On The Fourth Way
The Gurdjieff Work is referred to as The Fourth Way. Mr. Bennett in ‘Needs’ explains it in the following way :
“There is the intellectual way and the way of devotion and the way of ascetic withdrawal. The fourth way is the way of service and the way of shared effort. The fourth way is only active when there is a task to be done.”
“The fourth way is not only a way of service, but is also a way of self perfecting - of self transformation. It is necessary for people who wish to serve to be able to sacrifice. Anyone can sacrifice in a splendid way when everyone’s eye is on them. But the small, daily sacrifice of doing without this or that, of allowing oneself to be imposed on, to allow others to get the better of us, to give up our pride, sometimes even to give up our self respect - that sort of sacrifice doesn’t come without a very great inward change. And one must know that that change is necessary and be prepared to commit oneself to it. Only people who are committed to that change can be said to be people of the way.”
May God rest the souls of those people who lost their lives in the terrorist attack in India yesterday.
I.C.