The Study Society

The Study Society is a British charitable organization based at Colet House in Barons Court, London. Its stated purposes are to advance public education in religion, science, philosophy, and the arts, and to promote moral and spiritual welfare. The Society is particularly associated with the continuation and development of the teachings of the Russian philosopher P. D. Ouspensky and with the wider Fourth Way tradition associated with G. I. Gurdjieff. The organization was registered in 1951 by Dr Francis C. Roles, four years after Ouspensky's death. Roles had been a pupil of Ouspensky, who had settled in England in 1921 and established an important teaching community there. The Society was created to preserve and continue Ouspensky's work as a School of the Fourth Way, an approach to human development that seeks the integrated cultivation of intellectual, emotional, and physical capacities while allowing practitioners to remain engaged in ordinary life. Ouspensky's interpretation of the Fourth Way emphasized that ordinary human consciousness is incomplete but capable of further development through deliberate attention, understanding, and personal effort. Unlike traditions focused primarily on the body, emotions, or intellect, the Fourth Way was presented as a method combining all three dimensions. The Study Society's activities have therefore centered on study groups, practical exercises, meditation, and forms of disciplined self-observation rather than on academic instruction alone. The Society also became an important meeting point for several related spiritual and contemplative traditions. In the 1930s, the Movements associated with Gurdjieff were taught to Ouspensky's pupils in England. These choreographed exercises, historically described as sacred dances, prayers, or movements, were presented as methods of attention and inner coordination. The Society later developed a significant connection with transcendental meditation. After continuing Ouspensky's teaching for thirteen years, Roles met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in London in 1960 and recognized mantra meditation as a possible answer to Ouspensky's search for a simple practical method of inner development. The Society helped arrange Maharishi's major lecture at the Royal Albert Hall in 1961 and provided early guidance to the School of Meditation established after that visit. A further strand of the Society's work emerged in 1963 through its connection with Resuhi Baykara, a leader of the Mevlevi tradition in Istanbul. Members were trained in Mevlevi turning, the Sufi whirling discipline associated with Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi. The practice and the related sema ceremony became recurring parts of the Society's program at Colet House, alongside study of Mevlevi poetry and music. Today, the Society's publicly described activities include study groups examining Ouspensky, Francis C. Roles, Swami Shantanand Saraswati, non-dual philosophy, and related teachings; meditation instruction and practice; Mevlevi turning; public lectures; and publication or distribution of selected material connected with its intellectual and spiritual heritage. It is best understood as a charitable educational and contemplative institution rather than a conventional commercial brand.

The Study Society emerged from the English teaching circles of P. D. Ouspensky, the Russian philosopher and interpreter of G. I. Gurdjieff's Fourth Way. Ouspensky settled in England in 1921 and developed a substantial body of teaching around the possibility that ordinary human consciousness is incomplete but can evolve through sustained attention, self-observation, understanding, and deliberate effort. His version of the Fourth Way sought to unite the development of the body, intellect, and emotions rather than concentrating on only one of these dimensions. It also allowed practitioners to pursue inner work while continuing to participate in ordinary social life. Ouspensky died in 1947. Four years later, Dr Francis C. Roles, who had studied with him, registered The Study Society. The new organization was intended to preserve and extend Ouspensky's work as a School of the Fourth Way. It operated from Colet House in Barons Court, London, which became a central location for its meetings, teaching, and practical work. The Society's charitable objects broadened its formal remit beyond a single school, describing a public-benefit purpose involving education in religion, science, philosophy, and the arts, together with the promotion of moral and spiritual welfare. One important element of the Society's early heritage was the practice known as the Movements. These choreographed exercises, also described in related traditions as sacred dances, prayers, or exercises, had been introduced to Ouspensky's English pupils in the 1930s by Madame Ouspensky. The exercises were associated with a repertoire that Gurdjieff had gathered from religious and esoteric communities encountered during his travels. Within the Society's context, the Movements were treated not simply as performances but as disciplined means of cultivating attention, coordination, and conscious presence. Roles continued Ouspensky's teaching for thirteen years. In 1960, following Ouspensky's instruction to seek the source of the system, he met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in London. Roles regarded the mantra-based meditation being taught by Maharishi as a practical method that could complement and complete the search for a straightforward form of inner development. The Study Society played a role in facilitating Maharishi's prominent Royal Albert Hall lecture in 1961. The event drew a large audience and helped raise Maharishi's profile in Europe. Following the visit, the School of Meditation was established, and Roles offered guidance concerning meditation during its formative period. Roles later connected the Society's work with the Advaita Vedanta tradition through Swami Shantanand Saraswati, Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath in northern India. The Society's published account presents this relationship as important to Roles's conviction that the various strands of his search had reached a point of philosophical and practical completion. The resulting intellectual environment brought together Fourth Way ideas, meditation, non-dual philosophy, and related forms of contemplative study. In 1963, the Society formed a further connection with Resuhi Baykara, a leader of the Mevlevi tradition in Istanbul. Baykara trained members in Mevlevi turning, the Sufi whirling discipline associated with the teachings and poetry of the thirteenth-century mystic Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi. The practice became part of the Society's continuing program, with the sema or Mukabele ceremony held at Colet House and accompanied by study of Mevlevi music and poetry. The Society's activities have consequently developed along several connected lines. Study groups examine Ouspensky's writings, the work of Roles, the teachings of Shantanand Saraswati, and non-dual philosophy. Meditation is taught and practiced as a method of attention and inner development. Mevlevi turning provides a movement-based discipline linked to Sufi tradition, while public lectures extend the Society's educational purpose to a wider audience. The organization has also been associated with publications such as Good Company and Good Company II. Its historical identity remains rooted in the preservation and further exploration of Ouspensky's Fourth Way, while its program encompasses a broader network of contemplative, philosophical, and artistic practices.

