AN ENQUIRING LOOK
AT "THE AROUSING OF THOUGHT" CHAPTER (Applying the Hermetic Code)
It is my view that the writings of George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff are written
in a style based upon the tradition of the Hermetic adepts of all ages who,
to perpetuate their esoteric teaching, wrote their material with the
assistance of a special allegorical cipher called "The Hermetic Code".
This is a blanket term for all allegory, metaphor, simile or single key
words employed by such writers to indicate, and pass on to those who could
understand, their knowledge of the mental process described by them as The
Magnum Opus (The Great Work). Over the years, and as knowledge grew,
this Code has gradually been deciphered, and with this assistance many types
of literature have yielded previously unsuspected esoteric meanings.
With the use of a working knowledge of this Code, I have endeavoured to
interpret the "descent" chapters in Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson in a
book entitled "Gurdjieff and the Arch-Preposterous: An Hermetic Descent into
the Mind" but I also consider that this Hermetic Code can be applied
to the whole of G's writings. In particular, I feel it must be used to
interpret the very first chapter of Beelzebub's Tales, "The Arousing of
Thought", for he tells us himself that this "should be the preface for
everything further". In light of this, and with the kind co-operation
of Mr Sy Ginsburg to act as reader in my absence, I wish to present this
paper to the Conference.
In the beginning of "The Arousing of
Thought", Gurdjieff makes an "utterance" in conformity with the Christian
Trinity, saying that he does so with "a full wholly-manifested-intonation"
and goes on to describe the nature of this intonation. He takes
confidence in this outward utterance, saying he could now be quite at ease
as far as the notions of religious morality are concerned, and could be
beyond all doubt assured that everything further in his new venture would
proceed "like a pianola". There are two initial and specific points to be
considered here; first, if he were strictly adhering to the old
Hermetic or true gnostic belief in the unity of everything and, second, if
he had been following the admonition of his old grandmother to "not do as
others do", it was quite in order for him to make this manifested
"utterance" in this instance, for it is to be particularly noted that he
uses this word and does not swear on the Trinity. It is said that Sir
Isaac Newton, now acknowledged as having had Hermetic understanding, once
steadfastly refused to swear on the Christian Trinity when it was a
requirement for his being ordained as a Fellow at Cambridge University; the
reason for this would have been that as a true gnostic he well knew that the
Trinity was part of the Christian myth. Gurdjieff, therefore, in
making such an "utterance" with, shall we say, "tongue-in-cheek", is, on the
one hand, only appearing to conform with the usual religious morality of the
time. On the other hand, he is not going against his own convictions.
Further, he leaves a way open for his readers to look below the surface at a
hidden meaning.
Worked into the third paragraph on the first page
of this chapter is also a lesson in the art of positive thinking, for it is
a fact that when beginning anything new, one should really be quite at ease
and have the utter conviction beyond all doubt that everything will proceed,
as is said, "like a pianola", for this instrument, if working correctly,
plays the precise piece required.
In this first chapter, on which
we are told Gurdjieff spent a great deal of time, rewriting it over and over
again until he felt he had "buried the dog" to the deepest level, he sets
the scene and gives us an insight into the whole basis of his writings.
He did not know how to begin, he tells us. Begin with what? Oh,
the devil! Precisely. In allegorical language, "devil" is one of
the numerous words used to describe the conscious mind. If, therefore,
we do not understand that we must begin the process within our own mind, we
will never reach the required end result. Once this fact is realized,
the work must begin now, not put off "till tomorrow". To accomplish
this type of work, we do not need the knowledge of "bon ton literary
language", but must endeavour to make a hole in the window-pane (open the
eye of understanding) with our own crazy lame goat (our conscious mind) for,
as Gurdjieff tells us, there are many "languages" we can follow and some
will have a "veil" cast over them. It is this veil, or in the present
case, a code, which we should learn to recognize, when the inner meanings
behind it may be revealed. Gurdjieff tells us in this first chapter that
"every stick has two ends"; this phrase can allude to the two aspects of
mind, conscious and subconscious, but we must also apply it to his own
convoluted writings, for oftimes in the Tales a phrase or sentence, or even
a whole paragraph, has its "other end" which gives quite the opposite
meaning to that which appears on the surface; instead of an original
independent language - the language of the gods, we might call it - coming
to us from the remote past, Gurdjieff has given us another of his own
making, a "kind of clownish potpourri", which has been used for creating a
"ludibrium". Even though G himself does not use this word, it aptly
applies to the Tales. It means a play, usually full of mockery and
derision, outwardly making fun of something, in this case man and his world,
but with much hidden meaning. This was used as a diversionary tactic by the
old writers, many of whom were men of distinction, who did not wish to be
associated with certain esoteric ideas for fear of reprisals, but who were,
nonetheless, sympathetic to them, and even actively engaged in them.
