Gurdjieff-Ouspensky

The wedge between them

Exploring the System
The Holy Scriptures
and the Fourth Way
A presentation for new readers
Why these study notes?
What is the relationship between
Gurdjieff and Christianity?
EN // English version // FREE COPY
Study notes
Official Press Body of the LA TECA Associations

www.gurdjieff.es
Institute forHarmonious
Development
LaTeca
THE FOURTH WAY
Chairman
Giovanni M. Quinti
From an original idea by
Luigi Di Sante and Sonia Iacoangeli
Publisher
La Teca Association, Barcelona - SPAIN
Graphics
J os L. Garca Muedra
Printing
APUNTS - Barcelona
Contributors to this edition
Eva M. Franchi, Prof. Piero La Mura (Stanford University),
David Peretti, Gisella di Palma, Sonia and Luigi di Sante,
Giovanni M. Quinti.
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Cover illustration
"The elements needed to See"
by J os L. Garca Muedra
Institute forHarmonious
Development
LaTeca
EN // English version
FREE COPY
Study notes // Official Press Body of the LA TECA Associations

www.gurdjieff.es
THE FOURTH WAY THE FOURTH WAY
Study
Study
Study
CONTENTS
2_ THE FOURTH WAY _Contents
3 A welcome to our new readers
A letter from Giovanni M. Quinti
A welcome letter for all new readers of "The Fourth Way" study notes
4 ...a short tale
About the Plan
A new look to go with the new use of this tool, why?how?
5 The reasons why Ouspensky abandoned Gurdjieff
The wedge between them
"He who has done an atom's weight of good shall see it. And he who has done
an atom's weight of evil shall see it." (Koran, xcix, 7 and 8).
11 Study and examination of the Sacred Texts
The Prophets
The language of the Fourth Way shows many analogies with that of the Sacred
Texts of Christianity and Islam
16 A presentation for new readers
Why these study notes?
Man has a powerful communication tool at his disposal: words.
20 The Origins of the Fourth Way
Gurdjieff and Original Christianity
We can consider G.'s message, which seems complex and often difficult to
understand, as suitable for those approaching it without a guide
22 E-mails from the Quarta Via site
The Host's House
The website www.gurdjieff.es publishes some e-mails to spread the teaching.
25 Making friends with the limit
The Dark Master
On 5 April this year, my only brother died
26 Letters to the Founder
Answers from our Founder
Our Founder's replies, and a new column summing up the fundamental
concepts of the Fourth Way.
27 In Small Doses
So what is divided attention?
Study
The indicated Articles have been read, studied and analyzed by the Study Groups
La Teca, present in Italy and in Spain. If you wish to participate, send a request to:
LA TECA - Gran Va, 204 bis (local 4) - 08004 Barcelona or email to: info@gurdjieff.es
We will send you as soon as possible the address and the hours of our Study Groups
meetings.
page11
page 20
page 22
page 5
page 7
Dear Reader,
I began to study the scriptures at the age of 11, and at
the time I knew nothing about the Fourth Way, or
indeed about the works of Monsieur Gurdjieff.
I preferred to study the Scriptures and hide away in
libraries where I could also read the ancient Greek,
Hebrew, and a number of parallel doctrines. I then had
the good fortune to meet my first master: Guglielmo
Standridge, an evangelical pastor who, despite my
young age, welcomed me lovingly and taught me to
apply myself to my studies and spiritual search.
At the age of 13 I produced my first publication, a
treatise several pages long on the first chapter of the
book of Revelation. Only two years later did a distant
relative introduce me to the Fourth Way, because he
had contacts with the teaching.
My maternal grandfather, after whom I was named,
had also been in contact with Gurdjieff's group in New
York, but I never had the chance to meet him,
because he died before I was born. Apart from my
mother, who was interested in the teaching, no-one
else in the family showed any curiosity, so I only spoke
with her of the ideas that I was gradually drawing
towards.
And so I looked for a school, and that distant relative
continued to show an interest in me and the things I
was working on. Now and again, when I went to visit
him in Sicily, he would give me some books or talk to
me about Steiner, Guenon and Sufism. He also gave
me "little jobs" to do: I would gather fruit, work the
fields, and eat only what I had gathered and cleaned
myself. I hated him for that!
In certain "institutionalised" schools that I found on
some bookmarks, and that I chose to attend, I was
regarded with suspicion: after all, I was not yet fifteen. I
remember the discussion between some of the leading
members, held in my presence, as to how much a
young lad should pay to attend the school. Also: "Can
a youngster follow the Fourth Way?" "Is it prohibited for
minors?"
Meanwhile, I continued my studies. I missed a few
months of school due to my penchant for the study of
other subjects, to which I devoted much of my time,
hidden away in the library.
In those years I also had a Kabbalah master and I was
initiated by an Egyptian-Essene master: a lady with a
huge heart.
I still have a vivid memory of her insisting on giving me
a bathrobe, the only one she had, just because I liked
it. And I know for a fact that she was far from rich,
indeed, she had very little money to live on. From that
day on, every time I went to see her, I kept quiet and
avoided commenting on any object, so as to keep her
from giving it to me. It was a very valuable lesson for
me, and now at the age of 35, I still keep that
bathrobe in my cupboard, and every so often I open it
and take a look. It always fills me with a sense of
sweetness.
At 17 I held my first public conference. Since I was
keen on sacred symbology, I felt it useful to begin to
discuss some similarities between the symbolic
meanings of the Tarot and the Fourth Way system. The
distant relative that I keep mentioning in this letter
heard about my initiative. During the conference,
which was attended by over a hundred people, an
academic destroyed the assumptions on which my
theories were based one by one. I certainly didn't
make a very good impression, and for a long time
after I didn't dare speak in public again. The day after
the conference that relative called me and asked me
how I was. Not only was I angry, I was also bitter about
the poor impression I had made.
"I knew this friend of mine would come and see you,"
he said, and described the very man who had torn my
argument to shreds! And so I realised that sometimes
our worst enemy is sent by the very people who love
us.
Today I am here to present these study notes. Years
have passed since that day, and many Masters have
helped me, many have taught me. The path of the
Fourth Way, seeking the Truth, continues, and I hope
that these notes might also be an opportunity for
someone who, like me both then and now, constantly
seeks the Truth.
And so I welcome new readers who do not know the
La Teca Brotherhood, where we practise the True
System, with the aim of bringing Gurdjieff's Teachings
back to life, and reclaiming them from the hands of
inexpert speculators. It is to this Brotherhood that we
owe the production of these Study Notes. I would
never have imagined the responsibility of leading such
an important group, nor that I was to meet certain
brothers who took me by the hand and showed me
what it means to be a pupil. To them I give my thanks,
and to the Absolute, my first and last Memory.
A welcome to our new readers
3_ THE FOURTH WAY _A letter from Giovanni M. Quinti THE FOURTH WAY _A letter from Giovanni M. Quinti THE FOURTH WAY _A letter from Giovanni M. Quinti THE FOURTH WAY _A letter from Giovanni M. Quinti
Giovanni M. Quinti
Leader of the LA TECA Associations,
Theatre Producer,
Founder of the Company
"GLI ASCOLTATORI DELLA VOCE"
A letter from Giovanni M. Quinti
...a short tale
4_ THE FOURTH WAY _...a short tale
ABOUT THE PLAN
Jlgm
That evening Pepito and his friends stopped sending messages
and making paper planes and birds. Don Paco, the biology
teacher, skipped the scheduled lesson and told them almost
everything he knew about his subject, and the things he loved of
his vocation, which had to do with verbs, predicates and so
forth.
They listened in wonder as he told them how the moon makes
the tides ebb and flow. The way the earth purges itself through
its volcanoes, the survival strategies of animals, how atoms
dance to a precise rhythm, why you can't sink your finger into
iron, and why you can stretch rubber. Pepito was amazed by
what Don Paco told them about the magical effects of nouns,
verbs and what have you. Words make things appear that didn't
exist before, or which cannot be seen.
