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SELF STUDY for EVOLUTION
EVERYTHING IS MATERIAL
It should be obvious to anyone here
that quoting from Gurdjieff's expositions
is a method, that there is method in this,
and with progression of any method you
have real remorse of Conscience which
is a guide for us. But, according to the
principle of itoklanotz, we forget, and
this has happened to us all, you are
not the only one this has happened to.
It is from this we can know that not only
is all of life our teacher, as Gurdjieff has
said, but also that we are students of
ourselves, what is self-study.
Gurdjieff wrote Beelzebub's Tales
to His Grandson by way of which
the reader can experience the
data in it intentionally learned
about real events which had
taken place in the past as far
back, for example, as Sumeria
at the time when the Epic of
Gilgamesh had its origin.
"Man in his present state is very far
from self-knowledge. Therefore, strictly
speaking, his aim cannot even be defined
as self-knowledge. Self-study must be his
big aim. It is quite enough if a man
understands that he must study himself.
It must be man's aim to begin to study
himself, to know himself, in the
right way."
Gurdjieff
Ch 6, In Search of the Miraculous
EVOLUTION
"How should
evolution be
understood?"
"The evolution of man,"
Gurdjieff replied, "can
be taken as the development
in him of those powers and
possibilities which never
develop by themselves,
that is, mechanically.
Only this kind of
development, only
this kind of growth,
marks the real evolution
of man. There is, and there
can be, no other kind of
evolution whatever.
"We have before us man at
the present moment of his
development. Nature has made
him such as he is, and, in large
masses, so far as we can see, such
he will remain. Changes likely to
violate the general requirements
of nature can only take place in
separate units.
"In order to understand the law of
man's evolution it is necessary to
grasp that, beyond a certain point,
this evolution is not at all necessary,
that is to say, it is not necessary for
nature at a given moment in its own
development. To speak more precisely:
the evolution of mankind corresponds
to the evolution of the planets, but
the evolution of the planets proceeds,
for us, in infinitely prolonged cycles
of time. Throughout the stretch of time
that human thought can embrace, no
essential changes can take place
in the life of the planets, and,
consequently, no essential
changes can take place in
the life of mankind.
"Humanity neither progresses nor
evolves. What seems to us to be
progress or evolution is a partial
modification which can be
immediately counterbalanced
by a corresponding modification
in an opposite direction.
"Humanity, like the rest of
organic life, exists on earth
for the needs and purposes of
the earth. And it is exactly as
it should be for the earth's
requirements at the
present time."
Gurdjieff
ch 3, In Search of the Miraculous
What is the true meaning of
the allegorical and symbolic
transpace ship Karnak in
Beelzebub's Tales?
In the Sumerian Civilization,
predating the Egyptians, the Epic
of Gilgamesh describes a dream of
Gilgamesh where the hero is drawn
irresistibly to a heavy star that cannot
be lifted despite immense effort. This
star descends from Heaven to him and
is described as having a so-called "potent
essence" and being "the God of Heaven"
like Isis. Gilgamesh had for his companions,
50 oarsmen in the great ship, Argo, the ship
sailed by Jason and his Argonauts in search
of the Golden Fleece.
CONSCIOUS LOVE
Useless suffering transformed can bring a
positive emotion and may be experienced as a
sensation of peace. It is beyond understanding,
this kind of peace. Conscious Love is a positive
emotion. Conscious Love cannot turn into any
kind of opposite . . .
. . . against such there is no law.
Everything is material:
1. FUNDAMENTAL-FIRST-DEGREE-
SACRED-HEPTAPARAPARSHINOKH
2. FUNDAMENTAL-FIRST-DEGREE-
SACRED-TRIAMAZIKAMNO
"This same Most Great common-cosmic
Trogoautoegocratic-process is actualized
always and in everything, on the basis of
the two fundamental cosmic laws, the first
of which is called the 'Fundamental-First-
degree-Sacred-Heptaparaparshinokh,' and
the second the 'Fundamental-First-degree-
Sacred-Triamazikamno.'
"Owing to these two fundamental sacred
cosmic laws, there first arise from the
substance called 'Etherokrilno,' under
certain conditions, what are called
'crystallizations'; and from these
crystallizations, but later, and also
under certain conditions, there are
formed various large and small,
more or less independent,
cosmic definite formations.
MOST GREAT COMMON-COSMIC
TROGOAUTOEGOCRAT
"It is just within and upon these
cosmic definite formations that the
processes of what are called the
involution and evolution of the
already formed concentrations and
also of the said crystallizations
take place--of course also according
to the two said fundamental sacred
laws--and all the results obtained
from these processes in atmospheres,
and further, by means of these
atmospheres themselves, blend
and go for the actualizing of
the said 'exchange-of-matters'
for the process of the Most
Great common-cosmic
Trogoautoegocrat.
