In dit dunne boekje 'The Third Force (https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/the-third-force/9200000045356219/)' van Ramesh Balsekar verwijst hij enkele keren naar Gurdjieff's. (Zie schermafbeelding in bijlage.)
Fragmenten waarin Gurdjieff's naam voorkomt.
1)
Thinkers and writers like Schwaller and Gurdjieff stated that modem civilized man had 'degenerated'. It is as if he has stuck earplugs into his ears to protect him from city noise, and then forgotten to take them out. What emerges from their books is the idea that modern man has forgotten something of fundamental importance.
2)
'Pythagoreanism is sometimes called 'number mysticism', and Pythagoras attached great importance to the numbers three and seven, and to the laws governing musical notes. Gurdjieff had also spoken of the "law of three" and the "law of seven". The law of three states that all creation involves a "third force". We are inclined to think in terms of dualities: positive and negative, male and female, good and evil. Gurdjieff – who derived the ideas from the Sankhya philosophy of India – stated that, instead, we should try to think in terms of three. Positive and negative merely counterbalance one another, but if anything is to come of them, they must be given a push by a third force. An obvious example would be a catalyst in a chemical reaction. Oxygen and sulphur dioxide do not naturally combine, but if passed over hot platinised asbestos, they form sulphur trioxide, from which sulphuric acid is made. The platinised asbestos remains unchanged.'
3)
Perhaps Gurdjieff's most interesting illustration is of someone who wishes to change, to achieve greater self-knowledge, and in whom the forces of laziness act as a counterbalance. In this case the break through can occur through knowledge-a perception of how it can be achieved, which brings a new drive and optimism. In other words, the third force is a kind of kick, an outside force that alters the balance of a situation, breaks a deadlock.
Fragment uit The Third Force
Ramesh S. Balsekar