A Spiritual Master in the 21st Century: Meetings with Selim Aissel

What may seem extraordinary to some is the day-to-day experience of people who work with such "remarkable men," to quote Gurdjieff. In this book, Francois Merlin recounts his first meeting with Selim Aissel, one of the living spiritual masters of our time. Over the course of the book, we acquire progressively deeper vision of his teaching, whose first principle is to verify everything for ourselves and believe nothing without submitting it to the light of our own personal experience. Through Merlin's lucid exposition, we discover a teaching, given today in the context of a school in France, which has its source in the most ancient traditions but is completely adapted to the men and women of today. We are continually struck by the depth and incredible scope of this teaching, which, however, never loses sight of the fundamental importance of practical application, of concrete work on oneself: Selim Aissel proposes a practical spiritual path, a path of liberation. Many have been fascinated by the metaphysical depth of his teaching, comparing it to that of Sri Aurobindo or Rudolf Steiner, others by the clarity of his psychological insight, in the manner of Krishnamurti or Idries Shah; others value above all his practical methods, reminiscent of Osho Rajneesh or Gurdjieff. In Selim Aissel's own words, his teaching "is one of the contemporary adaptations of the Fourth Way. It is the Sophia and Gnosis, the Wisdom and Science at the heart of all systems. In every age, adapting itself to the place and type of students, this Way is taught by a living master in the most appropriate manner, in the form he judges to be necessary. It is characterised by a transmission that is necessarily a living transmission, incorporating the most essential and effective teaching techniques. Its essential feature is its absence of all definite forms and dogmas. Each time this kind of Teaching reappears, it has to be totally recreated, its structure as much as its foundation. The pupils together form a non-sectarian group of spiritual study. They are "seekers of truth" independent of any religion, sect, or political party, at the same time basing themselves on the contributions of previous schools of thought."