8

Sexual Magic and Gnosis in Colombia : Tracing the Influence of G. I. Gurdjieff on Samael Aun Weor

PierLuigi Zoccatelli

135-150

"influence of the ideas of the Caucasian esoteric ... George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff (1866-1949), the creator of ... the "forest school" (Sharp 1923), on ... Samael Aun Weor (1917-77)." "both ... gave rise to an extremely complex genealogy of groups and movements, ... widespread around the globe, ... to such an extent that we might apply to them the term "hypertrophy of filiation", used ... in studying the posterity of ... Giuliano Kremmerz (Ciro Formisano, 1861-1930). In this regard, ... there are numerous studies of the filiation and posterity spawned by Gurdjieff's teaching (Rawlinson 1997:282-313; Wellbeloved 2003:223-54)".

"Gurdjieff ... founded and disseminated his teaching through his writings ..., and that the "charisma of the book" engendered by his work is contained within the impressive bibliographic production penned by his pupils (Driscoll 1985, 2004).

In the case of Samael Aun Weor, the teachings transmitted to his pupils also derives from a large quantity of written matter (... he wrote forty-nine ... books), and, as in the case of Gurdjieff, also entails an oral transmission of more "internal" ... teachings."

p. 136

"[Be] aware that in the teaching of the Greek-Armenian [Gurdjieff] born in 1866 in Alexandropol (today Gyumri in present-day Armenia), the theme of

"sexual magic" ... is ... the "heart" of the Fourth Way. ... .

{Sexual intercourse is very much a cardiac concern, for the Samskr.ta verb /YaBH/ for 'have sexual intercourse' is etymologically cognate with the TL-MRJ (Aiguptian) word /JB/ for 'heart'.}

... the relationship of these two teachings finds its focal point in the shared doctrine of "sexuality as an eminent form of relationship with the transcendent", and the contact between the two schools,

p. 137

given the influence exerted by Gurdjieff on Weor, ... allowed ... emphasis ... from the perspective of docrines concerning the transmutation of being through the use of sexual energy. The ... coordinates regarding this aspect of the Gurdjieff "Work" {/the ... Work/ being a terminology taken from traditional alchemy} have ... been ... emphasized in the extensive "Gurdjieff bibliography" ..., as ... sexual magic was of ... importance to Gurdjieff".

[quoted from Bennett 1973, p. 233 :] "It is, of course, clear from the chapter "Purgatory" of Beelzebub's Tales that Gurdjieff regards the sex energy, there called exioehary[,] as the main source of nourishment for the higher bodies of man. His teaching about the sexual energy is very ... emphatic".

"But we should ... in the complex doctrinal and cosmological overview presented in "The Holy Planet Purgatory" chapter in Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson ... find ...

"the Choot-God-litanical

{terminologies largely based in Armenian vocabularisms, with also a Kartwelianism?}

p. 138

period", "the fifth Stopfinder Harnel Aoot of the law of Hepta {'Seven'}[-]paraparshinokh" and "the mechano-coinciding Mdnel-In" --

Gurdjieff touches upon the theme of sacred cosmic substances, including being exiohary (i.e., "sperm" and the "sum of the substances {i.e., secretions of the Bartholin gland} which arise in beings of the female sex"; Gurdjieff 1976:II, 384) and their manipulation within the framework of a wider reference to the "cosmic crystallizations which are formed in the presences of the

Tetartocosmoses"

{tetra-cosmoi '4 worlds (viz., of Qabbalah)' -- with perhaps also a punning on /Tartaros/}

among which the "exiohary" is listed among the six "independent arisings" (ibid.: 353)."

"biographical information concerning Gurdjieff ...

Webb 1980; Moore 1991"

p. 138

"The human condition as it exists nowadays is far from its original {i.e., authentic} truth and potential. In the modern world {and to a major extent in non-modern societies as well}, many contradictory "I"s exist within a person, in competition with each other. This conflict makes unified thought {i.e., self-consistency} ... impossible.

Moreover, in every person two separate natures coexist which are unable to recognize each other : essence {/hsin/ (/xin/), in Chinese} and personality.

Freedom, conscious action and authentic will cannot exist in such a fragmentary state. ...

{Only a false semblance of freedom, inadequately-motived action, and inauthentic will can exist under such circumstances. These false similitudes are results of self-contradictions in motivations and in purposes.}

This common and everyday state is called "sleep" by Gurdjieff.

{Though much-used in Hina-yana, this metaphor is extremely poor, for according to virtually all primitive (i.e., not dominated by an oppressive ruling class) tribes (including AmerIndians, Africans, etc.), the worlds of dream and of dreamless sleep are divine worlds which are capable of rendring vast benefits to all who understand and heed them. According to primitively universal perennial metaphysics, it is the waking state (but not the dreaming state) which is false and delusive.}

Personal evolution is ... the passage from fragmentation to unity. ...