It was almost five o'clock when the bell rang, and Don Paco sat
at his desk and said,
- Any questions?
Pepito raised his hand and asked,
- Why are there still people who don't believe in God?
And this is the story of the evening when Pepito
first heard talk of "such things", about how life works,
and we need to be able to tell it so that the Plan
works out well, YOURS AND HIS.
THE END

This is no trivial question, because Ouspensky was Gurdjieff 's main pupil,
and he spread his method, which would not otherwise have reached us as
it is today. In order to answer the question as completely as possible, we
need to get a number of fundamental passages from Ouspensky's writings
into focus, particularly from the book In Search of the Miraculous, which
represents the studies made, the reflections that emerged and the
conceptual links that together make up what we now call G.'s "method".
The first passages are probably those found on page 28 of the work, which
date back to the early days of his time with Gurdjieff, and which
demonstrate the strong impression that the latter made on this man, who
had chosen to devote his life and mind to the teachings:
" There were ideas which I could not accept and which appeared to me
fantastic" and again, "I had an inner conviction that something had already
changed for me and that now everything would go differently." (1)
Whilst on the one hand Ouspensky's interest for Gurdjieff's philosophical
reflections is evident, on the other hand we see a clear and almost
immediate detachment from some of his ideas. It would take several years
for Ouspensky to elaborate this detachment, which ultimately led to their
separation between 1917 and 1918 in Essentuki, but only became
definitive in 1924, when Gurdjieff left France for the United States of
America.
We should bear in mind that Ouspensky was an intellectual and essayist
with a personal mystic vocation, combined with analytical and
psychological reflection. At just 18 years of age he made the Great
Knowledge the purpose of his life, and his philosophical interests led to his
discovery of Theosophy and to his travels in Russia, the Orient and Europe,
where a strong drive to study the higher dimensions lay behind his
constant research, which also included people who might offer him
further stimuli.

5_ THE FOURTH WAY_Why Ouspensky broke away from Gurdjieff
Gi ovanni M. Qui nt i
Study
1_
In what way do you
think Ouspensky
influenced the
interpretation and
exposure of Gurdjieff's
method?
?
After eight years of
apprenticeship
alongside Gurdjieff,
why did P.D.
Ouspensky decide to
undertake his own
path, freeing himself of
that of his Caucasian
master?
Why Ouspensky broke away
from Gurdjieff
Why Ouspensky broke away
from Gurdjieff
So it is no great wonder that he expressed surprise at those people who
believed they already understood Gurdjieff 's entire teaching system when
they had only been with him for a short time, whereas for him many things
were still far from clear. (2)
Another event further clarifies Ouspensky's nature as a pupil, and gives us a
more detailed picture of his uneasiness, so to speak; we find it on page 262
of the book. It all takes place in Finland. The year is 1916, and Gurdjieff
meets with his group of pupils at one of their homes. Here Ouspensky
experienced an extraordinary event that he considered almost
"supernormal", in which he attempted to understand the reason for his own
dissatisfaction:
"It all started with my beginning to hear his thoughts. We were sitting in a small room with
a carpetless wooden floor as it happens in country houses. I sat opposite G...
He sat still saying nothing. After a while I heard his voice inside me, as it were in the chest
near the heart. He put a definite question to me. I looked at him; he was sitting and
smiling. His question provoked in me a very strong emotion. But I answered him in the
affirmative (out loud). "Why did he say that?"
asked G., looking at the others. "Did I ask him anything?" And he at once put another still
more difficult question to me (in the same way as before). And I again answered it in a
natural voice. (The others) ... were visibly astonished... G. put questions to me without
words and I answered them speaking in the usual way. This conversation, if it can be
called a conversation, proceeded in this fashion for not less than half an hour I was
very agitated" (bracketed comments added by the editors).
This experience shook Ouspensky deeply, as is clear as we read on through
his narration on page 263. He felt disturbed because the questions that the
"inner voice" was asking him were remarkably pertinent to his life, to his
problems, perhaps even to the obstacles that he was unable to overcome:
all of a sudden he was fully revealed, fully facing himself.
" Finally, at the moment of what felt like the climax of contradictions and of inner
turmoil, there flashed through my mind a thought following which I very quickly came to
a clear and right understanding of all G. had said, and of my own position. I saw that G.
was right; that what I had considered to be firm and reliable in myself in reality did not
exist"
For the moment we won't start trying to work out what Ouspensky's
experience was, or the value or origins of this "inner voice", which,
nonetheless, is worthy of detailed exploration within the System. (3)
However, it is interesting to note what happened after:
Ouspensky tried to exploit that state of altered consciousness to reflect on
all that was not yet clear to him regarding the System. What happened was
important, it enables us to understand has tensions, as well as his nature as
a philosopher and intellectual with a strong drive towards the higher
dimensions. He wanted to take advantage of the opportunity: his mental
clarity, arising from the abovementioned psychic state, could become a
tool in understanding the "missing piece", the key that he considered
fundamental, but which he had yet to find.
What was it? What had G. not yet revealed to him?
2_
What is the
meaning of the
fact that some
novices seem to
have understood
everything
immediately?
do you think this
can really
happen?
?
3_
What kind of voice
are we talking
about here?
Have you ever
experienced
anything similar?
?
6_
Study
Giovanni M. Quinti
The wedge between them
Gurdjieff-Ouspensky
?
THE FOURTH WAY_Why Ouspensky broke away from Gurdjieff
And yet that occasion did not give him the answer he was seeking: the time
was not yet right. The opportunity probably arose a little later. But again on
that occasion he was not yet ready. The revelation of the "missing piece" in
Gurdjieff's system gave rise to a refusal within Ouspensky, but this was no
longer intellectual, as we might have expected given his propensity for
exquisitely rational analysis. It was emotional. We could call it the victory of
the irrational over the reasoning intellectual. That missing piece was the true
cause of his separation from G. What was it?
What was it? (4) Some believe that Gurdjieff and Ouspensky didn't get on
well together. There are even some who (wrongly) claim that Ouspensky
criticised Gurdjieff as a man, for unfathomable reasons, labelling him a
"sorcerer". Many, indeed, too many rumours have been spread that have
no basis in reality. Ouspensky actually had nothing against Gurdjieff.
Indeed, when the master's wife died, he brought him his condolences and
remained alongside him, and also, in the period between 1917 and 1924
the two had many an occasion to meet and work together: Ouspensky
actively contributed to supporting G.'s projects, and took part in many
meetings, from Constantinople to France to London, and he always
considered the new frontiers of his teachings to be deeply rewarding.
What actually led to their separation was a purely "theoretical" reason, or
perhaps a different interpretation of the method, of how Ouspensky
perceived and experienced it.
He explains the reasons for this separation on page 413 of the book:

" In regard to my relations with G. I saw clearly at that time that I had been
mistaken about many things that I had ascribed to G. and that by staying with him
now I should not be going in the same direction I went at the beginning. And I
thought that all the members of our small group, with very few exceptions, were in
the same or in a similar situation. This was a very strange observation, but it was
absolutely a right one. I had nothing to say against G.'s methods, except that they
did not suit me. A very clear example came to my mind then. I had never had a
negative attitude towards the "way of the monk", to religious mystical ways. At the
same time I could never have thought for one moment that such a way was possible
for me, or suitable. And so, if after three years of work I perceived that G. was
leading us in fact towards the way of religion, of the monastery, and required the
observance of all religious forms and ceremonies, there would be of course a motive
for disagreeing with this and for going away, even though at the risk of losing direct
leadership. And certainly this would not, at the same time, mean that I considered
the religious way a wrong way in general. It may even be a more correct way than
my way, but it is not my way."
What we know today of Gurdjieff's philosophical system is, in reality, strongly
influenced by the thinking of Ouspensky himself, by his intellectual
characteristics, with all the limits that an exclusively intellectual approach,
with an imbalance towards the emotions, can entail.
