Gurdjieff Georgy Ivanovich the fourth way. Gurdjieff
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff is a man of mystery: the greatest esotericist of the twentieth century, philosopher, magician, prophet, traveler, composer, dance teacher, writer.
A huge number of the most unimaginable legends and stories revolve around the personality of this amazing person, which for the most part do not have any documentary evidence. It is noteworthy that Gurdjieff himself contributed greatly to the creation of that atmosphere of mystical mystery that still shrouds his name. Even appearance this man is extraordinary. To understand this, just look at his portrait. A passionate, strong-willed face, a piercing, hypnotic gaze - he exudes a magical mystery.
In our story about the life of George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, we will try to be as objective as possible when talking about such an unusual person. In fact, we are faced with the absence of reliable third-party sources of information about Gurdjieff’s biography. Therefore, the main source will be the books of Gurdjieff himself.
Birth
Accurate documentary information about the date of birth of George Ivanovich Gurdjieff has not been preserved; according to various sources, he was born: January 14 in 1866 or 1877, or December 28, 1872. The passports he used also show different dates of birth.
The surname Gurdjieff is pronounced Gyurjan in Armenian. Turks and Persians used the Turkic word “Gyurji” to call Georgians, and sometimes all other inhabitants of the Caucasus. This surname is widespread among Greeks who migrated from Georgia. The Greek diaspora has long been the largest in Georgia. In Soviet times, the Greek diaspora numbered about 150 thousand people.
The future great esotericist was born in Armenia in the small but very ancient city of Alexandropol. At the time of George's birth, Armenia was part of the Russian Empire. A Russian fortress and garrison were located in Alexandropol. This name appeared in 1837 - in honor of the wife of Nicholas I - Alexandra Feodorovna. Until 1837, the city was called Gyumri, and even earlier - Kumayri, in Soviet times it was called Leninakan - a place notorious to millions of people in connection with the terrible Spitak earthquake of 1988. After the declaration of independence of Armenia in September 1991, the city was once again renamed , but returned the historical name - Gyumri. Nowadays, Gyumri is the second largest city in Armenia.
In the second half of the 19th century. Alexandropol was famous for its poets and ashugs, it was a recognized center of crafts and arts, and among other things, it was considered the capital of the famous Armenian humor, a kind of analogue of Odessa. After some time, the Gurdjieff family moved to Kars, the center of the newly formed Kars region of the Russian Empire. After the formation of the region, the city began to be actively populated by Russian settlers, mainly Molokans.
Under the father's sign
The mother of George Gurdjieff was an Armenian from the famous Tavrizov-Bagratuni family. Father Ivan Gurdjieff, a Greek by origin from Asia Minor, was a famous ashug singer, a master of oral storytelling and a famous person in the Caucasus. It was his father who introduced young George to the tale of the legendary Babylonian hero Gilgamesh. According to Gurdjieff himself, stories about the wanderings of Gilgamesh had a serious influence on his entire subsequent life. Gurdjieff said: “... my father was a wise, talented mentor, whose actions awakened in me a thirst for seeking true knowledge.” Several times his father took him with him to ashug competitions. The competitions took place in different cities and represented a completely unique event. The best of the best ashugs, bearers of ancient legends, experts in millennial traditions, guides gathered at the appointed place eternal memory their peoples. Talented poets, singers, musicians, dancers, masters of the rare art of improvisation. Storytellers from Persia, Turkey, the Caucasus, and Turkestan came to demonstrate to people the ancient art of storytelling.
It was then that Gurdjieff began to realize the enormous value of oral sources of knowledge - giving us the wisdom of millennia. Gurdjieff became one of the very few who appreciated the gigantic potential of this unique channel of ancient knowledge, which was considered irretrievably lost in the depths of time. It may very well be that even then, in early childhood, young Gurdjieff began to be occupied with thoughts of searching for what was lost.
In his famous book dedicated to meetings with remarkable people, among many worthy personalities, Gurdjieff gives first place to his father Ivan Ivanovich Gurdjieff.
In 1917, the Turks carried out another armed raid on Alexandropol. Ivan Ivanovich Gurdjieff tried to protect his home from the brutal Turkish soldiers. He received severe wounds and died at the age of 82 because of this. Very noteworthy is the inscription on gravestone Father Gurdjieff, established by the students of George Ivanovich Gurdjieff: “I am You, You are me, He is ours when we are His.”
WITH youth Ivan Ivanovich accustomed his son to physical labor, forced him to get up early and douse himself with cold spring water. He tried in every possible way to strengthen his son’s character. Paid a lot of attention spiritual education son, instilled high ideals, developed in the boy a sense of beauty and artistic imagination. According to Gurdjieff, the father was a kind but fair man, he lived according to a clear schedule and forced his son to follow his example. He often punished George fairly, for which he was later grateful. Gurdjieff said more than once that it was precisely his father’s correct upbringing that helped him in the future to courageously endure all the hardships and hardships of long journeys. Ivan Ivanovich Gurdjieff had the soul of a poet, but the firmness of a warrior, and no difficulties could plunge him into despondency. At one time, having received a decent inheritance, he took up cattle breeding, but he was unsuccessful; all his herds became victims of mass mortality. After that, he tried his hand at the timber trade, in which, due to his crystal honesty, he also did not succeed. But despite everything, peace, love and harmony always reigned in the Gurdjieff family (George had three little sisters).
