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Gnosis, Exoteric Cycle: Study and Commentaries on the Esoteric Tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy (Vol 1)

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G.I. Gurdjieff often stated that the basis of his teaching was esoteric Christianity. In GNOSIS, Boris Mouravieff reveals that this Tradition is found in its complete form in Greece and Russia, transmitted by the "Great Esoteric Brotherhood." The author informs us that this ancient Tradition in which is found all of the Fourth Way's ideas, diagrams, cosmologies, and exercises, comes from the heart of Eastern Christianity. Anyone long-studied in these ideas will recognize that this book expresses the very essence of the teaching. Mouravieff, who knew both Gurdjieff and Ouspensky before their appearance in western Europe, presents an astonishing display of brilliant and profound wisdom. There is no denying the authoritative atmosphere which radiates from every page. These volumes will require all who seek awakening to reconsider in a new light the great legacy left us by Gurdjieff.

Mouravieff's Gnosis series presents a rendering of Gurdjieff's teaching, as transmitted and reported by Ouspensky. On top of the kernel of the 4th Way Work ideas, Mouravieff adds concepts that are specific to him alone, namely the notion of polar beings, the division of mankind into Adamic and Preadamic man plus generally synarchistic political ideas and some speculations about esoteric history.

To derive benefit from this series, we must consider these elements each in turn.

Mouravieff's cosmology and description of man's inner structure is basically Gurdjieffian. Whether he got this from Ouspenskky or some other source is unclear, however Mouravieff did not get it from Gurdjieff directly. In his own words, he found it as a fragmentary oral tradition in Eastern Orthodox monasticism. Be the case as it may, Mouravieff lays out the system with a good sense for structure.

For intellectually oriented people, this is a nice rendition of a complex set of ideas and the schematics of the worlds, hydrogens, centers and so forth provide good cognitive tools for describing self and the world. Of course we always run the risk of confusing the thing itself with the word or symbol if we take these of necessity approximate theoretical descriptions too literally.

Mouravieff very specifically presents all ideas in a Christian context, whereas Gurdjieff and Ouspensky are not specifically tied to the Christian context. At any rate, his quoting and interpreting of the New Testament is clever and insightful, whether he penetrates to the intended inner meaning of the text is something we cannot determine with certainty.

When seeking to understand the 4th Way Work ideas, Gnosis can be a good additional source for another perspective on the same or related concepts. It is more of a textbook than In Search of the Miraculous or Beelzebub's Tales. Whether this is a plagiarism of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky or another transmission of the same source as Gurdjieff's is uncertain. Still, this is a work of intellect and reading it with attention can deepen one's understanding.

Historically, Mouravieff had little respect for Gurdjieff and even though the two met a number of times, Mouravieff was never a participant in the Work. Mouravieff found Gurdjieff personally little better than a snake charmer. Gurdjieff likely considered Mouravieff an exterior man with only theoretical ideas. This is good to keep in mind as background.

But let us talk about things which are proper to Gnosis and not generally foun in 4th Way literature.

The concept of Adamic and Preadamic man basically states that one half of humanity has a "soul" capable of esoteric evolution away from the mechanicity of the world and that the other half has no such soul. The two types are basically evenly mixed in families and nations and no exterior test can discern the difference. The concept is on one hand helpful for explaining why some people have an esoterically inclined spirit and others not. On the otherhand, this can feed feelings of specialness and give rise to labeling and name calling. Laura Knight-Jadczyk elaborates on these ideas in depth at her www.cassiopaea.org site under the heading of "organic portals."

The other idea proper to Gnosis is the notion of "polar opposites," a man and woman "made for each other., the two halves of the androgyne of Plato's symposium. These two halves would be precisely complementary and when united could achieve rapid spiritual progress. This Mouravieff calls the "fifth way." Well, if one subscribes to any notion of preincarnative life plan or soul essence one brings with one when born into this world, then one cannot exclude the possibility that such "meant to be" couples may occur. Whether this is a universal law and applies to each is however less certain. Again, the treatment of polarity by Mouravieff, even when not talking about the perfect match, provides a nice framework for thought about attractions and affinities. Again, this is a conceptual device, to be used if found helpful.

