"A MESSAGE FROM 'G':('GARCIA'-'GURDJIEFF')"

I begin this post with reference to a story I had to read a few times in various reading classes, from perhaps elementary school, in high school, and in college and which I had forgotten until lately when reading Mr. Bennett's remarkable and informative and revealing book entitled: WITNESS,THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHN BENNETT, and recalled this long forgotten story  read long, long ago, and so with 'apologies' to the original author  of  A MESSAGE FROM GARCIA, which I have taken liberties to append MR. GURDJIEFF'S NAME, both under the letter, 'G', I will attempt to show somewhat why I thought along these lines.                                                                                                                                                    The old saying of, 'IF YOU MEET THE BUDDHA ON THE WAY, KILL (SLAY) HIM" comes to mind especially to those who feel Mr. Gurdjieff received some of his concepts, methods, practices, etc. from BUDDHISM and from esoteric, obscure Sects that may or may not relate to DHYANA, CHAN, ZEN, TANTRA,etc. all, from India,China, Tibet, Mongolia, even Japan,etc. based on their understandings of the latter, what experience they may or may not have, their feelings and sentiments and emotions about these 'teachings',whether external or internal, and a host of other associations, of course.                                                THUS, the 'suggestion'-'command': "TO KILL THE MESSENGER BUT KEEP THE MESSAGE" seems descriptive of the many persons who encounter or embrace or whatever the messages or 'revelations' etc. of any of this 'WORK'.                                                                                                                                                                                                   So we face a dilemma of sorts, a conflict perhaps, a resistance, a friction,etc. when we attempt to see where we might go from here. We must ask some 'soul-searching' questions perhaps, that is, if we do have a 'soul' rather than a fantastic, imaginative assumption of such..                                                                                 IS THE MESSAGE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE MESSENGER???????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!                                                                                                                              Should we 'believe' 'BRINGERS OF GOOD NEWS' ? Or, should we believe 'BRINGERS OF BAD NEWS' or believe both or simply ignore such?  In some cases, peoples and groups and other power possessors have killed or slain, tortured or imprisoned such messengers who often came as both 'saints' and 'devils',. 'inventors' or 'charlatans' and the like. We can all select and choose those that seem to appear more significant to us personally and not rely on scholars and pundits and others who are 'experts' to do this for us.

We already have innumerable 'messages', real or imaginary, to 'decipher', to 'decode' that challenge and tax our limited brains(three), our intelligence, our instincts, our emotions, etc. which in our ignorance and meager experiences seem to come from 'other worlds', 'other spheres', other beings' etc.,many of whom we place on pedestals and revere or idolize long after they have died in some way and cling like drowning persons from capsized and sinking ships to the flotsam and jetsam of their doctrines which some of us have shattered to nearly microscopic bits...even electrons, in our frenzy to survive.                                                                  

EVEN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE 'MESSAGES' interpreted as 'LAWS & COMMANDS' from 'HIGHER SOURCES'-'HIGHER POWERS'.                                                                                    


WHY DO WE ASSUME  THAT GURDJIEFF'S AIM WAS 'HIGHER POWER' SANCTIONED OR IMPELLED & NOT MERELY HIS OWN SELF-MANDATED AIM, HIS OWN SELF-APPOINTED AIM? That is, if anyone seriously thinks this is the case or even thinks otherwise.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                     To understand why I have written this,such as it is, one has to examine the reasons that MR. OUSPENKSY gave concerning his 'BREAK'( a series of various ruptures of lesser or greater degree and scale) with MR. GURDJIEFF that finally split or cleaved in two their previous efforts and relation(ships). To some extent,the various splits and breaks that have been recorded and 'explained' for nearly  all the 'top' followers and advocates of the WORK, THE IDEAS, THE SYSTEM, THE METHODS, ETC. follow this pattern. Some cling to the message and reject the messenger, while others revere and accept the messenger but either reject the message originally brought or alter it beyond all recognition and/or substitute their own fantasies, etc. for the original, or otherwise counterfeit it or claim it is theirs and not that of the original messengers,etc.                                                 For now, I shall leave this discussion and perhaps return to it after mulling over what its implications, if any, have for me personally.