THE SEVEN LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT

In the philosophy of The Fourth Way, we often encounter the idea that there are seven levels or stages of spiritual development possible for man. 

To quote Gurdjieff, “Once again, let us take the idea of man. In the language of which I speak, instead of the word ‘man,’ seven words are used, namely: man number one, man number two, man number three, man number four, man number five, man number six, and man number seven. With these seven ideas, people are already able to understand one another when speaking of man.

“Man number seven means a man who has reached the full development possible to man and who possesses everything a man can possess, that is, will, consciousness, permanent and unchangeable I, individuality, immortality, and many other properties which, in our blindness and ignorance, we ascribe to ourselves. It is only when, to a certain extent, we understand man number seven and his properties that we can understand the gradual stages through which we can approach him, that is, understand the process of development possible for us.

“Man number six stands very close to man number seven. He differs from man number seven only by the fact that some of his properties have not as yet become permanent.

“Man number five is also for us an unattainable standard of man, for it is a man who has reached unity.

“Man number four is an intermediate stage. I shall speak of him later.

“Man number one, number two, and number three; these are people who constitute mechanical humanity on the same level on which they are born.

“Man number one means man in whom the center of gravity of his psychic life lies in the moving center. This is the man of the physical body, the man with whom the moving and the instinctive functions constantly outweigh the emotional and the thinking functions.

“Man number two means man on the same level of development, but man in whom the center of gravity of his psychic life lies in the emotional center, that is, man with whom the emotional functions outweigh all others, the man of feeling, the emotional man.

“Man number three means man on the same level of development but man in whom the center of gravity of his psychic life lies in the intellectual center, that is, man with whom the thinking functions gain the upper hand over the moving, instinctive, and emotional functions; the man of reason, who goes into everything from theories, from mental considerations.

“Every man is born number one, number two, or number three.

“Man number four is not born ready-made. He is born one, two, or three and becomes four only as a result of efforts of a definite character. Man number four is always the product of school work. He can neither be born, nor develop accidentally or as the result of ordinary influences of bringing up, education, and so on. Man number four already stands on a different level to man number one, two, and three; he has a permanent center of gravity which consists in his ideas, in his valuation of the work, and in his relation to the school. In addition, his psychic centers have already begun to be balanced; one center in him cannot have such a preponderance over others as is the case with people of the first three categories. He already begins to know himself and begins to know whither he is going.

“Man number five has already been crystallized; he cannot change as man number one, two, and three change. But it must be noted that man number five can be the result of right work and he can be the result of wrong work. He can become man number five from number four and he can become number five without having been four. And in this case, he cannot develop further, cannot become number six and seven. In order to become number six he must again melt his crystallized essence, must intentionally lose his being of man number five. And this can be achieved only through terrible sufferings. Fortunately, these cases of wrong development occur very rarely.

“The division of man into seven categories, or seven numbers, explains thousands of things which otherwise cannot be understood. This division gives the first conception of relativity as applied to man. Things may be one thing or another thing according to the kind of man from whose point of view or in relation to whom, they are taken.

“In accordance with this, all the inner and all the outer manifestations of man, all that belongs to man, and all that is created by him, is also divided into seven categories.

“It can now be said that there exists a knowledge number one, based upon imitation or upon instincts, or learned by heart, crammed or drilled into a man. Number one, if he is man number one in the full sense of the term, learns everything like a parrot or a monkey.

“The knowledge of man number two is merely the knowledge of what he likes; what he does not like, he does not know. Always and in everything, he wants something pleasant. Or, if he is a sick man, he will, on the contrary, know only what he dislikes, what repels him, and what evokes in him fear, horror, and loathing.

“The knowledge of man number three is knowledge based upon subjectively logical thinking, upon words, upon literal understanding. It is the knowledge of bookworms, of scholastics. Men number three, for example, have counted how many times each letter of the Arabic alphabet is repeated in the Koran of Mohammed, and upon this have based a whole system of interpretation of the Koran.

