, which he founded in France.

  In addition, there were Gurdjieff groups in America. The life of students was subject to a strict schedule. Everyone was assigned to do hard work. When a person mastered it, he was moved to a new position.

  After the death of the master, Gurdjieff's followers organized groups in different parts world to impart knowledge. There are now several schools in the Fourth Way tradition. Despite the different emphasis in training, they all pursue the same goal - to know oneself.

  It is almost impossible to approach mindfulness without the support of other people. During class, students do exercises and discuss ideas, trying to stay in the present as much as possible.

  Previously, it was not easy to get into Gurdjieff's club: he immediately forced one to make enormous efforts, which many beginning students could not stand.

  Nowadays it is easier to get into the school, but its methods are such that if you do not work at the proper level and make efforts to improve yourself, you will not be able to advance along the 4th path.

  The school is not some Gurdjieff sect. The group members control each other, and resemble a research group rather than religious people. Students have no ultimate truth, only points of view supported by personal experience, which they share with each other in order to assemble a unified picture of the world and the position of man in it.

  Groups associated with the Fourth Way exist in almost every major city on every continent. Among them there are those who practice only Gurdjieff's dances, there are those who approach ideas mainly from the intellectual side, there are also groups that form a single whole throughout the world. The Gurdjieff Center in Moscow is one of them.

  Literary works of Gurdjieff

  The most famous are three of Gurdjieff’s books: “Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson”, “Meetings with Remarkable People” and the still unfinished book “Life is Real Only When I Am”.

  G.I. Gurdjieff suggested mastering the cycle “Everything and Everything” in exactly this order, reading each text three times in order to understand what was written.

  Usually we read books almost automatically, so we quickly forget their content, but when studying this literature, we need to make every effort.

  Gurdjieff's philosophy becomes practical only if we try to apply it; just studying the theory is not enough.

  George Gurdjieff, quotes, which is now used by many pseudo-esoteric schools, created a simple and at the same time the greatest system for human development. But we will not be able to use this method if we do not make enough efforts. After all, the most simple rules most difficult to comply with. Therefore, if we want to try to work with the system, we need the support and help of like-minded people.

  To understand what Gurdjieff meant, the statements from his books will have to be tested in practice. Many of the metaphors are taken from ancient esoteric knowledge that Gurdjieff studied. He learned about the cart from the Sufis.

  Only through practice will you be able to perceive the ideas of the system as real things, and not abstract philosophical concepts.

  For beginners, it’s best to start with the book “In Search of the Miraculous.” It was written by P.D. Ouspensky, a student of Gurdjieff, who had no equal in his skill in presenting the principles of the system. He subsequently founded his own school in the Fourth Way tradition in England.

  If you want to know more about the practical side of the system, read books and articles about Gurdjieff. Much material for thought is presented in the works of J.G. Bennett, C.S. Notta, M. Anderson.

  Paying for awareness: Gurdjieff on money

  Gurdjieff once said about money: “Nothing shows a person so well as his attitude towards money. People are ready to spend as much as they want on their personal fantasies, but they do not value the work of others at all.” Payment, be it money or giving up pleasant habits, allows you to develop further.

  “People don’t value something they didn’t pay for.”

  “Payment is a principle. Payment is not necessary for the school, but for the students themselves, because without payment they will not receive anything. The idea of ​​the board is very important and it must be understood that the board is absolutely necessary. You can pay in one way or another, and everyone should find out for themselves. But no one can get something he didn't pay for. Things cannot be given, they can only be bought. It's magical, not simple. If someone has knowledge, he cannot give it to another person, for only if a person pays for it can he have it. This is a cosmic law."

  “Pay is the most important principle in the work and this must be understood. Without payment you can't get anything. But, as a rule, we want to get something for nothing, and that's why we have nothing. If we really decided to strive for this kind of knowledge - or even for a very small thing - and we pursued it without paying attention to everything else, we would get it. This is a very important question. We say that we want knowledge, but we don't really want it. We will pay for something else, but we are not willing to pay for it, and therefore we end up getting nothing.”

  Letter from Gurdjieff to his daughter

  Darling Howarth, daughter of Georgy Ivanovich, did a lot to hand over her father’s archives next generations and preserve his musical works. At 70, she learned to use a computer so she could publish a book of his memories.

