Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson
G. I. Gurdjieff
 Gurdjieff said that he had answered every question that could possibly arise in a person's mind 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.” Ever since it was written, Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson has been intended not to be intensely studied alone, but to have various pieces of understanding conveyed to the reader through oral tradition to enable a much greater degree of understanding as to what is being written about. Beelzebub is the protagonist of the book, who ruminates his past experiences in a solar system called "Ors" (our solar system) where he had been banished for rebelling against His Endlessness. He spent his exile in observation of the solar system, and of Earth and humans in particular. He visited Earth six times and observed it from just after its creation until 1922. Because of his help in the eradication of animal sacrifice on Earth, Beelzebub was pardoned from his sentence. Beelzebub tells the tales to his grandson Hassein while they are traveling together on the spaceship Karnak for his conference on another planet, shortly after his return from the exile. He took Hassein with him so he could use his free time during this journey for the purpose of giving a proper education to his grandson. Hassein listens to his grandfather's stories patiently, and with admiration. Ahoon is a devoted old servant of Beelzebub who accompanies him and Hassein throughout the space journey. The name Beelzebub is a derogatory Hebrew renaming of the pre-Judaic Canaanite god Baal, meaning literally "Lord House-fly" (Baal-zevuv) (monotheistic Jewish reference to Baal was almost certainly pejorative, and grew to be used among other terms for Satan. The name later appears as the name of a demon or devil, often interchanged with Beelzebul), while the name Hassein has the same linguistic root with Husayn ()). Sigmund Freud theorized Judaism and Christianity as expressing a relationship between father (Judaism) and son (Christianity). In this light, Gurdjieff's choice of grandfather and grandson suggests a pre-Judaic and post-Christian relationship. The spaceship Karnak derives its name from a famous temple in Egypt, located on the banks of the River Nile. When humans are liberated enough to ascend through the ancient knowledge, they could travel through the universe, hence the temple's name for the spaceship. Another possible allegory about the three main characters in this book is that they might represent Gurdjieff's representation of the three human brains, or centers. 1) Beelzebub - Intellectual center 2) Hassein - Emotional center 3) Ahoon - Moving Center. Also, "Karnak" could be translated from Armenian to English as "dead body", and thus, this analogy shows how the mind educates the emotions. Mullah Nassreddin is an impartial teacher who had a wise saying for every life situation. Lentrohamsanin is a being who destroyed all of the traces of the Holy labors and teachings of Ashiata Shiemash. Gornahoor Harharkh is a scientist on the planet Saturn who specializes in elucidating the particularities of Okidanokh, as well as he was Beelzebub's essence friend. Archangel Looisos is the Arch-Chemist-Physician of the Universe who invented the special organ Kundabuffer, which was implanted at the base of the human spine in order that they should not perceive reality. The original word Kundabuffer was at some period in history transformed into the word Kundalini. Looisos approached Beelzebub for the problem of the widespread practice of animal sacrifice on Earth, the quantity of which was endangering the formation of an atmosphere on the moon. Belcultassi is the founder of the society Akhaldan which was, and still is, unmatched in terms of knowledge on Earth. King Konuzion is the one who invented "Hell" and "Paradise" as a means of making people stop chewing opium. Choon-Kil-Tez and Choon-Tro-Pel are Chinese twin brothers who rediscovered the law of sevenfoldness, and invented an apparatus called "Alla-Attapan". Hadji-Astvatz-Troov is a Bokharian Dervish who is well familiarized with all of the laws of vibrations and their effects. Ashiata Shiemash, Saint Budda, Saint Lama, Saint Jesus Christ, Saint Moses, Saint Mohammed, Saint Kirminasha, Saint Krishnatkharna Leonardo da Vinci, Pythagoras, Alexander of Macedonia, Menitkel, Darwin, Ignatius, Mesmer, Mendelejeff, Various Angels, Various Archangels, and many others. Throughout the book, Gurdjieff gave certain meaning to many of his original words such as Triamazikamno - law of three, Heptaparaparshinokh - law of sevenfoldness, Solioonensius - certain cosmic law, and so on. Whether Gurdjieff invented these words, or applied certain concepts to them is unclear. Many of these words have roots in modern languages, while others have roots in ancient languages. Another possibility is noted in Life Is Real Only Then, When 'I Am', where Gurdjieff wrote that he accidentally learned of the word Solioonensius from a Dervish. Gurdjieff applied these words to minor concepts, as well as some major ones. One of the major concepts is where Gurdjieff applies the word Hasnamuss to certain types of people. According to Beelzebub's Tales, Hasnamuss is a being who acquires "something" which creates certain harmful factors for himself, as well as for those around him. According to Gurdjieff this applies to "average people" as well as to those who are on "higher levels". This "something" is formed in beings as a result of the following manifestations: 1) Every kind of depravity, conscious as well as unconscious 2) The feeling of self-satisfaction from leading others astray 3) The irresistible inclination to destroy the existence of other breathing creatures 4) The urge to become free from the necessity of actualizing the being-efforts demanded by nature 5) The attempt by every kind to artificially conceal from others what in their opinion are one's physical defects 6) The calm self-contentment in the use of what is not personally deserved 7) The striving to be not what one is