“The knowledge of man number four is a very different kind of knowledge. It is knowledge which comes from man number five, who in turn receives it from man number six, who has received it from man number seven. But, of course, man number four assimilates of this knowledge only what is possible according to his powers. But, in comparison with man number one, man number two, and man number three, man number four has begun to get free from the subjective elements in his knowledge and to move along the path towards objective knowledge.

“The knowledge of man number five is whole, indivisible knowledge. He has now one indivisible I and all his knowledge belongs to this I. He cannot have one I that knows something which another does not know. What he knows, the whole of him knows. His knowledge is nearer to objective knowledge than the knowledge of man number four.

“The knowledge of man number six is the complete knowledge possible to man, but it can still be lost.

“The knowledge of man number seven is his own knowledge, which cannot be taken away from him; it is the objective and completely practiced knowledge of All. It is exactly the same with being. There is the being of man number one, that is, the being of a man living by his instincts and his sensations; the being of man number two, that is to say, the being of the sentimental, the emotional man; the being of man number three, that is, the being of the rational, the theoretical man, and so on. It is quite clear why knowledge cannot be far away from being. Man number one, two, or three cannot, by reason of his being, possess the knowledge of man number four, man number five, and higher. Whatever you may give him, he may interpret in his own way; he will reduce every idea to the level on which he is himself.

“The same order of division into seven categories must be applied to everything relating to man. There is art number one, there is the art of man number one, copying art, or crudely primitive and sensuous art such as the dances and music of savage peoples. There is art number two, sentimental art; art number three, intellectual, invented art; and there must be art number four, number five, and so on.

“In exactly the same way there exists the religion of man number one, that is to say, a religion consisting of rites, of external forms, of sacrifices and ceremonies of imposing splendor and brilliance, or, on the contrary, of a gloomy, cruel, and savage character, and so on. There is the religion of man number two; the religion of faith, love, adoration, impulse, enthusiasm, which soon becomes transformed into the religion of persecution, oppression, and extermination of ‘heretics’ and ‘heathens.’ There is the religion of man number three; the intellectual, theoretical religion of proofs and arguments, based upon logical deductions, considerations, and interpretations. Religions number one, number two, and number three are really the only ones we know; all known and existing religions and denominations in the world belong to one of these three categories. What the religion of man number four or the religion of man number five and so on is, we do not know, and we cannot know so long as we remain what we are.

“If instead of religion in general, we take Christianity, then again there exists a Christianity number one, that is to say, paganism in the guise of Christianity. Christianity number two is an emotional religion, sometimes very pure but without force, sometimes full of bloodshed and horror, leading to the Inquisition to religious wars. Christianity number three, instances of which are afforded by the various forms of Protestantism, is based upon dialectic, argument, theories, and so forth. Then there is Christianity number four, of which men number one, number two, and number three have no conception whatsoever.

“In actual fact, Christianity number one, number two, and number three is simply external imitation. Only man number four strives to be a Christian and only man number five can actually be a Christian. For to be a Christian means to have the being of a Christian, that is, to live in accordance with Christ’s precepts.

“Man number one, number two, and number three cannot live in accordance with Christ’s precepts because with them everything ‘happens.’ Today it is one thing and tomorrow it is quite another thing. Today they are ready to give away their last shirt and tomorrow to tear a man to pieces because he refuses to give up his shirt to them. They are swayed by every chance event. They are not masters of themselves, and therefore they cannot decide to be Christians and really be Christians.

“Science, philosophy, and all manifestations of man’s life and activity can be divided in exactly the same way into seven categories. But the ordinary language in which people speak is very far from any such divisions, and this is why it is so difficult for people to understand one another.

“In analyzing the various subjective meanings of the word ‘man,’ we have seen how varied and contradictory, and, above all, how concealed and unnoticeable even to the speaker himself are the meanings and the shades of meaning created by habitual associations that can be put into a word.”

THUS TO SIMPLIFY:

1. The center of gravity in the Moving Center – works by imitation, instinct, and sensations.

2. The center of gravity in the Emotional Center – emphasizes ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes.’ Sentimental and emotional.

3. The center of gravity in the Thinking Center – theorizes, philosophizes, and utilizes mental constructs, systems, and proofs.

