Gurdjieff in the Light of Tradition

Gurdjieff in the Light of Tradition PDF

Author: Whitall Perry

Publisher: Sophia Perennis

Published: 2005-03

Total Pages: 110

ISBN-13: 9781597310154

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Probably no figure of our time has excited at once more enthusiasm and controversy among serious intellectuals seeking spiritual guidance than Georgi Ivanovitch Gurdjieff. Accordingly, the editor of Studies in Comparative Religion engaged Whitall N. Perry, who as author of A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom is recognized for his impartiality, to devote a series of articles that would pierce through the obscurity and get to the real facts of the matter. This book is the result of that research. Whatever be the opinion of Gurdjieff gained by the reader, one thing certain is that he or she will come away with a far clearer understanding of the background, teaching, and phenomenon per se than has ever been accessible before. By far the best independent, critical evaluation of Gurdjieff I've come across. -Theodore Roszak, author of Where the Wasteland Ends, etc. A single book which examines the facts of [Gurdjieff's] background, his teachings, and his public faces is welcome and overdue. . . . The author incisively and colorfully presents as full and engrossing a view of the man as you could hope to read: the teachings, too, are clearly and thoughtfully explained, with ample references, and the whole book moves gracefully towards a balanced and intelligent conclusion. A 'must' for anyone interested in that extraordinary individual. -Prediction Mr. Perry may be congratulated on bringing the man, with all his foibles and eccentricities, his brilliance and darker depths, fully alive, and on making his a credible character. -World Faiths

Gurdjieff Reconsidered

Gurdjieff Reconsidered PDF

Author: Roger Lipsey

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2019-02-05

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0834842084

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From a master biographer and longtime Gurdjieff practitioner, a brilliant new exploration of the quintessential Western esoteric teacher of the twentieth-century. The Greek-Armenian teacher G.I. Gurdjieff was one of the most original and provocative spiritual teachers in the twentieth-century West. Whereas much work on Gurdjieff has been either fawning or blindly critical, acclaimed scholar and writer Lipsey balances sympathetic interest in Gurdjieff and his "Fourth Way" teachings with a historian's sense of context and a biographer's feel for personality and relationships. Using a wide range of published and unpublished sources, Lipsey explores Gurdjieff's formative travels in Central Asia, his famed teaching institution in France, the development of the Gurdjieff Movements and music, and, above all, Gurdjieff's fascinating continuous evolution as a teacher. Published on the 70th anniversary of Gurdjieff's death, Gurdjieff Reconsidered delves deeply into Gurdjieff's writings and those of his most important students, including P. D. Ouspensky and Jeanne de Salzmann. Lipsey's comprehensive approach and unerring sense of the subject make this a must-read for anyone with a serious intention to explore Gurdjieff's life, teachings, and reputation.

Stairway to the Stars

Stairway to the Stars PDF

Author: Max Gorman

Publisher: Aeon Books Limited

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 90

ISBN-13: 9781904658320

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The book provides an introduction to mystical philosophy and the concept of inner development by looking at a number of its great schools. Mystics concur in saying that we are in some way "asleep" and must recognise this to awaken. A considerable attempt to identify the nature of this "sleep" is made in the earlier part of the book, with the particular help of the teaching of Gurdjieff. Also studied are ways of the past and present, including the Mystery Schools, Gnosticism, Alchemy, Zen, the Fourth Way, and the Way of the Sufi. It is also made apparent that the Way of Jesus, until it was overlaid by "Christianity", was once understood as one of these "waves" or teachings for the development of human being and consciousness. The resonance of this teaching with all other mystical teachings is a significant theme. The purpose of the book is to inspire the reader to ascend the "Stairway to the Stars"!

Introduction to the Gurdjieff Work

Introduction to the Gurdjieff Work PDF

Author: Jacob Needleman

Publisher: Morning Light Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781596750296

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Originally published: Introduction to The inner journey: views from the Gurdjieff work, Morning Light Press, 2008.

