Heart without Measure: Gurdjieff Work with Madame de Salzmann [Paperback]

Ravi Ravindra (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2004

Heart Without Measure is a collection of excerpts from the journals of Ravi Ravindra, giving a glimpse of the extraordinary life and teaching of Madame Jeanne de Salzmann and the Gurdjieff work through the eyes of one of her pupils. Ravindra’s account of his meetings, letters and encounters with Madame de Salzmann is deeply intimate, yet it is not merely personal. His questions, doubts and insights are not unlike our own. In these recollections of a pupil, we hear Madame de Salzmann’s voice; the clarity of her perception and the force of her insight are evident throughout.

Product Details

• Paperback: 219 pages
• Publisher: Morning Light Press; 2nd edition (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596750006
• ISBN-13: 978-1596750005
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #245,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Woman #5, June 10, 2005

By 

david ryan "lindil" (Lakeport, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heart without Measure: Gurdjieff Work with Madame de Salzmann (Paperback)

I found this book extremely refreshing but I can't help wondering if it is really only for those who do or have done similar practices [Taoist Alchemy, Prayer of the Heart, Gurdjieff's meditations and exercises for opening and harmonizing the 7 centers].

The entire book shows Madame DeSalzmann trying to raise the author from his back and forth states to a man no. 4 - that is someone who has in Gurdjieffean terms acheived balance amongst their body, heart and mind and is thus at square one and truly ready to begin and to try and crystallize something. Similar in intent to the Pentland/Patterson drama in 'Eating the I'

Like 'Eating the I' and 'Voices in the Dark' we are taken inside the inner door to a rather significant degree, but unlike 'Eating the I', this does not try and provide much context or background info. If you have not been in The Work or learned the preliminary relaxation and self-remembering practices, you will understandably be scratching your head through much of it.

However along with Bennett and Pentland the Madame seems to have made it to Man #5. And that is worth experiencing even through the medium of printed words.

I found that the book started 'meditating me' as few books do.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deep Homage, August 30, 2006

By 

Desert Girl - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Heart without Measure: Gurdjieff Work with Madame de Salzmann (Paperback)

Ravi Ravindra's Heart Without Measure, though a small book, is a powerfully felt homage to the great Madame de Salzmann, whose voice and presence, echoing through the text, resonates like a pure and holy bell, calling us all more perfectly to The Work. He describes well the experience of the student faced with the laser-like eye of the teacher who can read hearts and souls, an encounter not easily endured nor understood, and reveals the 'everyman' conflicts of his strivings in a restrained, almost selfless way. Most of all, this book is sprinkled generously with esoteric clues for those with eyes to see and ears to hear. This book indeed is the 'fruit' of the oral tradition that has always existed within the Gurdjieffian canon.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brings me back to the core, December 2, 2007

By 

B. Klein "Runyan Wilde" (St. Louis, Missouri) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heart without Measure: Gurdjieff Work with Madame de Salzmann (Paperback)

Ravi Ravindra captures the spirit of Gurdjieff's work for me, in one of the most personal and engaging accounts that I've seen from people in the Work. This time, though, rather than being about G. himself, it is a journal of Ravindra's encounters with G's chief disciple, Jeanne de Saltzmann.
As I nibble away at this lovely book, I find myself remembering the best parts of being in the Work, which ended for me almost 30 years ago. At the time, I knew about Mme. de Saltzmann only peripherally, being on the West coast and having been with her in person only once, so I was eager to read this book and fill in my knowledge of a true master whose efforts indirectly shaped my whole spiritual life.
I would have expected Dr. Ravindra, as a professor of at least six different subjects, to write in some dry, scholarly style. Instead, this loving tribute is revealing, approachable and very useful to anyone wishing to understand, in a personal way, what this teaching is about.