The Essence of Religious/Philosophical Organizations
"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."
— Gurdjieff, In Search of the Miraculous
Gurdjieff postulated that religions have two parts: the outer part that tells a follower what to do; and also an inner teaching — preserved secretly — which informs a follower how to carry out the first part.
Of the two religions that I am familiar with (Christianity & Vajrayana Buddhism), both would benefit from an accompanied secret, preserved inner teaching —i.e. an oral transmission relating how one can make progress on that Path.
The philosophical organization with which I am connected (the Gurdjieff teaching) claims to be transmitting an oral facet of Gurdjieff’s teaching. Perhaps. But in actuality, my own impression is that the teaching itself — the fourth way system of Gurdjieff — is on the whole not seen, not understood, not grasped, and not conveyed by the vast majority of Gurdjieff teachers. By “system”, I mean Gurdjieff’s teaching as a wholistic, effective, cohesive, and rational edifice of ideas and practices which eventually transforms oneself to the Path or Way, as G. describes in In Search of the Miraculous.
Christianity, similarly, is by and large not grasped as a system by its followers; although Christianity as a religion for everyman is at base a very simple system. Overall, it consists of two parts, as preached by John the Baptist, as well as by Jesus himself initially, along with his disciples. The twofold message of Christianity is: “(1,) Repent! (2,) For the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand.”
Repentance is the doorway to the Kingdom of Heaven; it is entirely necessary to purposely and intentionally engage oneself in repentance, at the start of the Christian Path. And repentance depends on the deep internal viewing and investigation of oneself — especially of the emotions, thoughts, and physical feelings throughout the many layers of oneself, conscious and unconscious.
The daily practice carried out by a follower of Christ is to: (1,) Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength & (2,) Love your neighbor as yourself. This, in my estimation, is the core of Christianity. Though the actual carrying out the Christian teaching is a life-long struggle of learning and personal development.
Vajrayana Buddhism on the other hand is a very complex religion or system. Many of its contemporary adherents also on the whole seem to have little idea of what the Vajrayana path consists of. Historically though, there have been accomplished Siddhas — geniuses — who did understand the Tantric system thoroughly, who did make progress, and attained higher levels, including ultimately Buddhahood.
The Aims of Buddhism and Christianity
Christianity is a faith created for everyman. Everyman is born with an essence, and Christianity’s primary goal is to purify and preserve that essence. Its secondary goal is to bring the follower to God, into the arms of the Father.
In my opinion, it’s not so much that Christianity itself has lost its way. But rather, that society — and modern civilization overall — have become estranged from human essence. In this age it is extremely difficult to find a pure path, leading to an innocent self and also to God.
Buddhism has as its goal Buddhahood. There are various definitions of Buddhahood, but as far as I understand, my own concept of Buddhahood consists of several components:
1. The acquisition of the 10 Perfections.
2. A permanent, completely non-dual state of mind.
3. The eradication of all physical, emotional, and mental impurities.
4. Omniscience.
5. The 4 Buddha Bodies.
6. The ability to guide each person encountered onto the Path.
The Aim of Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way
“The teaching by itself cannot pursue any definite aim. It can only show the best way for men to attain whatever aims they may have.”
— Gurdjieff, In Search of the Miraculous
Gurdjieff indicates that his teaching by itself simply has no Aim. This is true only to an extent. After speaking the above quote in In Search, Gurdjieff then asks several people in his meeting what their personal aims are. Gurdjieff then singles out one of the person’s aims mentioned as being the most harmonious with the Work: that aim being, the person wishing to be “master of myself”.
Gurdjieff’s system can allow any number of different aims to be accomplished by people. But the overriding goal of the system is the development of a being into “man number seven” — the perfect man. Once that end has been achieved, then any harmonious aim can be achieved easily. Man number seven knows what he wills, and has the ability to do that will.
Mankind Does Not Understand Its One Overarching Problem
Man’s problem overall is that he cannot stay the identical same man psychologically from moment to moment. Each thought, mood, desire, or action lasts only a single moment, then an entirely new thought, mood, desire, or action replaces the former. Everything in a man’s mind is transient; changing constantly. Man’s nature is legion.
What is it that motivates a man? External input; outward circumstances. To be “master of himself” would be an amazing thing. But instead, we are all motivated by external things, events, and forces.
Sorrowfully, there is very little structure within almost anyone, psychologically. Everybody has a collection of mental habits, what Gurdjieff calls “rolls” — like automatic piano rolls that play a person’s song in response to every external input. But this is all accidental and ephemeral, not permanent and intentionally formed. And certainly there is no inner structure for any person; a structure that has been self-created with a long-term view of becoming a Saint or a Buddha or a “man number seven”.
Mankind’s Solution: Self-Creation of a “Solid” Inner Structure
For Man to create an internal structure, he must first understand the ephemeral underlying structure he already has, including the activity of his various nascent centers, along with the energies they use. Then he must leverage — through the ongoing practice of self-remembering — the limited, lower energies of thought and emotion he currently uses, into higher energies, which can then power the middle and inner parts of his centers. Finally, a method must be devised to solidify or crystallize the middle and inner parts of his centers. This activity is the development of “being” for a Man or Woman; or rather, it is the creation of a permanent inner psychological structure.
A person, no matter how high a level of priest or teacher he/she is, who has not consciously done the hard work of crystallizing an internal psychological structure within their being, is exactly the same as any other unformed person on this earth. He/she can boast of no real internal development or inner superiority. They are simply “lucky” to have the job and authority that they have. They are absolutely at the same level as anyone else, not an iota better.
“Men are what they are and they cannot be different. War has many causes that are unknown to us. Some causes are in men themselves, others are outside them. One must begin with the causes that are in man himself. How can he be independent of the external influences of great cosmic forces when he is the slave of everything that surrounds him? He is controlled by everything around him. If he becomes free from things, he may then become free from planetary influences.
"Freedom, liberation, this must be the aim of man. To become free, to be liberated from slavery: this is what a man ought to strive for when he becomes even a little conscious of his position. There is nothing else for him, and nothing else is possible so long as he remains a slave both inwardly and outwardly. But he cannot cease to be a slave outwardly while he remains a slave inwardly. Therefore in order to become free, man must gain inner freedom.
"The first reason for man's inner slavery is his ignorance, and above all, his ignorance of himself. Without self-knowledge, without understanding the working and functions of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself and he will always remain a slave, and the plaything of the forces upon him.
"This is why in all ancient teachings the first demand at the beginning of the way to liberation was: 'Know thyself.'”
— Gurdjieff, In Search of the Miraculous