  All her life she was helped by Gurdjieff's advice. 63 short instructions that can change anyone's life if used correctly.

  1. Concentrate your attention on yourself.
  2. Be aware at any moment of what you are thinking, feeling, wanting or doing.
  3. Always finish what you start.
  4. Do what you do to the best of your ability.
  5. Don't get attached to something that can later destroy you.
  6. Show your generosity without witnesses.
  7. Treat every person as your closest relative.
  8. Fix everything you've messed up.
  9. Learn to receive and give thanks for every gift.
  10. Stop your self-protective behavior.
  11. Do not deceive, do not steal - by doing this, you will deceive and steal from yourself.
  12. Help those around you, but without making them dependent on you.
  13. Don't take up too much space.
  14. Don't make noise or make unnecessary gestures.
  15. If you don’t yet have faith, imitate it.
  16. Do not be easily impressed by strong personalities.
  17. Don't grab anything or anyone.
  18. Distribute fairly.
  19. Don't tempt.
  20. Eat and sleep exactly as much as necessary.
  21. Don't talk about your personal problems.
  22. Don't judge or discriminate until you know all the basic facts.
  23. Don't make useless friendships.
  24. Don't follow general trends.
  25. Don't sell yourself.
  26. Respect the agreements you sign.
  27. Be punctual.
  28. Don't be jealous of other people's property and achievements.
  29. Talk only about what is necessary.
  30. Don't think about the benefits that your actions can bring you.
  31. Don't threaten.
  32. Keep your promises.
  33. When arguing, always put yourself in the shoes of others.
  34. Recognize when someone is superior to you.
  35. Overcome your fears.
  36. Help others become able to help themselves.
  37. Overcome your feelings of hostility and be close to those you want to reject.
  38. Change your pride into self-esteem.
  39. Change your anger into creativity and creation.
  40. Change your greed into reverence for beauty.
  41. Change your envy into admiration for the virtues of others.
  42. Change your hatred into mercy.
  43. Don't praise, but don't insult yourself either.
  44. Take care of what is not yours as if it were your own.
  45. Don't complain, don't complain to yourself.
  46. Develop your imagination.
  47. Don't give instructions to others just for the pleasure of submission.
  48. Pay for the work and services that are provided to you.
  49. Don't promote your work or ideas.
  50. Do not try to awaken in others towards you such feelings as: pity, sympathy, admiration, complicity.
  51. Don't try to stand out with your appearance.
  52. Never contradict, just remain silent.
  53. Don't go into debt, buy and pay immediately.
  54. If you offend publicly, apologize publicly.
  55. If you notice your mistake in a conversation, do not insist that you are right out of a sense of pride and immediately abandon your previous intentions.
  56. Do not defend your previous ideas just because you have already proclaimed them.
  57. Don't keep useless things.
  58. Don't decorate yourself with other people's ideas.
  59. Don't take pictures with celebrities.
  60. Be your own judge.
  61. Don't define yourself by what you have.
  62. Realize that everything belongs to you.
  63. If you are meditating and the Devil appears to you, force the Devil to meditate.

  Practicing the Fourth Way Today

  If you decide for yourself:

  • that you don't want to be a mechanical machine,
  • that you want to live and not function according to the stimulus-response principle,
  • want to understand yourself, your functions and the world around you more deeply and objectively,
  • bring the light of consciousness and awareness into your existence,

  then you have the opportunity to begin studying the Fourth Way in a practice group today.

  The Fourth Way practical group is students practicing Gurdjieff's teachings about the Fourth Way, an objective picture of the world and man's position in it.

  They share perspectives on Fourth Way ideas, supported by personal experience, for the purpose of self-discovery and awakening from sleep, putting the pieces together into a whole.

  “You don't understand your situation. You are in prison. All you can want, if you can feel, is to escape, to escape from it. But how can you escape? It is necessary to dig a passage under the wall. One person can't do anything. But suppose there are ten or twenty such people - if they work in turns and if one covers the other, they will be able to finish the passage and escape."