"Etherokrilno is that prime-source
substance with which the whole
Universe is filled, and which is
the basis for the arising and
maintenance of everything
existing.
"Not only is this Etherokrilno the
basis for the arising of all cosmic
concentrations without exception,
both large and small, but also all
cosmic phenomena in general proceed
during some transformation in this
same fundamental cosmic substance
as well as during the processes of
the involution and evolution of
various crystallizations--or, as
your favorites say, of those active
elements--which have obtained
and still continue to obtain their
prime arising from this same
fundamental prime-source
cosmic substance.
"Bear in mind, here, that it is
just because of this that the
mentioned Objective Science says
that 'everything without exception
in the Universe is material.'
--ch 17, arch-absurd
Man as we find him in Nature is
a pump, pushing finer matter into
the organic world as it descends from
the Central Sun-Absolute. His ordinary
"mechanical" function is, as is said, "to
solidify the organic world".
Two Rivers:
Crossing from the involutionary stream
to the evolutionary is to reverse this pump,
draw gross matter from the organic "outside"
world and transmute it into an "independently
arising concentration," what is called "Real I,"
or "predominant part" and then direct it to
the Sun-Absolute, the place of origin.
Ordinary man prefers to passively
receive energy and mechanically "use"
it for his own purposes and this is so on
account of the abnormal conditions of
external ordinary life of itself being-
existence that the three-brained-beings
on the Earth have gradually established
themselves, and which have progressively
developed in their common presence along
the usual lines of cause and effect what has
now become the "inner evil god" for most
people on the Earth, in America, and
wherever, called "self-calming" by way
of weaknesses and habitual vices of
all kinds under the sun, government
sanctioned sex-offensiveness towards
"the children" what is called "public
education" and the formation of a sort
of "morality" which is automatic and
upon which is based all of their knee-
jerk feelings of so-called "duty,"
"honor," "conscience," "sacrifice,"
and so on for which cell phones have
become a device upon which all of this
automatic behavior depend, all of this
due to the withdrawal of any effort
whatever to fulfill what is called
"being-partkdolgduty" in the
language of the Tales, that is
to say, to "reverse the pump."
Ordinary man eats food and
produces shit. Real man can
eat shit and make food, such
food is applied as "coating"
for the higher astral form.
Ordinary life-of-itself friction
changes its center of gravity
depending on influences both
external and internal giving rise
to the aforementioned ordinary
life delusions of of so-called "duty,"
"honor," "conscience," "sacrifice,"
merely as such impressions are
generally perceived in ordinary
In order to understand this idea
it is necessary to know that
everything is material,
even thought.
EVERYTHING IS MATERIAL
Views, p 209
Gurdjieff:
Everything in the
world is material
and--in accordance
with universal law--
everything is in motion
and is constantly being
transformed. The direction
of this transformation is
from the finest matter to
the coarsest, and vice
versa.
Between these two limits
there are many degrees of
density of matter. Moreover,
this transformation of matter
does not proceed evenly and
consecutively.
At some points in the
development there are,
as it were, stops or
transmitting stations.
These stations are everything
that can be called organisms
in the broad sense of the
word--the sun, the earth,
man and microbe. These
stations are commutators
which transform matter both
in its ascending movement,
when it becomes finer,
and in its descending
movement, toward
greater density.
This transformation
takes place purely
mechanically.
Matter is the same
everywhere, but at
each different level
matter has a different
density. Therefore each
substance has its own place
in the general scale of matter,
and it is possible to tell
whether it is on the way
to becoming finer or
denser.
Commutators differ only
in scale. Man is as much
a transmitting station as,
for instance, the earth or
the sun; he has in him the
same mechanical processes.
The same transformation
goes on in him of
higher forms of
matter into
lower and
of lower
into
higher.
This transformation of
substances in two directions,
which is called evolution and
involution, proceeds not only
along the main line from the
absolutely fine to the
absolutely coarse and
vice versa, but at
all intermediate
stations, on all
levels, it
branches
aside. A
substance
needed by
some entity
may be taken
by it and absorbed,
thus serving the
evolution or
involution
of that
entity.
Everything
absorbs, that
is, eats something
else, and also itself
serves as food. This is
what reciprocal exchange
means. This reciprocal
exchange takes place
in everything, in
both organic and
inorganic matter.
As I have said, everything is
in motion. No motion follows a
straight line but has simultaneously
a twofold direction, circling around
itself and falling toward the nearest
center of gravity. This is the law of
falling which is usually called the
law of motion. These universal laws
were known in very ancient times.
We can come to this conclusion on
the basis of historical events
which could not have taken
place if in the remote past
men had not possessed this
knowledge. From the most
ancient times people
knew how to use and
control these laws
of Nature. This
directing of
mechanical
laws by man
is magic and
includes not
only transformation
of substances in the
desired direction but
also resistance or
opposition to
certain
mechanical
influences
based on the
same laws.
