A Call for a New Society PDF

8/13/2019 A Call for a New Society PDF

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A CALL FOR A NEW SOCIETY

John G. Bennett

The Estate of J. G. Bennett 2009

[Written October 1974 after Bennetts only visit to

Claymont Court, Charles Town, WV prior to the inceptionof the Claymont Society for Continuous Education]


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Continuous Education is founded on the principle thathuman beings are capable of unlimited self-perfectingfrom birth to death and beyond. Self-perfecting is three-fold: bodily, mental and spiritual. It gives meaning to ourlives as individuals; but there is also a continuouseducation of the human race to enable us to becometruly human -- which we are still pretty far from being.

Progress in self-perfecting is not automatic; it requiresuse of the right methods and the determination topersevere against all discouragement. Very few peoplecan achieve it alone; and, for this reason, 'Schools ofWisdom' have existed from time immemorial to provideinstruction and to create environments in which all cancontribute to the common aim. Although such schoolshave always been present they are little in evidenceexcept in times of crisis and-change, when they extend

their activities to enable more people to preparethemselves for the task ahead.

We are now in such a period, and more and morepeople are looking for methods and guidance to helpthem with their own problems. They wish to be ofservice, but can see only too plainly that things havegone wrong for lack of 'know-how' and are afraid ofdoing harm where they mean to do good. Sensiblepeople are acutely aware that something has gonewrong with humanity. Our present society, based ongreat institutions that control economic resources andpolitical power, tends to strengthen the materialistic andegoistic sides of human nature, We need a new kind ofsociety in which-concern for needs of others and ofNature as a whole will predominate over self-interest andfear. One obvious need for such a society is to change

our eating habits so that the whole world can be keptfrom starvation. We need to be more self-sufficient andless dependent upon vast inhuman organisations.


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All agree that the world is facing a food crisis, thoughfew admit its true gravity. The artificial stimulation ofagriculture by mechanisation and synthetic fertilisers isimpoverishing the soil. There is another scarcely noticedeffect: work on the land has lost its charm and becomeintolerably dull. There is in developed and undevelopedcountries alike a flight from the land that cannot bereversed unless life on the land is made exciting andrewarding as it was in ancient times. It is useless to call

for more effort to produce food and deny the producers aworth-while life. It is typical of great institutions to ignorethe human factor. Unfortunately, even in small societies,concern for the general welfare is paid lip-service ratherthan readiness to make the sacrifices that are needed.

Unfortunately, concern for others can be translated intoeffective action only by those who are working for their

own self-perfecting. Only people who sincerely wish togive rather than take, to overcome their ownweaknesses rather than exploit the weaknesses ofothers, can create a society that will survive in the hardtimes ahead. The hard times are themselves anecessary factor in self-perfecting. This is one reasonwhy schools of wisdom can become active whenmankind is approaching a time of crisis. The task aheadis now very clear. We must demonstrate that

communities engaged in food production can provide areally good way of life. This calls for a new kind ofsociety. We believe it can be created from smallbeginnings.


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THE CLAYM0NT SOCIETY

The task is to create a community that will be able tomaintain itself under difficult economic and socialconditions. For this, it must produce the main necessitiesof life: food, shelter, clothing, recreation, and as thefoundation of it all, a shared spiritual quest for self-perfecting. This announces the creation of a newsociety, sponsored by The Institute of ComparativeStudy of History, Philosophy and the Sciences Ltd. ofLondon, England. This was incorporated in 1946 to doresearch into the factors that make for progress andretrogression in human individuals and societies. It hasinvestigated most of the psychological, religious andspiritual movements of our time and also the traditionalmethods preserved in the Schools of Wisdom. It has, inthe course of twenty-eight years, developed and tested a

unique system for training men and women in the way ofself-perfecting. This has been applied at the International

Academy for Continuous Education established fouryears ago at Sherborne House in England. The successof the method has led to a demand for similar facilities inthe USA.

To meet the demand, the CLAYMONT SOCIETY FORCONTINUOUS EDUCATION is being incorporated-inthe State of West Virginia. It is intended to go far beyondthe basic training now available at Sherborne. The taskwill be to create, within-three to five years, a fullyintegrated society, the members of which will becommitted to self-perfecting and to service to Nature andtheir fellow-men. To meet the needs of the present crisisin human affairs, the Claymont Society will make itselflargely self-sufficient in the provision of food, shelter,

clothing and other necessities of life. It will do so partlyby intensive food production and partly by the adoptionof a system of diet that enables the requirements of the


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human organism to be satisfied with the minimumconsumption of foodstuffs in short supply such as animalproteins.

The chief problem in any community is to achieve unityof purpose and harmony among people of differenttemperament and cultural background. It is above allessential to eliminate the conflicts that come from desirefor power of some and the laziness and self-indulgenceof others. This can be achieved only if there is a rightbalance between people at different stages of self-perfecting. The society will be composed of fourcategories of members.

The first category consists of those undergoing trainingprior to admission as full members. These are called'Candidates'. The candidates will receive an all-round

training identical with that of the Sherborne Academyand contribute an important work force for the needs ofthe community.