{Essentially to the contrary, it is passage from the delusion of unity to the true fragmentation among skandha-s, whereon personal evolution into the status of "arhant" is praedicated in Bauddha metaphysics of personality.}

The "Work" slowly reveals how the entity of oneself that a person ... is in reality a contradictory composite of thoughts,

{Likewise, in the Bauddha system, it is not merely a recognition of, but also a resolution for one's submitting to retention of the actuality of the composite nature of the personality, that is to be be accepted.}

p. 139

emotional reactions and repetitive mechanisms ... . Becoming aware of this is the first step ... . The second necessary step is to accept what has been seen.

The first phases of the "Work" ... involve focusing attention ("self-remembering"). ... Concretely speaking, the "Work" is based on methods of self-observation which have ... the aim of teaching the practitioner to "remember himself". ... These moments ... which ... are ephemeral ... gradually become linked one to another, offering a new possibility of integration. ...

{In the Bauddha system, no-self-remembring, to remembre one's no-self, is to remembre that all duh.ka (suffering) hath come about by seeking enforce unity (which must always be artificial and inauthentic), so that by this remembring there will come about recognition of the futility of seeking unity of the personality, and therefore there will come about cessation from seeking integration, so by such cessation there will be brought about the cessation of duh.ka (suffering).}

Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann (1885-1956) have left a vast musical corpus intended to transmit a practical teaching regarding the relationship linking vibration, the experience of sound, and awareness. Jeanne de Salzmann (1889-1990) in turn transmitted a large number of "sacred dances" or "movements" created by Gurdjieff on the basis of diverse traditions {including dervish} observed during his travels. ...

Unlike other esoteric systems, Gurdjieff's system teaches its pupils to integrate

{Here, by "integrate" is not intended "merge", but rather "maintain in close intercommunication".}

what it defines as the two natures of human existence,

one of which

{the "hun" (in Chinese terminology)}

tends towards evolution and

the other which

{the "p>o (in Chinese terminology)}

tends towards an involution --

in order to reach an ideal realm located at the midpoint of these two natures. Only at this midpoint will it be possible to rediscover and nourish

p. 140

the essence {literally the /hsin/, but in this context more like the /min/}, that part of the human being that may reveal the aim {purpose, related to destiny} of a person's life. As development continues,

the awareness of responsibility also increases and

{responsibility is to the divine collectivity of immortals, who are (or can whenever needed become) aware what is best for mortals}

the person may render service ... to

the great cosmic process of evolution.

{managed by immortals in higher planes-of-existence}

Gurdjieff places the "Work" within a complex cosmology. The aim of life is to transform energy consciously {with awareness of consequences} and to participate responsibly in the cosmic process and drama in which humanity has a role in

the great chain of being. ...

{a Platonic expression}

Individuals who do not attain this ... also contribute ..., becoming "food for the moon" (Ouspensky 1949:57)."

{those persons who are unworthy of entring the sun, entre instead the moon, according to the Upanis.ad etc.}

[Gurdjieff's secret teaching (evidently of Taoist provenience), quoted from de Hartmann & de Hartmann 1992:6 :] "man on his present level of being does not possess an immortal, indestructible soul {i.e. capable of retaining memory and planning into future lives}, but with certain work on himself he can form an immortal soul; then this newly formed soul-body {subtle-body (suks.ma-kaya)} will no longer be subordinate to the laws {frailties} of the physical body and after death of the physical body will continue to exist {and to work for the benefit of divine immortals and of their mortal co-adjuvators}."

"Naturally there have been many attempts to identify the source of Gurdjieff's teachings, which would seem to be an unsolvable problem ... (Bennett 1966)".

{It is very definitely Taoist; for in Taoism, the immortal body of a adept likewise not prae-existent, but is needed to be generated by cultivation of benevolent esoteric practices.}

"Vi`ctor Manuel Go`mez Rodri`guez was born in Santa Fe[`] of Bogota` in Colombia, in 1917. ... . ... he joined ... Arnoldo Krumm-Heller's (1876-1949) Fraternitas Rosicruciana Antiqua ..., and ... discovered that in his previous lifetimes he had been an Egyptian priest, Julius Caesar, a member of a Tibetan order consisting of

201 monks

{There are said to be 201 gods at Ile'-Ife` (C201G).}

who sustained mankind, and the equivalent of Jesus on the moon.

To save mankind residing on the moon,

{A tree is chopped with an axe on the moon according to the Chinese ("CT").}

he had been ... entrusted with preparing the coming of the "Fifth race root",

{Cf. the saying of Ioannes ho Baptistes about the axe at the root (Matthaios 3:10; Loukas 3:9).}

according to ... Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. In any case, when Krumm-Heller died in 1949, Go[`]mez having assumed the initiatic name of Samael Aun Weor ..., published his first book ... and decided to open the gates of Gnosis to mankind ... in Mexico City. ... After Samael Aun Weor's death (in Mexico City on 24 December 1977) ... today dozen of separate branches exist. Although these branches diverge ..., they all share a veneration for the writings of Samael Aun Weor and also for his person as master Kalkin Avatar".

p. 142

"The synthesis of Samael Aun Weor's Gnostic teachings ... may be found in ... internal bodies or superior existential bodies of the human being (astral body, mental body, causal body), indispensable vehicles for higher dimensions above the physical plane, thanks to the transmutation of creative energies (through the practice of Arcanum AZF ...) and ... reawakening faculties such as clairvoyance, hearing distant voices, intuition, telepathy; ...

p. 143

striving to pass on the keys of universal knowledge received through the Gnostic path. ... A person discovers that his interior world is composed of three different elements : his essence, his "I"s, which are located in the forty-nine levels of the subconscious ..., and his personality. ...

