GURDJIEFF DOMINICAN GROUP

 

CHAPTER 26

The Legomonism concerning the deliberations of the Very Saintly Ashiata Shiemash under the title of "The Terror of the Situation"

 

"THE LEGOMONISM," Beelzebub continued, "through which the deliberations of the Very Saintly Ashiata Shiemash were transmitted began with the following prayer:

'In the name of the Cause of my arising, I will always strive to be just toward every already spiritualized source and toward all sources of future spiritualized manifestations of our Common Creator, Almighty Autocrat Endlessness Amen.

" 'To me, a trifling particle of the whole of the Great Whole, it was commanded from Above to be coated with the planetary body of a three­centered being of the Earth in order to help all other such beings arising and existing upon it to free themselves from the consequences of the properties of that organ which, for great and important reasons, was implanted in the presence of their ancestors.

" 'All the Sacred Individuals before me who were intentionally actualized from Above, while striving for this same aim, have always endeavored to accomplish the task laid upon them through one or another of the three sacred ways for self-perfecting foreordained by our Endless Creator Himself, that is, through the sacred ways based on the being-impulses called "Faith," "Hope," and "Love. "

'When I had completed my seventeenth year, I began, as commanded from Above, to prepare my planetary body in order, during my responsible existence, to be able to be impartial.

'During this period of my self-preparation it was also my intention that as soon as I reached responsible age, I would carry out the task laid upon me through one or another of these three sacred being-impulses.

" 'But when during this period of self-preparation I chanced to meet many beings of almost all "types" who existed here in the city of Babylon, and when in the course of my impartial observations I became aware of various traits of their being-manifestations, there crept into me and progressively increased an essence-doubt as to the possibility of saving the three-centered beings of this planet by any of these three sacred ways.

" 'The different manifestations of the beings I encountered not only increased my doubt, but gradually convinced me that the consequences of the properties of the organ kundabuffer, having passed by heredity through many generations over a very long period, had ultimately so crystallized in their presence that they have reached contemporary beings as a lawful part of their essence, and thus these crystallized consequences of the properties of the organ kundabuffer are now, as it were, a "second nature" of their common presence.

" 'So, when I finally became a responsible being, before making my choice of one of the three sacred ways, I decided to bring my planetary body into the state of the sacred "ksherknara," that is, into the state of "all-brains-balanced being-perceptiveness," and only in that state to choose the way for my future activities.

'With this aim I then ascended "Mount Veziniama," where for forty days and nights I knelt on my knees and devoted myself to concentration.

" 'For a second forty days and nights I neither ate nor drank, but recalled and analyzed all the impressions present in me of everything I had perceived during my existence here in the period of my self-preparation.

" 'A third forty days and nights I remained on my knees and neither ate nor drank, and every half hour I plucked two hairs from my breast.

'And it was only when I had finally attained complete freedom from the influence of all bodily and spiritual associations linked with the impressions of ordinary life that I began to ponder what I was to do.

'This pondering of my purified Reason then brought me to the certainty that it was already too late to save the contemporary beings by any of the three sacred ways.

'This pondering of mine also made it categorically clear to me that all the genuine functions proper to men-beings —as they are proper to all three­centered beings of our Great Universe—had already degenerated in their remote ancestors into quite other functions, which were included among the properties of the organ kundabuffer, and were very similar to the genuine sacred being-functions of Faith, Hope, and Love.

'And in all probability this degeneration was due to the fact that when the organ kundabuffer had been destroyed in their ancestors, and they had acquired in themselves factors for the genuine sacred being-impulses, then, as the taste of many of the properties of the organ kundabuffer still remained in them, these properties resembling the three sacred impulses gradually became mixed with the genuine ones, and as a result, factors were crystallized in their psyche for the impulses of "faith," "hope," and "love," which although similar to the genuine were somehow or other quite peculiar.

" 'The contemporary three-centered beings also at times believe, love, and hope both with their Reason and with their feelings, but how they believe, how they love, and how they hope—in this lies all the peculiarity of these three being-properties of theirs!

