Sunday, December 6, 2009

Aim and Purpose of the Teachings

The meeting started with a reading from Ouspensky's book "In Search of the Miraculous", Chapter 6, in which Gurdjieff answers some questions about the purpose of the teachings.

Regarding the aim of the teachings, Gurdjieff explained that a person must first have their own definite purpose, and that the teaching by itself can not pursue any definite aim, but "can only show men how to attain whatever aims they have".

L suggested that Gurdjieff's description of an aim was the opposite of the normal understanding, being about letting former aims adopted through social pressure fall away leaving one free to follow one's natural leaning (Law of Fate). R referred the meeting to the Five Strivings from Beelzebub's Tales.

On the question about knowing the future, Gurdjieff pointed out that what occurs today is the result of past events, and whatever will happen tomorrow will be a result of what is happening today. If a person wants tomorrow to be different for them in some way from today, they would have to try TODAY to make the changes they would like to see happening tomorrow. To do this, one would need to have "conscious will".

The reading continued with Gurdjieff's comments on Christianity. "In order to be Christians we must be able 'to do'. We cannot do; with us everything 'happens'." In the context of bankers receiving bonuses, RS mentioned selfishness and A referred to greed, asking how to respond to the fact that amid all the wealth, some people are destitute. L said that the verse "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God" has led to prejudice against the wealthy, whereas it is useful to understand it as meaning that wealth can distract one from inner purpose; the influence of the media, there to support advertising, fuels emotion against groups which can lead to scapegoating. RS wondered at the attraction of football and M likewise about the X Factor. M referred to the book Crowds and Power, by Elias Canetti.

On a question about being able to help other people Gurdjieff answered, "A great number of people . . . are too lazy to work on themselves, and at the same time it is very pleasant for them to think that they are able to help others. . . . Love of mankind, altruism, are all very fine words, but they only have meaning when a man is able, of his own choice and of his own decision, to love or not to love, to be an altruist or an egoist."

The reading continued, with a question about how to stop wars. Gurdjieff answered. 'Wars cannot be stopped . . . War is the result of the slavery in which man lives. Strictly speaking men are not to blame for war. War is due to cosmic forces, to planetary influences." A said it was obvious to anyone that the war was about oil. L referred to the power of the media, questioning if it was truly obvious, as America imports only 14.5% of its oil from the Middle-East, with a small proportion of that from Iraq, and none from Afghanistan.

(Read the chapter in full in the book itself - an electronic version is available from the link on the right. There is also a link to the Five Strivings.)