THE ESOTERIC CIRCLE and LADDER OF OBSTACLES

THE ESOTERIC CIRCLE and LADDER OF OBSTACLES - Find the teaching for your time.

I am currently re-reading the glorious and life changing “In search of the miraculous (fragments of an unknown teaching) by P.D Ouspensky regarding the work of G.I Gurdjieff. I first read it around twelve years ago and it really did completely change things for me. Reading it again now after over a decade of work on myself and a number of hard knocks and unfortunate experiences alongside a wealth of new understanding and humility, it is of course, like reading it for the first time in some aspects. 

Being a facilitator and very aware of the shifting times we inhabit, two aspects have really got me motivated. Aspects that didn’t even register for me the first time I read it. An example of how our understanding of all things spiritual can only be taken in over time. Knowledge is just knowledge unless it can be absorbed and truly understood through our being. Only then can it become wisdom. 

Stumbling upon the idea of the esoteric circle on page 310, finally gave me a focus for what had been bothering me about religion and spirituality as I so often observed it.

Having read Rafael Lefort’s  “The teachers of Gurdjieff” many years ago I was already aware of the issue but had nothing really to add to it until now. 

In Lefort’s book, the protagonist (himself) journeys from London to various exotic locations in the middle east looking for the secretly hidden sources of the wisdom a young Gurdjieff gathered and would impart in his later years. Although described as “distasteful fabrication”, and it probably is, the book makes an incredibly important point in its summation. 

Discovering the Esoteric circle now, I have the meat to finally put on the bones. First let’s draw a diagram of the esoteric circle.

ESOTERIC centre: Here are the realised ones. The Buddha, The Jesus, The saint or genuine guru. These are the masters who hold all the knowledge of the Universe. They are free of worldly issues. Their actions are synchronised and for the good of mankind they act together. They slowly and secretly release the technology, advancements and wisdom of the Universe to the people around them. Giving society what it can understand in a context that is meaningful.

Mesoteric circle: These people are the same as the esoteric save for one thing - although they understand the world like the masters, they have yet to incorporate it into their actions. They understand more than they act. They have not fully embodied their knowledge shall we say. They are theoretically driven. They create actions based on their theories and then calculate the results.

Exoteric circle: Here lie the men of philosophy. They do not act on their knowledge at all. Although they may all be in agreement, they contemplate rather than act. The knowledge they possess is abstract. These are your philosophers, religious readers and spiritual bypassers.

The outer world where 99% of humanity lies is The confusion of tongues. There is no true wisdom or agreement here. Beliefs and actions are mechanical and driven by triggers and survival. Most of us are a software program running on repeat. Living under an illusion of free will.

However, there are four gates from the outer two to the inner two circles and I illustrate them here:

Anyone familiar with Gurdjieff will recognise this already. Gurdjieff revealed that there are four paths out of mechanical life and towards the truth. Four ways of penetrating into the inner circle. Four gates as he called them.

For the uninitiated, they are:

The way of the Fakir, which is through bypassing of the body. 

The way of the Monk, which is through circumventing emotion.

The way of the Yogi, which is through stilling the mind and -

The Fourth way which utilises and balances all three but continues in everyday life compared with the first three which require the initiate to abandon society and isolate themselves to a certain degree if not completely.

The thing is though, is that the esoteric centre and what the masters are sharing with the world is in a constant state of flux. What is needed for one generation is not necessarily what the next one needs. What is shared is suitable only for the people of that time frame. It can only be understood, interpreted and realised by those people it was meant for. This is where we hit trouble.

As throughout millenia, the relevant technological advances and sacred knowledge have been released, artefacts and writings have inevitably been left behind. The pyramids throughout the world for example, (All built at the same time oceans apart which accentuates the theory) especially the ones in Egypt. There are many theories as to what their purpose was but really we are clutching at straws in our interpretations. The Egyptians or mayans at the time knew exactly who built them, what they were for, and used them accordingly. 

With man’s ability to write and document things it meant that more and more of these ancient secrets have been preserved but according to the Esoteric circle and manifested as the confusion of tongues they are of absolutely no use to the generations that followed as they cannot be fully understood. Therefore if we take religion in particular, it begins to make sense why today we are surrounded by a piousness that makes absolutely no sense at all. Even yogic practice is not of that much use in its purest form for modern society. When we understand the esoteric circle’s constant changing then this all makes perfect sense. Religious leaders spouting ancient philosophies don’t actually understand what it is they are espousing as it wasn’t meant for them and their time. As Ouspensky said - One must have the keys in order to understand sacred texts, otherwise they are just words which will be interpreted and abused ignorantly and unjustly. 