  “No one can escape from prison without the help of those who escaped before. Only they can tell how it is possible to arrange an escape, only they can hand over the tools - files or anything else that may be needed. But one prisoner will not be able to find these people or come into contact with them. Organization is needed. Without organization nothing can be achieved.”

  The exact date of birth of Gurdjieff is unknown. He once said that the time will come and the descendants themselves will determine it. He spoke many languages, but preferred Armenian and Russian ( native language his mother). His father of Russian-Greek origin, Ashug, an expert on religion and a teller of Asian legends, attracted many of the most colorful people with his performances. They lived in the town of Karsk, near the Russian-Turkish border, whose population consisted of Greeks, Armenians, Turks, Kurds, Caucasian Tatars, Georgians, Russians, who professed Buddhism, Sufism and Christianity in half with shamanism and devil worship. So already with early childhood George touched the mysteries of ancient symbolism, liturgy, rhythmic breathing techniques and various meditations, and witnessed inexplicable phenomena. For example, the children of the Yazidis (a people who worship the devil) often amused themselves by drawing a circle around a boy with chalk, in which he remained standing, as if paralyzed, until one of the adults freed him.

  According to contemporaries, “he was a man with the face of an Indian rajah or an Arab sheikh; his appearance was somehow constantly confusing or discouraging, since it was noticeable that he was not who he said he was.”

  Gurdjieff's gaze was special - deep, penetrating into the soul. It was also fascinating to think that he knew all the answers to all the questions and that nothing was impossible for him.

  Before her death, George Gurdjieff’s grandmother admonished her grandson: “Listen and remember my strict order: either do nothing - just go to school, or do something that no one else is doing.”

  Shortly after her death, Georgy's wisdom tooth was knocked out in a fight. "Extremely large sizes", as he later described himself Gurdjieff. That strange tooth had seven roots and at the end of each of them there was a drop of blood standing prominently... This was a clear hint of some kind of secret. And George Gurdjieff decided to find out about her, no matter what the cost.

  At the age of 11, he ran away from home and became an eternal wanderer. He sought wisdom on the hidden paths of Africa, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Tibet, India, Russia, and Egypt. By hook or by crook, he penetrated into the essence of closed and inaccessible secret teachings to the world, and met many amazing people.

  Gurdjieff liked to repeat: “Knowledge is worth acquiring...”. The levels of existence from which the Fourth Way man draws his knowledge are remarkably congruent with Robert A. Wilson's The Tunnels of Reality, a study of the psychology of evolution, while at the same time echoing the law of the Silver Octave, which operates throughout the Universe.

  The power of knowledge and Gurdjieff

  “Always being merciless towards his natural weaknesses and maintaining self-observation almost all the time,” Gurdjieff, in his words, “was able to achieve almost everything that is within the limits of human capabilities...”.

  For example, he could kill a yak at a distance of tens of miles. However, Gurdjieff took an oath to himself: never to use his amazing abilities, except for research and therapeutic purposes. But along this path he achieved amazing success. Maurice Nicole, who was dying in Tiflis during an outbreak of a typhus epidemic, describes how Gurdjieff literally pulled him out of the other world, completely giving all his vitality: “When I woke up, I saw Gurdjieff’s face bending over me in great tension and perspiration, drops of sweat covered his entire face, he held my head with his hands and silently looked into my eyes. He was deathly pale. The very next day I was completely healthy.” As soon as he came to his senses, Nicole asked Gurdjieff: “What about you? - thinking that he sacrificed his life for him.” “Don’t worry,” he reassured Gurdjieff. “I only need ten minutes to regain my strength.”

  From Gurdjieff’s technique of self-development grew the most promising modern direction psychology: neurolinguistic programming (NLP). The first on the path to “linking” behavior and psyche were the doctor Wilhelm Reich and the zoopsychologist Konrad Lorenz, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in this area.

  The intoxicating dream in which our life takes place distorts real picture being. The first Christians, who called for awakening, knew about this feature of human existence.

  Surprisingly, but modern science discovered an analogue of “sleeping” consciousness. According to neuropsychologists, the functioning of our nervous system limited by the DNA code that determines human behavior, from birth to death. But as soon as ideas and examples of other levels of existence become available to people, humanity will move to a new stage of evolution.

