GURDJIEFF

“I have a very good leather to sell to those

Who want to make themselves shoes.”

G.I. Gurdjieff

G

eorge Ivanovitch Gurdjieff was born in Armenia in 1870. He was seeker of truth and was succeeded in his goal. We don’t know much about him as he has talked little about himself and that too is symbolical. Even his autobiography Meeting with the Remarkable Men didn’t tell how he achieved the truth and who his teachers were. His father, John, was a traditional bard of that time and carpenter by profession. Gurdjieff learnt many things from his father, his first teacher, who wanted him to be a priest but Gurdjieff was interested in science. He always wanted to know the truth, to know who am I? Why am I here? What is the aim of human life? He was not satisfied with religious answers so he started the journey to seek the truth.

In the days of his childhood, he was interested in occult sciences like other children and many events happened that surprised him. One day he saw a boy, within a circle, crying and trying to escape but couldn’t. On asking he came to know that boy is Yazidi (a religious group) and a yazidi cannot escape from a circle. Then Gurdjieff removed a part of circle then that boy could be able to flee. Gurdjieff was taken aback on the scene and asked from many people. Then someone told him it is hysteria. But perhaps, he was not satisfied with the answer and he himself imprisoned a yazidi woman and like that boy she was not able to escape. When Gurdjieff tried to take her out she became unconscious. Many events like this made him to think upon and to search for truth.

In his adolescence, he got a job as a stoker at railway station of Tiflis where he met with Sarkis Pogossian who came to become a priest. Later on his mind changed and became locksmith at the same railway station and became a companion of Gurdjieff. They both were interested in occult science and used to read ancient books to get knowledge. Then both set out journey to find out the truth but later on Pogossian got separated from Gurdjieff and got job on ship.

Gurdjieff on his journey learnt many languages and practical skills to earn money for his journey. Unfortunately we know very little about his journey and that too is not very clear as the only source is his book Meeting with the remarkable men.

In 1912 he appeared in Moscow with unknown teaching that was neither religious nor philosophical, rather it was practical teaching to be lived. He attracted a circle of people and in 1915 P.D Ouspensky also became his disciple who was already famous for his book Tertium Organum. To follow the way Gurdjieff proposed, nothing is to be believed until verified by direct experience and life in the world is not to be renounced.

He was the first who realized that human is living a mechanical life; he has become a machine, a robot. He is not aware of what he is doing, but he can be conscious. He said, “Man is asleep. He has no real consciousness or will, he is not free. But he can become conscious and find his true place as a human being in the creation but this requires a profound transformation.” His main focus was how to awake the people, how to make machine again man. His call was radical “Awake! Awake from your unsuspected hypnotic sleep”

Gurdjieff had very much confident on the human capabilities and the only question was to be aware of those abilities, the human possess. He has said, "Man's possibilities are very great. You cannot even conceive a shadow of what man is capable of attaining. But nothing can be attained in sleep. In the consciousness of a sleeping man his illusions, his 'dreams' are mixed with reality. He lives in a subjective world and he can never escape from it. And this is the reason why he can never make use of all the powers he possesses and why he lives in only a small part of himself."

In 1922 he settled in France where he situated Institute for Harmonious Development of Man at the Prieure, Fontainebleau-Avon. And a decade 1925-1935 he devoted to his writing and he wrote four books. Then again he turned back to his teachings as he was fade up of writing books. He died in 1949 in Neuilly, Paris.

Gurdjieff’s constant demand is to know thyself. Who am I, and what is the significance and aim of human life? The great edifice of Gurdjieff’s teaching rests on the unshakable foundation of this innocent interrogation. Gurdjieff preferred Today over Yesterday; he did not invite us either to anatomize him or to idolize him, but to search for ourselves.