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Fourth Way Contextual Studies
Origins of the Fourth Way
In ancient times, in the time of 'pre-sand egypt', there existed Mystery Schools which, according to Gurdjieff, contained knowledge of a very high order.
To enter such a school required many years of preparation.
These teachings continued down to the time of Pythagoras, but had dispersed to different countries by the time Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire (30 B.C.).
Pythagoras (ca. 580 - ca. 500 B.C.)
Greek mathematician and philosopher. He founded the Pythagorean School which believed that the soul, imprisoned in the body could be purified by study. The school followed a strict discipline of purity and self-examination. Pythagoras discovered the numerical ratios of intervals in the musical scale, and believed that the elements of numbers were the elements of the world. The so-called Pythagorean Theorem that the square on the hypotenuse of a right angled triangle is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides, is attributed to this school(Webster’s dictionary).
It is believed that it took Pythagoras 20 years of studying in Egypt before he was admitted as an initiate into the Mystery Schools there. In the wealth of material left behind by Gurdjieff both in his writings and in his Music and Movements there are references to Pythagoras. In the Movements, for instance there are several which carry the title of Pythagoras, and these Movements are often characterized by their strong gymnastics.
According to Gurdjieff, the Fourth Way is an esoteric teaching, designed to help people realize their true potential, and has existed even before the Egyptian Dynasties. It appeared in public form in ancient Egypt, but has remained hidden for many centuries, although sometimes re-emerging as Schools of architecture, or other forms.
Gurdjieff's mission was to re-establish this teaching in our time, because the world is in a severe cultural decline. Developments in dangerous technology hasten the process of decline, just the opposite of what is generally supposed.
Man's development has gone wrong, and knowledge (or rather 'information') has gone too far ahead of 'being'. This combination of 'knowledge and being' is essential if a man or woman is to rise above the level of 'mechanical behavior patterns'.
The Fourth Way teaches how this may be done.