His father became the owner of a small carpentry workshop, in which Gurdjieff the Younger also worked after his studies. In Kars, Gurdjieff began going to a Greek school, but later his father transferred him to a Russian municipal school, from whose students talented children were recruited to perform in the cathedral church choir. Thanks to his remarkable voice, Gurdjieff was among the chosen children, and it was there that he made his first acquaintance with Father Borsh, the rector of the Kars Cathedral.
Mentors
Abbot Borsh is a spiritual authority, a brilliant original, a man of the broadest outlook, the generator of many original philosophical and religious ideas, some of which later became the basis of the worldview of the young pupil. Father Borsh recognized the talented boy and helped him with his homework. One day Georgy fell ill with trachoma, and Father Borsh took a very active part in the boy’s fate. He personally brought two ophthalmologists to the Gurdjieffs' house, who quickly cured the boy. At the same time, Abbot Borsh met Father Gurdjieff. These seem to be completely different people who occupy an unequal position in society become good friends. A significant meeting of two kindred souls took place, which had the most serious influence on the formation of the personality of young Gurdjieff. What were the brilliant philosophical dialogues of these two original minds, in which the future brilliant esotericist was present, worth? These conversations helped create fertile spiritual soil, which later gave rise to the most amazing shoots in the personality of Gurdjieff himself. His own father, Ivan Ivanovich Gurdjieff, and his spiritual father, Abbot Borsh, awakened in the young man a great thirst for knowledge of the purpose of human life on earth.
After some time, Father Borsh offered to pick George up from school. He said: “George is a very talented boy, he needs to get a decent education, and at school he is wasting precious time.” Indeed, the municipal school of that time was structured absurdly. A student, having studied at school for 8 years, received a certificate only of primary education, corresponding to three classes. Borsh offered to study at home, reserving the role of the main mentor, and he also undertook to find other worthy teachers. Gurdjieff Sr. agrees. Young George's education has moved to a new qualitative level, the boy diligently studies various disciplines, reads a lot, and participates in a singing choir. Kars region is a unique geographical area, home to many different nations. From the early childhood Gurdjieff (future polyglot, knowledge of about 20 languages) learns to speak several languages: Armenian, Greek, Georgian, Russian, Turkish.
George Gurdjieff was a sociable, enthusiastic person, quickly got along with people, had many friends and good acquaintances. During this period, Gurdjieff met many new people, interesting people. One of these people was Bogaevsky (future father Evlyssy). He was still a very young man who had recently arrived in Kars. Bogaevsky had just graduated from theological seminary and served as a deacon in the Kars Cathedral; a little later he became one of George’s teachers. Thanks to the youth of both, they developed a warm, friendly relationship. Bogaevsky was an interesting, charming, easy-to-communicate person, thanks to which he quickly fell in love with many residents of the city. A circle of young Russian intellectuals formed around him: military engineer Vseslavsky, artillery officer Kuzmin and others. In the evenings, young people gathered together. They discussed many interesting topics, and sometimes heated debates arose. Young Gurdjieff, as a student of Bogaevsky, was a free listener to these most fascinating conversations; the topic of spiritualism was often the subject of discussion and debate.
Mystical episodes
At that time, spiritualism was incredibly popular among the aristocracy and intelligentsia. The so-called table-turning - evocation of spirits - was very often practiced. As a rule, the purpose of such sessions was to obtain secret information from otherworldly forces. One of these sessions took place in Bogaevsky’s circle; Gurdjieff was a witness. The young people sat around a wooden table, placing their hands in a special way, they began to ask the spirits various questions, to which they received clear answers. This incomprehensible action made an indelible impression on Gurdjieff. A serious interest in such phenomena awoke in him. The boy was able to get some books on this topic from his new friends.
During the same period, another strange mystical episode occurred, which George vividly remembered. This happened in Alexandropol when the boy was visiting his uncle. Gurdjieff stood next to his uncle’s house, and a flock of boys were frolicking nearby. Suddenly he heard a heart-rending child's cry. Alarmed Georgy, thinking that an accident had happened, immediately ran up to the crowd of children and saw a strange sight. In front of him, in a circle outlined on the ground, an unfamiliar boy was writhing and crying. His movements were very strange, he twitched somehow unnaturally, it seemed that he wanted to break out of the circle, but some inexplicable power doesn't allow me to do this. Gurdjieff erased part of the circle, after which the poor kid was immediately able to escape from the circle, he immediately ran away to the hooting of the boys. It turned out that this child belonged to the Yazidi sect. The Yazidis are a Kurdish people who profess a special religion. Many ordinary people considered them representatives of a Satanist sect. The main reason for this opinion was the extreme isolation of this strange people. Georgy was extremely puzzled by what he saw, but none of his acquaintances could explain the nature of this phenomenon. Subsequently, in the course of his practice, he conducted a similar experiment with a woman from the Yazidi people. The effect was the same: he was unable to pull the fragile woman out of the circle.
Travel and expeditions
Wanting to devote his life to the study of supernatural phenomena, the search for secret ancient knowledge, Gurdjieff, nevertheless, needed to earn a living. In his young years, he had to master many different professions. He was many things: a carpenter, a translator, a tax collector, a tour guide, a railway worker, a seller of carpets and even sparrows painted to look like canaries. He was the owner of oil wells and the owner of fishing boats. But everything he earned was spent on travel and expeditions.