• 1963

  Mevlevi connection established

  [1]The Study Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Resuhi Baykara introduced members to Mevlevi turning, establishing a continuing Sufi movement and music tradition within the Society.

• 1961

  Royal Albert Hall meditation lecture

  [1]The Study Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Society helped arrange Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's major London lecture, which significantly increased his European public profile.

• 1960

  Francis Roles meets Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

  [1]The Study Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Roles encountered Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in London and identified mantra meditation as a potentially practical method related to Ouspensky's search for a simple means of inner development.

• 1951

  The Study Society is registered

  [1]The Study Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Dr Francis C. Roles registered the Society to continue P. D. Ouspensky's Fourth Way work after Ouspensky's death.

• 1930

  Movements introduced to Ouspensky's English pupils

  [1]The Study Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Movements associated with Gurdjieff and Ouspensky were taught in England at Lyne Place and Colet House, forming an enduring part of the Society's practical heritage.

A London-based charitable educational and contemplative society combining Fourth Way study, meditation, non-dual philosophy, and Mevlevi practice.

• Educational program · 1951

  Fourth Way study groups

  Discussion and study groups explore the teachings of P. D. Ouspensky, G. I. Gurdjieff's Fourth Way as interpreted through Ouspensky, Francis C. Roles, Swami Shantanand Saraswati, and related non-dual philosophy. The groups combine intellectual examination with the Society's broader emphasis on practical self-development and conscious attention.

• Contemplative practice · 1961

  Meditation

  The Society teaches and supports meditation as a practical discipline for attention and inner development. Its twentieth-century history is closely connected with Francis Roles's meeting with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the early development of the School of Meditation in London.

• Sufi movement and arts practice · 1963

  Mevlevi Turning

  Mevlevi turning is taught as a disciplined movement practice associated with the Sufi tradition of the Whirling Dervishes. The Society's program also includes study of Mevlevi poetry and music, with sema or Mukabele ceremonies held at Colet House.

• Educational event

  Public lectures

  Public lectures extend the Society's educational mission into subjects connected with religion, philosophy, science, the arts, meditation, and spiritual development.

• Publication

  Good Company

  A publication associated with the Society's intellectual and spiritual work, collecting material connected with its teachings and study tradition.

• Publication · 2009

  Good Company II

  A follow-up publication associated with the Society and the teachings of Swami Shantanand Saraswati.

• 1963

  Integration of Mevlevi turningStrategy

  Background

  The Society expanded its practical and artistic program beyond Fourth Way study and meditation through contact with the Mevlevi tradition.

  Action taken

  Members were trained by Resuhi Baykara in Mevlevi turning and related ceremonial practice.

  Aftermath

  Mevlevi turning, music, poetry, and sema ceremonies became continuing elements of the Society's work at Colet House.

  Source

• 1961

  Support for meditation's public introduction in LondonOther

  Background

  Francis Roles regarded mantra meditation as a practical method relevant to the search for an accessible system of inner development.

  Action taken

  The Society helped facilitate Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Royal Albert Hall lecture and provided early guidance to the School of Meditation.

  Aftermath

  The lecture contributed to Maharishi's increased visibility in Europe and strengthened meditation's place within the Society's activities.

  Source

• 1951

  Formal continuation of the Fourth Way schoolStrategy

  Background

  After P. D. Ouspensky's death, his pupil Francis C. Roles sought an organizational vehicle for continuing Ouspensky's teaching.

  Action taken

  Roles registered The Study Society as a charitable organization with educational and moral-spiritual objectives.

  Aftermath

  The Society became the principal institutional setting described for the continuation and further development of Ouspensky's work in Britain.

  Source

1. 1The Study Societyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Study Society official websitestudysociety.org
3. 3The Study Society Publicationsstudysocietypublications.org