Levels of Understanding
The story of the ark of Noah from the book of Genesis can be understood on many levels: as a religious and historical document, a philosophical treatise, and as a transmitter of the perennial philosophy of gnosis, the golden thread that links human and divine.
According to this story there once was a time when a great evil overtook the Earth and all of humankind turned barbaric, except for a man named Noah, his wife and his three sons. God commanded Noah to build an ark with very specific measurements, and to take two of each animal and set sail while He caused a flood to destroy the Earth.
In the gnostic esoteric understanding this is a direct reference to a particular time in humanity, during the Atlantian Root Race that existed far before our recorded history.
The Universal Flood
Many ancient religions including Mayan, Hindu, and Judeo-Christian, teach about a universal flood that occurred in the distant past.
In esotericism the flood of water represents the flood of psychological degeneration and suffering which had overtaken humanity at a certain time in history. The ark as a hermetically sealed vessel represents the wisdom that was able to withstand this flood and continue on to guide humanity when they were ready.
The ark was the knowledge contained within the living schools of wisdom, which was lived by the Master and his disciples. The ark in this sense represents the esoteric community, as well as each individual person who applied this knowledge within themselves.
This ark was sealed inside and out with pitch, meaning that this esoteric school contained a teaching that was completely intact during the degeneration of humanity, and had to remain sealed until humanity could eventually receive it.
Noah was a living master known as Manu Vaivaswatu. Manu being a title to one given the task of gathering those who were meant to survive the destruction of humanity and perpetuate the teachings.
The Ark
The ark was decreed by God to have with three levels, with only the topmost having a window and a door. This is the human with the three minds: the outer mind relating to the senses and material world, the intermediate mind with concepts and ideas, and the inner mind which is the interior Being.
The significance of the window and door only at the top level means that humanity was only able to receive the teachings through the outer mind, through the senses and from there gradually understand the teachings in deeper levels.
In previous epochs humanity was able to receive the teachings internally, by direct transmission from the masters.
This sealed vessel waited until the flood waters had abated, when humanity was not so filled with evil, and a mountain top was revealed showing the promise of walking the esoteric path.
The ark is the seed of the esoteric teaching that survives all the evil in the world to deliver the Christic values to humanity. Because of our psychological sleep we can only receive these teachings first through our senses and intellect, and to interiorize the teachings to create the internal change.
The human machine, represented as the Ark, with the window of understanding open in the intellectual center.
References
Maurice Nicoll, Psychological Commentaries on the Teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky Volume 5