What does he mean by, "G. was leading us in fact towards the way of
religion, of the monastery"? What are the mystic and theological
implications of Gurdjieff's system?
4_
If you have not yet
read the article
through to the
end, try to answer
the question
yourself.
?
?
?
7_
Giovanni M. Quinti
Estudy
The wedge between them
Gurdjieff-Ouspensky
THE FOURTH WAY_Why Ouspensky broke away from Gurdjieff
5_
In your opinion, is
it the system that is
similar to the way
of religion, or the
way of religion
that "ought" to be
similar to the
System?
?
6_
Are there
differences
between the way
of religion and the
Fourth Way
system?
?
8_
The etymology of the word "monastery" is clear: we recognise the Greek root
"monos" or "single"; thus the monastery is the place where the single, stable,
indivisible element is built.
Could there be a better concise description of the objectives of Gurdjieff's
system? (5)
After his studies and in-depth research, Ouspensky realised that something
was not clear, that the whole system, the exercises and the work were lacking
something. To Ouspensky's mind, Gurdjieff seemed to want to lead his pupils
slowly towards religious mysticism, a tendency that Ouspensky could not bear,
probably for emotional reasons regarding a specific inner experience, but
which he never carefully explored or explained in his writings. He could not
understand that G.'s approach towards mysticism was profoundly different
from any form of established religious life, and that, on a certain level, the
path can take the form of a mystic way (6), but it can also assume other
forms. On page 387 Ouspensky tells us of the time when the Caucasian master
explained the three types of breathing, considered fundamental to his
method. Gurdjieff said:
" so that this should happen, many conditions are necessary, fasting and prayer are
necessary, and little sleep and all kinds of difficulties and burdens for the body You
think there are no physical exercises in Orthodox monasteries? Well, you try to carry
out one hundred prostrations according to all the rules. You will have an aching back
that no kind of gymnastics could ever give"
And perhaps we can identify here the point from which the separation
began. Several times Ouspensky tells us that it was a difficult choice, and
indeed it took him several years to carry it out.
Gurdjieff seems to refer to the monastic life and its rigidity, borrowing them as
functional parameters solely in order to attain a precise goal. Ouspensky, on
the other hand, reads into these statements the desire to lead the pupils into
some sort of seclusion.
And did the concept of the attention to be paid to the Divine, which
Ouspensky so strongly repudiated, have any particular influence on him?
What did Gurdjieff think about God, and how did he lead his pupils to
experience the sacred?
And what if precisely this were Ouspensky's great, insurmountable barrier?
It is not easy to answer these questions, although judging by his writings, a
hypothesis of this kind does not seem unfounded.

In conclusion, we would like to make it clear that Gurdjieff's system has been
profoundly misinterpreted by those basing their ideas solely on Ouspensky's
writings, since these only represent his point of view, important as it may be.
The system proposed by Gurdjieff is far broader and more complex than a
simple philosophical approach to fundamental matters. It is a path to
reawakening which leads to the construction of the Indivisible Element. It is an
all-encompassing way, a path made up of active self-sacrifice and profound
transformation. It is the narrow way that only the few can travel.
?
?
Giovanni M. Quinti
Estudy
The wedge between them
Gurdjieff-Ouspensky
THE FOURTH WAY_Why Ouspensky broke away from Gurdjieff
9_
THE PROPHETS
Giovanni M. Quinti
The language of the Fourth Way shows many analogies with that of the
Sacred Texts of western religions. Our aim in exploring these matters
together is to identify the possible parallels between Gurdjieff's system
and the Old and New Testament in particular. We will find that all aspects
of the Master's teachings, from the concepts of work, essence and
personality to the division between the higher and lower centres, have an
equivalent in the Scriptures and in the Gospels.
THE FOURTH WAY_Study and examination of the Sacred Texts
Who are or were the Prophets?
The term "prophet" comes from the Greek: prophetes, which derives from
pro (before) and phanai (to say), i.e., he who foretells. The Greek term
phanai is closely related to the term "logos". Thus "prophet" not only means a
"foreteller", a "clairvoyant" who predicts events, but also he who is before the
word, who is in contact with the Word, the Christian Logos, the Word of God,
the Essential Voice. And so, in the language of the Fourth Way, the prophet is
the person who speaks through the Essential Word, which is inextricably
linked with the Higher Centres (H.C.). (1)
The ancient sacred texts show us that this profound relationship with the
Essence places the individual in a condition of unity, and allows him/ her
access to that inner world where present, past and future are one and the
same. Studying the life of the prophets of both the Old and the New
Testament, and of the various traditions, including Islam, is a source of great
enrichment for the soul. The prophet, the man who has achieved Essential
Unity, is as one with his words; there is no difference between what he says
and what he is. The sounds emanating from his mouth flow straight from his
heart. When the need arises, he can use the strength of the Word. In the last
book of the Bible, Revelation, we read that J ohn, in a mystic-prophetic vision,
sees Christ immersed in an absolutely fascinating symbology:
"His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace; and his voice was like the sound
of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came
a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance".
(Rev. 1:15-16).
This sword coming out of Christ's mouth symbolises His Word, the Essential,
Prophetic Word, which he uses for two purposes(double-edged): to destroy
evil and to separate good from evil, the wheat from the chaff, the apparent
from the substantial. In the New Testament this concept is expressed in
various ways. Christ becomes the Word of God, the Word that comes directly
out of Him, His Breath. (J ohn 1:1). This is the equivalent of the person who,
uniting with His Essence, vibrates with the same strength of Christ, becoming
one with God. In this way he becomes the Word of God, and his Word is one
with the Word of God, because HE IS that Word. (2)
This is the Prophet. This intimate union between what he teaches and what
he is demonstrates the importance of a reflective study on the life of the
prophets. Their words were exhilarated by the closeness of the Higher
Centres. In these pages we will explore their experiences and their words.
Can we, from the outset, identify a single common denominator that
distinguishes all the Prophets described in the sacred texts? What is their
message? Adam's shame upon discovering he was naked, the courage of
Daniel and Noah, the sincere friendship of Abraham, etc., teach us that the
fast track to entering into "dialogue" with one's Essence, with the Emmanuel
(God with us) is purity of heart. (3) By this we do not mean perfection,
faultlessness, but a deep love of loyalty and intimate contact with the
Essence. Their heart is a mirror reflecting a bigger face. They constantly seek
to keep their heart clean, through all that facilitates the Essence. (4)
Although they often fulfil roles of guidance, government and power, they do
not allow themselves to be "stained" by this, indeed, they know who they
really belong to: to the Great Infinite above them. Is there any greater self-
remembering than this?
1_
Why do you think
it is important to
study the lives of
the Prophets?
?
2_
What do you think
it means to
become the very
Word of God?
?
3_
What do you think
is the meaning of
being "pure in
heart"?
?
4_
What facilitates
the growth of the
Essence? Are
there any
practical activities
that you can list?
?
10_
Study
Giovanni M. Quinti
?
THE FOURTH WAY_Study and examination of the Sacred Texts
The Prophets
Below is a list of the Prophets we will be studying, leaving aside both the
differences of religion (J ewish, Christian and Muslim) and the different
classifications that distinguish them. In other words, we will try to establish a single
group of "prophets" that also includes the Patriarchs, the Great Prophets, etc., in
order to avoid further confusing those approaching these matters for the first
time. Our study will not look into the meaning commonly understood as
"religious", but above all at their "technical" and spiritual value. We are seeking
tools that can provide us, searchers of the Third Millennium, with Light and
Guidance for the work on ourselves.
As with all sacred texts, the Bible is subject to different interpretations. We can
interpret it by ascribing it an absolute historic value, or we can glimpse at
"educational myths" in the stories told, designed to teach us a symbolic
understanding of a far broader spiritual concept. Take, for example, Adam and
Eve in the Garden of Eden. Some fundamentalist writers (fundamentalism is the
movement that reads the Bible literally, and believes in the historic and absolute
reality of what is written) defend the idea that a garden really existed near the
Tigris River, complete with tree and serpent. Others, however, ascribe a
"mythological" value to the story. A prime example is the position taken by
Oswald Loretz, a professor at the University of Munster, specialising in the Old
Testament: "Science has proved irrefutably that the first three chapters of the
book of Genesis, regarding the creation, speak of our origins using a symbolic
language". (Creazione e Mito 1974, page 24).
