![190 LONDON Colet House](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/190_LONDON_Colet_House.jpg)
The Study Society is registered with the Charity Commission as Registered Charity Number 1155498.
[The Society was previously established according to the Friendly Societies Act, 1974, with the full name of ‘The Society for the Study of Normal Psychology’.] Its stated objects are for the public benefit:
# to advance the education of the public in religion, science, philosophy and the arts.
# the promotion of moral and spiritual welfare.
It is based at Colet House, Barons Court, London.
History
Introduction
The Society was registered in 1951 by Dr Francis C. Roles, four years after the death of his teacher, the Russian philosopher
P. D. Ouspensky, who had settled in England in 1921. The Society was set up to continue Ouspensky's work as a "School of the Fourth Way".
[ Originally published in 1940. Chapter: Lecture held Thursday, 23 September 1937]
Fourth Way
The Fourth Way is a concept used by
G. I. Gurdjieff to describe an approach to self-development learned over years of travel in the East that combined what he saw as three established traditional "ways," or "schools" into a fourth way. These three ways were of the body, mind and emotions. According to his principles and instructions, Gurdjieff's method for awakening one's consciousness is different from that of the fakir, monk or yogi, so his discipline is also called the ‘
Fourth Way
The Fourth Way is an approach to self-development developed by George Gurdjieff over years of travel in the East (c. 1890 – 1912). It combines and harmonizes what he saw as three established traditional "ways" or "schools": those of the body, ...
’.
His pupil
P.D. Ouspensky
Pyotr Demianovich Ouspenskii (known in English as Peter D. Ouspensky; rus, Пётр Демья́нович Успе́нский, Pyotr Demyánovich Uspénskiy; 5 March 1878 – 2 October 1947) was a Russian esotericist known for his expositions ...
from 1924 to 1947 made the term and its use central to his own teaching of Gurdjieff's ideas, and after Ouspensky's death, his students published a book titled ''The Fourth Way'' based on his lectures.
P. D. Ouspensky had developed his system of Self-discovery from the fundamental idea that ordinary human consciousness is incomplete and that it is possible for it to evolve further by personal effort and understanding. Historically, this approach has generally been confined to closed orders, religious or otherwise and directed to the development of one particular human faculty: intellectual, emotional or physical. Ouspensky promoted the practice of a ‘
Fourth Way
The Fourth Way is an approach to self-development developed by George Gurdjieff over years of travel in the East (c. 1890 – 1912). It combines and harmonizes what he saw as three established traditional "ways" or "schools": those of the body, ...
’, whereby ordinary people, remaining engaged in life, could work on all three aspects simultaneously. His teaching asserts the unity of the individual with the whole cosmos in both structure and potential.
In Russia, Ouspensky had learned a system of knowledge and certain practical methods from
G. I. Gurdjieff and until his death in 1947 Ouspensky devoted his life to further developing this system in the light of his own ideas. He established large groups of pupils in London and New York. Ouspensky’s London headquarters before and following World War II were at Colet House. This work led him to the conviction that the system was essentially incomplete; in particular it lacked a simple method to allow the ideas to develop naturally into behaviour and experience.
‘The Movements’
The
Movements
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
were introduced to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
by Mme Ouspensky in the 1930s, when they were taught to
Ouspensky’s pupils at Lyne Place, Virginia Water and at Colet House. The
Movements
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
were originally called Sacred Dances, Prayers and Exercises, and were known only in certain monasteries, temples, closed communities and esoteric orders scattered throughout the Middle East, the Hindu Kush and Tibet. During his travels in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
G. I. Gurdjieff learned these sacred dances and their original music at their diverse sources and brought them together into a single repertoire which he then taught to his students in Europe.
Meditation
Dr Roles continued with Ouspensky’s teaching for 13 years but in 1960, as a result of Ouspensky’s instruction to search for ‘the source of the system’, he came to meet
in London. He recognised the method of mantra
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...
that the Maharishi was disseminating as the simple method that Ouspensky had told him to find.
The Study Society was instrumental in setting up the Maharishi’s seminal lecture to 5000 people at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
in 1961
[ Chapter 5.] which greatly raised his profile in Europe. Meditation was the inspiration of a group of Indian sages the most prominent of whom was Swami
Brahmananda Saraswati
Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (IAST: Svāmī Brahmānanda Sarasvatī) (21 December 1871 – 20 May 1953), also known as Guru Dev (meaning "divine teacher"), was the Shankaracharya of the Jyotir Math monastery in India.Love and God, Maharishi Mahes ...
, Guru Deva. Nevertheless, it was not until Dr Roles was introduced to
Swami Shantanand Saraswati,
Shankaracharya
Shankaracharya ( sa, शङ्कराचार्य, , "Adi Shankara, Shankara-''acharya''") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi ...
of
Jyotirmath
Joshimath, also known as Jyotirmath, is a city and a municipal board in Chamoli District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Located at a height of 6150 feet (1875 m), it is a gateway to several Himalayan mountain climbing expeditions, trekki ...
—the head of the
Advaita
''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' (lit ...
tradition in Northern India whose teaching of the non-dual philosophy of the Vedanta complemented and completed all he had learnt before—that he became convinced that his search was over.
[ Extract of audiences with Shantanand Saraswati.]
Dr Roles is described as one of three men responsible for meditation being practised so widely in the west due to his early adoption of the practice and propagation of it via The Study Society, the other two men being
and
Leon Maclaren
Leon MacLaren, born Leonardo da Vinci MacLaren (24 September 1910 – 24 June 1994), was a British philosopher and the founder of the School of Economic Science (SES). MacLaren was inspired by Henry George, Socrates, Dr Francis Roles, Pyotr Ous ...
.
Mevlevi Turning of the Whirling Dervishes
In 1963 the Society formed a connection with Resuhi Baykara, a leader of the
Mevlevi
The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya ( tr, Mevlevilik or Mevleviyye; fa, طریقت مولویه) is a Sufi order that originated in Konya (a city now in Turkey; formerly capital of the Seljuk Sultanate) and which was founded by the followers of Jalal ...
Tradition in Istanbul who trained members of the Society in the discipline of
Sufi Whirling Dance. This
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
discipline, originated by the 13th century mystic
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī
Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلالالدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...
is said to provide a means of acquiring inner stillness. The ceremony of the
sema, or Mukabele takes place regularly at Colet House.
Conclusion
Francis C. Roles died in 1982 and
Shantanand Saraswati
Swami Shantanand Saraswati (1913–1997) was Shankaracharya of the Jyotir Math monastery from 1953 to 1980; he was a direct disciple of Brahmananda Saraswati and succeeded him as Shankaracharya.
His life
In 1953, five months before his death, ...
in 1997.
[Obituary, The Hindhu Times, Sunday December 7, 1997]
Activities
The Study Society currently provides the following activities:
* Study groups in which the teachings of
P. D. Ouspensky, Shantanand Saraswati and Dr F. C. Roles are discussed, as well as the philosophy of Non-Duality.
* Teaching and practice of meditation.
* Mevlevi Turning (
Sufi Whirling Dance) and study of the poetry and music of the
Mevlevi
The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya ( tr, Mevlevilik or Mevleviyye; fa, طریقت مولویه) is a Sufi order that originated in Konya (a city now in Turkey; formerly capital of the Seljuk Sultanate) and which was founded by the followers of Jalal ...
tradition.
* Public lectures.
Further reading
Books published by the society
*
*
Other books
*
*
*
*
See also
*
Nicolai Legat
References
External links
* The Study Society website: http://www.studysociety.org
* The Study Society bookshop: http://www.studysocietypublications.org
* The Wellington Study Group (NZ): http://www.wellingtonstudygroup.org.nz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Study Society
Religious organisations based in London
Organizations established in 1951
Fourth Way
Clubs and societies in London
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