In search of answers to the questions that occupied him, Gurdjieff made pilgrimages to many holy places located in the Caucasus. He communicates a lot with Christian priests. During pilgrimages, he again sees all kinds of miracles, in no way explained by official science: the healing of hopelessly sick people, rain caused by the miracle of universal prayer.
Around the same time, Gurdjieff met Sarkis Poghossian, a young theologian who had recently graduated from seminary and was secretly disillusioned with the ethics of the clergy. This young man, like Gurdjieff, was eager to go in search of ancient knowledge. Friends decided to look for secluded and quiet place, where one could calmly indulge in the study of ancient texts and books. The ruins of the city of Ani (the ancient capital of Armenia), located very close to Alexandropol, were more than suitable for this purpose. There they settled in a small hut, built with their own hands. In the ruins of Ani there were a lot of underground passages, which were subjected to the most thorough research by Gurdjieff and Poghossian. Imagine the admiration of the friends when one day, making their way along one of these passages, they came across an abandoned monastic cell, where they discovered a whole stack of ancient parchments. They managed to decipher some of the texts. One of them contained information about a certain Babylonian esoteric school “Sarmung”, which existed 2500 BC. This amazing discovery was an additional incentive for the start of Gurdjieff's wanderings.
At the age of 22, Gurdjieff created the famous society that united “seekers of truth.” The main goal of the society was to search for lost ancient knowledge in its most varied manifestations: ancient texts, oral tales, spiritual traditions, practices of closed religious communities, occult sciences. Anything that could be a key to the ancients was of interest. secret knowledge. Gurdjieff and his comrades visited many countries in Asia and Africa. The society also included professional scientists. Often, travel became real expeditions, even archaeological excavations were undertaken. Afghanistan, Turkestan, India, Egypt, Turkey, the countries of the Middle East and, finally, Tibet - this is the immodest geography of Gurdjieff’s wanderings.
It is known that during his travels, the famous esotericist was repeatedly wounded by bullets, as he often found himself in combat areas. But no danger could stop him. The main goal is to obtain esoteric knowledge that touches the “inner circle of humanity.” Gradually, moving further and further along a difficult, thorny path - a path full of dangers and traps, Gurdjieff absorbs the wisdom of thousands of years. He studies the spiritual traditions of Sufism, Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Eastern Christianity, and the practices of Siberian shamans. Collects unique ethnographic material: folklore dances, music, legends. Communicates with representatives of various religious directions and philosophical concepts. Over the years of quest, Gurdjieff mastered many psychological and physical techniques, among them hypnosis, the yoga system, as well as the art of oriental fakirs, which invariably created a sensation among the European crowd.
Subsequently, based on this knowledge, Gurdjieff will create his own system of concepts and develop a methodology of unique practices. This work will become known throughout the world under the name “The Fourth Way.”
Years and years of wanderings passed in search of real truth. There were days of heavy defeats, sad losses of dear friends, but the main thing was victories, victories over oneself. The time has come to teach the chosen ones.
Work in Russia
In 1912, Gurdjieff appeared in two capitals - Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is worth noting that Russian metropolitan society of that time was very receptive to new philosophical and religious ideas. The Romanov family, well-known in Russia, set the most worthy example of this. The fashionable passion for spiritualism and mysticism flourished. Many representatives of the intelligentsia were fond of esotericism in its most varied manifestations. All this happened against the background of serious social and political changes. The premonition of future gigantic cataclysms, as in all previous times, fueled public interest in everything supernatural.
At first, the appearance of Gurdjieff did not arouse any serious interest among the spoiled, exalted metropolitan public. However, this situation begins to change quickly after Gurdjieff met Pyotr Demyanovich Ouspensky. Pyotr Demyanovich Uspensky is an esotericist, mystical philosopher, traveler, journalist, and author of many books. The man is very famous and respected in both capital societies. Acquaintance with Gurdjieff made an indelible, stunning impression on Ouspensky. The venerable journalist was captivated by the extraordinary force of Gurdjieff's personality, admired by the depth of his esoteric knowledge and fascinated by his unique ideas. Ouspensky, recalling his first meeting with Gurdjieff, wrote that he gave a strange and even frightening impression at first of a man deliberately poorly disguised. The appearance of this man was disconcerting, since it was clear that he was not at all who he was trying to pretend to be. But you had to communicate with him and already behave as if you didn’t notice it. In a very short time after this significant meeting, Ouspensky became one of the first students of the “cunning sage” (as Gurdjieff was sometimes called). Ouspensky became the most zealous and most successful disseminator of the “Gurdjieff work.”
The language of many books written in the future by Gurdjieff will prove extremely difficult for the average reader to understand. Uspensky’s greatest merit is that he was able to express his teacher’s thoughts in a language accessible to the average person. Subsequently, it was Pyotr Demyanovich Ouspensky, in his famous book “In Search of the Miraculous,” who systematized Gurdjieff’s teachings.
Among the most interesting students of the esotericist, it is also worth noting the talented Russian composer Thomas (Thomas) de Hartmann (author of the music for the ballet “The Scarlet Flower”). Later, together with Gurdjieff, he would write music for famous sacred dances. “Sacred movements” will be the main tool for training using the famous “Gurdjieff practices”. In total, about 150 pieces of music for piano will be created. Musical themes will be based on tunes from Asia and the Middle East. Here in Russia, together with students, work began on the ballet “The Fight of Magicians”; in the future, this work will be continued in exile. However, due to its incompleteness, the ballet was never presented to the public.