Who is right? (5) I believe that we should leave the nature of these problems to
the biblical experts and professors who deal with these matters. What searchers
should do is move towards what is useful for them in practice, in the life of those
who work on themselves. The historical nature or lack thereof of these events
should not concern him, he pays attention to the REASON why these events are
reported, their value as tools of support and growth. The Bible and the Koran are
highly useful tools upon which every serious searcher should meditate, on a
journey of discovery of the treasures hidden amongst their pages. In order to do
this we have to acknowledge, at least in part, the historic and cultural influences
that the sacred texts have been subject to. We cannot think that certain rules,
ethics, morals or, for example, foods, are not conditioned by the background of
those times and traditions. The man on the Way should use these tools to find
information useful to the evolution of his being, avoiding rigid or dogmatic
interpretations or the development of archaic formalisms. Faced with the
fundamentalist interpretation and the mythical interpretation, we lean towards a
third construal: a symbolic-psychological interpretation. (6)
We should keep the western Holy Texts to hand so as to be able to read of each
protagonist's various "adventures" directly from the source. In order to compare
and contrast the different scriptural references, we need to ask ourselves: how
are the chapters and verses of the holy books subdivided? Let's start with the
Bible (Old and New Testament). The Bible, (from the Greek: "the books"), is a
collection of books written in a historic period that began hundreds of years
before Christ's time and ended during the first century AD. Each book has the
style and form that its author gave it.
Only later were they gathered together and considered a single book. It is
believed that J ohn Chrysostom, patriarch of Constantinople(AD 398-404) was the
first to use the Greek word "Bible" to refer to the set of sacred books.
Most of the books in the Bible are named after their author, or if the author is
unknown, by a word that sums up its content. For example the book of Isaiah or
Daniel, or Genesis (from the Greek Ghenesis - the origins) or Deuteronomy
(Greek, "Copy of the Law") etc.
N_0
5_
What is your
stance on this?
?
6_
What do you think
of an
interpretation of
the sacred texts
from this point of
view?
?
11_
Giovanni M. Quinti
Study
THE FOURTH WAY_Study and examination of the Sacred Texts
The Prophets
In turn, each book is subdivided into chapters and verses. This subdivision is
believed to date back to the 13th Century AD. In writing, the chapter is always
noted before the verse, separated by a colon (:). For example, if I want to read
the phrase: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" I need to
go to the first book of the Bible (Genesis), in the first verse of the first chapter. I will
transcribe it like this: Gen. (abbreviation of Genesis) 1:1. Gen 1:1-6 would mean
that I should read the first chapter of Genesis FROM verse 1 TO verse 6. Gen
1:1,4,6 would mean that I should read verses 1, 4 and 6, skipping those in
between. I may also find these two systems used together (e.g. Gen 1:1,3,5-9).
(7)
The Koran, on the other hand, was written by a single inspired author
(Mohammad); it is subdivided into 114 suras, and each sura is divided into verses
(in Arabic aya or "sign"). The name of the suras is derived from key words within
the text of each one; sometimes the same sura may be known by different
names.
Our Muslim friends and brothers tell us that in order to fully understand the
meaning of what Mohammad wrote we should read the Koran in Arabic.
On the other hand, we should also be familiar with Hebrew, Aramaic and Koin
Greek, because the New and Old Testaments are also subject to more than a
little interpretive manipulation. Until such a time as this is possible, we need to
arm ourselves with a good dictionary and try, whenever something is not clear,
to go back to the original text, studying the nuances that the author wanted to
communicate, and that were lost in translation. For the English translation, we
have used the New International Version of the Old and New Testament, and for
the Koran, the Tahrike Tarsile Version, courtesy of the University of Virginia Library.
(If you have any difficulty getting hold of these texts, contact our editing team).
As we said, each sura is subdivided by an aya (verse), and the reference is as
follows: to read sura 18 (considered by Muslims to be one of the loveliest), verses
23 and 24, I will simply write 18.23-24.
Now we are ready to begin this fascinating journey towards the study of the
sacred texts, in the light of the essential viewpoint for a Fourth Way searcher: the
work on ourselves. We should not forget that we need to gird ourselves with
patience and a pure heart, so that we can realise that the verses of these texts
will be opened to us only when we open ourselves to them.
We will see that, in the arduous search between one verse and another, "a
little here, a little there", (Isaiah 28:10), we are actually searching for ourselves.
7_
Can you find, as
quickly as
possible, the
following verses
from the Bible:
Mat 12:33 and
J oh 13:34-38
?
12_
Giovanni M. Quinti
Study
THE FOURTH WAY_Study and examination of the Sacred Texts
The Prophets
ADAM_
Adam is the first prophet in history. What
happens in his life outlines the separation,
on the human pathway, between essence
and personality.
NOAH_
God's Great Friend. His life expresses the
construction of the Stable Element, the
Centre of Gravity that remains firm and
saves us from the floods.
ABRAHAM_
The one who succeeds in building a deep,
intimate relationship with the Essence; who
becomes "a friend of the Essence".
J ACOB_
The one who gains primogeniture through the
Machiavellian cunning of the personality.
J OSEPH_
The one who succeeds in getting the better of
his personalities, who manages to triumph over
them and govern them.
MOSES_
The one who succeeds in going beyond good
and evil, who builds a true relationship with the
Objective Absolute, who makes mistakes, pays
for his errors, but never stops being a true
friend of God.
DAVID_
The Founder of a New and Unique Nation.
J OB_
The one who rebels, in exasperation,
rejecting his own essence. But then he finds
it again, and is further enriched.
DANIEL_
The refugee who, with God's friendship,
succeeds in triumphing over the king who
imprisons him.
J ESUS:_
The one who triumphs over death.
WE WILL STUDY
Man has a powerful communication tool at his disposal: words.
This truly is a great power, a creative power. However, and Gurdjieff
emphasised this, all too often words are caught up in a network of
misunderstandings and mistakes, caused essentially by the difference in the
psychological structures of the speaker and listener. What is said, as it takes
shape in the form of speech, is conveyed by the subjective language of the
speaker, and is transformed into something different as it is received by the
listener. And if the listener then chooses to reply, another transformation
takes place, making the two speakers like two deaf people trying to
communicate, but each failing to hear what the other one says. Often
human dynamics lead individuals to want to stand out amongst the others, in
an attempt to affirm their individuality and thus their existence in the world,
of which they are not entirely certain. Every time I speak I put my entire life
into my words, the joy and the pain, the embraces and the goodbyes, the
tears and the smiles. Not only that, I also speak through my body, the
inflection of my voice and the expressions of my face; I am often unaware of
all this. At the end of the day, what we often call "dialogue" is none other
than a mirror of reciprocal misunderstandings and inability to communicate:
in the words of the Master, a veritable Tower of Babel!
Today's searcher, who lives in a world of mass-communication, has to deal
with a way of communicating that is based on form rather than substance.
Nowadays the languages of the esoteric paths can even be seen on
advertising billboards, conveying quite opposite meanings.
Nowadays many people think that the Fourth Way is a creation unconnected to
previous traditions. In these study notes we intend to show that it is actually none
other than a new linguistic code, created by Gurdjieff to convey contents already
found in the Christianity from which it originated. We will see that the Master did
not invent anything, and his ideas are precisely rooted in the Holy Texts that we
will analyse together. It is a question of languages: once we get to know the
"Gurdjieffian vocabulary", it will be manifested in the fullness of its meaning, in the
light of the comparisons that we will make together. Starting from the wealth of
knowledge that Gurdjieff left us, a true searcher, having reached a certain point
along his path, will be able to go beyond the Master's writings and those of his
pupils, and to attain a new, essential, complete vision of the Teaching.
13_ 13_ THE FOURTH WAY_A presentation for new readers
WHY THESE
STUDY NOTES?
The Editors
This tells us that communication needs to be reviewed in all its aspects, leading us to
wonder whether we are really capable, as we believe, of talking about ourselves
and the Way. The true searcher will answer "no" to this question: we do not know
how to converse, but above all, we do not know how to listen. We need to learn to
communicate, and to do this we have to get to know ourselves (and thus others)
better. If we are not willing to do this, then even the words of the greatest of
masters cannot help us to grow.
Our study notes were born of the desire to spread the content of Gurdjieff's
teachings through two basic means: the written word, and group debate. The
readings are structured step by step, and there are questions to help us not to
wander off from the point, and to stay close to the core contents of each
passage. The possibility of reading the text several times, even when we are
alone, helps us not to fix our minds just on a few passages, maybe the ones that
sit most easily with us. This is a veritable exercise in attention, and our attention
needs to be trained, especially in groups: not only our mental attention, but
also the attention of our hearts as we listen to all our companions on this
journey. For us this study is a balance between knowing and being,
between mind and heart, between the I and the world. Only then can
things start to happen
The group plays a fundamental role for us: it represents the Prieur, where
each individual has a specific role, turning his/her own experiences to
account, putting his level of understanding and his work at the disposal
of the others, and at the same time receiving the same things from them.
The aim is the same for everyone: Man's harmonious growth. The
community offers the individual the opportunity to see him/ herself
mirrored in the others, in order to get to know himself, and to gain a
clearer understanding of the right direction to go. This is why much of
our work is performed in groups, because the first step to take is to
come out of our repetitive mechanicalness, rooted in our stubborn
attachment to ourselves and our ideas. We want to learn to become
truly open and flexible. In our study notes we often publish useful
observations and testimonies from people who carry out the difficult
task of working on themselves every day. Searchers joining our group
readings will soon notice the gamut of human qualities to be found
around us: on the one hand, the egocentricities and the difficulties of
communicating with our neighbours, but on the other, a broadening
of our understanding, with the help of those sitting alongside us. All
this on one condition: that we grasp the real need to learn, as well
as the partial nature of what we have understood so far.
We are incomplete. Each one of us, upon approaching the search,
specialises in certain parts of it, those which cause the least friction
with our natural inclinations. Instead of remaining as we are, albeit
perhaps splendid people, but incomplete, we should go where we have never
dared, and explore unknown horizons.
So come in, sit down beside me, and look into the eyes of the people sitting
before you: they are not really so very different from you, little people full of
fears and needing the experience the Union. Maybe you know something
more: so offer it generously to the others. But remember that there is surely still
something you need to learn: so listen, because someone is sure to teach it
to you. Giving and receiving are one and the same. Now feel this circle
surrounding you, telling you to open up to the others, because it represents
precisely that missing part of you.
Great, I sense that you are serene, I sense that you are, for once, at peace.
So let's start the reading!
A presentation for new readers
14_ THE FOURTH WAY_A presentation for new readers
15_
GURDJIEFF
AND ORIGINAL CHRISTIANITY
by Giorgio C. Tagliafico
THE FOURTH WAY _The Origins of the Fourth Way THE FOURTH WAY _The Origins of the Fourth Way THE FOURTH WAY _The Origins of the Fourth Way THE FOURTH WAY _The Origins of the Fourth Way
We can consider G.'s message, which seems complex and often
difficult to understand, as suitable for those approaching it without a
guide who has already personally experienced the process of escaping
from the "prison" (which for G. is a symbolic representation of the "cage"
of masks of "false personality"), relying solely on books and other texts
on the subject.
Through the articles in these study notes, we will deal with the issues
needed to make this message clearer, approaching it from a range of
viewpoints, because once we grasp the key to understanding it we can
find the same message in many traditions.
Study
Giorgio C. Tagliafico
GURDJ IEFF
AND ORIGINAL CHRISTIANITY
1_
Did you know that
Gurdjieff's teaching
was actually
Esoteric
Christianity?
?
2_
Exoteric religions try
to give an answer
to the "why"s.
The "hidden" ones
to the "how"s.
Do you agree?
?
16_
THE FOURTH WAY _The Origins of the Fourth Way
To approach this topic, I would like to introduce some quotations from a
little-known book in which Gurdjieff's message is presented at its most
profoundly essential. The book is: Who are you, Monsieur Gurdjieff? by Ren
Zuber, one of G.'s pupils during the German occupation of Paris.
Zuber seems to have grasped the key to reading and understanding the
esoteric message in the sacred texts of our tradition, such as the Old and
New Testament, as well as those of other traditions both close to and distant
from our own. In Ren Zuber's testimony, we read of how Gurdjieff spoke of
these matters:
"Referring to the well-known commandment to love one's neighbour as oneself, he
asked who was able to do this? 'The commandments exist as an ideal, but the
knowledge that would enable us to keep them is lost. However, such knowledge
constitutes the other half of Christianity, its esotericism. It has been preserved in
certain schools. (1) Each one of you will be able to initiate himself into it while
staying at the Institute which has been opened at the Prieur, on the condition that
you feel the need for it.' Thus he spoke of Christianity only to people who already
had some idea of its meaning. But labels, as we know, mattered little to him. J ew,
Christian, Buddhist, Lamaist, Muslim... as soon as one gets to the heart of the matter,
whatever the differing names, one comes upon the same truth" (page 36-37).
We also read in In Search of the Miraculous:
"You must understand, he said, that every real religion, that is one that has been
created by learned people for a definite aim, consists of two parts. One part
teaches what is to be done. This part becomes common knowledge, and in the
course of time is distorted and departs from the original. The other part teaches how
to do what the first part teaches. This part is preserved in secret in special schools
and with its help it is always possible to rectify what has been distorted in the first
part or to restore what has been forgotten.
Without this second part there can be no knowledge of religion or in any case such
knowledge would be incomplete and very subjective. This secret part exists in
Christianity also, as well as in other religions, and it teaches how to carry out the
precepts of Christ and what they really mean" (page 304). (2)
If you, like me, have undergone the influence of exoteric (external) religion,
feeling it to be like a heavy weight from which to free yourself as soon as
possible, the association of Gurdjieff's thinking and "method" with Christianity
may at first seem rather forced. Especially if your path leads you to ideas
that you thought you had dismissed for good as lies, or in any case as not
complying with "your" view of reality. For example, the image of an
anthropomorphic God, or the use of rituals and "mantras" that echo those
of the religion as we all "un-know" it.
But let us return to a passage from Ren Zuber's book, where he speaks of
the new understanding:
"As soon as the idea flashed across my mind, that the teaching was none other than
a version of the Gospels in different language, I was overcome with great joy and at
the same time a certain uneasiness. Why? To put it simply, let us say that I had a
feeling of stepping into private territory. For Christianity was not born yesterday. It
belongs by right to the saints and elders of the Church. Furthermore, although
nowadays its precepts are universally doubted, it is clearly still the foundation of our
institutions, codes and ethics and our thought is steeped in it.
Could it really be that until now we had not recognized it in this unknown teaching?
3_
What is Christianity
to your mind?
Have you stopped
at the outer form?
Or have you
sounded the
symbolic depths
that the church
does not teach?
?
4_
Read the Gospel
quotes at least
three times each,
and try to meditate
on them with a
clear heart and
mind. Discuss them
only at the end of
your reading,
indicating which
passage made the
biggest impression
on you, and
communicated
something to you.
?
17_
? In order to recognize it in a form we had never seen before we would have had to
have tasted its essence (which keeps its flavour throughout all changes of
appearance). The essence of Christianity? Do not expect me to try to define what
appears to be beyond definition. It would, however, be wrong to pretend to know
nothing about it." (Pages 32-33)
Again in "In Search of the Miraculous" we find this declaration by Gurdjieff
himself:
"I do not know what you know about Christianity", answered G., emphasizing this
word. "It would be necessary to talk a great deal and to talk for a long time in order
to make clear what you understand by this term. But for the benefit of those who
know already, I will say that, if you like, this is esoteric Christianity. We will talk in due
course about the meaning of these words." (Page 102) (3)
This is precisely what we are trying to do here, or rather, if not to define, we
are trying to come close to the feeling, starting from the intellectual centre
that often serves as a "forerunner".
In the meantime we can observe that Gurdjieff himself was of Orthodox-
Christian origins, and was born and grew up in contact with various
traditions.
His first masters were his father and a priest, so Christianity, and particularly
the figure of the master J esus and the Kabbalah of J ewish tradition,
contributed to his preparation; later there was certainly at least one Sufi
master (holy man in the Moslem esoteric tradition). For this reason whoever
seeks to misappropriate the historic and cultural roots (as does the author
going by the pen-name Rafael Lefort, in his book "The Teachers of
Gurdjieff") detaching them from the profoundly Christian roots, is
committing a very grave error.

Gurdjieff
explains the Gospels
There are many, many parallels between the Gospels and Gurdjieff's words.
Indeed, Gurdjieff himself often makes explicit reference to them. I would
now like to illustrate just some of the parallels between Ouspensky's In
Search of the Miraculous (except where otherwise indicated) and a number
of verses from the Gospels. These similarities are innumerable.
Why don't you try for yourselves to find a few and send them in to us?
(magazine@quartavia.org)
They will certainly be published in a future issue.
For the moment we will list those that came to our minds, so as to allow
everyone to identify their deeper meaning and their closest similarities. (4)
?
Study
Giorgio C. Tagliafico
GURDJ IEFF
AND ORIGINAL CHRISTIANITY
THE FOURTH WAY _The Origins of the Fourth Way
18_
Matthew 10:38 Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Matthew 10:39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake
will find it.
"Sacrifice is necessary," said G. "If nothing is sacrificed, nothing is obtained. And it is
necessary to sacrifice something precious at the moment, to sacrifice for a long time
and to sacrifice a great deal." (In Search of the Miraculous, page 33)
Matthew 5:37 Simply let your "Yes" be "Yes", and your "No", "No"; anything beyond
this comes from the evil one.
"Fusion, inner unity, is obtained by means of 'friction', by the struggle between 'yes' and
'no' in man." (page 32)
Matthew 23:27 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are
like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are
full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.
Matthew 23:28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but
on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
"On the most prevalent occasions a man is identified with what others think about him,
how they treat him, what attitude they show towards him. He always thinks that people
do not value him enough, are not sufficiently polite and courteous. All this torments him,
makes him think and suspect and lose an immense amount of energy on guesswork, on
suppositions, develops in him a distrustful and hostile attitude towards people. How
somebody looked at him, what somebody thought of him, what somebody said of him,
all this acquires for him an immense significance." (page 151)
Matthew 7:1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
Matthew 7:2 For in the same way you judge others, and with the measure you use, it
will be measured to you.
Matthew 7:3 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no
attention to the plank in your own eye?
Matthew 7:4 How can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye,"
when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
Matthew 7:5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will
see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
"External considering is adaptation towards people, to their understanding, to their
requirements. By considering externally, a man does that which makes life easy for
other people and for himself if a man really remembers himself, he understands that
another man is a machine just as he is himself. And then he will enter into his position, he
will put himself in his place, and he will be really able to understand and feel what
another man thinks and feels. If he can do this his work becomes easier for him Right
external considering is very important in the work." (page 153)
Luke 21:34 Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down
Luke 21:36 Be always on the watch, and pray
"There is nothing new in the idea of sleep. People have been told almost since the
creation of the world that they are asleep and that they must awaken. How many
times is this said in the Gospels, for instance? 'Awake', 'watch', 'sleep not'. Christ's
disciples even slept when he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane for the last
time. It is all there. But do men understand it? Men take it simply as a form of speech, as
an expression, as a metaphor I tell you seriously that I have been asked several times
why nothing is said about sleep in the Gospels. Although it is there, spoken of on almost
every page. This simply shows that people read the Gospels in sleep." (page 144)
Study
Giorgio C. Tagliafico
GURDJ IEFF
AND ORIGINAL CHRISTIANITY
THE FOURTH WAY _The Origins of the Fourth Way
19_
Study
Giorgio C. Tagliafico
GURDJ IEFF
AND ORIGINAL CHRISTIANITY
THE FOURTH WAY _The Origins of the Fourth Way
John 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God".
"To awake, to die, to be born, these are three successive stages. If you study the Gospels
attentively, you will see that references are often made to the possibility of being born,
several references are made to the necessity of 'dying', and there are very many references
to the necessity of 'awakening' - 'watch, for ye know not the day and hour' We have
already spoken enough about the meaning of being 'born'. This relates to the beginning of
a new growth of essence, the beginning of the formation of individuality, the beginning of
the appearance of one indivisible I." (In Search of the Miraculous page 241-242)
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
"The idea of centre of gravity can be interpreted in many different ways. It is a more or less
permanent aim and the realization of the relative importance of things in connection with
this aim. This means that certain interests become more important than anything else - one
acquires a permanent direction, one does not go one day in one direction and another
day in another; one goes in one direction and one knows the direction. The stronger your
centre of gravity, the more you are free from accident." (page 98 - The Fourth Way)
Luke 9:60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim
the kingdom of God".
"Moreover, it happens fairly often that essence dies in a man while his personality and his
body are still alive. A considerable percentage of the people we meet in the streets of a
great town are people who are empty inside, that is, the are actually already dead. It is
fortunate for us that we do not see and do not know it. If we knew what a number of people
are actually dead and what a number of these dead people govern our lives, we should go
mad with horror."
(In Search of the Miraculous page 164)
Matthew 21:33 "Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard.
He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the
vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey.
Matthew 21:34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to
collect his fruit.
Matthew 21:35 The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a
third.
Matthew 21:36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants
treated them the same way.
Matthew 21:37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. "They will respect my son," he said.
Matthew 21:38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, "This is the heir.
Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance".
Matthew 21:39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
Matthew 21:40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those
tenants?"
Matthew 21:41 "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will
rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest
time."
" man is compared to a house in which there is a multitude of servants but no master and
no steward. The servants have all forgotten their duties; no one wants to do what he ought;
everyone tries to be the master, if only for a moment; and, in this kind of disorder, the house
is threatened with grave danger. The only chance of salvation is for a group of the more
sensible servants to meet together and elect a temporary steward, that is, a deputy
steward. This deputy steward can then put the other servants in their places, and make
each do his own work: the cook in the kitchen, the coachman in the stables, the gardener
in the garden, and so on. In this way the 'house' can be got ready for the arrival of the real
steward who will, in his turn, prepare it for the arrival of the master." (page 60)
The Host's House // The Staff
The master is like the host in his home. His guests are those who try to study the Way,
and who have never been in a house. They have only a vague idea of what a house
might be, and yet the house exists. When the guests come into the house, they find
the sitting room and ask, "What's this?", and they hear the reply, "It's the place where
we sit". So they sit on the chairs, but they are only vaguely aware of the purpose of
chairs. The host entertains them, but they keep asking questions, at times irrelevant
ones. As a good host, he doesn't blame them for this; for example, when they want to
know where and when they will eat. They do not know that no-one is alone, and at
that very moment others are busy cooking, and that there is another room where
they will sit and eat. They are puzzled, because they can't see the preparations for
the meal or the meal itself either, and they may also be doubtful and ill-at-ease. The
good host, who knows the guests' problems, does his best to make them feel at
home, so that they can enjoy the food when it arrives. Initially, the guests are unable
to approach the food. Some guests are quicker than others at understanding and
grasping the relationship between the various elements of the house. They can share
what they know with their less perspicacious friends. In this situation, the host gives
each of his guests an answer to match that guest's ability to perceive the unity and
function of the house. It is not enough that the house simply exists, that it is ready to
receive guests and that the host is present. Someone must actively undertake the
function of host, so that the strangers, who are the guests, and for whom the host is
responsible, can get used to the house. Initially many of them are not aware of being
guests, or rather of what being a guest means: what they can give and what they
can receive in this situation.
