L20018 Mar 2019 13:38
MANY MEN BORN, BUT ONLY FEW GROW
He [George Gurdjieff speaking to 12-year-old Fritz Peters] went on to say that his work was not only very difficult, but could also be very dangerous for some people. “This work not for everyone,” he said. “FOR example, if I wish to learn to become millionaire, necessary to devote all early life to this aim and no other. If wish to become priest, philosopher, teacher, or businessman, should not come here. Here only teach possibility how become man such as not known in modern times, particularly in western world.” He then asked me to look out of the window and to tell him what I saw. I said that, from that window, all I could see was an oak tree.
2 And what, he asked, was on the oak tree? I told him: acorns.
“How many acorns?”
When I replied, rather uncertainly, that I did not know, he said impatiently: “Not exactly, not ask that. Guess how many!”
I said that I supposed there were several thousand of them. He agreed and then asked me how many of the acorns would become oak trees. I answered that I supposed only five or six of them would actually develop into trees, if that many.
He nodded. “Perhaps only one, perhaps not even one. Must learn from Nature. Man is also organism. Nature make many acorns, but possibility to become tree exist for only few acorns. Same with man—many men born, but only few grow. People think this waste, think Nature waste. Not so. Rest become fertilizer, go back into earth and create possibility
for more acorns, more men, once in while more tree—more real man. Nature always give—but only give possibility. To become real oak, or real man, must make effort. You under- stand this, my work, this Institute, not for fertilizer. For real man, only. But must also understand fertilizer necessary to Nature. Possibility for real tree, real man also depend just this fertilizer.”
After a rather long silence, he continued: “In west—your world—is belief that man have soul given by God. Not so. Nothing given by God, only Nature give. And Nature only give possibility for soul, not give soul. Must acquire soul through work. But unlike tree, man have many possibilities. As man now exist he have also possibility grow by accident —grow wrong way. Man can become many things, not just fertilizer, not just real man: can become what you call ‘good’ or ‘evil’, not proper things for man. Real man not good or
evil—real man only conscious, only wish acquire soul for
proper development.”
~ Fritz Peters “Boyhood with Gurdjieff”
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