The second category consists of specialists who areresponsible for administration, teaching and for thedirection of all operations requiring skill and specialisedknow-how. They have power to make executive

decisions but share in all the duties that do not call forspecialised know-how.

The distinguishing mark of the society is the role of thetwo remaining categories. These are elders whose longexperience and high personal qualities enable them toact as guides and counsellors to the Candidates andSpecialists. They have no executive function but theyexercise authority within the community by virtue of their

qualities. The first category -- called Counsellors -- notonly advise individuals but are teachers particularly as


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regards spiritual exercises. Their most important rolederives from their own experience of spiritual realitiesand the resulting ability to give confidence to seekersthat the path of self-perfecting is in fact open to them.The fourth category comprises those rare men andwomen who have direct spiritual insights and powersthat enable them to bring the entire society into contactwith the spiritual world. They are called Initiates.

At Claymont Court we can count upon the presence ofmembers of the first three categories. Those of thefourth need not be in permanent residence as theirguidance is required only for the general strategicdirection of the enterprise. As the society grows,Counsellors and Initiates will appear.

CLAYMONT COURT

The property comprises 418 acres of land and buildingsall of which can be used for the purposes of the society.It is situated in the fertile and picturesque ShenandoahValley, Jefferson County, West Virginia within four milesof Charles Town and twelve miles from Harpers Ferry,

one of the historical landmarks of the USA. It is readilyaccessible from Washington (58 miles), Baltimore (62miles), Philadelphia, New York and Pittsburgh. DullesInternational Airport is within forty minutes by car.

The mansion built in 1838 is a fine example of latecolonial architecture with a very large ballroom, sixreception rooms, eleven bedrooms and sevenbathrooms. The house has two servants' wings capableof housing twenty to thirty people. There are also


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extensive out-buildings and three tenant houses in goodrepair.

An even more useful feature for the purposes of thesociety is a vast barn and auxiliary buildings 420 ft. inlength and including an octagonal theatre 107 ft. acrossthat was erected for showing and selling cattle atauction. This is to be converted into living quarters,lecture rooms, studios theatre for the Candidates'course.

The geological formation is a dense grey limestone thatoutcrops in many places. The land is partly arable andgrazing and partly woodland. With ample labor availableit can produce enough food for a community of 10,000people. There are two springs on the property producingmore than five hundred million gallons a year, enough to

supply a town of 10,000 inhabitants. The water comesfrom the limestone formation and is hard, pure andsuitable for all purposes. Very extensive vegetableproduction can be assured by irrigation. Forty-eightacres of land have been zoned and registered for fairlydense occupation to give over a hundred privatedwellings.

There are, at present, no planning regulations inJefferson County and we shall be free to undertake anykind of activity, educational, agricultural or small-scaleengineering that is permitted by our own charter.

THE PROJECT

The long-term aim of the Society is to demonstrate that aviable social structure can be founded upon the principle


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of continuous education. Claymont Court is large enoughand has sufficiently varied resources to enable a modelsociety to be established embodying all the mainactivities required for self-sufficiency and a harmoniousand creative life.

The term 'Fourth Way School' was, used by Gurdjieff todistinguish the type of society we are creating atClaymont. It has also been called by Bennett in hisDramatic Universe, a 'Psychokinetic Society', to indicatethat its members believe in human perfectibility. A schoolof the Fourth Way exists solely to carry out an allottedtask and to train people for this purposes. The task atClaymont is to demonstrate that a predominately food-producing society can enjoy fully satisfying conditions oflife on all planes: physical, intellectual and spiritual.

A. Training of Candidates. All who wish to form part ofthe permanent community will be required to passthrough a training period of not less than ten months.The school will use the methods and follow theprogramme of work at Sherborne House. Teacher-specialists will be available both for general instructionand for private teaching. The Candidates will learn all thebasic skills required in a self-sufficient community.

The purpose of the course is to help Candidates in theirwork of self-perfecting, to give them confidence in thereality of the spiritual world and to train them to becomespecialists able to teach others and to serve Nature.

It must be emphasised that the course demands hardwork, discipline and the readiness to sacrifice comfortsand prejudices. Those who apply for admission are

carefully examined to test the sincerity of theircommitment.


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B. Specialists, Thirty to forty specialists will be requiredfor the school and to direct the technical work of thesociety. They must combine special skill in their chosenline of activity with a thorough grasp of the method andthe ability to use it to instruct others. Specialists include:

i) Administrators and Accountants. ii) Teachers in the school. The teachingincludes Gurdjieff's sacred dances,psychological and spiritual exercises, the studyof man and societies, contact with Nature. iii) Practical skills, domestic horticultural,agricultural, building construction andmaintenance.

iv) Art. including music and drama, spinning andweaving, pottery.

v.) Health, diet, natural medicine and physiotherapy.

Specialists must not only be highly trained, but also ableto set an example of self-discipline. Their membership inthe community implies that they are committed to theirown self-perfection.

C. Research and Development. Fourth Way Schoolsare geared to the needs of the time and place of theiractivity. They look at the present and future and areready to put away traditional ideas and methods if theyno longer fit the needs of the time.