People who know these
universal laws and know
how to use them are magicians.
There is white and black magic.
White magic uses its knowledge
for good, black magic uses
knowledge for evil, for
its own selfish
purposes.
Like Great Knowledge, magic,
which has existed from the
most ancient times, has
never been lost, and
knowledge is always
the same. Only the
form in which this
knowledge was
expressed and
transmitted
changed,
depending
on the place
and the epoch.
For instance, now
we speak in a language
which two hundred years
hence will no longer be
the same, and two hundred
years ago the language was
different. In the same way,
the form in which the Great
Knowledge is expressed is
barely comprehensible to
subsequent generations
and is mostly taken
literally. In this
way the inner
content
becomes
lost
for
most
people.
In the history of
mankind we see two
parallel and independent
lines of civilization: the
esoteric and the exoteric.
Invariably one of them
overpowers the other
and develops while
the other fades. A
period of esoteric
civilization comes
when there are
favorable external
conditions, political
and otherwise. Then knowledge,
clothed in the form of a Teaching
corresponding to the conditions
of time and place, becomes
widely spread. Thus it was
with Christianity.
But while for some
people religion serves
as guidance, for others
it is only a policeman.
Christ, too, was a
magician, a man of
Knowledge. He was
not God, or
rather He
was God,
but on
a certain
level.
THE LAST SUPPER
The true meaning and
significance of many
events in the Gospels
are almost forgotten now.
For instance, the Last Supper
was something quite different
from what people usually
think. What Christ mixed
with bread and wine and
gave to the disciples
was really his blood.
To explain this I
must say something
else.
Everything living has an
atmosphere around itself.
The difference lies only
in its size. The larger
the organism, the larger
its atmosphere. In this
respect every organism
can be compared to a
factory. A factory
has an atmosphere
around it composed
of smoke, steam, waste
materials and certain
admixtures which
evaporate in the
process of
production.
The value of
these component
parts varies. In
exactly the same
way, human atmosphere
is composed of different
elements. And as the
atmosphere of
different
factories
has a different
smell, so has the
atmosphere of different
people. For a more sensitive
nose, for instance for a dog,
it is impossible to confuse
the atmosphere of one man
with the atmosphere of
another.
I have said that man is
also a station for transforming
substances. Parts of the substances
produced in the organism are used
for the transformation of other
matters, while other parts go
into his atmosphere, that is,
are lost.
So here, too, the same
thing happens as in a
factory.
Thus the organism works not
only for itself, but also for
something else. Men of Knowledge
know how to retain the fine matters
in themselves and accumulate them.
Only a large accumulation of
these fine matters enables a
second and lighter body to
be formed within man.
Ordinarily, however, the
matters composing man's
atmosphere are constantly
used up and replaced by
man's inner work.
Man's atmosphere does not
necessarily have the shape
of a sphere. It constantly
changes its form. In times
of strain, of threat or of
danger, it becomes stretched
out in the direction of the
strain. Then the opposite
side becomes thinner.
Man's atmosphere takes up a
certain space. Within the limits
of this space it is attracted by
the organism, but beyond a certain
limit particles of the atmosphere
become torn off and return no
more. This can happen if the
atmosphere is greatly
stretched out in one
direction.
The same happens when a man
moves. Particles of his atmosphere
become torn off, are left behind
and produce a "trail" by which a
man can be traced. These
particles may quickly
mix with the air and
dissolve, but they
may also stay in
place for a
fairly long
time.
Particles
of atmosphere
also settle on
a man's clothes,
underclothes and
other things belonging
to him, so that a kind
of track remains between
them and the man.
Magnetism, hypnotism and
telepathy are phenomena of
the same order. The action
of magnetism is direct; the
action of hypnotism is at a
short distance through
the atmosphere;
telepathy is
action at a
greater
distance.
Telepathy
is analogous
to the telephone
or telegraph. In
these, the connections
are metal wires, but in
telepathy they are the
trail of particles
left by man. A man
who has the gift
of telepathy can
fill this trail
with his own
matter and
thus establish
a connection, forming
as it were a cable through
which he can act on a man's
mind. If he possesses some
object belonging to a man,
then, having thus
established a
connection, he
fashions round
this object an
image out of wax
or clay and, acting
upon it, thus acts
on the man himself.
--Gurdjieff
--Views, p 209-213
BLACK MAGIC CHIEF FEATURE
"Every man. has a certain feature
in his character which is central.
It is like an axle round which all
his 'false personality' revolves.