4. The center of gravity is like an equilateral triangle, balanced, is capable of genuine self-observation and knowledge of one’s aim.

5. The center of gravity is based on unity – this man can say he has an ‘I’ (without quotation marks) and has the beginning of true will. What he knows with a part is known throughout; indivisible knowledge, but not complete.

6. Complete knowledge, but not yet crystallized and can be lost.

7. Fullest possible development (in a planetary ecology). Completely conscious. Permanent, unchanging ‘I,’ individuality, immortality.

AN ALCHEMICAL APPROACH

Although the above is a brilliant expose of the seven levels of the spiritual development of man and their associated attributes, seldom in the teachings of The Fourth Way do we encounter clear instructions of how one proceeds from man number one, two, or three to man number four, five, six, and seven. 

However, looking at the source of The Fourth Way philosophy, namely Alchemy, we can begin to clarify and refine our understanding of the work of personal development.

The key to understanding can be found in the seven stages of alchemical transformation, which are:

1. Calcination – The act of heating a substance over a flame until it is reduced to ashes.

2. Dissolution – The act of dissolving a substance in water (or other solvent) to release its inner content.

3. Separation – The act of isolation of components by filtration or evaporation. 

4. Conjunction – The combining of essential components, thus creating a rarified substance.

5. Fermentation – The introduction of new life (yeast) into a substance for the production of a new kind of material (ethanol)

6. Distillation – A cyclic process of separation and refinement, thus strengthening and vivifying the constituent parts.

7. Coagulation – The result of the seven-stage alchemical process, resulting in an evolution of the original substances being worked on (the Ultima Materia).

It is essential to understand that alchemy is both a psycho-spiritual practice as well as a physical one. In other words, when an alchemist performs the seven actions (above) in a laboratory, it is more than just chemical reactions; the alchemist is intimately involved and, in a sense, becomes one with the alchemical operations he is performing. For example, as the substance in his retort is undergoing fermentation or distillation, the same process is happening spiritually within the alchemist. Indeed, if an experiment fails in the lab, it is believed that something is missing in the alchemist's spiritual practices – and once rectified, he (or she) will succeed in both.

When drawing a correlation between The Fourth Way’s Man Number One through Man Number Seven and the seven stages of alchemy, some striking observations present themselves. 

Man Number One, ruled by the Moving Center, corresponds to the alchemical operation of Calcination. Indeed, many parallels can be gleaned from the burning of Calcination and the fire-like action of the Moving Center. One of the chief features of Man Number One is that he is a consumer on all levels – interested mainly in what to eat, what to buy, how to appear to others, and what to do – always moving. Truly, the consumptive nature of Calcination fits this description to a tee.

Man Number Two – ruled by emotion, corresponds to the alchemical operation of Dissolution – like water, always awash with the influence of what’s around him, never able to fully disentangle from the influence of his surroundings. One of the chief features of Man Number Two is the inability to remain unaffected by emotions.

Man Number Three – ruled by the mind, corresponds to the alchemical operation of Separation – always distinguishing between ‘this and that,’ filtering concepts and information through the mental net of his experience and what he has learned. One of the chief features of Man Number Three is the inability to do anything for the sake of overthinking everything. Like steam evaporating into thin air, all his ambitions become vapor without condensing into something usable.

In all three cases, each can only remain fixed in what they are without introducing specific techniques to correct the negative aspects of their chief features and enter the alchemical path of evolution and refinement.

Before the work of Man Number Four can begin, Man Number One, Two, and Three must learn to balance the forces of calcination, dissolution, and separation. This process differs for each person, and a competent guide is required (i.e., someone at the stage of Man Number Five or higher). 

Like the proverbial man who represents himself in court, the man who believes he can teach himself personal development has a fool for a student and an even greater fool for a teacher. And woe to him who is duped into believing in a teacher who, for all outward appearances, is a Man Number Five but who skipped the essential work at the level of Man Number Four – for they can talk a great (esoteric) game, but can never produce students who can do anything more than parrot esoteric knowledge, but cannot demonstrate their ability to do.

So, perhaps this gives you some idea of what may be in store for the serious seeker on The Way.

Pierce!

December 14, 2023