A parable...
Once there was a very rich magician who had a great many sheep. But at the same time this
magician was very mean. He did not want to hire shepherds, nor did he want to erect a fence about the pasture where his sheep were grazing. The sheep consequently often wandered into the forest, fell into ravines, and so on, and above all they ran away, for they knew that the magician wanted their flesh and skins and this they did not like. At last the magician found a remedy. He HYPNOTIZED his sheeps and suggested to them first of all that they were immortal and that no harm was being done to them when they were skinned, that, on the contrary, it would be very good for them and even pleasant; secondly, he suggested that the magician was a GOOD MASTER who loved his flock so much that he was ready to do anything in the world for them; and in the third place, he suggested to them that if anything at all were going to happen to them it was not going to happen just then, at any rate not that day, and therefore they had no need to think about it. Further, the magician suggested to his sheep that they were not sheep at all; to some of them he suggested that they were lions, to others that they were eagles, to others that they were men, and to others that they were magicians. And after this all his cares and worries about the sheep came to an end. They never ran away again but quietly awaited the time when the magician would require their flesh and their skins.
magician was very mean. He did not want to hire shepherds, nor did he want to erect a fence about the pasture where his sheep were grazing. The sheep consequently often wandered into the forest, fell into ravines, and so on, and above all they ran away, for they knew that the magician wanted their flesh and skins and this they did not like. At last the magician found a remedy. He HYPNOTIZED his sheeps and suggested to them first of all that they were immortal and that no harm was being done to them when they were skinned, that, on the contrary, it would be very good for them and even pleasant; secondly, he suggested that the magician was a GOOD MASTER who loved his flock so much that he was ready to do anything in the world for them; and in the third place, he suggested to them that if anything at all were going to happen to them it was not going to happen just then, at any rate not that day, and therefore they had no need to think about it. Further, the magician suggested to his sheep that they were not sheep at all; to some of them he suggested that they were lions, to others that they were eagles, to others that they were men, and to others that they were magicians. And after this all his cares and worries about the sheep came to an end. They never ran away again but quietly awaited the time when the magician would require their flesh and their skins.
George Gurdjieff loved this parable very much. His whole philosophy is contained in this small
parable. And this parable represents man in the ordinary state of unconsciousness. It is one of the most beautiful illustrations of man as he is.
Man is a machine. Man is not born to be a machine, but man lives like a machine and dies like
a machine. Man has the seed of a great flowering of consciousness, man has the possibility to
become God, but that doesn’t happen. It does not happen because man has been hypnotized –
Man can be an immortal, but man lives surrounded by death because man lives identified with the body. The society does not allow you to know more than the body. The society is interested only in your body – your body can be put to use – your soul is dangerous.
A man of soul is always dangerous because a man of soul is a free man. He cannot be reduced to
slavery. A man who has an immortal soul in him has a deeper commitment to existence itself, to God himself. He does not care a bit about the man-made structures of society, civilization and culture; these are prison cells for him. He does not exist as a Christian or a Hindu or a Mohammedan. He cannot be part of a crowd. He exists as an individual.
parable. And this parable represents man in the ordinary state of unconsciousness. It is one of the most beautiful illustrations of man as he is.
Man is a machine. Man is not born to be a machine, but man lives like a machine and dies like
a machine. Man has the seed of a great flowering of consciousness, man has the possibility to
become God, but that doesn’t happen. It does not happen because man has been hypnotized –
by the society, by the state, by the organized church, by the vested interests. The society needs
slaves and man can remain a slave only if he is not allowed to grow to his uttermost flowering. The society needs your flesh and your skins and naturally, nobody likes it. Hence, the whole process of socialization, of civilization, is nothing but a deep hypnosis.
slaves and man can remain a slave only if he is not allowed to grow to his uttermost flowering. The society needs your flesh and your skins and naturally, nobody likes it. Hence, the whole process of socialization, of civilization, is nothing but a deep hypnosis.
Man is being hypnotized from the very moment he is born. He is being hypnotized to believe that the society exists in his favour, for his good. That is utterly wrong. He is being hypnotized to believe that he is immortal. He is not. He can be, but he is not. And if the hypnosis persists he will never be immortal.
You live only as a mortal being, because you live in the body. The body is going to die. That which is born is bound to die. Birth is the beginning of the body and death the end. Do you know anything in you which is more than the body? Have you experienced anything higher than the body, deeper than the body? Have you seen anything in you which was even before you were born? If you have seen that, then you are immortal. If you know your face, your original face, the face that you had before you were born, then you know you will be there after death too; otherwise not.
Man can be an immortal, but man lives surrounded by death because man lives identified with the body. The society does not allow you to know more than the body. The society is interested only in your body – your body can be put to use – your soul is dangerous.
A man of soul is always dangerous because a man of soul is a free man. He cannot be reduced to
slavery. A man who has an immortal soul in him has a deeper commitment to existence itself, to God himself. He does not care a bit about the man-made structures of society, civilization and culture; these are prison cells for him. He does not exist as a Christian or a Hindu or a Mohammedan. He cannot be part of a crowd. He exists as an individual.
The body is part of a crowd, your soul is not. Your soul is deeply individual. Its flavour is that of
freedom.
freedom.
But your soul cannot be put to any use in the market-place. The society needs only your body.
And it is very dangerous for the society if you start striving for the soul, because then your interest changes. You turn from being all extrovert into an introvert; you start moving inwards. The society is outside, the society wants you to remain an extrovert, interested in money, power, prestige, and all that, so that your energy goes on moving outwards. If you start moving inwards, that means you have become a drop-out, you are no more part of the game that is being played on the outside. You don’t belong to it. You start diving deep within your own being. And there is the source of immortality.