The experienced guest, who has studied homes and hospitality, with time will feel at
ease in his role as a guest, and furthermore, he will be better able to understand all
references to houses and the various aspects of life in houses. For as long as he is
engaged in trying to understand what a house is, or to remember the rules of
etiquette, his attention is too absorbed by these matters to be able to observe, for
example, the beauty, value or function of the furniture.
E-mails from the Quarta Via site
20_ THE FOURTH WAY_The Host's House
@
@
The website www.gurdjieff.es, (The Official Body of the Human and Cultural
Association "La Teca") sends out a weekly e-mail to provide information and spread
the teaching. Many people have asked to read those already sent out (we began
in the year 2000). This is the perfect opportunity to do that. Each month we will
publish one of those that we think was most appreciated.
Dear Friends of
QuartaVia.org,
we would like to send
you a parable on the
concept of "school",
"master" and "pupil".
We are confident that it
will give you a few
extra pointers on the
deeper meaning of
these words, and we
look forward to the next
time!
THE STAFF
THE DARK MASTER
This article was written in 2004 by Michele Pirolo, a young intellectual, upon the death of his beloved brother.
When we read it, the other editors and myself, we decided to include it amongst our pages; I called him on
the phone and said, "I believe that what you are seeing now, the light you've come into contact with, will
never leave you". Two years later, in November 2006, Michele joined his brother, when he drowned in the
beautiful sea off Sardinia where, at a conference he came to with me, he had met Emerenziana, the girl who
became his partner. Michele wrote a splendid article about me for the Giornale d'Italia. How greatly was his
friendship loved! This is his article, complete and unaltered, for this new edition of the Study Notes. Let it be a
guiding light for all of us, who are just passing through here on Earth. Thanks again, Michele, for reminding us.
Giovanni Maria Quinti
21_ THE FOURTH WAY_Making friends with the limit
di Michele Pirolo
THE DARK MASTER
THE DARK MASTER
On 5 April this year, my only brother died. We were at home
for lunch with my parents. A phone call: "... he was taken ill
in the street. They're trying to resuscitate him. He's not
coming round". My mother, in deep distress as usual, pushes
me and my father to hurry up and get going through the
door. In the car, in the alienating, nullifying traffic of the
orbital motorway around Rome, worry gives way to pain.
Stronger and stronger. One phone call, and then another.
"He's not coming round, he's not pulling through".
I do what I can to get through the traffic, although I know
deep down that my brother won't make it this time. I feel it
with my whole self. On other occasions I had sensed and felt
his episodes, his ailments that he always kept quiet, hidden,
covered. But not this time, it's not that simple. I know it.
We reach the hospital, and I shrug off my parents' protests
that I should leave the car where it is so as to reach my
brother as soon as possible. But I know. I let them out and
look for a parking space nearby, just giving myself the time
to fight off the nostalgia that is already seizing my
humanity, and sparing myself the sight of my mother going
through this separation. I find my mother on the ground in
a flowerbed, surrounded by people, and my father brimming
with tears, turned back into that little boy, not yet seven
years old, when he was told of the death of my grandfather.
These people are no longer the same ones I have dealt with
day by day. Everyone is the same now. Including me. With
one difference. A voice. I have known it for a while. "I am
here!"
He is with me. The convulsions of my weeping soften, and
myriad sparkling rays of light give me strength, quickening
within me a sense of belonging and of forgotten love. I hug
everyone, like I haven't done since I was a boy.
"You have to stand strong now! Later you'll have the chance
to cry and to remember. But now, support the others with
love". This is the story of a goodbye. A releasing to God.
Then, afterwards, the things that remain take on a new
value. The value of the "teachings".
Death, my Master tells me some time later, has something
"magical" about it. And it is this "magic" that enables me
to see God. When someone close to you dies, it is as if God
were taking you back to when you were born. He knocks
down all your barriers and shows himself to you as if you
had turned back into a child. He shows himself to you, as
you really are.
This "as you really are", lets you understand for real things
that you thought you understood before. And so, all of a
sudden, there's God, knocking at your door. All at once, the
hundred thousand veils that the world places on your Soul
are burnt, and you can comprehend a thousand worlds, a
thousand things. My brother was not an easy person to
relate to. His complexity lay in the fact that his view of the
world and his destructive attitudes were at times
counterbalanced by bursts of spontaneous humanity. This
made those around him wary.
When faced with him, it was almost natural for anyone who
had not matured their inner Essence to build masks. I for
one, built up a wall of indifference to his bravado, his
irrepressible irony, his irreverent jokes about everyone and
everything.
I was unreceptive to his "passions", concocted, contrived,
fabricated, built up around constantly-alternating legends,
as if he were trying to chase a solution, to find "the best
model", to fill that void and that immense pain that he
suffered in his heart.
That void and that pain were the request and the
declaration that my brother (just like all of us) was making
THE DARK MASTER
to the world: "Love me! I love you!"
I, indifferent, aloof, irritated by his external attitudes, was likewise
crying: "Love me, I love you! ". Two languages. A single request. A
single declaration.
The sense of difference, and of the search for a way back to the
indifferent, the One, all contained in one request and one declaration.
The same for everyone.
My indifference, a mother's emotional indulgence, a father's
mumbling, the complicity of a friend: in different languages, but all
asking, "Don't act like that, that's not what I want from you. I just
want you to love me and accept my love".
My brother had the same mechanism. All of us, the same.
This is what we always put into practice. In our family relations and
in our social lives. All we ask, and all we are asked for, is love.
Even those who use the most appalling violence, believe it or not, are,
in some way, asking for love. Extreme it may be, but I sense it to be
profoundly true. The cruder and lower the "language", the greater the
need to ask and declare, the deeper the void, the distance from feeling
loved and at one with the world, the cause of the whole mechanism.
My brother did not speak my language. I did not speak his. This
"Gordian knot" could only be cut using "God's Esperanto".
A heartfelt embrace would have been enough to make everything
simpler. My brother would have changed. I would have changed.
That Esperanto is Love. That "God's Esperanto" is God himself.
It may be difficult, self-sacrificing and painful to achieve through the
work on ourselves, but fundamentally, it is the only thing that makes
our existence worthwhile.
In the little, everyday things and in life's great motivations, we need
to "fall in love". Then we wouldn't speak two different languages.
With our partners, our friends, our families, our work, and even the
tree outside our house. Really difficult
Everyone who was a party to this death had that chance, even just for
a short time. They had the "magical" opportunity to become aware of
the ease with which we embraced, cried, and lived through that
separation all with the same mood. They had the opportunity to
observe how, as time passed, it all moved back into the distance.
It is that close encounter with death, with God's forge, with the
source, that breaks down the goals of the personality. That breaks
through the mask.
Unfortunately, without human ground that is suitable and ready, the
seed of the Eternal does not have a chance to sprout and grow before
the walls of our individuality are rebuilt. For a brief moment, I
understood only the Love that was in my brother. I comprehended
God in him, and in the deep sense of humanity and communion of
those who, at that moment, felt my brother to be their own.
God is with you, in fullness. He teaches you, he speaks to you, he
warns you and he shows himself. Joy and suffering blend into an
indistinct whole. A light is before you. At times, when the situation
allows you, and you let yourself go to gentle weeping, the light
appears, and that nostalgic energy is transformed into absolute peace.
This is Love. It is impossible to describe in words those moments, in
their full spiritual value. That is not my aim here, and in any case I
could not fully succeed. However, I can try to convey my aim in these
few lines. Because it contains possibilities. God gave me these
possibilities, and I feel it is right to share them. To me they represent
the very essence of a teaching. The paths to attain these lessons are
mysterious, and sometimes they go through the death of a brother.