  Biography of Gurdjieff

  George Gurdjieff(1877-1949) worked all his life on their development until he achieved perfection. Having become acquainted with the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh as a child, George realized that secret, secret knowledge is transmitted different ways through millennia. Soon the young man learned to predict the future with incredible accuracy. He did this while sitting between two candles and intensely peering at his nail. thumb until he went into a trance state and could see the future in his nail. One day, a young man Gurdjieff knew well died after falling from a horse. The night after the funeral, he was noticed trying to enter his house. They cut his throat and returned him to the cemetery, burying him now as a vampire.

  This phenomenon prompted Gurdjieff engage in the occult. For the first forty years of his life, he visited monasteries throughout Europe and Asia, then began to theorize, developing his own doctrine, according to which revelation comes to a person in a state of “awakened consciousness” and is that there is always a goal, and all extraordinary efforts and every undertaking awakens consciousness.

  U Gurdjieff there turned out to be many followers and students. He woke up his students at any time at night and taught them to remain “frozen” no matter what position they were in at that time. At public sessions it looked like this. At his command, the troupe of students turned around at the back of the stage, facing the audience. Another command - students rush to the ramp. Gurdjieff turns away and smokes. A human avalanche flies through the air through the orchestra, landing on empty chairs, on the floor, bodies piled on top of each other and... freeze in complete stillness and silence. And not a single scratch on anyone!

  These are of course tricks. But Gurdjieff needed them to attract new students, whom he taught telepathy, hypnosis, clairvoyance, and most importantly, to convince them that love and continuous efforts invested in work not only give new degrees of freedom to a person, but make him creatively a free person who chose the “fourth path”, having gone through the path of a fakir, a monk and yogis.

  And in more detail, all the extraordinary, exceptionally original and brilliant ideas of the Russian magician Gurdjieff were outlined in his book “In Search of the Miraculous” by his best student and follower Ouspensky.

  How come people are so imperfect? Gurdjieff explains this by the fact that all humanity as a whole and each person individually is in captivity of the laws of the material world, to which all life on the planet is subject. “You are in the prison of your own ideas,” this is how this unusual person explains the state of mind.

  Gurdjieff's philosophy

  Gurdjieff compared modern man - his thoughts, feelings, psychology - to a carriage, a horse and a coachman. The crew is our physical body. Horse - emotions. The coachman is the mind. And the passenger in the stroller is our “I”. A carriage driven by a coachman who knows nothing about its structure. The horse is obedient to the blows of the whip of the eternally sleepy driver. And he is ready to go anywhere, as long as the rider pays in full.

  Man exists on planet Earth for a specific purpose. In a sense, he is the instrument and embodiment of this goal. And in order to correspond to it, he simply must develop and be free. That is, we all Gurdjieff born to know themselves, but in obtaining this knowledge to embody them in accordance with the eternal laws of the Universe.

  Gurdjieff turned out to be one of the few who could offer to modern man synthesis of practical experience of ancient secret teachings aimed at self-improvement in accordance with the laws of the Universe. Gurdjieff embodied these laws in a diagram or enneagram, the principles of which formed the basis of modern computer programs. Many tried to take Gurdjieff's path. But no one managed to complete it to the end. It was no coincidence that the guru’s wisdom tooth had seven roots.

  Georgiy Ivanovich Gurdjieff is a name familiar to many spiritual seekers not only in Russia, but throughout the world in general. During his lifetime to this day, he remains one of the greatest mystical philosophers, spiritual mentors, composers and travelers of the first half of the 20th century. Many facts of his life are shrouded in mystery, for example, date of birth: according to some sources, he was born January 14, 1866, according to others - 1874 or even 1877, according to the third - December 28, 1872; as well as the place where he was born: some sources say that this is an Armenian city Gyumri, and others - city Kars in eastern Turkey. However, the date and place of his death are known for certain - Gurdjieff died on October 29, 1949 in France in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a commune on the western outskirts of Paris.