The Garden of Truth

The Garden of Truth PDF

Author: Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2009-10-13

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 0061744387

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The headlines are filled with the politics of Islam, but there is another side to the world's fastest-growing religion. Sufism is the poetry and mysticism of Islam. This mystical movement from the early ninth century rejects worship motivated by the desire for heavenly reward or the fear of punishment, insisting rather on the love of God as the only valid form of adoration. Sufism has made significant contributions to Islamic civilization in music and philosophy, dance and literature. The Sufi poet Rumi is the bestselling poet in America. But in recent centuries Sufism has been a target for some extremist Islamic movements as well as many modernists. The Garden of Truth presents the beliefs and vision of the mystical heart of Islam, along with a history of Sufi saints and schools of thought. In a world threatened by religious wars, depleting natural resources, a crumbling ecosystem, and alienation and isolation, what has happened to our humanity? Who are we and what are we doing here? The Sufi path offers a journey toward truth, to a knowledge that transcends our mundane concerns, selfish desires, and fears. In Sufism we find a wisdom that brings peace and a relationship with God that nurtures the best in us and in others. Noted scholar Seyyed Hossein Nasr helps you learn the secret wisdom tradition of Islam and enter what the ancient mystics call the "garden of truth." Here, liberate your mind, experience peace, discover your purpose, fall in love with the Divine, and find your true, best self.

Gurdjieff and Hypnosis

Gurdjieff and Hypnosis PDF

Author: Mohammad Tamdgidi

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2009-11-23

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 0230102026

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This book explores the life and ideas of the enigmatic twentieth century philosopher, mystic, and teacher of esoteric dances George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, performing a hermeneutic textual analysis of all his writings to illuminate the place of hypnosis in his teaching. Foreword by J. Walter Driscoll.

Gurdjieff and Music

Gurdjieff and Music PDF

Author: Johanna Petsche

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2015-02-04

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 9004284443

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In Gurdjieff and Music Johanna Petsche examines the large and diverse body of piano music produced by Armenian-Greek spiritual teacher G. I. Gurdjieff (c.1866-1949) in collaboration with his devoted pupil Thomas de Hartmann (1885-1956). Petsche draws on a range of unpublished materials and data from original field research to critically situate and assess this music within its socio-cultural and unique religio-spiritual context. Focusing on the tremendous role that music played in the life and teaching of Gurdjieff, Petsche chronicles the unique relationship and collaboration between Gurdjieff and de Hartmann, analyses the styles and possible sources of their music, and explores Gurdjieff’s ultimate intentions for the music in light of his esoteric teaching.

The Ultimate Medicine

The Ultimate Medicine PDF

Author: Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Publisher: North Atlantic Books

Published: 2011-07-12

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1583944303

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The Ultimate Medicine is not for those who like their spirituality watered down, but for serious students searching for awareness. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981) lived and taught in a small apartment in the slums of Bombay. A realized master of the Tantric Nath lineage, he supported himself and his family by selling cheap goods in a small booth on the streets outside his tenement for many years. His life exemplified the concept of absolute nonduality of being. In this volume, Maharaj shares the highest truth of nonduality in his own unique way. His teaching style is abrupt, provocative, and immensely profound, cutting to the core and wasting little effort on inessentials. His terse but potent sayings are known for their ability to trigger shifts in consciousness, just by hearing or reading them."The point is that man freed from his fetters is morality personified. Such a man therefore does not need any moralistic injunctions in order to live righteously. Free a man from his bondage and thereafter everything else will take care of itself. On the other hand, man in his unredeemed state cannot possibly live morally, no matter what moral teaching he is given. It is an intrinsic impossibility, for his very foundation is immorality. That is, he lives a lie, a basic contradiction: functioning in all his relationships as the separate entity he believes himself to be, whereas in reality no such separation exists. His every action therefore does violence to other 'selves' and other 'creatures,' which are only manifestations of the unitary consciousness. So Society had to invent some restraints in order to protect itself from its own worst excesses and thereby maintain some kind of status quo. The resulting arbitrary rules, which vary with place and time and therefore are purely relative, it calls 'morality,' and by upholding this man-invented 'idea' as the highest good–oftentimes sanctioned by religious 'revelation' and scriptures–society has provided man with one more excuse to disregard the quest for liberation or relegate it to a fairly low priority in his scheme of things."

The Inner Journey

The Inner Journey PDF

Author: Jacob Needleman

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781596750210

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The Gurdjieff tradition, commonly referred to as "The Work,” describes people’s daily lives as completely mechanical, conducted asleep. Gurdjieff's intent, as with many sacred traditions, was literally to aid in one's awakening. The tools for doing this are many but integrated. The various methods of "The Work" are intended to specifically integrate a person’s physical, emotional, and intellectual centers into a fourth way of consciousness. Like Zen, this tradition has been an oral one emphasizing the relationship of teacher to student. But there have also been extensive writings on this tradition, and The Inner Journey collects some of the best of these in the form of essays, interviews, and fables. To expand readers’ experience and understanding of both Gurdjieff's life and his teachings, the book is bundled with the feature film Meetings with Remarkable Men, Peter Brook’s critically acclaimed adaptation of the early years of Gurdjieff’s search for meaning.