Tuesday, October 18, 2005
GURDJIEFF'S STUDENT LORD PENTLAND
The Gurdjieff International Review has a webpage devoted to the pupils of G. I. Gurdjieff. One of the most interesting on the list is John Pentland. The website offers a link to a brief bio. of Pentland:
Lord Pentland (Henry John Sinclair) was a pupil of Ouspensky for many years during the 1930s and 1940s. He began to study intensely with Gurdjieff in 1948. Gurdjieff then appointed him to lead the Work in North America. He became president of the Gurdjieff Foundation when it was established in New York in 1953 and remained in that position until his death.
Does that name "Sinclair" ring any bells? Well if you know anything about Rosslyn Chapel, made famous by THE DAVINCI CODE, it probably does. Henry John Sinclair is a member of Clan Sinclair, the people who own Rosslyn Chapel.
A book review on the Gurdjieff Legacy website of THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR IN THE NEW WORLD: HOW HENRY SINCLAIR BROUGHT THE GRAIL TO ARCADIA by William Mann makes the connection:
Mann's exploration adds to recent historical theories about the Holy Grail by suggesting that the Scottish Prince Henry Sinclair [an ancestor of Henry John Sinclair, Lord Pentland]and the Knights Templar protected the Grail by transporting it to Nova Scotia in 1398.
The review mentions other books, including THE SWORD AND THE GRAIL by Andrew Sinclair and HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL by Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln; and it tells the same story Dan Brown wants us to believe is true--that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and started a dynasty.
In speaking of the claim that the Holy Grail was the cup used to collect Jesus blood, the report says:
Gurdjieff’s explanation concerning the Last Supper sheds light on the subject and provides a factual basis for the legends surrounding the blood’s value and perhaps, through distorted accounts, the Grail’s value. Gurdjieff explains that the Last Supper was a magical ceremony that was carried out to enable Jesus to communicate with his disciples after his death, as "Christ knew that he must die." Gurdjieff explained that Christ wanted to establish a permanent link with his disciples, and for this purpose he gave them his blood to drink and his flesh to eat. It was not bread and wine at all, but real flesh and real blood, for those who have an "astral body" can communicate with one another at a distance without having recourse to ordinary physical means. For such communication to be possible, however, they must establish some connection between them. The exchange of blood, which has special qualities, establishes a connection which is not broken by death. In her book, Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, Elaine Pagels notes that after Jesus’ death the gospels relate that Jesus’ disciples experienced a great outpouring of visions and dreams. Perhaps these are distorted accounts of the fact that they were in communication with Jesus.
The report recounts the Priory of Sion theory, but admits it may not be true.
I wonder what Rafe, the Catholic Benedictine monk, thought of this aspect of the beliefs of G. I. Gurdjieff?
The Clan Sinclair geneaology is given at the website Electric Scotland, but don't expect it to make a great deal of sense unless you are into geneology. An awful lot of people share the same names. What is interesting, though, is that one of Lord Pentland's ancestors "signed the letter to the Pope asserting Scottish independence". It would seem that there was no love lost for the Pope in 1280. Perhaps that opposition carries over to the present day.
