Opening Keynote Address
Dr. Roger Lipsey:
“The Work and the World: Only he may enter here…”
The quotation from Beelzebub's Tales will be immediately recognizable to readers as the initial words written over the entrance to Purgatory: "Only he may enter here who can enter into the position of the other results of My Labors." In keeping with these words and their meaning, this paper will explore what might be called Gurdjieff's sociology or politics, a theme pervasive in his writings and present in some meeting transcripts but little remarked. The call from Purgatory is for compassionate awareness of the difficulties of others--and, it goes without saying, for practical responses. The four chapters on Ashiata Shiemash point to the missing element, conscience, and majestically chart the inner origin and outward flow into society of his teachings. Yet Gurdjieff recounts also the destruction of his sacred labors. What warning is there for us in this narrative arc? There is much else to reflect on--for example, the rise and pathetic fall of the League of Nations as narrated by Beelzebub.
The Gurdjieff teaching is conducted privately and concerns the individual pupil and seeker. Yet today we realize more acutely than ever that the teaching exists in a faltering world. What is the due relation between the Work and the World?
Գիտաժողովի զեկույցների ամփոփումներին հնարավոր է ծանոթանալ այստեղ:
