Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson
This is the first of a three volume set written by
G. I. Gurdjieff. It was intended to be a
firewall and teaching tool for the Gurdjieff Work. The trilogy is collectively known as
All and Everything.
The trilogy includes Meetings with Remarkable Men (first published in 1963) and Life is Real Only Then, When 'I Am' (first privately printed in 1974).
The First Series (as Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson is also known) was first published in 1950 after the death of Gurdjieff. The publication was authorised and approved by him before his death. In he prospectus for All and Everything, printed at the beginning of each part of the trilogy Gurdjieff states his aim in publishing these texts:
- FIRST SERIES: Three books under the title of “An Objectively Impartial Criticism of the Life of Man,” or, “Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson.”
- SECOND SERIES: Three books under the common title of “Meetings with Remarkable Men.”
- THIRD SERIES: Four books under the common title of “Life is Real Only Then, When ‘I Am.’”
- All written according to entirely new principles of logical reasoning and strictly directed towards the solution of the following three cardinal problems:
- FIRST SERIES: To destroy, mercilessly, without any compromises whatsoever, in the mentation and feelings of the reader, the beliefs and views, by centuries rooted in him, about everything existing in the world.
- SECOND SERIES: To acquaint the reader with the material required for a new creation and to prove the soundness and good quality of it.
- THIRD SERIES: To assist the arising, in the mentation and in the feelings of the reader, of a veritable, non-fantastic representation not of that illusory world which he now perceives, but of the world existing in reality.
Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson was retranslated and republished in the 1990s. It was first published in 1950 by Harcourt, Brace & Company (New York); Routledge & Kegan Paul (London). This first translation was made under the personal direction of the author by a group of translators chosen by him and specially trained according to their defined individualities. Later republished in 1964 by E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., and again republished in 1973 by E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc. in paperback (3 volumes), then republished in 1993 by Two Rivers Press. Finally republished in 1999 by Penguin Arkana, in paperback which contains correction of errata and insertion of two paragraphs omitted from page 568 of Chapter 32 "Hypnotism" in earlier editions.
The revised translation was first published in 1992 by Arkana, an imprint of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA. This newer translation was begun on the initiative of Jeanne de Salzmann. The translation team included members of the Gurdjieff Foundation of New York, aided by members of the Gurdjieff Society (London) and the Institut Gurdjieff (Paris), as well as Triangle Editions, the holder of the copyright of the new translation.
Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson is the ruminations of a horned space alien known as Beelzebub to his grandson Hussein as they travel on the spaceship Karnak falling through space. It recounts the adventures and travails of Beelzebub amongst the 'three brained beings' of the planet Earth and their strange behaviors and customs.
In his introduction to the book Gurdjieff states the following:
- Friendly Advice
- [Written impromptu by the author on delivering this book, already prepared for publication, to the printer.]
- ACCORDING TO the numerous deductions and conclusions made by me during experimental elucidations concerning the productivity of the perception by contemporary people of new impressions from what is heard and read, and also according to the thought of one of the sayings of popular wisdom I have just remembered, handed down to our days from very ancient times, which declares: “Any prayer may be heard by the Higher Powers and a corresponding answer obtained only if it is uttered thrice:
- Firstly—for the welfare or the peace of the souls of one’s parents.
- Secondly—for the welfare of one’s neighbor.
- And only thirdly—for oneself personally.”
- I find it necessary on the first page of this book, quite ready for publication, to give the following advice:
- “Read each of my written expositions thrice:
- * Firstly: at least as you have already become mechanized to read all your contemporary books and newspapers.
- * Secondly: as if you were reading aloud to another person.
- * And only thirdly: try and fathom the gist of my writings.
- Only then will you be able to count upon forming your own impartial judgment, proper to yourself alone, on my writings. And only then can my hope be actualized that according to your understanding you will obtain the specific benefit for yourself which I anticipate, and which I wish for you with all my being.”
This is some of the most difficult reading you could ever take upon yourself. At times it may appear dry, longwinded, and seemingly ridiculous. But there is a purpose to the style and content of this work. The fact that it was translated from Armenian and Russian does not make the task of understanding the text any easier.
There is a Guide and Index to Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson published by The Traditional Studies Press of Toronto, Ontario that helps explain the nomenclature developed by Gurdjieff (many of his words are made up out of terms from foreign languages and esoteric concepts).
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