Gurdjieff Dominican Group
Extract from Beelzebub
Chapter 42 / Beelzebub in
“The changes now taking place in the process of this Christian custom of
fasting are very characteristic and
provide an excellent example for understanding how in general all the “good
Christian customs” have little by little undergone change, until they have
finally entirely ceased to exist.”
“An excellent illustration of this
is the manner in which this fast is observed at the present day by those called
“Russian Orthodox Christians“ ‘These Russian Orthodox Christians took their
religion in its entirety from the Orthodox Greeks, who passed on to them, along
with other Christian customs, this same custom of “fasting. “Among the millions
of these Russian Orthodox Christians the majority still continue to fast, as is
said, “rigorously,” according to the “Orthodox code”
now existing there.”
“But as to the manner of their fasting, one cannot help recalling the
saying of our dear Mullah Nassr Eddin
in such cases:
“Isn’t it all the
same if I sing like a donkey as long as they call me a nightingale?”
“It is just the same with the
fasting of these Russian Orthodox Christians as long as they are called
Christians and moreover Orthodox—what does it matter that they receive no
“shock” whatever from the fast? “ ‘As I
have said, these Russian Orthodox Christians of the present time still observe
very strictly all the seasons and days of fast indicated in their code. ‘But as for what should or should not be
eaten during a fast, it is just in that question that the “left paw of the
curly-haired dog of ex-Emperor Wilhelm” lies buried.
“You will understand clearly how these contemporary Russian Orthodox
Christians fast if I repeat the exact words of one of them, spoken to me not
long ago in Russia.”
“I used to meet this Russian there
on business and even became somewhat friendly with him and visited him at his
house.
‘He was considered by those around
him to be a very good Christian and the “patriarchal father of a family,” he
came from the sect of the “Old Believers. “ ‘Old Believers are those Orthodox
Christians whose ancestors, several centuries ago, refused to submit to new
rules then laid down by “somebody or other,” and who remained faithful
followers of the previous rules, also laid down by “somebody or other,” only a
century or two before this religious schism.
“And so one day, when I was dining
at the house of this worthy Old Believer in the company of several other
Russians, also Orthodox Christians, he turned to me and said:
“Ekh! old dear!”
“By the way, I must tell you that
the beings of this group have the habit, after the second glass of genuine
Russian vodka, of calling their acquaintances by various pet names, such as
“old dear,” “my zapoopoonchik,” “my pot-bellied
beauty,” “my little brown Jug,” and so on and so forth.
“And so this worthy Russian Orthodox Christian, addressing
me as “old dear,” said:
“Never mind, old dear! We shall soon be having Lent and then we shall
feast together on genuine Russian dishes .
“To tell the truth, here in
“But during fasts, especially during Lent, it is quite a different
story! “Not a day goes by but one is
privileged to enjoy the most succulent dishes…
…“These last researches of mine made
it clear to me that although people’s psyche does indeed deteriorate from the
constant introduction into the organism of the substance ‘eknokh,’
yet it is only at certain times of the year that this substance has a particularly
harmful effect.
“So, my brethren in Christ from all
I have said and chiefly from my latest observations, made daily during a whole
year on numbers of people, and which clearly showed me that the intensity of
the harmful effect of the substance ‘eknokh’
increases at certain times of the year, I can only now make bold to express my
personal opinion that if there were to be spread among the followers of the
teachings of Jesus Christ the custom of abstaining
at certain designated times of the year from the use of products in the
formation of which the substance ‘eknokh’ plays a
dominant part, such a custom could conceivably be observed and would bring the
people a real benefit.
“As my numerous alchemical
investigations have shown me, the substance ‘eknokh’
participates in the formation of all living organisms without exception,
wherever they may exist—on the surface of the Earth, within its depths, in the
water, in the atmosphere, and so on. “This substance is also present in
everything contributing to the formation of these organisms, as for example in
the amniotic fluid of every species of pregnant female, and in such products as
milk, eggs, caviar, and so on.
“ ‘The ideas expressed by the great Hertoonano so astounded and agitated all the members of the
Council of Kelnuan that the commotion made it
impossible for him to continue, so he was obliged to abandon his speech and
descend from the rostrum.
“ ‘The manuscript stated further that by
the end of the day the members of the Council of Kelnuan
had come to a unanimous decision to specify, with the help of the great Hertoonano, those times of the year when the effects of the
substance “eknokh” were most harmful for people, and
to spread widely among the followers of Jesus Christ the custom of fasting at
these times of the year—that is, of abstaining from products containing the
substance “eknokh” injurious for them.
“ With this, the Judaic-Essenian manuscript ended.”