Such authors often ran the risk of having their "ludibrium" backfire,
becoming themselves, quite unjustifiably, a "laughing stock", as happened to
John Dee with his "angels", and for anyone not understanding Beelzebub's
Tales this no doubt could be said to apply to its author as well. Gurdjieff
tells us he is not writing to become rich and famous or to establish a
career, for he has "actualized" his own career long ago, and has long been
standing on firm feet, (the feet being symbolic of spiritual understanding);
he therefore makes it apparent right from the beginning he has a definite
aim in his writings and they are not just to "titillate" us. In preparing
to relate the story of the Transcaucasian Kurd, one which he says is very
dear to him, he tells us that he had decided to make the "salt" of this
story one of the basic principles of the new literary form he intends to
employ for the attainment of the aim he is pursuing. In telling us
that what he refers to as salt in this story is otherwise called "Tzimus" by
"contemporary pure-blooded Jewish businessmen", he is already embarking upon
Hermetic allegory, for salt has a specific meaning in alchemy and a Jew is
an initiate. Therefore, in the story of the Kurd, we must recognize one of
the basic principles of the Royal Art - once such a process is begun it must
be carried out with the utmost zeal and enthusiasm until the end, for the
fulfillment of such a task is indeed an initiate's most important duty. The
mention of a "Jericho jackass" has much significance, for if we remember the
story of the initiate Jesus riding upon an ass into Jerusalem, via way of
Jericho, the inner meaning of Gurdjieff's little cameo should be apparent -
it is the allegorical way of showing that the conscious mind is about to be
carried across the barrier to the city, the subconscious. To achieve this,
the initiate must work and burn with intense effort so that his whole face
(his conscious mind) is aflame (with the heat of concentration) and his eyes
(allowing him to see with inner understanding) stream with the tears (or
sweat) of such effort. (I wish to mention here that Nicolas has
informed me that the word "jackass" has been mistranslated from the Russian,
and should in fact be "idiot"; I feel this does not alter the basic
interpretation, for our Kurd "carries on to the very end" of the process and
would thus become a "super idiot" able to enter Jerusalem, the
subconscious). The "fellow villager" represents the ordinary mind of the
uninitiated majority, not themselves understanding but intent on ridiculing
the initiate's efforts and endeavouring to divert him from his path.
