Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson
“In the beginning, when nothing yet existed and when the whole of our Universe was empty endless space, with the presence only of the prime-source cosmic substance ‘ethernokrilno,’ our…Most Holy Sun Absolute existed alone in all this empty space, and it was on this sole cosmic concentration that our Uni-Being Creator …had the place of His Most Glorious Being.
“It was just during this period of the flow of time that there appeared to our Creator All-Maintainer the imperative need to create our now-existing ‘Megalocosmos,’ that is, our ‘world. ‘
“…the Sun Absolute, on which He dwelt …was almost imperceptibly, yet steadily, diminishing in volume.
“…the cause of this gradual diminishing of the volume of the Sun Absolute was simply the ‘Heropass,’ that is, the flow of Time itself
“And in view of this, our Endlessness was compelled to take certain corresponding measures, so that this merciless Heropass could not bring about the eventual destruction of our…Holy Sun Absolute.
“…our Endlessness devoted Himself entirely to finding some way of averting this inevitable end… (A)fter long deliberations, He decided to create our now existing ‘Megalocosmos.’
“In the beginning…our…Most Holy Sun Absolute was maintained solely by means of…two primordial sacred laws (Heptaparaparshinokh and Triamazikamno)…that…functioned quite independently without the help of any forces whatever coming from outside, and this system was called ‘Autoegocrat.’
“…(W)hen our All-Maintaining Endlessness decided to change the principle of functioning of both these fundamental sacred laws, He made their hitherto independent functioning dependent on forces coming from outside.
“Since this new system of functioning…required the existence of corresponding sources outside the Sun Absolute, where such forces could arise…our…Endlessness was then compelled to create our existing Megalocosmos with all the cosmoses of different scales and the relatively independent cosmic formations contained in it, and since then the system for maintaining the existence of the Sun Absolute has been called ‘Trogoautoegocrat. ‘
“And so…when in the beginning our Common Father Creator…changed the functioning of both these primordial sacred laws, He directed the action of their forces from within the…Holy Sun Absolute into the space of the Universe, whereupon there came into being the ‘Emanation of the Sun Absolute,’ which is now called ‘Theomertmalogos’ or ‘Word-God.’
“…all your favorites, even the contemporary ones, are…just…apparatuses for the Great Cosmic Trogoautoegocrat, as were the original tetartocosmoses from whom arose the first ancestors of the beings now existing on the planet Earth, as well as of those on all the other planets of our Universe.
“…For indeed, each three-brained being arising on this planet of yours represents in himself …an exact similarity to the whole Megalocosmos.
“The difference between each of them and our Great Megalocosmos is only one of scale.
“…And indeed, each of them is the ‘image of God’—not of that ‘God’ they picture with their bob-tailed Reason, but of the real God, as we sometimes call our common Megalocosmos.
“Each of them, down to the smallest detail, is exactly similar, though in miniature, to the whole of our Megalocosmos, and in each of them there are all the separate functionings which actualize in the Megalocosmos the cosmic…‘exchange of substances,’ maintaining the existence of everything existing as one whole. —Chapter 39 – The Holy Planet Purgatory
Teachings of Gurdjieff: A Pupil’s Journal, C.S. Nott
‘Suppose that our state of being depends on our serviceability to the… Creator’s purpose. Not knowing the purpose —the meaning and aim of existence—these objective values are matter for pondering…
‘…The subjective attitude towards this question is determined by pondering. It asks: “What is my status, not just as a Trogoautoegocratic machine, but in relation to the cosmos?”…
‘One of the chief purposes of a man is to develop from a substance called “essence,” a special kind of reason—objective reason—which will establish him as a permanent brain-cell of all life. Man, by attaining to objective reason, can help to redeem Creation. Nature, says Gurdjieff, needs these relatively liberated beings. As we develop consciousness, will and individuality, we take our place as one of the brain-cells of the Universe. The reason of ordinary man is the reason of knowledge; the reason of developed man is the reason of understanding… Of objective reason, at present we know very little; again, this can be developed only by the practice of being-Parktdolg-duty… —Chapter III, Orage’s Commentary on Beelzebub
Gurdjieff’s Emissary in New York:
Talks and Lectures with A.R. Orage 1924-1931
The highest definition of “man” is “a being who can do.” This implies possession of the three higher active centers: Conscious thought = individuality; Higher emotions = consciousness; Will = the power to do—not to ‘react’…
As there are three skins around the embryo child, so are there three skins around “I”—individuality, consciousness, will. The final state of instinct is will—will is the last thing to be conquered—the end of all…
What is true of the megalocosmos is true of every particle. Every being must of necessity have a particle of God’s purpose—consciousness—individuality—will… —Consciousness, Individuality and Will (notes Annette Herter)
…It is man’s objective duty—that is, his function—to transmute the chemicals in his octave… The proper performance of his function is what is properly known as divine service— “Helping God.” —Saturday, 19 November, 1927, part 3 of 3
Teachings of Gurdjieff: A Pupil’s Journal, C.S. Nott
‘…As we, in our small ways, develop real will, so shall we become like God, become Sons of God. How do we begin? Again, I repeat Gurdjieff: “Take some small thing you wish to do which you cannot now do, and compel yourself to do it”… —Chapter III, Orage’s Commentary on Beelzebub