At this time, we need new forms of society that will be

infinitely more flexible than the large institutions that aretrying to run the world. The society of the future is likelyto be less dependent upon large organisations to


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intensive, will occupy a large proportion of thepopulation.

II. INTERMEDIATE TECHNOLOGY devices for usingalternative sources of energy. Small-scale production ofutensils, furniture, fabrics and paper will be developedpartly from our own research and partly from exchangewith other societies.

III. COTTAGE INDUSTRIESsuch as spinning, weaving,furniture making and also fine crafts.

IV. PRINTING AND PUBLISHING - especially thesociety's own literature.

Members wishing to make their home at Claymont willbe required to go through the Basic Course forCandidates and to be approved by the appropriatespecialist as regards practical skill. They must berecommended by a Counsellor of the society atSherborne, Claymont and elsewhere.

Families will include Specialists teaching the Candidates'Course, also workers in research, health and othersections of the society.

Approved families will be allotted one third to half acresites and will be responsible for building their ownhouses. It should eventually be possible to take 200-300families, including those of Specialists.

E. Education of Children. A school for children of allages will be started as soon as enough families have

been established. The aim will be to provide an all-roundeducation and training with a strong bias towardspractical skills. This will be a model school based on the


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principle of human perfectibility and organised to bringout the latent potential of each individual child. Theteachers will be qualified specialists. The most importantand sadly neglected part of education is the integrationof children into the family life by way of service and theacquisition of practical skills.

Children from outside the society will be acceptedproviding their parents subscribe to the basic concept.

F. Health. The society has no doctrinaire views onhealth and diet, but the majority of its members favourthe use of natural medicine. It is intended to providespecialists in natural diet, homeopathy, acupuncture,and hydrotherapy. The Academy at Sherborne hasinvestigated and strongly supports the principles andmethods advocated by Dr. Chandra Sharma, Consultant

and Medical Director of the Ramana Health Centre and itis hoped that his guidance will be available to enableNatural Medicine to be developed at Claymont.

We believe that the return to the land will create anincreasing demand for natural diet and natural medicine.

An immense body of knowledge and experience isavailable, but there are few qualified practitioners. It is

hoped that Claymont will attract members of the medicalprofession interested in gaining first-hand knowledge ofthe principles and practice of natural Medicine.

G. Spiritual Direction. The society will be open tobelievers of all religions, who will be free to practice theirown form of worship, but adherence to an institutionalreligion is not obligatory. There will be an overall spiritualdirection based on the principle of human perfectibility

The highest standards of living are required foraccelerated self-perfection and all members of the


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society will be expected to take part in the spiritualdisciplines and exercises started in the Candidates'Course and continued throughout life.

The creed of the society is that we men have beenbrought into existence to serve God through Nature andour follow-men. This is the doctrine of ReciprocalMaintenance according to which everything that exists,including man, serves a cosmic purpose which is oneintegral whole. As Nature serves man, man must serveNature; but he cannot see far enough into the future toknow what is required of him and must therefore look forguidance to the Higher Spiritual Powers.

Divine Service and the act of worship are the means bywhich man can be connected with guidance and highersources of energy. The society will have its own liturgical

forms of worship that will supplement, rather thanreplace, those of the great world religions. It is hopedthat the experience that has been gained over the yearswill contribute to the revitalising of religion.

INNER AND OUTER RELATIONSHIPS

Membership in the society is open to all without

restrictions of age, sex, race, creed or cultural status.The intending member must satisfy the society that he orshe is sincerely committed to the task of self-perfectionand is prepared to accept the discipline that this entails.Residents at Claymont, apart from the transient visitors,must possess or acquire some special skill enablingthem to contribute to the material needs of the society.This skill may apply to any of the activities described inthe previous section and, of course, includes manual

labor as agricultural or building and domestic workers.


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There will be three classes:

1. Full Resident Members.

2. Full Non-resident Members who accept all theobligations of membership but live and work outsideClaymont.

3. Associate Members who have not been through theCandidates' Course.

Only full members vote at the Annual Meetings.

The fundamental principle of service to Nature requiresthat the society and all its members should seek tounderstand the needs of our natural environment and be

committed to its conservation.

Service to the human environment is an integral part ofthe wider concept of service to Nature. It is very hard tobe a man, and self-perfecting is an immenseundertaking. Man is still immature, yet he imagineshimself competent to manage his affairs. We should notregard man as being a privileged being entitled to polluteand destroy the natural environment for his own selfish

benefit. Nevertheless, the society will not engage inpolemic or propaganda. It will be essentially non-politicaland seek good relationships with all parties andinterests, especially those in the area of its activity,

It is hoped that the project at Claymont will be theforerunner of similar communities in other parts of theUSA and also in Europe, it may also be possible to help

in the development of a prosperous village life in thedeveloping countries, nearly all of which are threatenedby the flight from the land.


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If mankind is to have a future, it must be based onrespect and love for our Mother Nature.

Sherborne House

November, 1974

Documents

A Call for a New Society PDF