In big cities, so-called “Gurdjieff groups” are appearing; there are more and more students, their number is steadily growing. The year 1917 arrived.
Work in exile
The atmosphere that reigned in the former Russian Empire after the October Revolution of 1917 was not at all conducive to the implementation of Gurdjieff's plans. Together with a group of students, he leaves Russia. In 1919, Gurdjieff went to Tiflis (Tbilisi), where he tried to create the “Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man,” but for various reasons failed. The next attempt to create a similar institution, in Constantinople, also ends in fiasco. From Turkey Gurdjieff goes to Berlin. In Germany, relations with local authorities categorically did not work out. Then, following Uspensky, he leaves for England, and, finally, France - Paris. In fact, he is following the standard path of millions of unfortunate Russian emigrants.
France became his second homeland, and Gurdjieff’s long-time dream came true on its soil. A unique, one-of-a-kind “Institute for Harmonious Human Development” was founded there. The institute was located in one of the suburbs of Paris in the suburb of Fontainebleau. The castle on the Priere estate was purchased with donations from Gurdjieff's disciples, and its doors were opened in 1922. Evenings were held in the Priere, which included public lectures, as well as demonstrations of the “Sacred Movements” - a system of dance exercises developed by Gurdjieff based on Sufi religious practices. Such ideas were quite popular great success among the Parisian public striving for originality. Many of Gurdjieff's students lived and worked at the institute. Children also studied at the institute. The system of training and education in the Prieure represented a certain set of unique actions. It was a kind of symbiosis of constant physical labor, multiplied by diverse individual tasks, which were assigned to each student personally by Gurdjieff. According to many students, Gurdjieff demanded unquestioning fulfillment of all his instructions. There were also those who left the walls of the institute, disappointed both with the teacher himself and with his teaching methods.
In 1923, there was an irrevocable break with Pyotr Demyanovich Uspensky. There is a version that the reason for the break was fundamental differences in views on the methods of development of the “Gurdjieff teaching”. After time, Uspensky published his famous book “In Search of the Miraculous.” According to Gurdjieff, the book was an almost exact retelling of his teaching, as it was given before the revolution of 1917. All subsequent years, Ouspensky had a hard time with the break with his teacher. He died in 1947.
Gurdjieff's teaching, called the "Fourth Way", is becoming more and more popular, groups of students appear in many major cities peace. Gurdjieff visited the USA several times with his students. In America, he gave a series of lectures and also organized theatrical performances, usually free, in New York, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia. The opinions of American viewers were divided: some considered the performances the height of unprofessionalism, while others, on the contrary, immensely admired Gurdjieff's robot dancers. The audience was invariably amazed by the final part of these performances. The actors froze, waiting for the philosopher's command. Gurdjieff sat to the side of the stage and leisurely smoked a cigar. An agonizing tension grew, and suddenly, at a sign unnoticed by the public, about fifty artists began to accelerate to the edge of the stage. Moments and now they are already breaking away from the stage, and only at this moment the famous Gurdjieff exclamation “Stop!” is heard. The dancing actors, frozen in flight, seemed to be floating and falling down into the orchestra pit and the auditorium. The audience freezes in horror, but when they come to their senses, they burst into a storm of applause. It is curious that the dancers' flights have never resulted in injuries to actors or spectators. What they called him back then: “dance teacher”, “dancing provocateur”, “cunning sage”.
In July 1924, Gurdjieff was involved in a car accident. He receives injuries that are practically incompatible with life, but thanks to iron willpower, and perhaps something else (?) Gurdjieff does not die. He is slowly recovering. During this period, Georgy Ivanovich began to write books: “Meetings with wonderful people”; "Everything and everything, or Beelzebub's stories to his grandson"; “Life is real only when “I am.” The Institute in Prieure existed until 1932. However, even after its closure, Gurdjieff did not stop working with students. Periodically, he arranged meetings at his home. After the war, Gurdjieff continued to live and work in Paris.
On October 29, 1949, George Ivanovich Gurdjieff passed away. He died in the American hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine. An important fact: the philosopher was buried according to the Christian Orthodox rite.
The main paths of man according to Gurdjieff:
- The first way. A person, in order to experience the world, agrees to sacrifice natural needs: he remains in the same position, refuses food and wears chains. He mortifies the flesh, but comprehends God. (The Way of the Fakir);
- Second way. A person tries to curb his heart and emotions. (The Way of the Monk);
- Third way. Man subjects his mind to severe disciplinary restrictions. (Path of the Yogi);
- Fourth way. A person’s use of the advantages of the first three directions.
A comparison of all directions shows that Gurdjieff’s teaching contains a multitude of classical ideas esoteric nature, and whole line his own, original ideas. The "Fourth Way" combines elements of Christianity, Sufism, Buddhism, bondage and yoga teachings. Although the latter denies the divine nature of the emergence of a soul in a person, nevertheless, Gurdjieff believed that a person does not receive a soul from birth, but acquires it himself, developing his own individualized consciousness and at the same time reaching some significant level.