Dissolving the "I"s by scaling three mountains,

{Meru being the mountain of deities, there are sets of 3 meru-s (repraesented as pagoda-s) each in Bali and in Lombok ("MT").}

an individual may reach union with the absolute ... . Scaling the first two mountains, the initiate creates his "solar bodies" (which however may still be used by the evil "I"s) and lastly, once these have been dissolved,

"golden bodies".

{Attainment of the golden body is known in Jainism and in Taoism.}

Once he has climbed the third mountain, there are no more bodies, and

the Kun[.]d[.]alini serpent is swallowed by the eagle ... .

{an Aztec theme}

To reach this aim, Samael Aun Weor offers ... an alchemical approach to sexuality, ... to the "out of body" journeys and to the creation of the astral body."

p. 144

"Weor writes [1991, p. 127] :

The sexual hydrogen develops inside the human organism according to the musical scale ... . ... It crystallizes new human bodies and wisely transmuted, it gives form to the astral body. If ... Hydrogen SI-12 receives a special shock ... to pass to the next higher octave ... it ... acts in accordance with the Law of the Octave."

"Gurdjieff's teaching is almost identical to Weor's (Ouspensky 1949:254-9) ... . Were these the "inner exercises" (de Hartmann & de Hartmann 1992:40) taught by Gurdjieff, which Thomas de Hartmann ... did not feel "authorized" to speak of ...? Were these the exercises concerning "sexual energy which he told me never to repeat to others"? (ibid.:107)."

[quoted from Gurdjieff 1975, p. 202 :] "When such a special matter accumulates in sufficient quantities, it may begin to crystalize, as ... When a great deal of fine matter accumulates in man, there comes a moment when a new body can form and crystalize in him ... a higher octave. This body, often called astral, can only be formed from this special matter".

p. 145

[quoted from Weor 1960, p. 137 :] "The great German sage Krumm-Heller advises :

"Instead of coitus ..., one must offer reflexively sweet caresses, amorous phrases, and delicate touches ..., sustaining the purest spirituality as if the act were a true ceremony.

{More conventionally, these are done in addition to (rather than "instead of") caerimonious (with invocations of the divine world) genital stimulations.}

However, the man can and must ... [while] both experience a divine sensation which can last for hours ...

{This cryptic remark would would most likely indicate that both are "high" on a psychedelic drug.}

avoid ejaculating his sperm.""

{Karezza. More conventionally, both have orgasms.}

p. 145

"according to both Gurdjieff and Weor, for this soul to become truly immortal, the creation of an astral body is not enough because after attaining that state the adept must concentrate on creating a third body, the "mental body" : "But ["the third body"] is not the soul in the real meaning of the word.

Only the fourth {namely, the causal} body completes all the development possible for man in the earthly conditions of his existence.

{According to the Theosophical Society, however, there are further developments possible beyond the causal body.}

It is immortal within the limits of the solar system" (Gurdjieff 1975:217; for a comparison, see Weor 1991:129-35)."

{The plain meaning of this (viz., not to be immortal outside the solar system) would be that after one's death one will redincarnate in another solar system.}

p. 146

"in Gurdjieff's ..., "the Ray of Creation" (Ouspensky 1949:82-8, ... 167-9 ...) finds an exact echo in Weor 1991:38."

p. 146

"as Weor's most important disciple Jaoquin Enrique Amortegui Valbuena (1926-2000), better known as V. M. Rabolu`, informs us (Rabolu` 1991:23-38)" : "The itinerary of approach to Gnostic teachings of the Weorite movement is divided into three cycles ... .

The first chamber (exoteric circle) is composed of ... astral journeys, awakening the chakras ... (transmutation of energy, etc.).

The second chamber (mesoteric circle) is for ... "The Three Factors of the Revolution of Consciousness".

Lastly the third chamber (esoteric circle) ... called by the tantric term Sahaja Maithuna {'Innate Copulation'} (Weor ... 1972:101) consists of a complete sexual act

p. 147

between a man and a woman that allow for the sublimation of the sexual energy without {on the male's part} reaching orgasm ...; so that the transmutation of sexual energy contributes to open

the forty-nine levels of the subconscious,

{These 49 may be repraesented by the 49 Marut gods, named in the Puran.a-s.}

making all the hidden "I"s come forth and allowing the Gnostic ascent to occur."