  Origin of the surname

  If we talk about the surname, then it can be interpreted as Gruzinov or Gruzinsky, after all, it was the word “Gyurji” (“Gurji”) that the Persians used to call Georgians earlier, and today almost all residents of Islamic countries continue to call them. Also, the surname Gyurjyan or Gurdjiev is borne by many Greeks who once moved to the territory of Armenia from Georgia and other neighboring countries. For example, even today there is a fairly large colony of Greeks in the area of ​​the Georgian Lake Tsalka.

  The Making of Gurdjieff

  According to Georgy Ivanovich himself, it was his own father, together with his spiritual father, who was at that time the rector of the cathedral, who awakened in him a craving for knowledge of the life process taking place on our planet and, mainly, for knowledge of the meaning of human existence. All his work and life were devoted to such processes as human self-development, the growth of his awareness and existence in ordinary daily life. Besides, a huge impact Gurdjieff paid attention to the physical development of man. For this reason, he was called (and in the last years of his life he called himself that) “dance teacher.” For some period of time, Gurdjieff called his teaching “esoteric Christianity.”

  
  Georgy Ivanovich began traveling around the world very early, in particular, in the countries of Africa and Asia, where he tried his best to find answers to the questions that interested him. The countries he visited include Afghanistan, Turkey, Egypt, some areas of the Middle East and Turkistan, as well as famous city Mecca.

  Gurdjieff's travels, among other things, were very similar to the expeditions that he carried out together with his like-minded people from the society he himself created called “Seekers of Truth.”

  Gurdjieff devoted his wanderings to studying all kinds of spiritual traditions and even folklore, collecting fragments of ancient knowledge, and sometimes to archaeological excavations.

  Gurdjieff's "Fourth Way"

  More in 1912-1913 Gurdjieff came to Moscow, continuing his career as a "Teacher of Theosophy". In Moscow, he was very quickly able to gather students around him, whom he began to teach. Already in 1915, he met the Russian philosopher, journalist, traveler, mystic and esotericist Pyotr Demyanovich Uspensky, who was 37 years old at that time. They joined forces and created a common group in St. Petersburg.

  Subsequently, the so-called sorting and systematization of Grudzhiev’s very diverse experience began, which was greatly facilitated by both Uspensky himself and his like-minded people, who not only became interested in the ideas of Georgy Ivanovich, but also constantly asked new questions and debated with him on those that interested them Topics.

  In addition, Uspensky, who already had solid experience working with esoteric teachings, was able to identify and comprehend new ideas eastern schools, which often appeared in the presentation of Gurdjieff himself, and was also able to adapt them to the European mentality - translated them into a language that was understandable to the psychological culture of the West. Thanks to this cooperation, a new set of certain concepts and practices was formed - it was called the “Teaching of Gurdjieff-Ouspensky”, but later it began to be called the “Fourth Way”.

  Institute of Harmonious Human Development

  In general, attempts to found the “Institute for Harmonious Development of Man” were made by Gurdjieff several times. The first time this happened was in 1919 in Tiflis, after that in 1920 in Constantinople. Then a similar attempt was made in Germany, but it failed due to conflicts with the authorities.

  Having moved to Great Britain after Ouspensky, Gurdjieff tried to create an “Institute” there, but he failed again, because His students were not allowed into the country.

  AND only after this the great teacher was able to create the “Institute”. This happened in 1922 near Fontainebleau near Paris on the Prieure estate - there Gurdjieff bought a castle with funds raised by Ouspensky’s English students. At the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man, Gurdjieff taught not only the complex principles of the “Fourth Way”, but also the simplified, albeit exotic ideas of “Ida Yoga”.

  In the castle in the Prieure Gurdjieff often organized demonstration performances of Sacred movements, which were special exercises and dances. Gurdjieff himself developed them, taking temple and folk dances, which he managed to study very well while traveling through Asian countries.

  These performances were known to a huge number of people, both in France and abroad, for example in the USA, where he visited from time to time with his students to give lectures and organize performances of the Sacred Movements.

  Separate material on Gurdjieff's Sacred Movements is presented.

  Break with P. D. Uspensky

  In January 1924 it happened significant event– Gurdjieff’s break with Ouspensky. For this reason, some students of Georgy Ivanovich began to consider Uspensky just an ordinary student, and especially zealous ones - even an apostate. Although, in reality the situation was completely different.