And it is very dangerous for the society if you start striving for the soul, because then your interest changes. You turn from being all extrovert into an introvert; you start moving inwards. The society is outside, the society wants you to remain an extrovert, interested in money, power, prestige, and all that, so that your energy goes on moving outwards. If you start moving inwards, that means you have become a drop-out, you are no more part of the game that is being played on the outside. You don’t belong to it. You start diving deep within your own being. And there is the source of immortality.
The society prevents you from going inwards. And the best way is to give you a false idea that you are going inwards.
The magician told the sheep that they were lions, suggested to them that they were immortals,
hypnotized them into believing that they were not only men but great magicians.
hypnotized them into believing that they were not only men but great magicians.
When you go to a church you are not going inwards. When you go to the temple you are not going
inwards. But the society has hypnotized you to believe that ’If you want to go inwards, go to the
believe that ’If you want to go inwards, go to the priest.’ And the priest is an agent of the state andchurch.’ But the church is as much outside as anything else. The society has hypnotized you to the society. The priest has always been against the mystics, because if you go to a mystic you will start moving inwards.
inwards. But the society has hypnotized you to believe that ’If you want to go inwards, go to the
believe that ’If you want to go inwards, go to the priest.’ And the priest is an agent of the state andchurch.’ But the church is as much outside as anything else. The society has hypnotized you to the society. The priest has always been against the mystics, because if you go to a mystic you will start moving inwards.
A mystic lives in a totally different way. His energy moves in a different gestalt: his river moves
inwards. So one who comes to a mystic, falls in tune with the mystic, will start moving inwards
naturally, simply, spontaneously. That is the whole purpose of being with a Master, with a mystic.
inwards. So one who comes to a mystic, falls in tune with the mystic, will start moving inwards
naturally, simply, spontaneously. That is the whole purpose of being with a Master, with a mystic.
This book, THE SECRET OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, is one of the most esoteric treatises in the
world. It will show you the way to become more than the body. It will show you the way to go beyond death. It will show you the way to bloom – how not to remain a seed but to become a Golden Flower. What in India we have called the one-thousand-petalled lotus, in China they call the Golden Flower. It is a symbol.
world. It will show you the way to become more than the body. It will show you the way to go beyond death. It will show you the way to bloom – how not to remain a seed but to become a Golden Flower. What in India we have called the one-thousand-petalled lotus, in China they call the Golden Flower. It is a symbol.
The flower represents perfection, totality. The flower represents the uttermost expression of the
potential, the actualization of the potential. The flower represents the beauty, the grandeur, the
splendour of being. And unless you have become a thousand-petalled lotus or a Golden Flower...
potential, the actualization of the potential. The flower represents the beauty, the grandeur, the
splendour of being. And unless you have become a thousand-petalled lotus or a Golden Flower...
Remember you have to go far. Remember that you have to get out of the traps that the society has put around you. Remember that you have not yet done the work for which you have come to the earth. Remember you are just a seed, not yet a soul.
This treatise, THE SECRET OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, is very ancient – possibly one of the most ancient treatises in the world certainly twenty-five centuries old, and the possibility is that it is older than that. But twenty-five centuries can be traced hack very easily. And this treatise is also a great synthesis of all the great religions. That is rare, unique. The Bible belongs to the Christians, the Talmud belongs to the Jews, the Vedas belong to the Hindus, the Dhammapada to the Buddhists, the Tao Te Ching to the Taoists. But this small book, THE SECRET OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, belongs to no one in particular, or, it belongs to all.
It is deeply based in Taoist teachings. It is a flowering of the Taoist approach to life and existence. But it is not only that – Zarathustra has played a role. Zarathustra’s teachings have been incorporated in it, Buddhist teachings have also been incorporated in it. And a certain esoteric school of Christians, the Nestorians, they have also played their part. So Christianity and Judaism also have become part of it.
It is one of the most synthetical approaches. It combines all that is beautiful in all the traditions of the world. For centuries it was only transmitted orally, and the book remained esoteric. It was not available to the public because it has something very secret to teach; it was available only to the disciples. The Master would tell to the disciple only when the time was ripe, because it gives you such a potential secret that if you don’t understand rightly, if you do something wrong with it, there are found to be harmful effects from it. It has to be understood rightly, and it has to be worked at only in the presence of a Master. It is a powerful method, it is as powerful as atomic energy.
[to be continued]
Now, the secrets of atomic energy are kept hidden from the public. Once they start leaking out
to the public there is going to be great danger. If people can manufacture atom bombs privately,
there is bound to be great chaos. Great secrecy is maintained about atomic research. Exactly inthe same way this book teaches you one of the most potential methods of inner explosion. For
centuries the secrets were guarded – only given to the disciples in privacy, in intimacy. And the
people who followed this particular esoteric school resisted all temptations to write the book. In fact, all the religions of the world have long resisted writing their spiritual teachings.
to the public there is going to be great danger. If people can manufacture atom bombs privately,
there is bound to be great chaos. Great secrecy is maintained about atomic research. Exactly inthe same way this book teaches you one of the most potential methods of inner explosion. For
centuries the secrets were guarded – only given to the disciples in privacy, in intimacy. And the
people who followed this particular esoteric school resisted all temptations to write the book. In fact, all the religions of the world have long resisted writing their spiritual teachings.
[to be continued]
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