" 'They also believe, but in them this sacred impulse does not function independently, as it does in general in all the three-centered beings with the same possibilities on the various other planets of our Great Universe, but its arising is dependent upon certain factors that have been formed in their common presence, owing as always to the consequences of the properties of the organ kundabuffer—as, for instance, those peculiar properties arising in them which they call "vanity," "self-love," "pride," "self-importance," and so forth.

" 'In consequence of this, the three-brained beings of the Earth are particularly subject to the perception and fixation in their presence of all sorts of "sinkrpoosarams" or, as it is expressed here, they "believe any old twaddle."

" 'It is very easy to convince a being of this planet of anything you like, provided that during his perception of this nonsense there is evoked in him, either consciously from without or automatically by itself, the functioning of one or another corresponding consequence of the properties of the organ kundabuffer crystallized in him from among those forming what is called his "subjectivity," as for instance "self-love," "vanity," "pride," "swagger," "presumptuousness," "arrogance," and so on.

" 'If these influences act upon their degenerate Reason and upon the equally degenerate factors in their localizations— factors that actualize being­sensations—not only is a false conviction crystallized in them concerning the aforementioned nonsense, but they will even, in all sincerity and faith, prove vehemently to those around them that it is just so and can in no way be otherwise.

" 'In an equally abnormal form data have been molded in them for evoking the sacred impulse of Love.

" 'In the presence of the beings of contemporary times there is as much as you please of that strange impulse they call "love", but this "love" of theirs is also the result of certain crystallized consequences of the properties of the or­gan kundabuffer, and this impulse arises and manifests itself in the presence of every one of them entirely subjectively— so subjectively and so differently that if ten of them were asked to explain how they sense this inner impulse of theirs, all of them—if, of course, they for once replied sincerely, and frankly acknowledged their genuine sensations and not those they had read about somewhere or heard about from someone else—all ten would reply differently and describe ten different sensations.

" 'One would explain this sensation in the sexual sense, another in the sense of pity, a third as a desire for submission, a fourth, a common interest in outer things, and so on and so forth, but not one of the ten could describe, even re­motely, the sensation of genuine Love.

" 'And none of them could describe it, because for a long time now none of the ordinary men-beings here has ever had any sensation of the sacred being­impulse of genuine Love And without this "taste" they cannot have the faintest idea of that sacred being-impulse, the most beatific in the presence of every three-centered being of the Universe, which, in accordance with the divine foresight of Great Nature, forms in us such data that, when we experience their results, we can rest in bliss from the meritorious labors we have fulfilled for the purpose of self-perfection.

'Nowadays, if one of these three-brained beings "loves" somebody or other, it is either because this somebody always encourages and undeservedly flatters him, or because this one's nose is very like the nose of that female or male with whom, thanks to the cosmic law of "polarity" or "type," a relationship has been established that has not yet been broken, or finally, he "loves" someone only because this

someone's uncle is in business in a big way and may one day give him a boost, and so on and so forth.

" 'But never do men-beings here love with genuine, impartial, and non­ egoistic love.

" 'Thanks to the kind of love that exists in the contemporary beings here, their hereditary predisposition to the crystallization of the consequences of the properties of the organ kundabuffer now proceeds in them without hindrance, and becomes definitely fixed as a lawful part of their nature.

 

'And as regards the third sacred being-impulse, Essence-Hope, its plight in the presence of the three-centered beings here is even worse than that of the first two.

" 'Not only has this being-impulse, in its distorted form, finally adapted itself to the whole of their presence but this newly formed, maleficent "hope," which has taken the place of the being-impulse of sacred Hope, is now the principal reason why factors can no longer be acquired in them for the functioning of the genuine being-impulses of Faith, Hope, and Love.

" 'In consequence of this newly formed, abnormal "hope" of theirs, they always hope for something, and this constantly paralyzes all the possibilities that appear in them, whether evoked intentionally from without or arising ac­cidentally within them—possibilities that could perhaps still destroy in their presence their hereditary predisposition to the crystallization of the consequences of the properties of the organ kundabuffer.

 

" 'When I returned from Mount Vezniama to the city of Babylon, I continued my observations in order to discover whether it would be possible to help these unfortunates in some other way.