  In fact, Peter Demyanovich can be called one of the few associates of Gurdjieff who could go against the will of the Teacher in order to defend the right to independent work of his English group.

  The remaining groups, led by Gurdjieff's other three main assistants and disciples, were reformed and were unable to continue to function properly.

  By the way, already in July 1924, just six months after breaking up with Ouspensky, Georgy Ivanovich miraculously escaped after a terrible car accident. As a result, the Prieure becomes an almost inaccessible monastery, but Gurdjieff’s closest disciples remain there, while others systematically visit their mentor.

  Work "Anything and Everything"

  It was during this period that Gurdjieff began the main work of my life - the series of books “Everything and Everything”, which will include three books “Beelzebub’s Stories to His Grandson”, “Meetings with Remarkable People” (based on this book in 1979, director Peter Brook will film film of the same name) and “Life is only real when I am.” At the same time, together with the composer Thomas de Hartmann, Gurdjieff created approximately 150 small musical works for piano, many of which were based on Asian motifs, and music specifically for the performance of Sacred movements.

  In 1932, the Institute was closed, and Gurdjieff moved to Paris, from where he began to visit the USA from time to time. In the States (in Chicago and New York), groups of Gurdjieff's disciples were mainly led by a man named Orage, who was once the owner of New Age magazine. Gurdjieff continued to work with students at home or in a cafe, where he held his meetings.

  It is impossible not to mention that during the Second World War, and even during the occupation of Paris by troops Nazi Germany, Georgy Ivanovich did not stop his activities, although, of course, its intensity began to decline.

  After World War II

  When the Second World War ended, in Paris Gurdjieff gathered together the disciples who were in various groups, including students of the then deceased Uspensky. Among them, special attention is given to the mathematician and philosopher John Bennett, who wrote The Dramatic Universe, a work that attempts to adapt Gurdjieff's ideas to European philosophy.

  1949 – Last year life of Georgy Ivanovich- was marked by the fact that the Teacher gave instructions to the students regarding the publication of two of his works, as well as Uspensky’s manuscript, which turned out to be in his possession, entitled “In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown Teaching.” This work was perceived by Gurdjieff as a very original presentation of his lectures, which he gave in Russia in 1915-1917.

  After Gurdjieff's death

  George Ivanovich Gurdjieff died on October 29, 1949 years at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine. After his death His closest ally Jeanne de Salzman tried to unite the students– it was to her that the Master entrusted the dissemination of his Teachings. The activities of Mrs. de Salzman served as the basis for the creation Gurdjieff Foundation, founded in New York in 1953.

  In addition, the aforementioned John Bennett and some of Ouspensky’s students actively disseminated Gurdjieff’s ideas: Lord Pantland, Rodney Collin, Maurice Niccol and others. And Lord Pantland was appointed President of the Gurdjieff Foundation, a post he held until his death in 1984.

  Among other famous students of Gurdjieff we can name the American publisher Jane Heap and American artist Paul Reynard English writer Katherine Mansfield, the French poet Rene Daumal, as well as the English writer Pamela Travers, familiar to many from the children's book about Mary Poppins. Later, Gurdjieff's students were trained famous musicians Robert Fripp and Keith Jarrett.

  Today, separate Gurdjieff groups function in various cities around the world. and recruit followers into their ranks. The “Fourth Way” itself is often compared to many traditional teachings, such as, for example, the eastern branches of Christianity, Sufism, Tibetan Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Tantrism, yoga, as well as the mystical traditions of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

  
  The Teacher himself always said that it was completely impossible to understand his teaching. But the essence of the main idea is that a person must awaken from his “sleep in reality”, stop degrading and act mechanically, like a machine.

  However, Gurdjieff still took with him the main secrets of his doctrine, as he predicted in his unfinished work “Life is real only when I am.”

  Bibliography of Gurdjieff

  • Views from the real world
  • Questions and answers
  • Eight meetings in Paris
  • Beelzebub's stories to his grandson
  • Meeting wonderful people
  • Life is only real when I am
  • Man is a complex creature
  
  George Ivanovich Gurdjieff
  Shri Rajneesh (Osho)
  

  GEORGI IVANOVITCH GURDZHIEV (1872-1949)

  In most large cities in Europe, America, South America you can find groups of people exploring ideas and practical technique, given by George Ivanovich Gurdjieff. Gurdjieff groups typically avoid publicity, do not proselytize, are relatively invisible in the world, and lead ordinary lives engaged in intense inner work.