As Gurdjieff himself describes it, refering to a specific timescale of teaching as a “school”:

“But it happen sometimes that when the school closes a number of people are left who were round and about the work, who saw the outward aspect of it and (thus) saw the whole of the work as this outside aspect.

“Having no doubts about themselves or in the correctness of their conclusions and understanding, they decide to continue the work. To continue this work they form new schools, teach people what they themselves have learnt and give them the same promises that they themselves received. All this naturally can only be outward imitation. But when we look back on history it is almost impossible for us to distinguish where the real ends and the imitation begins. Strictly speaking almost everything we know about various kinds of occult, masonic and alchemical schools refers to such imitation. We know practically nothing about real schools excepting the results of their work and even that only if we are able to distinguish the results of real work from counterfeits and imitations.”

Which leads us back to Lefort. At the end of “The teachers of Gurdjieff” the traveller finally believes after many, many wrong turns and pointings, that he is to meet the man who will finally answer his question. Who was the teacher of Gurdjieff. His answer ( based on my memory as I no longer have the book) is something along the lines of:

Why are you following a dead man? Why do you wish to find the teachers of a dead man? (The book is from the 70’s and Gurdjieff died in 1949.)

Go and find a teacher who is alive. A teacher who can answer your questions directly. With this he sends him on his way. Years of hopeful searching and travelling snuffed out in a second.

So, two points are raised here in our 21st century search for the miraculous:

1: We must be aware of our time here on this earth and seek out a living teacher from the two inner circles who can give us the advice and wisdom needed.

2: We should be aware that many teachers, particularly of the exoteric circle are preaching to us from the teachings of yesteryear. Not only do they only see them from a philosophical standpoint but they are espousing wisdom that is not and cannot be understood by us or themselves as it is from the esoteric circle of years gone by.

The second point illustrates perfectly why so many nonsensical religious leaders and fake gurus persist without changing anything or anyone. Speaking as a “traditional” yoga teacher myself it makes so much sense and explains why so much of what my own teacher shared in India seemed of little value to me coming from a Western mindset. Wonderful as they are, the sutras of patanjali make no reference to the Western diseases of shame, guilt and self loathing.

When neo advaita gurus attempt to modernise ancient eastern teachings it is even more of a disaster. The level of understanding is almost non-existent and falls squarely in the exoteric circle.

So, what are the teachings of our time, right here and now?

I would suggest with the work of Jung and the shadow or the discovery of the polyvagal nervous system are two examples that work on the self is more about discovering and working through trauma. Trauma work (PTSD, CPTSD) is a very new thing and gives a clear sign how what we need changes once it is suggested to us and is coming from the esoteric circle. I’m sure there are many more examples. Technology like the internet for one. The worldwide discovery of DMT treatments and psychocybin may be another but I doubt that personally. So how does one move toward the esoteric circle using one of the four paths?

This is where The Ladder of obstacles comes in.

THE LADDER OF OBSTACLES.

Let’s begin with another diagram.

Not unlike Jacob’s ladder from Jewish/Christian tradition, the ladder of obstacles represents a map of the spiritual journey. A path to heaven or God as it were. If we liken it to the esoteric circle it provides a more elongated journey to the centre with more aspects. It begins with the calling to escape the confusion of tongues. To become an initiate to the path of the spiritual seeker. It is a long road however and we must begin at the beginning and move steadily upward. Along the way as we attain wisdom, part of our learning and growth will be to impart what we have learnt to the level below us. As Gurdjieff quite rightly points out though, it is the beginner or ego driven seeker who believes that he or she deserves the teaching of the master or saint when in truth the learning here is way beyond their comprehension.

If we add this to the exoteric layer of the esoteric circle we can now see how and why a true spiritual path is so difficult. We need humility, common sense, honesty and the integrity to be able to discern what is the teaching for our time and what is the teaching our own personal level needs right now. Added to this are a myriad of teachers proclaiming to be at a level that they are not and even more, sharing a teaching that is not of our time.

Good luck and God bless.