" 'And in the course of a year of special observations of all their manifestations and perceptions, I made it categorically clear to myself that although the factors for engendering in their presence the sacred being-impulses of Faith, Love, and Hope have completely degenerated in the beings of this planet, nevertheless, the factor that should engender that being-impulse on which, in general, the whole psyche of beings of a three-brained system is based, namely, the impulse existing under the name of "Objective Conscience," is not yet atrophied in them, and remains in their presence almost in its primordial state.

" 'Thanks to the abnormally established conditions of ordinary external being-existence here, this factor gradually sank into that consciousness of theirs which they call the "subconscious," and as a result, it takes no part whatever in the functioning of their ordinary consciousness.

" 'Well, I then understood beyond all doubt, with all the separate ruminating parts making up the whole of my "I," that only if this being-factor still surviving in their common presence were to participate in the general functioning of the consciousness under whose direction they pass their daily, as they call it, "waking existence"—only then would it be possible to save the contemporary terrestrial three-brained beings from the consequences of the properties of that organ which was intentionally implanted in their first ancestors.

'My further pondering confirmed that this could be attained only if their ordinary being-existence were to flow for a long time under fully foreseen, corresponding conditions.

'When these deliberations had been completely transubstantiated in me, I decided to consecrate the whole of myself from that time forward solely to the creation of such conditions here that the functioning of sacred Conscience, still surviving in their subconscious, might gradually pass into the functioning of their ordinary consciousness.

" 'May the blessing of our Almighty, Infinitely Loving Common Father, Uni-Being, Endless Creator be upon my decision. Amen!'

"Thus ended the legomonism concerning the deliberations of the Very Saintly and Incomparable Ashiata Shiemash, under the title of 'The Terror of the Situation.'

 

"So, my boy, when early in my last sojourn on the surface of your planet I first learned the details of this legomonism which I have just repeated, I at once became interested in the deductions of this later Most High, Very Saintly Common-Cosmic Individual, Ashiata Shiemash, and since there existed no other legomonism nor any other source of information concerning his further very saintly activities among those favorites of yours, I resolved to investigate in detail and make entirely clear to myself what measures he had taken and how he had carried them out in order to help these unfortunates to free themselves from the consequences of the properties of the organ kundabuffer, which had passed to them by heredity and were so maleficent for them.

"And so, as one of my chief tasks during this last sojourn of mine on the surface of your planet, I made a detailed investigation and elucidation of the further very saintly activities among your favorites of the Great Essence­Loving, now Most High, Very Saintly Common-Cosmic Individual, Ashiata Shiemash.

"As regards the 'marble tablet' that by chance remained intact since the time of the very saintly activities of the Great Ashiata Shiemash, and is today the principal sacred relic of the brotherhood of initiated beings called the 'Olbogmek Brotherhood,' I happened, during this last stay of mine on your planet, to see and read what was engraved on it.

"In the course of my subsequent investigations it turned out that, later on, when this Very Saintly Ashiata Shiemash had established the particular conditions of ordinary being-existence he had planned, several of these tablets, on his advice and initiative, were set up in appropriate places in many of the large towns, and upon them were engraved all kinds of precepts and counsels for a corresponding existence.

"But later, when their big wars began again, all these tablets were destroyed by these strange beings themselves, with the exception of that one which has somehow remained intact, as I have already told you, and is now the property of this brotherhood.

"On this surviving marble tablet was engraved an inscription concerning the sacred being-impulses called 'Faith,' 'Love,' and 'Hope,' which was as follows:

FAITH, LOVE, AND HOPE

Faith of consciousness is freedom Faith of feeling is weakness Faith of body is stupidity Love of consciousness evokes the same in response Love of feeling evokes the opposite Love of body depends only on type and polarity Hope of consciousness is strength Hope of feeling is slavery Hope of body is disease "Before telling you more about the activities of the Very Saintly Ashiata Shiemash for the welfare of your favorites, I must, I think, clarify for you at somewhat greater length the inner impulse they call 'hope,' about which the Very Saintly Ashiata Shiemash remarked that its case is even worse than that of the other two.