  An extraordinary man, a “cunning sage,” as he is called, Gurdjieff devoted his life to the study of Eastern esoteric teachings and the transmission of knowledge of theory and practice in a form adequate to the thinking of Western man. We know relatively little about him. The special influences and sources of his teaching remain as mysterious as those of the other “Man of Knowledge,” Don Juan.

  He was born in 1872. in Alexandropol, in the Caucasus region, with a Greek father and an Armenian mother. As a boy, he becomes a student of the rector of the Russian Cathedral, who had a huge influence on his development.

  According to Gurdjieff, his own father and his spiritual father, the rector of the cathedral, instilled in him a thirst for knowledge of the life process on Earth, and especially the purpose of human life.

  The city of Kars, where he lived, located between the Black and Caspian seas, was a city of many peoples, faiths, and cultures. Already in adolescence, Gurdjieff plunged into the atmosphere of a great mixture of cultures. Followers of Christian, Armenian, Assyrian, Islamic and even Zoroastrian traditions lived here. Already in his youth he came into contact with the holy of holies of almost all secret organizations - religious, philosophical, occult, mystical, political.

  He absorbed a lot, especially from Christian monastic sources. Later he always emphasized the importance of esoteric Christianity. He knew Christian ritual and practices, ancient symbolism, and liturgy well. He was familiar with the techniques of rhythmic breathing and mental prayers used in monasteries.

  However, despite exposure to the wide variety of religious traditions in which he grew up, he did not find an answer to the basic questions he posed to himself. He goes in search of knowledge.

  With a group of friends who called themselves “seekers of Truth,” at the age of 16 he went to the East, on a three-year journey through Central Asia, then reaching Ethiopia and the Solomon Islands. During the trip, he studies and gets acquainted with many traditions. The masters of esoteric Islamic orders had a particularly great influence on his development.

  It was Sufi teachings that became the source on the basis of which his Teaching was largely created.

  The central symbol of Gurdjieff's work is an enneogram of Sufi origin. Many sacred Sufi dances are performed as meditations in Gurdjieff's schools.

  Other esoteric influences can be traced in Gurdjieff's teachings - Tibetan Buddhism.

  He lived in Tibet for more than 10 years. Here he develops enormous psychic spiritual powers, which is especially valued in Tibet. According to some reports, he was the mentor of the little Dalai Lama and held important financial positions under the Tibetan authorities.

  Very little is known about this period of his life in Tibet and Central Asia, which covers the beginning of 1890. and continues until 1910. It is known that he conducted research and studied ancient texts. He conducted his searches in Lamaism and the practice of Lamaism, in tekks, monasteries where ancient knowledge was preserved, and studied Siberian shamanism.

  Obviously, as a result of all these searches, studies, and practices, a single view of the world, a synthesis of knowledge, arose. Gradually he began to realize his mission: to bring this knowledge about the “horror of the situation,” as he said, and possible ways out of it, to the Western world.

  The next important stage in his biography is 1915, when he first appears in Russia as a Teacher - in the cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow.

  In St. Petersburg he meets with Pyotr Uspensky. Uspensky himself had just returned from a trip in search of true esoteric knowledge and was surprised to find that the goal of his search was in his native land, in his hometown.

  He describes his first meeting with Gurdjieff in the book “In Search of the Miraculous” as follows: “I saw a man of oriental type, middle-aged, with a black mustache and penetrating eyes. He was a man with the face of an Indian rajah or an Arab sheikh. He spoke Russian incorrectly , with a strong Caucasian accent...".

  Ouspensky gathered a group of followers who worked with Gurdjieff until the revolution. He spoke with his students about man's relationship with the Universe, about the levels of consciousness, death and immortality, and the possibility of self-realization.

  One of his early students describes this period as follows: Russia in 1917. was torn apart by war and revolution." Gurdjieff was an unknown "man of mystery." No one knew about his origins and why he appeared in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. But whoever came into contact with him wanted to follow him."