Heritage
Gurdjieff left a lot famous students: esoteric philosopher Pyotr Demyanovich Uspensky; mathematician and philosopher John G. Bennett (essay “The Dramatic Universe”); author of the famous book about the adventures of Mary Poppins - Pamela Travers, poet Rene Daumal (France), writer Katherine Mansfield (England), artist Paul Reynard (USA).
Shortly before his death, Gurdjieff ordered the publication of his books “Meetings with Remarkable People” and “Everything and Everything,” as well as P. D. Uspensky’s book “In Search of the Miraculous.”
After the death of the great esotericist, his student Jeanne de Salzmann, to whom Gurdjieff bequeathed the dissemination of his teachings, made an attempt to unite Gurdjieff groups scattered throughout to the globe. This attempt laid the foundation for the creation of the famous organization called the Gurdjieff Foundation. The name in the USA is the Gurdjieff Foundation, the same organization in Europe is the Gurdjieff Society. In addition to Jeanne de Salzmann, the already mentioned John G. Bennett, as well as students of P. D. Uspensky - Rodney Colin and Maurice Nicol, were actively promoting the ideas of the great esotericist. And in our time, in many cities around the world, many groups of followers of “Gurdjieff’s teachings” continue to operate and develop.
Dmitry Sytov
MECHANIC OF HUMAN SOULS
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One of the most mysterious and mystical figures of the bygone twentieth century was a man of extraordinary abilities - George Ivanovich Gurdjieff. Rumors and legends are associated with the name of Gurdjieff; his teaching is alive to this day in narrow groups of followers who do not consider it necessary to give wide publicity to the methods and practices of influencing the human psyche, which he inherited from the “cunning sage.” Georgy Ivanovich Gurdjieff was rightfully considered a magician, since he achieved considerable success in controlling himself and others (others to a greater extent).
Horoscope of Gurdjieff G.I.
Mechanic human souls- this is what one could call George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, who created and developed the philosophical concept of man as a mechanism that can be controlled, led in the right direction, conducted psychological experiments on him and achieved complete obedience. He divided all people into managers and managed, depending on how accountable a person is to his own physical and mental manifestations. Only those who are able to subordinate to pure reason all the movements of their own soul, including desires, drives and instincts, can manipulate public consciousness and direct human flows into the crucible of history. Gurdjieff convinced his students that modern man is unconscious in all manifestations - he is a machine completely controlled by external circumstances.All feelings, words, habits, actions and even creative manifestations man in the fields of art, science and philosophy - all this is mechanical and can be both programmed and reprogrammed. The “cunning sage,” as his students called him, believed that a completely controlled person is not able not only to interfere in the course of existence as a whole, but even to change anything in his life, to make a discovery or invention, since everything has already been discovered before him and instead of him.Gurdjieff said: “Everything that a person says, does, thinks, feels - all this happens... Everything happens in exactly the same way as rain falls due to changes in the upper layers of the atmosphere, as snow melts under the rays of the sun, as dust is raised by the wind.” . A person is carried along the waves of fate on the fragile boat of his limited ideas about the world. In order to stop being dependent on external factors, you need, first of all, to take control of the factors inner world, learn to drive yourself, just as you can learn to drive a car. For such a mechanical attitude to life, Gurdjieff was punished by the mechanics themselves - the engine of his car exploded from overheating. As a result of an incident with a car that lost control and crashed into a tree, Gurdjieff received serious injuries, but still survived and did not change his convictions.A person, according to Gurdjieff, is a machine, which he can remain for as long as he likes, until he himself wants to stop being one. To be controlled, subordinated, limited means to be a machine, but in order to get out of the closed mechanistic circle of predestination, “you must first of all know this machine. When a machine knows itself, it ceases to be a machine - at least the machine it was before. She is already beginning to take responsibility for her actions.” Otherwise, a person will forever remain “a slave and toy of the forces acting on him.”An original concept, isn't it? Nevertheless, it perfectly corresponded to the technocratic spirit of the times, and therefore received wide popularity and recognition from the audience. Despite the fact that at first Gurdjieff’s bold conclusions seemed so new and original that they often amazed and even shocked listeners, he managed to quickly win the hearts of Russian and European intellectuals who were ready to make many sacrifices in order to gain power over themselves.It is possible that among the followers of the Russian magician of Greek-Armenian origin there were those who were especially interested in power over others, power as the highest goal.From theory, Georgy Ivanovich quickly moved to practice, exploring with his own students various ways of influencing the human body. Through the use of specific physical and psychological trainings, aimed at controlling breathing, he managed to introduce his students into a state of special trance, in which they, while remaining partially sane (or suggestible), turned out to be completely obedient to the will of the teacher. From the outside it looked like a hypnosis session, control of zombified people, manipulation of consciousness or something like that. During the demonstration sessions, the students moved around the guru like the planets orbiting relative to the luminary located at the center.
