The central narrator of Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson, a three-brained being who has attained the sacred degree of Podkoolad—the highest gradation of Reason achievable before the sacred Anklad. Born on the planet Karatas in the solar system Pandetznokh (whose sun is also called the Pole Star), Beelzebub had an "exceptionally strong, fiery, and splendid youth" and was taken into service on the Sun Absolute due to his "extraordinarily resourceful intelligence," becoming an attendant upon his endlessness himself.

Early Career and Exile

In his youth, owing to "unformed Reason" and "callow and therefore still impetuous mentation," Beelzebub perceived something "illogical" in the government of the World and, gathering support among his comrades, interfered in cosmic affairs. His intervention "brought the central kingdom of the Megalocosmos almost to the edge of revolution," resulting in his exile with companions to the remote solar system Ors, specifically to the planet Mars, where they established a colony of three-centered beings from various planets.

Life in Exile

During his exile, Beelzebub organized his existence on Mars and established a famous observatory for observing "remote points of the Universe and the conditions of existence of beings on neighboring planets." This observatory became "well known and even famous everywhere in the Universe." He made multiple visits to Earth over the course of human history, witnessing the rise and fall of civilizations and studying the peculiar psyche of terrestrial three-brained beings.

Family

Beelzebub has several sons, including his favorite son Tooloof (father of Hassein), who was freed from exile and eventually became chief Zirlikner of planet Karatas. His grandson Hassein, son of Tooloof, serves as the primary audience for the Tales. Beelzebub undertook Hassein's education personally, recognizing that "the time happened to coincide with the time when the Reason of little Hassein needed to be developed."

Pardon and Return

After many years in exile, Beelzebub received full pardon from his uni-being endlessness and was permitted to return to his native Karatas. Upon his return, he underwent the sacred process of "Essence-Sacred-Aliamizoornakalu" as a condition of his pardon. During the narrative of the Tales, while traveling aboard the ship Karnak to attend a conference on the planet Revozvradendr, Beelzebub experiences the Most Great Universal Solemnity in which his horns are restored, revealing his attainment of the sacred Podkoolad degree.

Cosmic Rank and Achievements

By the end of the Tales, Beelzebub has achieved the cosmic rank of Sacred Podkoolad, indicated by five forks on his horns. This represents "the last gradation before the Reason of the sacred Anklad"—only three degrees from the Absolute Reason of his endlessness himself. This extraordinary achievement was attained through "conscious labors and intentional sufferings" during his exile, transforming what began as punishment into an opportunity for unprecedented spiritual development.

Role as Teacher

The entire narrative consists of Beelzebub's educational conversations with his grandson Hassein during their journey on the ship Karnak. His teaching method follows two strict principles: first, never to present anything as his personal opinion so that Hassein might form his own convictions, and second, to relate events in a carefully selected sequence so that Hassein could "marshal your own subjective reasoning concerning all causes, only on the basis of certain facts." This pedagogical approach reflects his understanding that genuine knowledge must be earned through the student's own efforts rather than passively received.

Long, long before, while Beelzebub was still existing at home on the planet Karatas, he had been taken, owing to his extraordinarily resourceful intelligence, into service on the 'Sun Absolute,' where our lord sovereign endlessness has the fundamental place of his Dwelling; and there Beelzebub, among others like himself, had become an attendant upon his endlessness. (2.52)

All fell prostrate before Beelzebub because by the fifth fork on his horns it was indicated that He had attained the Reason of the sacred Podkoolad, i.e., the last gradation before the Reason of the sacred Anklad. The Reason of the sacred Anklad is the highest to which in general any being can attain, being the third in degree from the Absolute Reason of his endlessness himself. (47.1177)

Location in Book: Beelzebub appears throughout the entire narrative as the primary speaker, with his most significant character development occurring in the opening chapters (1-2), the pedagogical explanations in Chapter 46, and the cosmic recognition ceremony in Chapter 47.

Etymology / Notes: The name "Beelzebub" deliberately evokes the traditional "Lord of the Flies" from Christian demonology, but Gurdjieff transforms this figure into a wise, evolved being who represents the possibility of redemption and cosmic development. This inversion serves Gurdjieff's broader critique of conventional religious thinking, demonstrating how apparent "evil" can be transformed through conscious work into the highest cosmic achievement. Beelzebub's journey from rebellious youth to Sacred Podkoolad illustrates the fundamental theme of theTales: that conscious suffering and labor can transform any being, regardless of their starting point, into a vehicle for divine wisdom.

A fundamental cosmic concept referring to the complete process by which three-brained beings come into manifestation and continue their lives, creating an obligation that must be fulfilled through conscious work and service to the Creator. The phrase appears most significantly in Beelzebub's instruction to Hassein about the ultimate cosmic responsibility: beings must become worthy "to pay for your arising and existence" (7.78). This obligation forms the fourth of the five being-obligolnian-strivings: "The striving from the beginning of their existence to pay for their arising and their individuality as quickly as possible, in order afterwards to be free to lighten as much as possible the Sorrow of our common father" (27.386). The concept encompasses both the initial coming-into-being (arising) through cosmic processes and the ongoing maintenance of life (existence), both of which create a cosmic debt that must be repaid through conscious labors and intentional sufferings. Until beings fulfill this obligation through being-Partkdolg-duty and genuine service to cosmic purposes, they remain cosmic debtors. The phrase also relates to the fundamental epistemological perspective required of genuine learned beings who must "contemplate the details of all that exists from the point of view of World-arising and World-existence" (24.322), representing the complete understanding of how phenomena both come into being and continue to function within the cosmic order.

Quotes from the 1950 text:

So in the meantime, exist as you exist. Only do not forget one thing, namely, at your age it is indispensably necessary that every day, at sunrise, while watching the reflection of its splendor, you bring about a contact between your consciousness and the various unconscious parts of your general presence. Try to make this state last and to convince the unconscious parts - as if they were conscious - that if they hinder your general functioning, they, in the period of your responsible age, not only cannot fulfill the good that befits them, but your general presence of which they are part, will not be able to be a good servant of our common endless creator and by that will not even be worthy to pay for your arising and existence. (7.78)

The fourth: the striving from the beginning of their existence to pay for their arising and their individuality as quickly as possible, in order afterwards to be free to lighten as much as possible the Sorrow of our common father. (27.386)

Location in Book: Key appearances include Chapter 7, page 78 (Beelzebub's instruction to Hassein about cosmic obligation); Chapter 21, page 229 (conditions for arising and existing of beings); Chapter 24, page 322 (World-arising and World-existence perspective); Chapter 27, page 386 (fourth being-obligolnian-striving); Chapter 39, page 792 (cosmic substances for existence); multiple other instances throughout the text relating to cosmic obligations and the conditions necessary for proper existence.

Etymology / Notes: The compound phrase emphasizes the complete cosmic process from initial manifestation through ongoing existence, suggesting that both phases create obligations requiring conscious fulfillment. "Arising" specifically refers to the cosmic processes that bring beings into manifestation, involving the transformation of cosmic substances according to sacred laws, while "existence" encompasses the ongoing life processes and opportunities for development. The concept reveals that life itself creates a cosmic debt - beings receive the gift of consciousness and the possibility of development, but must "pay" for this through conscious service to universal purposes. This payment cannot be made during youth (the "preparatory age") but becomes a mandatory obligation during "responsible age" when beings have developed sufficient consciousness to understand their cosmic role. The teaching emphasizes that failure to pay this cosmic debt renders a being unworthy of their gift of consciousness and results in existence that serves only mechanical cosmic purposes rather than conscious evolution. The phrase bridges individual psychology with cosmic ethics, showing how personal development serves universal needs and how cosmic obligations provide the framework for authentic spiritual work.

The totality of a three-brained being's entire existence, encompassing all parts, functions, and potentialities as a unified whole. General presence (synonymous with "common presence") includes the planetary body, all three brain-centers with their various localizations, the higher being-bodies (when formed), and all conscious and unconscious processes operating within the being. As Gurdjieff explains, "the common presence of every man - particularly of one in whom for some reason or another there arises, so to say, the pretension to be not just an ordinary average man, but what is called 'one of the intelligentsia' in the genuine sense of the word - must inevitably consist not only of all the said four fully determined distinct personalities, but each of them must of necessity be exactly correspondingly developed" (48.1191). The general presence serves as the arena where the fundamental cosmic struggle between planetary and higher impulses takes place, where conscience arises, and where the authentic "I" either develops or fails to crystallize. In contemporary Earth beings, the different parts of the general presence function independently rather than harmoniously, leading to the formation of "three personalities, having nothing in common with each other" (30.480) instead of the unified functioning proper to three-brained beings.

Quotes from the 1950 text:

In all three-brained beings of the whole of our Universe without exception, among whom are also we men, owing to the data crystallized in our common presences for engendering in us the Divine impulse of conscience, "the-whole-of-us" and the whole of our essence, are, and must be, already in our foundation, only suffering.

And they must be suffering, because the completed actualizing of the manifestation of such a being-impulse in us can proceed only from the constant struggle of two quite opposite what are called "complexes-of-the-functioning" of those two sources which are of quite opposite origin, namely, between the processes of the functioning of our planetary body itself and the parallel functionings arising progressively from the coating and perfecting of our higher being-bodies within this planetary body of ours, which functionings in their totality actualize every kind of Reason in the three-centered beings. (27.372)

This something, which in the common presence of a drop of water is a factor actualizing in it the property corresponding to one or another of the streams, is in the common presence of each man who attains responsible age that "I," which was referred to in today's lecture.

A man who has in his common presence his own "I" enters one of the streams of the river of life; and the man who has not, enters the other. (48.1229)

Location in Book: The term appears throughout the text, with particularly important explanations in Chapters 27, 30, and 48. Key discussions appear on pages 372, 481, 1191, and 1229. The concept is fundamental to understanding individual development and appears in contexts ranging from consciousness formation to cosmic participation.

Etymology / Notes: The term represents Gurdjieff's systematic approach to describing the total being of an individual, emphasizing that true development requires the harmonious functioning of all parts rather than the dominance of any single aspect. "General presence" and "common presence" are used interchangeably throughout the text, both referring to the complete organization of a three-brained being including physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual components. The general presence is where conscience manifests, where higher being-bodies are formed through conscious work, and where the struggle between planetary and cosmic impulses determines a being's evolutionary direction. In properly developed beings, the general presence functions as a unified whole under the direction of a genuine "I," while in contemporary humans it typically consists of disconnected, often conflicting parts operating mechanically. The concept bridges individual psychology with cosmic principles, showing how personal development relates to universal laws and purposes. Understanding the general presence as a totality is essential for grasping Gurdjieff's teaching about conscious evolution and the transformation from mechanical to conscious existence.

The fundamental psychological teaching presented in Chapter 1 that "in the entirety of every man, irrespective of his heredity and education, there are formed two independent consciousnesses which in their functioning as well as in their manifestations have almost nothing in common" (1.25). Gurdjieff establishes a crucial distinction between fictitious consciousness and real consciousness, asserting that most people mistake their mechanical awareness for genuine consciousness while remaining disconnected from their authentic being-possibilities.

The Two Consciousnesses:

First Consciousness (Fictitious): Formed "from the perception of all kinds of accidental, or on the part of others intentionally produced, mechanical impressions, among which must also be counted the 'consonances' of various words which are indeed as is said empty" (1.25). This false consciousness operates through external conditioning and represents what people ignorantly call their "consciousness."

Second Consciousness (Real/Being-Consciousness): Formed "from the so to say, 'already previously formed material results' transmitted to him by heredity, which have become blended with the corresponding parts of the entirety of a man, as well as from the data arising from his intentional evoking of the associative confrontations of these 'materialized data' already in him" (1.25). This authentic consciousness is what we call the "subconscious" but should predominate in a being's common presence.

This dual consciousness theory forms the foundation for Gurdjieff's entire psychological and spiritual teaching. The real consciousness contains hereditary "materialized results" and sacred being-impulses including conscience, faith, hope, and love, while the fictitious consciousness operates through automatic reactions to external impressions. The goal of conscious work is to transfer the authentic data from the subconsciousness into ordinary waking awareness.

Quote from the 1950 text:

In the entirety of every man, irrespective of his heredity and education, there are formed two independent consciousnesses which in their functioning as well as in their manifestations have almost nothing in common. One consciousness is formed from the perception of all kinds of accidental, or on the part of others intentionally produced, mechanical impressions, among which must also be counted the "consonances" of various words which are indeed as is said empty; and the other consciousness is formed from the so to say, "already previously formed material results" transmitted to him by heredity, which have become blended with the corresponding parts of the entirety of a man, as well as from the data arising from his intentional evoking of the associative confrontations of these "materialized data" already in him. (1.25)

Location in Book: First appearance: Chapter 1, pages 24-26, "The Arousing of Thought." This foundational theory underlies all subsequent discussions of consciousness throughout the text.

Etymology / Notes: This dual consciousness theory represents Gurdjieff's most radical departure from conventional psychology. Rather than viewing the subconscious as a repository of repressed material, he identifies it as the seat of authentic human possibilities that have been displaced by mechanical conditioning. The theory explains why most humans function below their cosmic potential and provides the theoretical foundation for all conscious work aimed at reuniting authentic being-data with ordinary awareness. The distinction between "fictitious" and "real" consciousness underlies the entire structure of spiritual development presented in the text, from individual practices like the sunrise exercise to the mass teaching methods of figures like Ashiata Shiemash.

The various specific forms and qualifications of consciousness that appear throughout the text, representing different states, origins, and functions of awareness in three-brained beings. These qualified types illustrate the spectrum from mechanical to authentic consciousness and reveal the complexity of human psychological functioning.

Problematic Forms:

Waking Consciousness: The ordinary, surface level of awareness that most people "mistake for the real consciousness, but which I affirm and experimentally prove is the fictitious one" (1.24). This consciousness operates through "waking-existence" and is characterized by mechanical reactions to external impressions rather than genuine being-impulses.

Ordinary Consciousness: The consciousness through which beings pass their daily existence, typically divorced from their subconsciousness where authentic sacred data resides. Ashiata Shiemash's mission was to enable beings "to have in their ordinary waking-consciousness the Divine genuine objective conscience" (27.374).

Automatic Consciousness: A false consciousness arising from abnormal education, where "the totality of all such artificial perceptions gradually segregates itself in their common presences and acquires its own independent functioning...and the totality of these artificial perceptions is then perceived by them, owing to their naivete, as their real 'consciousness'" (32.565).

Artificial Consciousness: Consciousness formed from artificially implanted impressions through maleficent education, operating mechanically and disconnected from genuine being-data.

Authentic Forms:

Being-Consciousness: The authentic consciousness that "should predominate in the common presence of a being," formed from hereditary "materialized results" and intentional associative confrontations (1.25-26). This represents what is commonly called the "subconscious."

Real Consciousness: What Gurdjieff identifies as the subconsciousness - the authentic seat of higher human possibilities containing crystallized data for Divine impulses including conscience, faith, hope, and love.

Pure Consciousness: Gurdjieff's target audience for his writing methodology, representing consciousness capable of receiving authentic notions and allowing their transfer to the subconsciousness for genuine transformation (1.24).

Quotes from the 1950 text:

I wish to bring to the knowledge of what is called your "pure waking consciousness" the fact that in the writings following this chapter of warning I shall expound my thoughts intentionally in such sequence and with such "logical confrontation," that the essence of certain real notions may of themselves automatically, so to say, go from this "waking consciousness" - which most people in their ignorance mistake for the real consciousness, but which I affirm and experimentally prove is the fictitious one - into what you call the subconscious, which ought to be in my opinion the real human consciousness. (1.24)

And the second fact - the fact ensuing from the abnormal conditions of the being-existence of your favorites - is that when, from the very beginning of the arising of their offspring, they intentionally try by every kind of means, for the purpose of making them respond to these abnormal conditions round them, to fix in their 'logicnestarian-localizations' as many impressions as possible obtained exclusively only from such artificial perceptions as are again due to the results of their abnormal existence - which maleficent action of theirs towards their offspring they call 'education' - then the totality of all such artificial perceptions gradually segregates itself in their common presences and acquires its own independent functioning, connected only as much with the functioning of their planetary body as is necessary merely for its automatic manifestation, and the totality of these artificial perceptions is then perceived by them, owing to their naivete, as their real 'consciousness.' (32.565)

Location in Book: Various qualified consciousness types appear throughout the text, with foundational distinctions in Chapter 1 (pages 24-26), major development in the Ashiata Shiemash chapters (26-27), detailed analysis in Chapter 32 (pages 564-567), and systematic exposition in Chapter 48 (pages 1189-1191).

Etymology / Notes: These qualifications reveal Gurdjieff's precise mapping of different states and origins of consciousness. The problematic forms share the characteristic of being formed through external conditioning and mechanical associations, while the authentic forms derive from hereditary data and intentional inner work. The tragic irony is that what beings consider their "real" consciousness is actually artificial, while their authentic consciousness has been relegated to what they dismiss as the "subconscious." This inversion represents the fundamental psychological abnormality of terrestrial existence, where the mechanical dominates over the conscious, and the artificial over the authentic. Understanding these distinctions is essential for any genuine work toward conscious development and the transfer of sacred data from subconsciousness into daily awareness.

The systematic spiritual work developed by Ashiata Shiemash to transfer objective conscience from the subconsciousness into ordinary waking consciousness, representing the most comprehensive attempt in Earth's history to heal the fundamental split in human psychology. This work addressed what Ashiata Shiemash identified as "The Terror-of-the-Situation" - that while the sacred being-impulse of Objective Conscience still existed in Earth beings, it had become buried in their subconsciousness and "takes no part whatever in the functioning of their ordinary consciousness" (26.359).

The Fundamental Problem: Ashiata Shiemash discovered that while "the factors for engendering in their presences the sacred being-impulse of Faith, Hope and Love are already quite degenerated in the beings of this planet, nevertheless, the factor which ought to engender that being-impulse on which the whole psyche of beings of a three-brained system is in general based, and which impulse exists under the name of Objective-Conscience, is not yet atrophied in them, but remains in their presences almost in its primordial state" (26.359). However, due to abnormal conditions, this conscience had "gradually penetrated and become embedded in that consciousness which is here called 'subconsciousness'" (26.359).

The Solution: Ashiata Shiemash dedicated himself "to the creation here of such conditions that the functioning of the 'sacred-conscience' still surviving in their subconsciousness, might gradually pass into the functioning of their ordinary consciousness" (26.360). This required beings to work systematically "to transfer into their ordinary consciousness the results of the data present in their subconsciousness for engendering the impulse of genuine Divine conscience" (27.374).

The Method: Through the brotherhood Heechtvori ("Only-he-will-be-called-and-will-become-the-Son-of-God-who-acquires-in-himself-Conscience"), Ashiata Shiemash established a systematic approach involving initiates and priests who guided beings in this transfer work. The goal was for beings "to have in their ordinary waking-consciousness the Divine genuine objective conscience" (27.374), thereby healing the split between mechanical daily existence and authentic spiritual functioning.

The Requirements: This work demanded that beings "strive with all their spiritualized being-parts" and involved demonstrating "ableness-of-conscious-direction-of-the-functioning-of-his-own-psyche" and the ability "to convince to perfection a hundred other beings and to prove to them that the impulse of being-objective-conscience exists in man" (27.369).

Quotes from the 1950 text:

Well, then, it was just then that I indubitably understood with all the separate ruminating parts representing the whole of my "I," that if the functioning of that being-factor still surviving in their common-presences were to participate in the general functioning of that consciousness of theirs in which they pass their daily, as they here say, "waking-existence," only then would it still be possible to save the contemporary three-brained beings here from the consequences of the properties of that organ which was intentionally implanted into their first ancestors. (26.359)

However it might have been, my boy, it then so turned out that almost all of your favorites - those strange three-brained beings - also wished and began to strive with all their spiritualized being-parts to have in their ordinary waking-consciousness the Divine genuine objective conscience, and in consequence, most of the beings of Asia at that time began to work upon themselves under the guidance of initiates and priests of the brotherhood Heechtvori, in order to transfer into their ordinary consciousness the results of the data present in their subconsciousness for engendering the impulse of genuine Divine conscience. (27.374)

Location in Book: Central to Chapters 26-27 (pages 359-374), representing the core of Ashiata Shiemash's mission and teaching method. The concept extends throughout discussions of conscience and spiritual development in other chapters.

Etymology / Notes: This represents the most systematic spiritual methodology described in the text, addressing the fundamental human psychological problem at its root. The work recognized that mere external religious observance or intellectual understanding cannot heal the split between authentic spiritual capacities and daily functioning. Instead, it required conscious inner work to reunite what abnormal education and social conditioning had separated. The success of this work temporarily transformed human civilization, creating conditions where conscience participated in both "waking-consciousness state and in the 'passive-instinctive' state" (27.374), enabling beings to function according to authentic being-impulses rather than mechanical reactions. This methodology represents Gurdjieff's understanding of genuine spiritual work as the conscious reunification of divided psychological functions rather than the acquisition of new capacities.

A specific method of consciousness development prescribed by Beelzebub for young beings, involving daily sunrise observation combined with intentional contact work between consciousness and the unconscious parts of one's general presence. This practice requires bringing "about a contact between your consciousness and the various unconscious parts of your general presence" while "watching the reflection of its splendor" at sunrise, then trying "to make this state last and to convince the unconscious parts - as if they were conscious - that if they hinder your general functioning, they, in the period of your responsible age, not only cannot fulfill the good that befits them, but your general presence of which they are part, will not be able to be a good servant of our common endless creator" (7.78). This preparatory work is designed for the period before responsible age, when beings are not yet obligated to "pay for their existence" but should prepare themselves for future cosmic obligations. The exercise involves both external observation (sunrise watching) and internal communication work with unconscious bodily functions, establishing proper relationships between conscious and unconscious aspects of the being.

Quote from the 1950 text:

So in the meantime, exist as you exist. Only do not forget one thing, namely, at your age it is indispensably necessary that every day, at sunrise, while watching the reflection of its splendor, you bring about a contact between your consciousness and the various unconscious parts of your general presence. Try to make this state last and to convince the unconscious parts - as if they were conscious - that if they hinder your general functioning, they, in the period of your responsible age, not only cannot fulfill the good that befits them, but your general presence of which they are part, will not be able to be a good servant of our common endless creator and by that will not even be worthy to pay for your arising and existence. (7.78)

Location in Book: Single appearance: Chapter 7, page 78.

Etymology / Notes: This sunrise practice represents a concrete application of consciousness work principles found throughout the text, particularly the need to establish proper relationships between the spiritualized and unconscious parts of a being (46.1172). The method combines external attention (sunrise observation) with internal work (contact with unconscious parts), demonstrating the integration of perception and inner labor that characterizes authentic spiritual practice. The directive to treat unconscious parts "as if they were conscious" reflects the pedagogical approach of working with different aspects of the being through persuasion rather than force. This practical instruction appears within Beelzebub's guidance to Hassein about preparatory work for young beings, emphasizing that genuine consciousness development requires establishing harmonious relationships between all parts of one's presence before undertaking the more complex obligations of responsible existence.

The cosmic-scientific understanding of consciousness as the fundamental process whereby three-brained beings participate in universal transformation through their three being-brains (localizations) and the conscious absorption of three being-foods, operating according to the sacred cosmic laws of Triamazikamno and Heptaparaparshinokh. In this system, consciousness functions as the apparatus for the "Most Great common-cosmic Trogoautoegocrat" (exchange of substances) while simultaneously providing the possibility for conscious self-perfection through the sacred process of being-Partkdolg-duty (17.144). The three being-brains correspond to the three holy forces: the first brain (Holy-Affirming) located in the head, the second brain (Holy-Denying) extending along the spinal column, and the third brain (Holy-Reconciling) originally concentrated in the breast but dispersed in contemporary Earth beings throughout the nervous system, particularly the solar plexus (39.780). These centers process the Omnipresent-Okidanokh entering through the three being-foods - first being-food (ordinary food and drink), second being-food (air called "Amarloos" meaning "help-for-the-moon"), and third being-food (higher cosmic substances called "sacred Amarhoodan" meaning "help-for-God") - enabling both cosmic maintenance and individual development toward the Sekronoolanzaknian-state where beings acquire "their own sacred law of Triamazikamno" (17.145).

Quotes from the 1950 text:

Three-brained beings have the possibility personally to perfect themselves, because in them there are localized three centers of their common presence or three brains, upon which afterwards, when the process of Djartklom proceeds in the Omnipresent-Okidanokh, the three holy forces of the sacred Triamazikamno are deposited and acquire the possibility for their further, this time, independent actualizations. (17.145)

And so, the three-brained beings of the planet Earth are not only, as we also are, apparatuses for the transformation of the cosmic substances required for the Most Great Trogoautoegocrat with the qualities of all the three forces of the fundamental common-cosmic Triamazikamno, but also, themselves absorbing these substances for transformation from three different sources of independent arisings, have all the possibilities of assimilating besides the substances necessary for the maintenance of their own existence, also those substances which go for the coating and perfecting of their own higher-being-bodies. (39.780)

Location in Book: First systematic exposition in Chapter 17, pages 137-148 (cosmic laws and Okidanokh). Extensively developed in Chapter 39, pages 750-783 (being-foods and cosmic substance transformation). Related material appears throughout the text in discussions of brain-centers (Chapters 29-30), cosmic laws (Chapters 21, 23, 40, 42), and being-Partkdolg-duty.

Etymology / Notes: This scientific approach to consciousness represents Gurdjieff's integration of cosmological knowledge with practical psychology, demonstrating how individual consciousness participates in universal processes through lawful transformation of cosmic substances. The three being-brains function both as "apparatuses for the transformation of corresponding cosmic substances for the purposes of the Most Great common-cosmic Trogoautoegocrat" and as "the means for beings whereby their conscious self-perfecting is possible" (17.144). The degeneration of proper brain functioning in contemporary Earth beings results from cessation of conscious being-Partkdolg-duty, causing the three brains to operate independently and creating "three personalities, having nothing in common with each other" (30.480). This framework shows consciousness not as a psychological phenomenon but as a cosmic function connecting individual development with universal maintenance through the conscious transformation of increasingly refined cosmic substances (being-foods) according to sacred cosmic laws.

The systematic corruption of authentic consciousness development through maleficent educational practices that create artificial consciousness while relegating genuine being-consciousness to the subconsciousness. This process begins immediately after birth when beings "from the very beginning of the arising of their offspring, they intentionally try by every kind of means, for the purpose of making them respond to these abnormal conditions round them, to fix in their 'logicnestarian-localizations' as many impressions as possible obtained exclusively only from such artificial perceptions" through what they call 'education' (32.565). The tragedy is that children's brain centers ("Spetsitooalitivian-concentrations") are "still quite pure and of maximum perceptivity" (37.686) when maleficent education begins filling them with "all kinds of their ephemerally fantastic ideas" instead of allowing natural formation of genuine consciousness. This artificial consciousness "gradually segregates itself in their common presences and acquires its own independent functioning" while "the sacred data for genuine being-consciousness put into them by Great Nature" - which should generate "the genuine sacred being-impulses of 'faith,' 'hope,' 'love,' and 'conscience'" - becomes isolated and "come to be regarded as what is called the 'subconsciousness'" (32.565). The result is beings who mistake mechanical associations for genuine consciousness and whose being-judgments "are always purely peculiarly-subjective" with "no connection not only with the genuine being-impulses arising also in him, but also neither with those general cosmic lawful phenomena" that should establish their cosmic function (32.567).

Quotes from the 1950 text:

And the second fact - the fact ensuing from the abnormal conditions of the being-existence of your favorites - is that when, from the very beginning of the arising of their offspring, they intentionally try by every kind of means, for the purpose of making them respond to these abnormal conditions round them, to fix in their 'logicnestarian-localizations' as many impressions as possible obtained exclusively only from such artificial perceptions as are again due to the results of their abnormal existence - which maleficent action of theirs towards their offspring they call 'education' - then the totality of all such artificial perceptions gradually segregates itself in their common presences and acquires its own independent functioning, connected only as much with the functioning of their planetary body as is necessary merely for its automatic manifestation, and the totality of these artificial perceptions is then perceived by them, owing to their naivete, as their real 'consciousness.' (32.565)

Thanks to their maleficent usage 'to-educate,' they fill and drive into what are called the 'Spetsitooalitivian-concentrations,' or as they themselves would say, the 'brains' of these newly born beings, all kinds of their ephemerally fantastic ideas, which brains are localized in general in beings for the perception and accumulation of all kinds of impressions, as well as of the results of conscious being-awareness, and which among the newly born are still quite pure and of maximum perceptivity. (37.686)

Location in Book: First systematic exposition in Chapter 32, pages 565-567 (abnormal consciousness formation through education). Extensively developed in Chapter 37, pages 685-687 (corruption of brain centers in children). Related discussions appear in Chapters 40, 38 (automatized mentation), and throughout discussions of waking consciousness versus subconsciousness.

Etymology / Notes: This analysis represents Gurdjieff's devastating critique of contemporary educational methods that systematically destroy the natural possibilities for objective consciousness development. The process creates what he terms "logicnestarian-growths" - crystallized false ideas that become the foundation for artificial consciousness while authentic spiritual faculties become buried in subconsciousness (32.567). The degeneration is so complete that contemporary beings "do not know at all and even do not suspect the necessity of at least adapting their famous education to the said subconsciousness of their offspring" (32.567), ensuring each generation loses contact with genuine being-impulses. This educational malformation produces beings whose mentation becomes "automatized" and proceeds according to the principle "Chainonizironness" - mechanical association without the participation of feeling centers (38.738). The tragedy is that beings continue to arise "with every kind of data for acquiring genuine being-Reason" but this potential is systematically corrupted through artificial education that creates only "automatic-Reason" rather than objective consciousness (32.567, 40.814-816). True education (Oskiano) should be "founded on a morality based solely on the commandments and indications of the uni-being himself" rather than artificial social conditioning (17.135).

Gurdjieff's deliberate writing method designed to bypass artificial waking consciousness and effect transformations in the subconsciousness through specific sequencing and logical confrontation. The author explicitly states his intention to "expound my thoughts intentionally in such sequence and with such 'logical confrontation,' that the essence of certain real notions may of themselves automatically, so to say, go from this 'waking consciousness' - which most people in their ignorance mistake for the real consciousness, but which I affirm and experimentally prove is the fictitious one - into what you call the subconscious, which ought to be in my opinion the real human consciousness" (1.24). This methodology aims to produce "that transformation which should in general proceed in the entirety of a man and give him, from his own conscious mentation, the results he ought to have, which are proper to man and not merely to single- or double-brained animals" (1.24). The technique requires active participation from readers through logical confrontation rather than passive reception, ensuring that understanding develops through "being-logical confrontation" rather than mechanical absorption of information "without any genuine being-understanding" (46.1170). This approach is directly connected to the author's analysis of human individuality as consisting of four distinct personalities: the automatic functioning (first), the sensory-emotional (second), the motor-reflexive (third), and the genuine "I" (fourth) - which "should be present in everybody on reaching responsible age" but is "entirely missing" in contemporary people due to "abnormal methods of education" (48.1192). The writing methodology specifically targets the development of the fourth personality by requiring conscious mental work that prevents automatic acceptance of ready-made ideas.

Quotes from the 1950 text:

I wish to bring to the knowledge of what is called your "pure waking consciousness" the fact that in the writings following this chapter of warning I shall expound my thoughts intentionally in such sequence and with such "logical confrontation," that the essence of certain real notions may of themselves automatically, so to say, go from this "waking consciousness" - which most people in their ignorance mistake for the real consciousness, but which I affirm and experimentally prove is the fictitious one - into what you call the subconscious, which ought to be in my opinion the real human consciousness, and there by themselves mechanically bring about that transformation which should in general proceed in the entirety of a man and give him, from his own conscious mentation, the results he ought to have, which are proper to man and not merely to single- or double-brained animals. (1.24)

In respect of the sequence of my information to you and of the results of your essence-understanding, I must still tell you that if, when I first noticed your interest in the three-brained beings who arise on the planet Earth, I would have given from the very beginning, concerning every event, only my personal conviction and the opinions which had become fixed in me about them during the period of my observations, and only afterwards would have begun to give you the abundant and many-sided 'totality of information' already related by me, then all these facts I related would have been taken in by you without your own being-logical confrontation, and the data which had been crystallized for this information would have settled in your corresponding localizations only simply as information without any genuine being-understanding of them. (46.1170)

Location in Book: First exposition in Chapter 1, pages 24-25 (writing methodology). Detailed explanation of logical confrontation methodology in Chapter 46, pages 1165, 1170. Four personalities systematically described in Chapter 48, pages 1189-1192. The methodology is applied throughout the entire work in the relationship between Beelzebub and Hassein.

Etymology / Notes: This methodology represents Gurdjieff's practical application of his understanding of consciousness, demonstrating how authentic teaching must work indirectly through the reader's own efforts rather than through direct information transfer. The technique reflects his analysis that contemporary humans lack a genuine fourth personality (the "I") and instead consist of three automatic parts functioning like "a broken down carriage, a crock of a horse, and a half-sleepy, half-drunken coachman" waiting for any chance external influence to direct them (48.1192). By requiring logical confrontation, the writing methodology forces the development of active mentation that can elaborate "the sacred substances of Abrustdonis and Helkdonis for the purpose of coating and perfecting both of your higher being-parts" (46.1165). The method embodies the principle that genuine understanding cannot be passively received but must be earned through conscious effort, making the reading process itself a form of consciousness work. This approach distinguishes Gurdjieff's literary method from ordinary writing that appeals only to automatic mental functioning, instead creating conditions for the emergence of authentic individual understanding rooted in being-experience rather than mechanical association.

The designated time for a fundamental daily spiritual practice prescribed by Beelzebub to Hassein as essential preparation for responsible age. This practice involves bringing about "a contact between your consciousness and the various unconscious parts of your general presence" while "watching the reflection of its splendor" (7.78). The sunrise exercise requires making this conscious state last and using it to communicate with the unconscious parts of one's being, convincing them that hindering general functioning would prevent the being from becoming "a good servant of our common endless creator" and being "worthy to pay for your arising and existence" (7.78). This daily work represents active preparation for the cosmic obligations that begin at responsible age, serving as a bridge between the preparatory period and the full responsibilities of three-brained existence.

The practice specifically utilizes the natural cosmic conditions present at sunrise - the "reflection of its splendor" - as a means to facilitate the connection between ordinary consciousness and the deeper, unconscious parts of one's general presence. This timing appears significant within the cosmic order, as sunrise represents a daily renewal and the proper moment for aligning one's inner functioning with cosmic purposes. The exercise involves not merely passive observation but active work to establish communication between different parts of one's being and to prepare them for their eventual cosmic service.

Quote from the 1950 text:

So in the meantime, exist as you exist. Only do not forget one thing, namely, at your age it is indispensably necessary that every day, at sunrise, while watching the reflection of its splendor, you bring about a contact between your consciousness and the various unconscious parts of your general presence. Try to make this state last and to convince the unconscious parts - as if they were conscious - that if they hinder your general functioning, they, in the period of your responsible age, not only cannot fulfill the good that befits them, but your general presence of which they are part, will not be able to be a good servant of our common endless creator and by that will not even be worthy to pay for your arising and existence. (7.78)

Location in Book: First appearance: Chapter 7, page 78, in Beelzebub's instruction to Hassein about preparatory age practices. Also appears on page 222 in the context of ritual feeding customs in the city Gob.

Etymology / Notes: The choice of sunrise as the time for this fundamental practice reflects both practical and cosmic considerations. The natural renewal represented by each dawn provides an appropriate symbolic and energetic framework for the daily work of consciousness development. The practice involves "watching the reflection of its splendor" rather than looking directly at the sun, suggesting both the safety consideration and the recognition that the practice works through the cosmic radiations and emanations present at this time rather than through mere visual observation. This daily exercise serves as foundational preparation for the more advanced work required at responsible age, when the being must take full accountability for their cosmic obligations and service to the Creator.

The crucial developmental period when a three-brained being transitions from preparatory existence to full cosmic accountability and begins to bear responsibility for their own being-development and obligations. Beelzebub describes this as the threshold when "every kind of data for those functionings which during the responsible existence of each three-brained being compose his individuality is crystallized and acquires a harmonious tempo in the common functioning" (46.1163). At responsible age, a being must begin to pay for their existence and can no longer rely on the preparation period but must fulfill their inner and outer being-duties independently. Those who have reached responsible age become accountable for creating proper conditions for newly arising beings during their preparatory age, as the "abnormalities established in the process of ordinary being-existence of beings around them who have already reached responsible age" (40.815) can corrupt the development of those still in formation.

The transition to responsible age represents both a cosmic threshold and a practical recognition of developmental completion. Beings who have proper formation during their preparatory age and reach responsible age under normal conditions can develop the capacity for objective Reason and genuine being-manifestations. However, on Earth, most beings reach responsible age having been corrupted by abnormal education and social conditions, leaving them possessors of automatic-Reason rather than the objective-Reason proper to three-brained responsible beings.

Quotes from the 1950 text:

Your present age does not yet oblige you to pay for your existence.