  A group of his students leaves Russia, making an intricate journey on foot through the mountains to Tiflis. Here he collects new group and worked with her for several years, but when the revolution reached Georgia, they crossed the border, reached Constantinople, then Berlin and finally, after several years of hardship, Paris. Here Gurdjieff decided to settle, and within a year he collected the money necessary to purchase the Chateau de Avon near Fontainebleau, where he founded the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man.

  10 years since 1923 to 1933 were spent on hard work with students at the Institute; During this time, Gurdjieff tested and tested the system of training, self-observation, and practical exercises.

  Whoever came to study with him could be sure that constant and intense effort would be required of him. Time spent at the "Priere", as the castle was named, was seen as an opportunity to develop self-awareness.

  It was a period of intense work that included demonstrations and lectures in Europe and America. It was interrupted by a serious accident - a car accident, after which Gurdjieff miraculously survived.

  This event brought a new direction to his activities. He began to write three large books. They were written to address the following major problems facing humanity:

  1) mercilessly destroy the faith and views that have been rooted in the consciousness for centuries about everything that exists in the world;

  2) acquaint the reader with the material necessary for new creativity;

  3) help the emergence of a true idea of ​​the world, replacing the fantastic, illusory that exists now. Give an idea of ​​the world that actually exists.

  These books are “Everything and Everything”, “Meeting Wonderful People” and “Life is True Only When I Am”.

  In the first book, Gurdjieff comments on the life of modern man through the gaze of a cosmic being who has flown to Earth. This work is an encyclopedic commentary answering most of the important questions facing humanity.

  In the second book, he tells his story of searching for truth, remembers his mentors and unusual people whom he met on his travels in search of esoteric knowledge.

  The third gives an account of personal development, describing special practices that develop awareness of “oneself.”

  In 1933 Another book was written, “The Messenger of Good to Come,” presenting the ideas on which Gurdjieff’s work is based and describing the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man.

  Since 1933 to 1949 a new phase of his activity is taking place. He closes the Institute, travels everywhere, creates new groups in some cities in America.

  By the time of his death, in 1949, he had several hundred students, mainly in New York and Paris. Now the number of followers of his teachings numbers in the thousands.

  Gurdjieff's philosophical teaching contains many classical esoteric ideas, but a number of his own ideas are particularly original - these are:

  Conviction in the illusory nature of ordinary life;

  The idea of ​​the relationship between the microcosmic plan and the macrocosmic;

  Recognition of the special role of the Moon in the cosmic evolution of humanity;

  Division of man into four bodies;

  The doctrine of centers, their manifested or unmanifested functioning;

  The doctrine of human personality types;

  Features of a person’s mental work on himself;

  The idea of ​​the "Ray of Creation";

  An increase in the number of laws to which materiality is subject as it moves away from the Absolute;

  Subordination of the evolution of the Universe to the law of the octave.

  According to Gurdjieff, man lives in a very insignificant place in the Universe. The planet is governed by many mechanical laws that complicate human self-realization. Inner growth is not easy to achieve; it requires great attention and great effort from a person. And although a person has the opportunity to raise the level of his consciousness and, consequently, being, it is incredibly difficult for him to realize this alone. Work on oneself, according to Gurdjieff’s teachings, is individual and experimental. Nothing should be taken for granted unless proven by personal experience.

  On the “Fourth Way” - as Gurdjieff called his teaching - a person must assert himself. The method of self-development that he taught is an attempt to free a person from the burden of laws affecting his development.

  He argued: one of the important laws of development has to do with the spiritual impulse, i.e. For the spiritual development of the individual, additional influence from the Teacher or group is necessary.

  He spoke about the law of three, which he called the fundamental law that concerns all events - always and everywhere. This law says that every manifestation is the result of three forces: active, passive and neutral. This law, the basis of any creativity, is reflected in many world religions.

  As a result of this law, working on yourself is not reading books. A threefold effort is required: active - the Teacher, passive - the student, neutral - the group. But he who thirsts for knowledge must himself make the first effort to find true knowledge and get closer to it.

  
  Rudolf Steiner
  Sri Aurobindo