alfa Posted May 25, 2009 I've heard about this man, but what did he do? What's his philosophy, if he had one? I don't seem to find anything comprehensive on the net, no books at all written by or about him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orb Posted May 25, 2009 I've heard about this man, but what did he do? What's his philosophy, if he had one? I don't seem to find anything comprehensive on the net, no books at all written by or about him. There are tons of books written about him and a few written by him, there are also "teachers" and entire schools following his teaching on every single continent on this planet and in all major cities in the world.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaloo Posted May 25, 2009 Do a search for The Fourth Way. www.bythewaybooks.com has most of his works and those of his students. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
erdweir Posted May 25, 2009 (edited) lots of information on the net, easy to find. His books are out there too, no problem getting your hands on them. His major disciple is Ouspensky, who wrote a number of books about him and his teachings. also see the movie Meetings with Remarkable Men, from the book G wrote. G is a very mysterious character, his early life is open to speculation, many doubt the story he told about himself. His methodology seems very much steeped in Sufism, but perhaps and unorthodox one. lots of mysteries. his public life as a teacher began in russia before the revolution. he moved to paris to escape the revolution and later and ended up in america due to WWII. Try spelling it Gurdijieff, you will get more results Edited May 25, 2009 by erdweir Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orb Posted May 26, 2009 His major disciple is Ouspensky, who wrote a number of books about him and his teachings. I would have to partially disagree with you. While Ouspensky is the main author on the subject besides Gurdjieff himself - Ouspensky was not his major disciple - although he started that way... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
宁 Posted May 26, 2009 I like Edmond Andre's pov on G, i consider it the most reliable Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orb Posted May 26, 2009 (edited) I like Edmond Andre's pov on G, i consider it the most reliable Why would you read somebody else's take on the subject when he wrote books himself on a teaching that he himself brought to the west. If somebody wants to understand Gurdjieff's ideas - then read Gurdjieff's books he even tells you how to read them in the beginning of his own book. Also Ouspensky's book is awesome because he just plainly used Gurdjieff's words as he wrote them all down after hearing them directly and Gurdjieff was very happy with Ouspensky's book.... Edited May 26, 2009 by orb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
宁 Posted May 26, 2009 Why would you read somebody else's take on the subject when he wrote books himself on a teaching that he himself brought to the west. If somebody wants to understand Gurdjieff's ideas - then read Gurdjieff's books he even tells you how to read them in the beginning of his own book. Also Ouspensky's book is awesome because he just plainly used Gurdjieff's words as he wrote them all down after hearing them directly and Gurdjieff was very happy with Ouspensky's book.... Of course you are right, but first read the book... to me it provided the answer for questions like how did G manage to get in touch with his teachers, where are they, was G group a mass proportion experiment, why didn't any of his students come to noticeable acheivement... I loved In search of the miraculous, and Meeting with remarkable men (I can't find the movie though). It was an interesting step in the evolution of human awareness... Ouspensky was G's biggest dissapointment. O's story, to me, was an example of how close you can be to a teaching, and still miss it's message. Like the age-old story of missing the moon by staring at the finger... L1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
erdweir Posted May 26, 2009 I would have to partially disagree with you. While Ouspensky is the main author on the subject besides Gurdjieff himself - Ouspensky was not his major disciple - although he started that way... Ok maybe you are right, but he wrote down the most of what G said out of any of his disciples. G disowned him for it, but later in life admitted that O had pretty much published his exact words. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dot Posted May 26, 2009 The main position comes from man being unconscious and asleep - and to become conscious and awake. I think G is of some interest, but the students arising from the school would have, IMO, more interest to you - and most people in this day and age. alfa, here's some info to get you started http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._I._Gurdjieff * note the spelling of the last name. I'd recommend you look into some of the writings of PD Ouspensky, who's work is much more approachable http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._D._Ouspensky Other students of interest would include http://www.bardic-press.com/rcollin/collinindex.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Richard_Orage http://www.johnclilly.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_G._Bennett Also, the Enneagram has many applications for discovery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram Hope that helps some in your search. cheers... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sirius Posted May 26, 2009 hello! if you want to find out more about gurdieffs teachings i would recommend the book "transformation" by john g. bennett. bennett was - in my opinion - the most important of g.`s students. and he managed to understand gurdieffs message. and he quite successfully tried to translate this message into a language which is easy to understand. the result was the book "transformation". bennett was the founder of the "sherbourne house of continous education" in england. this is a study centre for gurdieffs and bennetts teachings. one of the famous students of the "sherbourne house" was the experimental rock musician robert fripp (king crimson). good luck on the path! sirius Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doc benway Posted May 26, 2009 one of the famous students of the "sherbourne house" was the experimental rock musician robert fripp (king crimson). Great tidbit, sirius! I love Fripp's work and it's cool to know this about him. Another very spiritual guitarist is John McLaughlin - his website has some interesting info about him. I managed to contact him a short while ago and he currently studies Ch'an poetry. But I digress... My sister-n-law recently gave me Eating the I but I haven't yet read it. Anyone familiar with this book? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orb Posted May 26, 2009 hello! if you want to find out more about gurdieffs teachings i would recommend the book "transformation" by john g. bennett. bennett was - in my opinion - the most important of g.`s students. and he managed to understand gurdieffs message. and he quite successfully tried to translate this message into a language which is easy to understand. the result was the book "transformation". bennett was the founder of the "sherbourne house of continous education" in england. this is a study centre for gurdieffs and bennetts teachings. one of the famous students of the "sherbourne house" was the experimental rock musician robert fripp (king crimson). good luck on the path! sirius Bennett is pretty good but can deviate quite a bit. I would say that his group teaching was actually more efficient then his writings, but I insist on saying this one more time: Gurdjieff wrote his books with a very precise goal in mind - they are meant to kill all the inherited beliefs in ones brain and perform some sort of a brainwash if you want - which will allow you to see the world unfiltered and unbiased by the regular influence from education, religious dogma or whatever such and such told you etc. His books are a different kind of animal. The reason they are difficult to be understood is because they were designed that way. You are supposed to make a certain type of effort when you read his books and after that your understanding would be of a different kind, your eyes will open. Each book is meant to be read 3 times in 3 different ways and only after that you can say that you have read about Gourdjieff's system (which still doesn't mean much). By trying to avoid reading his books and reading all these other author's opinions you defy the purpose of his teaching and will NOT understand his ideas, guaranteed. Just consider this: Ouspensky for example - a very popular figure of his time in Russia and abroad - great mathematician and journalist and writer. There are areas in science that were developed because of his research, he was also quite versed in different religions and traditions as well as occult matters before even meeting Gourdjieff (and not from reading random books) etc etc he got first hand teaching from Gourdjieff and he still deviated quite a bit and later regretted it. Gourdjieff's teaching is a higher level of teaching and it's not meant to be received by your intelectual function - if you do that - then you are guaranteed to fail because it's like putting diesel fuel in a regular gas engine - it's just a different thing.... Also you cannot compare it nor combine it with a regular religion or philosophy. There are also quite a few side effects possible if you don't follow G's recommendations. Anyway enough for me on this subject ... over and out Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vajrasattva Posted May 26, 2009 Naqshabandi Sufism... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
forestofclarity Posted May 26, 2009 Read in Search of the Miraculous. I've heard about this man, but what did he do? What's his philosophy, if he had one? I don't seem to find anything comprehensive on the net, no books at all written by or about him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DalTheJigsaw123 Posted May 30, 2009 Wikipedia is your friend! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FAT Posted May 30, 2009 (edited) I've heard about this man, but what did he do? What's his philosophy, if he had one? I don't seem to find anything comprehensive on the net, no books at all written by or about him. Ah, Gurdjieff! A mysterious individual indeed -- Recommend that you pick up "Gurdjeiff; An Introduction to His Life and Ideas" by John Shirley. T'is a good place to start. Edited May 30, 2009 by FAT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaloo Posted May 30, 2009 Read Beelzebub's Tales and follow the reading guide beginning of the book. If you approach any Work group, one of the first things they will ask is if you have read the book. After that, In Search of the Miraculous by Ouspensky. Most of the G. Foundation groups have new students read through that book in a group setting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orb Posted May 30, 2009 (edited) Read Beelzebub's Tales and follow the reading guide beginning of the book. If you approach any Work group, one of the first things they will ask is if you have read the book. After that, In Search of the Miraculous by Ouspensky. Most of the G. Foundation groups have new students read through that book in a group setting. WOW jaloo bravo, nice surprise- both your posts on the subject show a lot about you . You know exactly what r u talking about, my friend - quite a rare thing around this forum...Thank you. I would actually be interested in speaking with you if you didn't mind Edited May 30, 2009 by orb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaloo Posted May 30, 2009 WOW jaloo bravo, nice surprise- both your posts on the subject show a lot about you . You know exactly what r u talking about, my friend - quite a rare thing around this forum...Thank you. I would actually be interested in speaking with you if you didn't mind I'll answer anything I can. Send me a PM or post here if you'd prefer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaloo Posted May 31, 2009 By the way, an interesting book about one man's experience in the Work is: On a Spaceship with Beelzebub: By a Grandson of Gurdjieff by David Kherdian. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Encephalon Posted June 3, 2009 I read "Meetings with Remarkable Men" back in the early 80s and thought it was one serious adventure tale, with perennial lessons thrown in. Lots of fun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