Every man's personal work must
consist in struggling against
this CHIEF FAULT. This explains
why there can be no general rules
of work and why all systems that
attempt to evolve such rules
either lead to nothing or
cause harm. How can there
be general rules? What is
useful for one is harmful
for another. One man talks
too much; he must learn to
keep silent. Another man is
silent when he ought to talk
and he must learn to talk; and
so it is always and in everything.
General rules for the work of groups
refer to everyone. Personal directions
can only be individual. In this connection
again a man cannot find his own CHIEF FEATURE, his CHIEF FAULT, by himself. This is practically a law. The teacher has to point out this feature to him and show him how to fight against it. No one else but the teacher
can do this.
"The study of the CHIEF FAULT and
the struggle against it constitute,
as it were, each man's individual
path, but the aim must be the
same for all. This aim is the
realization of one's nothingness.
Only when a man has truly and
sincerely arrived at the
conviction of his own
helplessness and
nothingness and
only when he feels
it constantly, WILL
HE BE READY FOR THE
NEXT AND MUCH MORE
DIFFICULT STAGES
OF THE WORK.
"All that has been said
up till now refers to real
groups connected with real
concrete work which in its
turn is connected with what
has been called the 'fourth
way.' But there are many
imitation ways, imitation
groups, and imitation work.
These are not even 'BLACK
MAGIC.'
REAL MAGIC IS "DOING"
"Questions have often been
asked at these lectures as
to what is 'BLACK MAGIC' and
I have replied that there is
neither red, green, nor yellow
magic. There is mechanics, that
is, what 'happens,' and there is
'doing.' 'Doing' is magic and
'doing' can be only of one
kind. There cannot be two
kinds of 'doing.' But there
can be a falsification, an
imitation of the outward
appearance of 'doing,'
which cannot give any
objective results but
which can deceive naive
people and produce in them
faith, infatuation, enthusiasm,
and even fanaticism.
"This is why in true work,
that is, in true 'doing,'
the producing of infatuation
in people is not allowed. What
you call BLACK MAGIC is based on
infatuation and on playing upon
human weaknesses. BLACK MAGIC
does not in any way mean
magic of evil. I have
already said earlier
that no one ever does
anything for the sake
of evil, in the interests
of evil. Everyone always does
everything in the interests of
good AS HE UNDERSTANDS IT. In the same way it is quite wrong
to assert that BLACK MAGIC must
necessarily be egoistical, that in BLACK MAGIC a man strives
after some results for himself.
This is quite wrong. BLACK MAGIC may be quite altruistic, may strive after the good of
humanity or after the
salvation of humanity
from real or imaginary
evils. But what can be
called BLACK MAGIC has
always one definite
characteristic. This
characteristic is the
tendency TO USE people
for some, even the best
of aims, WITHOUT THEIR
KNOWLEDGE AND
UNDERSTANDING,
either by producing
in them faith and
infatuation or by
acting upon them
through fear.
"But it must be remembered
in this connection that a
'BLACK MAGICIAN,' whether
good or evil, has at all
events been at a school.
He has learned something,
has heard something, knows
something. He is simply a
'half-educated man' who has
either been turned out of a
school or who has himself left
a school having decided that he
already knows enough, that he
does not want to be in
subordination any longer,
and that he can work
independently and even
direct the work of others.
All 'work' of this kind can
produce only subjective results,
that is to say, it can only
increase deception and
increase sleep instead
of decreasing them.
Nevertheless something
can be learned from a
'BLACK MAGICIAN' although
in the wrong way. He can
sometimes by accident
even tell the truth.
That is why I say that
there are many things
worse than 'BLACK MAGIC.'
Such are various 'occult'
and theosophical societies
and groups. Not only have
their teachers never been
at a school but they have
never even met anyone who
has been near a school.
Their work simply consists
in aping. But imitation work
of this kind gives a great
deal of self-satisfaction.
One man feels himself to
be a 'teacher,' others
feel that they are
'pupils,' and everyone
is satisfied. No realization
of one's nothingness can be
got here and if people
affirm that they have it,
it is all illusion and self-
deception, if not plain deceit.
On the contrary, instead of
realizing their own
nothingness the members
of such circles acquire
a realization of their
own importance and a
growth of false
personality.
"At first it is very difficult
to verify whether the work is
right or wrong, whether the
directions received are
correct or incorrect. The
theoretical part of the work
may prove useful in this respect,
because a man can judge more easily
from this aspect of it. He knows what
he knows and what he does not know.
He knows what can be learned by
ordinary means and what cannot.
And if he learns something new,
something that cannot be learned
in the ordinary way from books and
so on, this, to a certain extent,
is a guarantee that the other,
the practical side, may also
be right. But this of course
is far from being a full
guarantee because here
also mistakes are
possible. All occult
and spiritualistic
societies and circles
assert that they possess
a new knowledge. And there
are people who believe it."
--Gurdjieff
--ch 11, In Search of the Miraculous