Mouravieff's political ideas are rather naively synarchistic. He talks about bringing the world under one government, under some sort of enlightened supervision by the UN or similar, guided by a sort of spiritual elite. Failure to do this would cause the world to meet a fiery end in the not very distant future, a sort of failure of the divine experiment of Earth, where the planet did not deliver the prescribed quota of consciousness.

The idea of the Earth producing a sort of harvest of sufficiently evolved souls is not specific to Mouravieff, the same is found with Gurdjieff and many present day sources. The synarchistic gloss and apocalyptic tone is all Mouravieff's own, though.

Gnosis has many good conceptual tools for organizing ideas and describing things. The book is almost exclusively geared to the intellectual side of man and is abstract and academic in tone. Reading the book and attempting to apply the concepts and descriptions to real life situations and phenomena can be an enriching experience. One should have the proper experimental spirit and not take everything too literally or at face value. Mouravieff has the tendency to make

authoritative and dogmatic sounding statements about very complex matters, whose complete description is likely above any human capacity. Use the schematic where it helps but do not confuse the picture with the real thing, as Gurdjieff might say, do not fall into "formatory thinking."

Man is asleep. This is the explicit message of the 4th Way school, and the implicit message of many other spiritual traditions. In "Gnosis", Mouravieff, who was loosely associated with Gurdjieff, describes a method, based on esoteric teachings of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, that is to lead to our awakening and consequent salvation.

Mouravieff argues that most of our actions and thoughts are just mechanical reactions to stimulae. We identify ourselves with those thoughts and actions and put the label "I" on them, thus giving them authorship. However, it would be more correct to speak of many "I"s. And, if we are truthful with ourselves, we will admit that these actions and thoughts do not proceed from our will but sort of "happen to us".

So far, so good. Anyone who has done any meditation training will be familiar to some extent with the above description. We sit in meditation and tend to our breath, a mantra, a prop. Very soon, though, we will be distracted by a myriad of thoughts, some of them very strange indeed. Whence did they arise? We are taught, in such cases, to observe these thoughts and return to our concentration. We can see that in some way the thoughts that arise are alien to us and the "observer" is the one, permanent, I. Let us call this "observer" the True I.

These worldy phenomenon- be they thoughts, emotions or events- to which we usually identify ourselves are given the name of "A" influences. Occasionally we will have another type of higher experience, named "B" influences or those issuing from God.

It occurs to me that one should observe the "A" influences from the vantage point of the True I and willfully decide to engage them or not. The idea is to enter into a more conscious role with the world and ourselves. Mouravieff has other ideas though.
We should according to him, "never again participate enthusiastically in life. In other words one must die to life if one is to deflect the "A" influences and attract more of the "B" influences.

Here is where Mouravieff shows his hand and where I must part company with him. He views the fall of man from a strictly negative point of view similar to some forms of gnosticism. Life is an evil into which man has fallen and you had better disengage with it. Instead could not there be a positive view of the fall: that it is also a chance for creation and consciousness to expand?

In order for consciousness to grow, life must be engaged consciously and not avoided. To do so, one must be a conscious participant and not just a disinterested actor (as Mouravieff suggests). For an example of what I mean, please see the wonderful film by Wim Wenders, "The Wings of Desire".

If you are leaving in a western country, then you should study the esoteric Christian tradition described in this book. This timeless knowledge was also described by Ouspensky or René Guénon but Mouravieff goes beyond

The Fourth Way is a esoteric Christian tradition brought to the West via G. I. Gurdjieff mainly through the writings of P. D. Ouspensky and a few others. Gnosis 1, 2 & 3 gives new meanings and insights into the prospect of higher learning about ourselves and the world around us. It is a more complete version of the Fourth Way as taught by Gurdjieff, however far from a complete transmission of facts about the world and past and present events. For a more complete study of the esoteric past and present a suggestion for further study for seekers of truths is:

Although there are two great faults with this expose - Mouravieffs lean towards religious gloss and his relationship to the Synargist Movement.

The Secret History of the World and how to get out alive - Laura Knight-Jakczyk

I know of no equivalent discussion of philosophicaland or metaphysical matters. This first book aloneis worthy of several years of study and practice. This book is like a finger pointing at the moon - I remember trying to show a cat where something was by pointing. The cat just sniffed my finger.