"And the special observations and investigations I made later in regard to this strange and abnormal impulse clearly showed me that the factors engendering it in their presence are, in truth, most maleficent for them

"Thanks to this abnormal hope of theirs, a singular and very curious disease, with the property of evolving, arose and exists among them even until now—a disease called 'tomorrow.'

"This strange disease, 'tomorrow,' has brought the most terrifying results, particularly for those unfortunate three-brained beings there who chance to learn, and become categorically convinced with the whole of their presence, that they possess some very undesirable consequences, and that in order to be delivered from these consequences it is indispensable for them to make certain efforts, which they even know just how to make but never succeed in making, on account of this maleficent disease, 'tomorrow.'

"And indeed, that is just the maleficent part of this terrifying evil which, owing to various causes great and small, is concentrated in the process of the ordinary being-existence of these pitiable three-brained beings—that by putting off 'from tomorrow till tomorrow,' even those unfortunate beings who do by chance learn about all that I have mentioned are also deprived of the possibility of ever attaining anything real.

"This disease, 'tomorrow,' so maleficent for your favorites, has become an obstacle for contemporary beings not only because it totally deprives them of all possibility of removing from their presence the crystallized consequences of the properties of the organ kundabuffer, but also because it hinders most of them in honestly discharging even those being-obligations of theirs that are quite indispensable in the established conditions of ordinary being-existence.

"Thanks to this disease, 'tomorrow,' the three-brained beings there, particularly the contemporary ones, almost always put off 'until later' everything that needs to be done at the moment, being convinced that 'later' they will do better and more.

"Even those unfortunates who, either by chance or owing to a conscious action from outside, become aware through their Reason of their complete nullity and begin to sense it with all their separate spiritualized parts, and who happen to learn what being-efforts must be made, and how to make them, in order to become such as is proper for three-brained beings to be—even these beings, by putting off 'from tomorrow till tomorrow,' almost all arrive at the point that one sorrowful day there arise and are manifest in them those forerunners of old age called 'feebleness' and 'infirmity,' which are the inevitable lot of all cosmic formations, great and small, toward the end of their completed existence.

"Here I must not fail to tell you about the strange phenomenon I noted during my observations and studies of the almost entirely degenerate presence of those favorites of yours—that is to say, I definitely established that in many of them, toward the end of their planetary existence, most of the consequences of the properties of the organ kundabuffer crystallized in their common presence atrophy of their own accord, and some of them even entirely disappear, thanks to which these beings begin to see and sense reality a little better.

"In such cases there appears in the common presence of these favorites of yours a strong desire to work upon themselves—to work, as they say, for the 'salvation of their souls.'

"But needless to say, nothing can result from such desires of theirs simply because it is already too late, the time allotted them for this purpose by Great Nature having already passed, and although they see and feel the necessity of making the required being-efforts, yet for the fulfillment of these desires they now have only 'ineffectual yearnings' and the 'lawful infirmities' of old age.

"Well, my boy, my research and investigations concerning the further activities of the Very Saintly Ashiata Shiemash for the welfare of the three-brained beings arising and existing on this planet of yours made the following clear to me.

"When this great, and as regards his Reason almost incomparable, Sacred Individual became definitely convinced that the sacred ways that exist for the purpose of self-perfection for all three-brained beings of the Universe were no longer suitable for the beings of the planet Earth, then, after his year of special observation and studies of their psyche, he again ascended that same Mount Vezniama, and for several terrestrial months contemplated and pondered how to carry out his decision, that is, to save the beings of this planet from their inherited predisposition to the crystallization of the consequences of the properties of the organ kundabuffer, by means of those data which remained intact in their subconscious for the fundamental sacred being-impulse, Conscience.

"This pondering of his definitely convinced him that it would indeed be possible to save them by means of the data in their common presence for engendering this sacred being-impulse, but only if the manifestations of these data surviving in the subconscious were without fail to participate in the functioning of the consciousness under whose direction their daily waking existence flows, and furthermore, only if this being-impulse were to be manifested over a long period through every aspect of this consciousness of theirs.

 

 

GURDJIEFF DOMINICAN GROUP