The time of your present age is not given you in which to pay for your existence, but for preparing yourself for the future, for the obligations becoming to a responsible three-brained being. (7.77)

I am glad chiefly because your sincere sobbing which I saw and which was manifested just at this present period of your existence, when you, according to the laws of the Great Heropass, are on the threshold of the Being of a responsible being - that is, at just that age when every kind of data for those functionings which during the responsible existence of each three-brained being compose his individuality is crystallized and acquires a harmonious tempo in the common functioning - gives me the assurance that the approximate cognizance or even only the sensing of so to say the 'taste' of this being-joy of mine which is at the first glance not logical, is very desirable and even necessary for you at the period of your responsible existence, as well as for all three-brained beings who have reached responsible age. (46.1163)

Location in Book: First appearance: Chapter 7, page 77. Recurs frequently throughout the text (30 instances), particularly in contexts of being-obligations, education, formation, and the transition from preparatory to responsible existence.

Etymology / Notes: The term represents a fundamental cosmic principle governing the development of three-brained beings. Responsible age marks the point where beings become cosmically accountable for their own development and their effects on others. The text emphasizes that proper guidance during the preparatory age by those who have themselves reached responsible age with intact conscience is essential for the healthy development of new beings. The concept is closely connected to being-Partkdolg-duty, the being-obligolnian-strivings, and the capacity to fulfill cosmic obligations. On normal planets, this transition enables genuine spiritual development, while on Earth it typically represents the crystallization of mechanical patterns due to abnormal educational and social conditions.

The cosmic obligation that begins at the responsible age, whereby three-brained beings must reciprocate for the gifts of their arising and individuality through conscious service to the common endless creator. This fundamental duty involves becoming "a good servant of our common endless creator" and proving oneself "worthy to pay for your arising and existence" (7.78). Before reaching responsible age, a being's time is given not for paying for existence but "for preparing yourself for the future, for the obligations becoming to a responsible three-brained being" (7.78). The concept is most explicitly formulated in the fourth being-obligolnian-striving: "The striving from the beginning of their existence to pay for their arising and their individuality as quickly as possible, in order afterwards to be free to lighten as much as possible the Sorrow of our common father" (27.386).

Quote from the 1950 text:

Your present age does not yet oblige you to pay for your existence.

The time of your present age is not given you in which to pay for your existence, but for preparing yourself for the future, for the obligations becoming to a responsible three-brained being.

So in the meantime, exist as you exist. Only do not forget one thing, namely, at your age it is indispensably necessary that every day, at sunrise, while watching the reflection of its splendor, you bring about a contact between your consciousness and the various unconscious parts of your general presence. Try to make this state last and to convince the unconscious parts - as if they were conscious - that if they hinder your general functioning, they, in the period of your responsible age, not only cannot fulfill the good that befits them, but your general presence of which they are part, will not be able to be a good servant of our common endless creator and by that will not even be worthy to pay for your arising and existence. (7.77-78)

Location in Book: First appearance: Chapter 7, page 77, in Beelzebub's instruction to Hassein about responsible age and preparation. The concept is further developed through the being-obligolnian-strivings in Chapter 27, pages 385-386.

Etymology / Notes: The concept represents a fundamental aspect of cosmic reciprocity - the recognition that existence and individuality are gifts that create obligations. The "payment" is not financial but consists of conscious service and self-perfection. The phrase is closely connected to "arising and existence," which appears throughout the text as a paired concept referring to the dual gift of coming into being and continuing to exist. This cosmic debt can only be properly addressed after reaching responsible age, when a being has developed sufficient understanding and capability to undertake genuine conscious work and intentional suffering.

The fundamental cosmic duties and responsibilities that each three-brained being must fulfill both as inner self-development ("inner being-duty") and as external manifestations ("outer being-duty"). These obligations represent the essential requirements for proper functioning within the cosmic order and include both personal development through being-Partkdolg-duty and service to the larger cosmic processes. When a being's planetary body becomes deranged and they "cease to be able to fulfill his being-obligations" (31.541), the noble Zirlikners on normal planets voluntarily help restore that being's capacity for proper functioning. Contemporary Earth physicians, tragically, have degenerated from this sacred role and no longer properly discharge the obligations they have taken upon themselves to help beings fulfill their cosmic duties.

Being-obligations encompass multiple types of duties: the essential obligations that professionals like Zirlikners take upon themselves in relation to their communities; the divine obligations fulfilled during formative periods like "Hirr-Hirr"; and the responsible obligations that emerge with mature cosmic awareness. All legitimate being-obligations ultimately serve the cosmic law of reciprocal maintenance and the Universal processes of substance transformation.

Quote from the 1950 text:

You probably already well know that Zirlikners among us on the planet Karatas, as also in general beings similar to them on other planets of our Great Universe upon which breed already-formed three-brained beings, and from the number of whom are several, who, called differently on different planets, take upon themselves essential obligations in relation to the environment of beings similar to themselves - well, these Zirlikners are those responsible individuals who voluntarily devote the whole of their existence to helping any being of that region to fulfill his being-obligations, if this being for some reason or other, or simply thanks to a temporary irregular functioning of his planetary body, ceases to be able to fulfill his inner or outer being-duty by himself. (31.540)

Location in Book: First appearance: Chapter 26, page 362. Sldo Chapter 31, pages 540-541. Recurs throughout the text in contexts of professional duties, cosmic responsibilities, and the degeneration of sacred functions on Earth (pages 362, 540-541, 970).

Etymology / Notes: Being-obligations represent the active expression of a being's cosmic function and purpose. They range from fundamental duties like being-Partkdolg-duty to specialized professional obligations and responsibilities toward other beings. The failure to properly fulfill being-obligations is identified as a primary cause of spiritual and social degeneration. Related qualifications include "essence obligations," "essential obligations," "responsible obligations," and "divine obligations," all representing different aspects or stages of the fundamental cosmic duties that define authentic three-brained existence.