Mouravieff gives you hints and glimpses of an ancient philosophy lost through time and buried by the powers that be. His work along with Carlos Castenda and Georges Gurdjieff elucidate a philosophy that holds the potential of granting man freedom, in its truest sense.

There are many philosophical elucidations as well as practical meditative excercises that will allow the reader to discover and know more about themselves.

It's no free lunch, and can only be understood and executed by a few, are you one to try?

I really enjoyed several of the reviews, but must say I'm motivated to add my own review simply because if it could possibly sway even one person into trying this book rather than being dissuaded by the few but glaringly inaccurate reviews describing Mouraiveff's work, it's worth it.

As for the reviews that drivel on about how Mouravieff deviates from Gurdjieff or Ouspensky, or copies them or or... who cares!?! As many others have pointed out, these folks are working with largely the same patterns or pool of truth; the same principles that have also played a part in the formation of all major religions and schools of philosophy and our most cherished myths, archetypes and storylines.

To label Mouravieff's Gnosis as strictly rooted in Esoteric Christianity is missing the point, I'd say. His work is like the study of sacred geometry. We don't have to question the validity of the golden mean; it is self-evident. We can look around and apply it to practical things and it corresponds to real life very usefully, showing us additional threads of truth in new dimensions. Such are the patterns Mouravieff shines new light upon, making more advanced understanding of their own models possible for many people already on or interested in beginning their own journey toward greater freedom. Yes, some of the comparisons and examples he uses come from better known threads also running throughout Christianity. I'm not too picky about where I find my truth, or what color clothes its wearing, and thankfully neither does/is Mouravieff. He's interested in what shows him yet greater truth.

That said, it can be a rather comprehensive read and it's the kind of book that, for me anyway, requires reading at least a couple times to really feel like it's digested. If you don't want to work/reach for understanding, don't get this book. As Mouravieff clearly discloses early on, there are many areas of study that are relatively skimmed over (because as the title implies, it is the Exoteric version of the info he's got to share) and makes it clear that the further volumes will revisit these gaps in the information. He delivers on these promises, and reminds where we left on when he gets back around for a second pass, providing greater resolution of the models and concepts.

For example, in this first volume, one portion I didn't totally get was the `lateral octave'. But sure enough, after sidetracking into many other areas through the rest of the first book -necessary items that arrive eventually at... Book Two (the Mesoteric), which comes back to lateral octaves and Lo and Behold it makes so much more sense.

Now back to the deep seated need some reviewers have of relating everything Mouravieff says to what Gurdjieff, Ouspenksy, or even Patterson(?) say. seriously? I mean don't get me wrong, I loved `Eating the I' as an honest human perspective of a seeker encountering some of the most challenging involutionary experiences of his life, but he's no expert on Mouravieff.

It's certainly worth giving these other great thinkers' books a spin or two; don't get me wrong. Gurdjieff has an anecdotal style, which can be very entertaining, and consequently is great for attracting devotees, not so much self-motivated seekers --or they quickly go on to their own variations of similar philosophic exploration. Gurdjieff's is primarily a style of information transmission that is more palatable for people at particular earlier parts of the curve or those who enjoy a storytelling style of teaching/learning. Ouspensky bends toward the rational, scientific analysis, which is a refreshing beam of reason if you try to make it through something like Gurdjieff's Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson (IMHO it strikes me as cryptic, or needlessly veiled, but then again I never have really meshed with that style).

But if I were going to seriously compare Mouravieff with other writers like G and O, head to head, I'd say Mouravieff just goes so much further and really synthesizes into whole new dimensions. Think golden spiral, Logos, the underlying ordering principles of the universe. THIS is the stuff of his Gnosis series. The diagrams and clear and succinct examples he provides have been invaluable in my studies.

There are some other reviewers who attempt to portray Mouravieff's work as being dark, even dystopic, or promoting defeatism. Wow. Really missing the point, and should consider reading further on.

Mouravieff *does* clearly state what a wonderful opportunity Human Life and the Fall are. In Vol II pg. 95 he says "...Thus human birth emerges as the highest possible birth in the whole Universe. Amongst other things, this is the reason for the Traditional statement that even the angels, if they wish to evolve, are obliged to pass through a human incarnation. For despite all its inconveniences, this is the only opportunity for evolution towards and through the second Birth"

This is a prime example of the essence of his intention and message.

