Spiritual Search in the Modern Day
Jantar Mantar, Jaipur - Photo credit B. Perlus
“If a man reasons and thinks soundly, no matter which path he follows in solving these problems, he must inevitably arrive back at himself, and begin with the solution of the problem of what he is himself and what his place is in the world around him. For without this knowledge, he will have no focal point in his search. Socrates’ words, “Know thyself” remain for all those who seek true knowledge and being."
G.I. Gurdjieff, Views from the Real World
Questions about the nature of things, what is life, is this all there is, and so on, occur to almost everybody at one time or another. For some, these questions can turn into a search, or even a yearning, for truth. It could be the truth about who I am, my purpose, a state of liberation, or what some call God. Each question may take a different shape, but the yearning is similar. Once that yearning becomes deep enough, and the “go it alone” impulse falls short, a search for a teaching begins in earnest. The teaching is usually practiced, even protected, by a community of people already on the path. Once a seeker connects with this community, their search can now turn fully inward. After all, the teaching’s tools are meant to provide direction and support for this next phase of search. From there, a further deepening can occur, where “search” and “life” begin to blend, and every moment can offer another insight into the pursuit of truth that got us started in the first place.
Gurdjieff says that people engaged in the search we’re talking about have a special compass of sorts inside, whose needle is attracted toward the teaching that’s right for them. He calls it the magnetic center. For our purposes, we’ll assume that you have felt that yearning, and you’ve tried this and that path, whether religious or otherwise, in your search. You’ve read, you’ve meditated; you may go to church, chant or practice yoga. Maybe you’re newly back from a retreat in India. Whatever the case, you may still be searching for a tradition that resonates with your particular yearning, and speaks to your particular questions. In a word, your magnetic center has not yet found its north.
Today it’s easier than ever to find a teaching, a set of practices, or a guide offering answers to our innermost questions. On a recent Rochester Gurdjieff Center social media update, an unknown person posted a comment asking if our “flock” was in need of a teacher because, as he said: “I make a great guide.” In this landscape of mercenary gurus and spiritual paths by the million, what, or whom, do you trust?
Gurdjieff offers a big clue via Socrates’ words “Know thyself.” Do you know yourself? If, in your mind, your response is: of course I already know myself! then you are probably in the wrong place. If you concede that who you are changes on occasion, or have noticed there is some unnamed part inside you that is listening to the thoughts in your brain, and you wonder what that might be, then the Gurdjieff Work may be of interest.
There are entire religious systems that revolve around the disillusionment of the concept of self. But this is a very high state, and though this may be a truth, or even the truth, the experience of it is too far away right now to be of practical value. In a practical sense, “self,” “disillusionment,” and “truth” are all just words. The challenge for modern seekers is that words can be easily arranged into something that sounds like an answer. If you would prefer someone’s pre-formulated answer to your innermost question, then once again, this is probably not the right place for you. If, instead, you are interested in walking the path yourself, taking on practices to help you come closer to the truth on your own, then the Gurdjieff Work may be of interest. Why? Because this tradition is about verifiable experience, not faith or believing what someone else says.
This brings us back to the question “What or whom do you trust?” What better than to trust your own experience? Gurdjieff said "I ask you to believe nothing that you cannot verify for yourself.” In this way, the search continues to deepen, but at the same time it starts and ends right here with my own efforts to see myself. If someone offers an easy answer, they’re not representing the Work. Each of us here is making efforts to verify what we hear, what we read, and what others in the group bring. These simple efforts, which everyone is capable of, are ultimately in service to that yearning for truth.
So far we’ve spoken about the search for a teaching that fits. But there’s one more aspect to search that needs to be addressed, and that is our modern tendency to keep shopping. It’s a trait that can be seen across the spectrum of life, from people not wanting to commit to a relationship “just in case,” to hopping from one job to the next, and all the way to spiritual pursuits. It often happens that a person learns a bit about a tradition, and then gets stuck. Whether it’s due to thinking they’ve got the gist of things, or are simply bored, there comes a time when many people feel the impulse to seek a new path. In the Work this might be referred to as an interval -- a slowing down of interest, or even a movement in the opposite direction we started in.
There’s an allegory that we often bring when speaking with new people about the tendency to keep searching. It goes like this: If you’re digging a well, you can dig ten feet down but you’ll never hit water. In fact, you can dig ten such wells, and still not have even a remote chance of seeing mud on your shovel. Ten feet feels pretty deep when you’re digging. It’s tiring work and anyone would consider giving up, but what’s actually needed is an intensification of effort. When you’re searching for water, ten wells dug 10’ deep will get you nowhere. What’s needed is one well sunk 100’ or more. It’s the same for spiritual pursuits. So many people take a pinch of this, and a bit of that teaching, and come away with a mixed bag of ideas. This grazing may allow them to carry on a dinner party conversation, but does not provide real support for inner transformation.
It doesn’t matter if your magnetic center steers you to Christianity, Buddhism, the Work or any other spiritual path. If a tradition resonates with you, then what matters is your ability to stay firm, dig deep, and make efforts in a certain direction. After all, when walking the path to “Know thyself,” you need a reliable mirror to see. The insights you gain along the way, the community of seekers you connect with, and the teaching itself not only provide this mirror, they also lend support for deeper efforts.
With this support, the yearning I once thought of as “mine” can become a contribution. It can be enriched and, perhaps in time, transformed into something beyond the notion of me and mine, something of a completely different order. This gets at the heart of spiritual transformation, and in this very practical way is available for us all to experience.