Our Kurd resists this and carries on with his intention of consciously being
able to recognize the "separation" of his soul (subconscious) from his body
(conscious mind) and eventually effect their reunification. In the next
paragraph Gurdjieff tells us we need not feel compelled to go on reading his
book (or, by implication, to study his teaching) just on appearances alone,
or because we have "paid good money" for it, but if we do so, we must go on
eating the "noble red pepper" and suffer its heat unto the end. Once
one becomes familiar with allegorical language, it will be readily seen that
the words noble and red both allude to the higher level of consciousness the
initiate may attain in his efforts, and the heat referred to is the
concentrated attention required to achieve it. After his brief comments on
the English words "soul" and "sole", Gurdjieff very adroitly brings in the
concept of our "consciousness" and our "subconsciousness", and hopes that
this first chapter will compel us to reflect actively. This is really
the "Tzimus", or salt, of his writings, for it encapsulates the real purpose
of the Hermetic or alchemical work, that is, the initiate must allow that
which is last and lowest in him (here allegorically called "sole") to become
one with that which is first and highest in him (his "soul"). By
reflecting (a bending back) we reverse the normal activity of our conscious
mind so that it may turn inwards towards its subconscious centre. We
go through life the wrong way up, so to speak. If we contemplate Card
No 12 of the Tarot (The Hanged Man) it is apparent that the feet are raised
above the head. The feet are symbolic of spiritual understanding, the
potential within our conscious mind, and this must be raised to a higher
level - sole must become one with soul. There are many instances in
allegorical tales where a covering on the feet, such as boots, impedes this
understanding. We are next told that thanks to three definite peculiar data
crystallized in his entirety during various periods of his preparatory age,
he is "really unique" in "muddling and befuddling" people. So were the
Hermetic writers of old. However, if we look closely, even with our
false consciousness, the clues are always there, for in the next paragraph
he tells us that an impulse of curiosity may give rise to the desire for
knowledge, and that this assists in our having a better perception and even
a closer understanding of the essence of any object on which the attention
might be concentrated. The heat of the red pepper again applies.
He then begins to give us an account of these three specific data, the
first of which became the chief directing lever of his entire wholeness.
This is the story of his grandmother who, when dying, enjoined him very
emphatically to never in life do as others do - to do nothing or do
something nobody else does. Any woman in allegory represents
reflective power, a function of the conscious mind not usually used - it is
a force which is unnatural to us. Even in the description of this
little scene of his last talk with his grandmother, we are given the clue of
reversal in the words right (subconscious) and left (conscious) - he "kissed
the right hand", and note it is the left hand which is said to be dying,
just as in allegory it should be, representing as it does the conscious
mind.
Gurdjieff then gives a cameo description of a neophyte's
first experience of the meditative process. He paints a quaint picture
of his getting into a bin (his own mind) where during Lent (a time of
sacrifice), food for pigs is stored (this is the usual slush fed to the
conscious mind); in a different state of mind (brought about by his
change of thinking, a reversal of thought) he is suddenly without food and
drink (now denying the conscious mind its usual flood of thoughts) until the
return from the cemetery (a place of the dead) of his mother (again,
reflection) whose weeping (concentrated effort) at finding him gone and
searching in vain (conscious mind temporarily cut off) "overwhelmed" him
(first contact with a higher level is overpowering to the inexperienced
neophyte and hence must be very brief). He then emerges
from the bin (comes out of his meditation) and standing first of all on the
edge (the foggy state between conscious and subconscious) with outstretched
hand, ran to her and clung to her skirts (conscious mind needing the comfort
of being in its own familiar domain) stamping his feet (endeavouring to
understand) and imitating the braying of a donkey (an old allegorical way of
depicting the invocation of a "god"). Again we must note that a donkey
(or ass) is mentioned and we are told it belonged to a bailiff (this being
the watcher in the mind). Always thereafter at "Shrovetide" he
pondered upon this event. Shrovetide is the period of days before
Ash-Wednesday, the first day of Lent, called so from the custom of
sprinkling ashes on the head; this was his reminder of his first experience,
for ash is a residue of fire, concentrated attention. This little
allegorical story aptly portrays the first realization of a neophyte that
his mind has a dual aspect, and pictures the resulting turmoil of
impressions which this brings. He tells us that after this experience
he then walked with his feet in the air (he has discovered and understood
the art of reversal of thoughts) and must thereafter use his hands (this
representing the method of working through the conscious mind using
will-power) so that his level of understanding (now raised upwards through
the soles of his feet) will increase. See again how this story ties in
with his mention of "sole" and "soul". He goes on to tell us that on the
fortieth day after the death of his grandmother, all the relatives gathered
in the cemetery for a "requiem service". The number forty, so often
used in allegory, denotes a period of meditation, and does not necessarily
mean an exact length of time; in this instance, where a death is
reported at the end of the forty days, Gurdjieff is completing his
descriptive portrayal of the way the death of the conscious mind eventually
occurs (for even all its relatives, or all its aspects, are in the cemetery)
which thus releases the "soul", the subconscious.