Boris Mouravieff has done seekers of Truth an invaluable service with his formulation and documentation in clear, scientific terms of an ancient tradition of self-knowledge suspected to date back to at least the time of the mythical figure of "Jesus Christ". Those who are familiar with the "Fourth Way" system of G.I. Gurdjieff should note that the two are essentially the same tradition, however Mouravieff provides considerable Biblical and Apocryphal referencing to propose that the system is at root an "inner" or "esoteric" form of Christianity.

While I do not agree with Mouravieff's overly-Christian gloss (Gurdjieff himself mentioned that the Tradition was pre-Egyptian), the attention to detail and thoroughness Mouravieff has displayed in writing the series has to be commended. If Ouspensky considered his Fourth Way magnum opus, "Fragments of an Unknown Teaching", then Mouravieff's "Gnosis" series can be considered to be a more integrated version of the Tradition. It is unlikely however that even Mouravieff knew the full picture, and has presented us with what he has been able to find.

This first book, "The Exoteric Cycle", provides the fundamentals of the teaching in straightforward, if somewhat technical, language. The essential theme is that mankind exists in a hypnotic trance that keeps people asleep, relatively docile, reactive and mechanical. A person has no true, permanent sense of self, going from one subjective mood, aim, and action to another, dependant on whatever external circumstance occurs. This premise is supported by the science of modern psychology; likewise the starting point for a way out of this state of affairs - self-observation.

The book is divided into 3 main sections: Man, The Universe, & The Way. The first section expounds predominantly upon the structure of the psyche of man, the division into "centers" of psychological activity (intellectual, emotional, instinctive or "moving", and sexual). Certain other centers exist initially only in potential (higher intellectual, higher emotional, magnetic center etc), although they can be actualised if conscious efforts are made. The second section is focused on the Universe and its multi-layered structure, governed predominantly by two major laws (The Law of Three, and The Law of Seven) which from the Source then diversify into layers of increasing materiality and rigidity, governed by larger and larger sets of "sub-laws", the sum of which are taken on this level of reality under the name "The General Law" (or Law of Accident).

The third section outlines the spiritual aim of man - to liberate oneself from the General Law and be "reborn" as a conscious being serving the greater good of All - as well as the Way by which this aim might be realised.

While Mouravieff has been accused of plagiarism of Fourth Way material (notably by William Patrick Patterson), there are concepts here that I found unique to Mouravieff. His discussions of the film, the ascending spiral, and the Courtly Love tradition are worth investigation and meditation on. There are other concepts (such as pre-adamic and adamic man) in the later books that have no known correlate in the Fourth Way teachings (except perhaps in veiled allegory or innuendo) that I am aware of.

As a system of self-work and study, it is fairly straightforward and lacking in much of the "occult" symbolism and mumbo-jumbo that one tends to find in other mystical or hermetic traditions. Mouravieff appeals to the scientist, rather than the mystic, in the reader, and I give him due credit for taking this approach. The development of reason is lauded in these writings as a means to progress, rather than being considered a "distraction" to the goals of only "thinking positive" or meditative navel-gazing (as one tends to find in the spectrum of New Age philosophies and systems).

Overall, this book is highly recommended to all spiritual seekers and especially those interested in the Fourth Way, Gnostic or esoteric Christian traditions.

This book is part of 3 books with the title Gnosis, that deals with the fourth way teachings. For those unfamiliar with Gurdjieff and the fourth way I would recommend reading Ouspensky first and in particular "In search of the Miraculous".

Mouravieff brings many of the same teachings up as in the above mentioned book by Ouspensky, but he adds his own insights to certain topics and adds new concepts such as the idea of polar beings. There is a Christian flavour throughout the book with many quotes from the New Testamente. This would have to be taken with a grain of salt, especially after having read Burton Mack's excellent book The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins, where he raises serious and valid questions to the historicalness of the New Testament.

For any student of the 4'th way I would recommend reading this series of books, but be prepared that it takes more stamina to read as it to me has a more theoretical flavour than Ouspensky's book mentioned above.