the revolving dance of the Sufis, from which Gurdjieff learned muchDuring this strange dance, drawn by Gurdjieff from the practice of the Sufis, and called by him “sacred,” the disciples reached the required state in which they no longer felt pain, despair, or doubt. Fear, as well as the instinct of self-preservation, were completely suppressed, which was demonstrated in an exercise that invariably evoked in the public a mixed feeling of silent delight and horror in front of the all-powerful magician. Gurdjieff, at the back of the stage, turned the students around to face the audience, after which, on command, they abruptly rushed to the ramp, and the teacher, instead of giving the command “stop,” simply turned away from the stage, demonstrating either his indifference or his absolute power. A group of students, having flown over the orchestra pit, fell into the auditorium, and each of the “numb” adherents froze in a special pose, adopted by him at the moment of the fall. Before the magician’s command, the group of students continued to lie motionless side by side among the broken chairs and shocked spectators, but after Georgy Ivanovich’s permissive phrase they came to life, recovering from some strange oblivion. The strangest thing about all this was that, despite numerous demonstrations of this truly interesting experiment, none of the students ever received a fracture, torn ligaments, or even a banal bruise.In addition to such stunning tricks, Gurdjieff also demonstrated more traditional, but no less convincing. The essence of such shows was to demonstrate psychological phenomena and hidden human capabilities, which can only be controlled by subjugating both the physical and psycho-emotional sides of human nature. Spectators witnessed how adherents of the school of G.I. Gurdjieff transmitted thoughts at a distance, when numbers, names of objects, animals and even musical works were quietly called to one of them in the hall, and he mentally transmitted the received information to his colleagues on stage. The artist began to draw the dreamed animal on the board, and the musician began to play on the piano on the stage the theme from the musical work that the audience had imagined. Of course, numbers were guessed, objects hidden in the hall were found, and other miracles in the field of telepathy were shown. What looked especially convincing was that all these psychological phenomena, the so-called superpowers of man, were demonstrated not by the founder of the school and the recognized magician Gurdjieff himself, but by his followers and students, which irrefutably proved the existence of such capabilities in every person and raised the question of the need for their development.That's the whole point - it was not the Eastern magician himself who demonstrated his rare gift, but the most European intellectuals, akin to those who were sitting in the hall. Shocked by what they saw and heard, some of the spectators expressed a desire to join the supporters of this unusual man.Among his students, the most prominent figures were: 
Ouspensky, Thomas de Hartmann, Katherine Mansfieldjournalist and author of religious and philosophical books Pyotr Demyanovich Uspensky, brilliant musician and composer Thomas de Hartmann, publisher of the popular magazine " New Age"Alfred Orage, English writer Katherine Mansfield. The famous mystic was much more concerned about the quality of his disciples than their quantity. It was not by chance that the brightest personalities were among Gurdjieff’s followers. He specially created conditions so that among his students there were only those who really needed it. When organizing his lectures, he created a number of significant difficulties for those who sought knowledge about human nature: he moved the place and time of meetings, to the very last moment canceled lectures. His student P. D. Uspensky wrote in one of his books about Gurdjieff: “He never wanted to make it easier for people to become acquainted with his ideas. On the contrary, he believed that only by overcoming difficulties, even accidental and unrelated to the matter, will people be able to appreciate these ideas.” Being a contrasting and far from ambiguous person himself, Georgy Ivanovich believed that difficulties and non-standard situations are necessary, as they give a person the opportunity to change and achieve internal unity and integrity. “If a person lives without inner struggle, if he goes where he is drawn and where the wind blows, he remains the same as he was before,” said Gurdjieff. Convinced that life difficulties should be used for intellectual and spiritual development, he skillfully created additional obstacles for his students in order to enhance their inner growth. The basis of his doctrine can be considered the conclusion he himself expressed: “ Extreme situations and “super-efforts” associated with overcoming difficulties are urgently necessary, since “a person is too lazy and is afraid of doing something unpleasant to himself. He will never achieve the required intensity on his own.”Sometimes the guru openly mocked his disciples, forcing them to do meaningless work, or bringing together people who had mutual hostility towards each other. This non-standard manner of transmitting knowledge, gleaned by Gurdjieff in the East, confused, upset and even enraged many of his followers. The paradoxical behavior of the magician hardly fit into the stereotype of the European mystic, widespread in the intellectual environment of the early twentieth century, brought up on the works of H. P. Blavatsky and the anthroposophical ideas of Western God-seekers. That's the whole point - Gurdjieff was too incomprehensible, mysterious, unpredictable even for a mystically inclined, seemingly prepared audience. Unlike theorists from the Theosophical Society, he proposed specific ways and practical methods for overcoming the inertia of human nature and developing superpowers. He himself and many of his closest followers, who accepted the Eastern concept of unquestioning submission to the guru, achieved considerable success in studying the hidden aspects of the human psyche and physiology. Self-regulation, breath control, meditation and sacred Sufi dances - all these practices were aimed at mastering the hidden resources and capabilities of the human body. Gurdjieff managed to introduce into the mysterious world of European esotericism an element of genuine Eastern knowledge, which has both a theoretical and a purely practical side. This knowledge gave him the opportunity to gain power, both over himself and over other people, which, of course, could not go unnoticed by those who felt a huge need for power to satisfy their own political ambitions. There is no doubt that Gurdjieff’s teachings and his original practical methods for developing a person’s inner potential have proven to be in demand. In his group of disciple-adepts, he created a model of a completely controlled organization, the members of which, being highly educated intellectuals with awakened telepathic abilities, were completely obedient to the will of the teacher.