22_
Making friends with the limit
THE FOURTH WAY_Making friends with the limit
Letters to the Founder // Answers from Giovanni M. Quinti
23_ LA QUARTA VIA_Letters to the Founder
Dear friend, in order to fully answer all your questions, we would have to draw parallels between each of the
masters that you mention and the history of the ancient tradition to which Gurdjieff constantly refers in his
teachings. The theoretical objectives are the same for all of them, and Gurdjieff's objective in the work is very
similar to the others: the reunion of man with the Absolute in its truest and most complete form. It is the means
and tools that change, and, in the hands of the right people, become effective in achieving this objective. So
remember: before a method can be effective, the master must be so.
Sweet C., in your letter I was struck by your gentleness, but also by your desire for inner growth. You expressed
your feelings with an open heart, and I want to thank you for deciding to share with me. Last weekend was a
really pleasant experience for me, illuminating, and heralding blessings. And this happened thanks to your
participation as well as the others'! But now it is important that everyone, and you in particular, should begin to
really work. I remember you expressed a wish to "go and live in Tibet" Well, sweet Caterina, let me sign off
with this reflection:
"If you can't find Tibet in your office, don't you think you might risk finding your office in Tibet? I am with you.
Ears and mouths cannot be found in books. Search, investigate, but above all EXPERIMENT. Meet people and
look them in the eye, don't be afraid. Remember that the teaching can only come through men and women
who have walked on the Way, and that each tree is recognised by its own fruit. Books are just a map, they
provide important information, but it is only information. The map represents a place that you can know,
experience (and experiment) only by walking it barefoot, with the burning desire to know it and to live it.
Happy Searching!
What do you think is the fundamental difference that distinguishes G. I. Gurdjieff's
teaching from that of other spiritual masters whose aim is also personal, inner work?
For example, the practices that are part of Tibetan Buddhism or those of the
Vietnamese master Thich Nhat Hanh, or those of the Indian master Yogananda, Osho
and Krisnamurti, and in the west, those of the master Mikhael Aivanhov. Since these
teachings are accessible to us, I would like to know your opinion on the matter. With
many thanks.
Dear Mr. Quinti, it's C. Please excuse me for taking the liberty of writing to you, but I
wanted to tell you about the upheaval that our two days on the Enneagram have
caused me. Yesterday and today I have had to force myself to go to work, and at
home I just want to sit in my study and think. For some time now I have lost interest
in a lot of things, especially since I have seen how we are so strongly subject to the
influence of the planets, whilst we delude ourselves that we can move mountains. I
used to enjoy going window shopping, I thought of it as my way of being loving with
myself, but lately those windows have lost their sparkle, and Saturday evening, after
hearing your words, they were completely lifeless. On Sunday evening, on my way
home, I thought about my relationship with my husband according to the enneagram.
He can never say no to me, and I am a wretched perfectionist. When I came into the
house and saw him, I felt fondness for him, but I could not hug him, I never can. Now I
don't think I could, or even want to, go back to my ordinary, mechanical life, happy
with life's deceptions, but a machine I am, nonetheless, and I'm afraid I may not be
able to work and grow in a group. I got the impression that you rarely come to give
seminars in my town, and I also feel that you are the only one who can speak to my
heart in those special moments when you lower your voice and say beautiful things
about God. For now the memory is clear and wonderful, but how long will it last? With
affection.
My name is F., I'm 27 years old and I'm a barman. My philosophical interests led me to
come across the name of Gurdjieff. This happened a few years ago. I was reading a
booklet called "The masters: voices from the silence", where Gurdjieff's name
appeared alongside other historic figures such as Buddha, Hakuin and Milarepa, in a
chapter called "self-remembering". But what I am looking for today are ears and
mouths, not just paper and ink...
L
C
F
Send your questions to: informazioni@quartavia.org
in Small Doses
24_ THE FOURTH WAY_So what is Divided Attention?
So what is
Divided Attention?
// Andrea Bertolini
Divided Attention is a tool to facilitate self-
remembering. How can we develop it?
The great force opposing remembering is imagination, which is the
constant state of the human mind. We have both conscious creative
imagination and unconscious or automatic imagination. Automatic
imagination (the wakeful sleep in which we habitually live) is
particularly harmful because it wastes a lot of energy that we could
use for our growth. Particularly when we fall prey to negative
emotions such as anxiety, fear and anger, we are dragged along by
forces over which we have no control. It is essential that we reduce
the functions that lead to the useless consumption of energy and
create constant mental agitation, and so the work of remembering
needs to be taken forward alongside other kinds of work, such as
that on negative emotions. The initial exercise taught in Fourth Way
schools to develop self-remembering is that known as "the division of
attention" (Ouspensky, In Search of the Miraculous, p. 119). When we
observe something, our attention is focused on the object observed;
if at the same time we can bring our attention onto ourselves, we will
have a simultaneous perception of ourselves and of the external
object. Through constant practice, over time we will develop a new,
deeper, and more interesting way of seeing things. We will become
the observers of our inner dynamics, facing our thoughts and
emotions, and of the dynamics of the outside world, which involve
our relations with others. Once we have developed this ability to a
certain degree, our greater awareness of ourselves, and above all of
our conflicts and discords, will also bring us a sense of frustration and
the desire to change. However, we will realise that transforming
ourselves, trying to intervene in our inner and outer dynamics, is very
difficult, and there is a risk of creating further confusion. At this stage,
all we can do is observe ourselves. In order for this exercise of divided
attention to open a path to real self-change, we need to develop a
further element, a constant reference point outside ourselves. In the
situations we are involved in we will then be aware of ourselves, of
the object in front of us, and of this third element which will enable us
to create a new dynamic. In the article by Giovanni M. Quinti "From
Abram to Abraham" this element is called God; unfortunately for
many people this word is associated with elements of their culture
and religious upbringing that can arouse conflicting emotions.
However, if we are able to keep this third element near to us at all
times, it will enable us to connect with a third dimension in any
situation, and more and more often it will provide us with the help we
need to find new ways of solving conflicts and overcoming inner and
outer dualisms.
Bottle n_0
We will explain "in small
doses" the meaning of
Divided Attention, as
mentioned by Gurdjieff,
as a tool to stabilise our
Self-Remembering.
...AND MUCH MORE
Topics covered will include:
- The meaning of the Stop Exercise
- The Enneagram and the Tree of life
- The Fourth Way method explained step by step
- What has never been said about the 6th Lower Centre and the 3rd Higher Centre
- The secrets of Gurdjieff's life
- The Hasnamusses: who are they?
- The Study of the Sacred Texts using the Fourth Way method
- Alchemy and the Fourth Way
- The influence of the Higher Centres
- Study of the Old Testament in light of the System
- Objective Music
- Where does Gurdjieff's teaching come from?
- How to work on ourselves
- The Origins of the Fourth Way
- Dante and the Fourth Way
- The Relationship between Master and Pupil
- The Spiritual aspect of the Fourth Way
- The power of conscious thought
- What is true Self-remembering?
- The Enneagram revealed: things that have never been written on the Enneagram
IN THE NEXT EDITION
Monthly Study Notes
"When we learn, we listen only to our thoughts. this is why it
is not possible for us to take in new thoughts, unless we use
new methods of listening and studying."
London 13/02/1922 G.I. Gurdjieff
Each edition contains lots of sections full of information that has never been revealed publicly before,
practical exercises and original material on the teachings of the Fourth Way.
The Law of
the Three Principles
Unknown ancient rituals
The mystery of
the four baptisms
The dynamics of negative thought
Everything
goes back to the source
Le dispense di Studio Mensili
LA
Q
U
A
R
TA
V
IA
Le dispense di Studio Mensili
LA QUARTA VIA
Le dispense di Studio Mensili
LA QUARTA VIA
...AND MUCH MORE
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www.gurdjieff.es
THE FOURTH WAY THE FOURTH WAY