George Gurdjieff
1866 – 1949 Armenian-Greek (Russian Empire) mystic, teacher, writer, composer
Teacher of the Fourth Way who taught methods to awaken from mechanical living.
- Religion
- The Fourth Way, his own system teaching that most people live in a waking sleep and can only awaken through conscious effort and self-observation.
- Affiliations
- Founded the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man near Paris. No older society; he claimed to synthesize teachings gathered in Asia.
George Gurdjieff taught that human beings normally live mechanically, in a kind of sleep, and that awakening requires deliberate inner work he called the Fourth Way, combining effort in ordinary life with self-observation and sacred movements. His birth year is disputed, with sources ranging from 1866 to 1877, a confusion he seems to have encouraged. He founded his Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man near Paris and drew a devoted following through teaching, writing, and dance.
Connections
- student of P. D. Ouspensky — His chief pupil and expositor before their split.
- student of P. D. Ouspensky — Ouspensky was his leading pupil and interpreter before they parted.