Gurdjieff's inexplicable power over his own disciples amazed and frightened people. The demonstration performances performed by the touring “troupe,” aimed at awakening the public’s interest in the unusual hidden abilities of a person, caused a strong public outcry. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Gurdjieff was compared to the legendary Houdini and Cagliostro; now only David Copperfield could claim such public attention. But Copperfield is only a magician, but Gurdjieff, in addition to magic tricks, was engaged in serious magical practices, the cover for which was concert and lecture activity. In 1924, the guru-hypnotist organized a tour of his team in US cities. The public perceived the fireworks of dances and magical “miracles” as a phenomenon of the unlimited dominance of the magician teacher over obedient students. American writer William Seabrook described the spectacle as “the amazing, vivid, automatic, inhuman, almost incredible obedience and robotic submission of the disciples.” Westerners were amazed at the capabilities of Gurdjieff's disciples, who were able to transmit thoughts at a distance and fall into a state in which a person knew neither pain nor fear.American and European spectators, unenlightened regarding the practical techniques for regulating various systems of the human body that have existed since ancient times in the East, attributed the incredible abilities of Gurdjieff's students only to the merits of their teacher. However, Gurdjieff himself underwent unquestioning “obedience” from the Persian sheikhs and mentors of the monasteries of Tibet. In the East, the foundations of Gurdjieff’s worldview were formed, the teachings that he brought first to Russia and later spread throughout the world crystallized there; the main features of his complex character took shape there.It’s time to say something about the character of this unusual person, and in this astrology can provide us with excellent help, allowing us to look at a person’s personality from the inside, without taking him out of the historical context, which in this case can only help us in understanding some aspects of behavior famous magician XX century. Georgy Ivanovich Gurdjieff was born in Alexandropol (later Leninakan, now Gyurmi, Armenia). ABOUT exact date it is very difficult to judge his birth, since he himself periodically published various dates and years of his birth, using in practice the technique of correcting fate by switching chronorhythms from one horoscope to another. One of his early students wrote: “Gurdjieff was an unknown “man of mystery.” Nobody knew anything about his origin or why he appeared in Moscow and St. Petersburg. But whoever came into contact with him wanted to follow him.”There are several dates of birth “declared” by Gurdjieff himself, ranging from 1872 to 1879, and even one version of birth in January 1880 (in the year of the Spider). It is difficult, but still interesting, to track the astrological circumstances of the birth of a person who named a variety of dates for his earthly incarnation: January 9, 1872; January 9, 1874; January 9, 1875; January 13, 1877, January 9, 1879 and January 13, 1880. All these dates, however, are united by their commitment to the sign of Capricorn. Days and years changed, but Gurdjieff’s beloved January remained as the only option for the month of birth of the famous magician.Based on a comparison of the most important events Gurdjieff’s life with the data of his pseudo-horoscopes, we can come to the conclusion that, most likely, he was born either on January 13, 1877, or on January 9, 1879 (December 28, 1878, old style). Being a typical representative of his solar birth sign, George Ivanovich Gurdjieff devoted his entire life to a single goal - acquiring esoteric knowledge and self-awareness.Guru Gurdjieff knew how to set specific tasks for his followers, maintain discipline in the ranks of adherents and achieve real results. Many were frightened by the rigidity and coldness of the Teacher, who deliberately created difficulties for students, believing that only by strengthening character and overcoming obstacles, one can achieve a change in personality and awaken one’s own essence - the inner core.Gurdjieff very early drew attention to the gap in the European mentality of the concepts of “essence” (inner man) and “personality” (outer man, “persona,” “mask”), making the idea of awakening the sleeping essence core in his teaching about the harmonious development of man. “The essence remains in an adult, brought up in a world of falsehood and imitation, at the level of a six-year-old child, while his personality - many small “I”, compressed into a swarm or legion of contradictory motives and desires - grows hypertrophied, subjugating the essence, transforming her into a slave, into Cinderella.” Gurdjieff said to his disciples that the essence can be compared to a clogged " ugly duckling”, who does not suspect that he can become a “swan”. With all this, the neo-Sufi guru did not just theorize, he gave his students clear exercises and methods that allow them to change themselves, to make a leap in the direction of growth of the essence while completely suppressing the personality, which became the main goal and a very specific task for many of Gurdjieff’s followers. This brilliant move can be applied in any totalitarian system, the main thing is to convince followers that their personalities are worthless and of no interest to anyone, in contrast to the essence of the student, which is by no means free, but can be awakened and realized.Himself, being a strong and powerful man, the founder of the new esoteric school created a teaching that was in tune with the spirit of the times, which demanded the rise of strong charismatic leaders. His views undoubtedly interested the leadership of Bolshevik Russia. In order to assess the degree of significance of Gurdjieff’s ideas for the formation of a state mechanism based on the omnipotence of the leader and the absolute subordination of ordinary citizens, filled with faith and determination to follow the set course, it is enough to mention among the followers of Giurdzhiadze (Gurdzhiev) a man named Dzhugashvili.
Dzhugashvili (Stalin)The similarity between Stalin’s methods of influence on his subordinates and Gurdjieff’s on his students makes us think about the invisible connection between these people and the possible exchange of experience in managing a team in extreme circumstances. It is known for certain that Stalin stayed with his brother Gurdjieff; moreover, both of them studied at the same theological seminary in Tiflis, where they could start communication and continue it years later, when each had already achieved certain results on the way to their goal. But the acquaintance and possible influence on the personality of the “leader of the people” Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin does not exhaust Gurdjieff’s influence on the course of history of the twentieth century.Since Gurdjieff's methods did not have any religious overtones or national flavor, they could be applied with equal success to various ideological schemes both in Russia and abroad. In the summer of 1921, Gurdjieff and a group of disciples arrived in Germany through Romania and Hungary, and, undoubtedly, his appearance on the outskirts of Berlin can be considered a historical event. Here he met with a number of occult-minded leaders of the future Nazi Germany, inspired by Nietzsche’s ideas about the “superman”, nurtured on the fertile soil of widespread theosophical and ariosophical views. There is every reason to trust the stories of the magician’s students that Gurdjieff gave hypnosis lessons to the future “Fuhrer” of the Third Reich, Adolf Schicklgruber, known throughout the world under the name Hitler.
Hitler, 1921.The clash between the two most odious figures of the 20th century - Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, which resulted in the most monstrous and bloody confrontation between the two strongest empires in the entire history of mankind, cannot be considered only in terms of the clash of state interests. The Great Patriotic War is not just a war, it is a real struggle between two powerful magicians, each of whom was familiar with the teachings of Gurdjieff, and, perhaps, learned the art of influencing the masses of people from the same esoteric teacher - Georgiy Ivanovich Gurdjieff, who preferred to remain behind the scenes of the drama of world history of the twentieth century.It is possible that there was more behind the esoteric ballet than the usual Sufi practice of immersing oneself in meditation through rhythmic rotation.
rehearsal of the ballet "War of the Magicians"If we consider the Great Patriotic War as a dramatic action, the main figures in which were Hitler and Stalin, then the parallels between Gurdjieff’s prototype of the “Struggle of the Magicians” will become obvious. Germany, much less the USSR, really did not need this bloodiest of all wars. As a result of World War II, the European economy experienced a severe crisis, while the American economy recovered from the Great Depression. The best option for the development of the situation in Europe for the United States was a clash between the two strongest states of Eurasia, under the sole rule of charismatic leaders of a totalitarian nature. The interest in occultism, magic and symbolism shown by both Hitler and Stalin puts them in the category of “mystical” rulers, whose power was based not only on a system of suppressing dissent, but also on the ability to instill the required idea in the population of an entire country. The confrontation between the leaders of Nazi Germany and the communist Soviet Union can rightfully be considered a “struggle of magicians,” the prototype for which could well have been Gurdjieff’s mystery play of the same name. Possibly Gurdjieff's philosophyraising a “superman” and gaining supreme powerwas perceived as a guide to action by representatives of the “top” of the Third Reich. Gurdjieff’s methods were the best fit for the Nazi idea of awakening innate “Aryan” parapsychological abilities: clairvoyance, telepathy, etc.The knowledge about the mental organization of man, gleaned during his travels in Persia and Afghanistan, was put into practice by Gurdjieff in various techniques and exercises aimed at gaining control over physical and mental processes. One of the most effective ways to achieve the required emotional state, in which the adept becomes invulnerable to pain and fear, was the sacred dances of the Sufis. Prolonged rotation in a certain rhythm causes appropriate reactions of the vestibular apparatus, as a result of which the individual achieves the required level of mental activity. In this state, the magician's students discovered hidden possibilities and abilities in themselves, and gained connection with the inner essence, usually located in a hidden latent state. In his travels in the East, Gurdjieff saw many examples of the manifestation of extraordinary human abilities, and also discovered for himself the fastest way to achieve the required level of mental activity through circulation in the sacred Sufi dance. As a result, these meditative dances, called "special ballet" by students, took a central place among Gurdjieff's practices and methods aimed at achieving a state of "illumination." When performing the “sacred” Gurdjieff dances, students were required to perform strange, almost “unnatural” movements, creating such efforts and loads on the muscles and nervous system that are impossible under normal conditions, in mechanical life. Ballet turned out to be a form of self-knowledge, leading to the disclosure of higher forms of consciousness, the awakening of higher mental centers. Gurdjieff explained that the whirling of the dervishes around their own axis was based on rhythmic counting for the development of the brain.
Gurdjieff dances in the hall withenneagramGurdjieff“My ballet is not a mystery,” said Gurdjieff. – The task I set was to create an interesting and beautiful performance. Of course, there is a certain meaning hidden behind the external form; but I did not pursue the goal of showing and emphasizing precisely this. I'll explain to you briefly what's going on. Imagine that, while studying the movement of celestial bodies, say, the planets of the solar system, you built a special mechanism to convey a visual image of the laws of these movements and remind us of them. In such a mechanism, each planet, represented by a sphere of appropriate dimensions, is placed at a certain distance from the central sphere representing the Sun. The mechanism is set in motion, all spheres begin to rotate and move along given paths, reproducing in visual form the laws governing the movement of the planets. This mechanism reminds us of everything you know about solar system. Something similar is contained in the rhythm of some dances. In strictly defined movements and combinations of dancers, certain laws are reproduced in visible form, understandable to those who know them. Such dances are called "sacred dances." During my travels in the East, I witnessed many times how these dances were performed during sacred services in ancient temples. Some of them are reproduced in "Struggle of Magicians". In addition, the ballet is based on three special ideas. But if I stage a ballet on an ordinary stage, the audience will never understand it.”
Sufis in dance
The public really did not understand the semantic content " sacred dances”, considering them nothing more than an exotic element of Gurdjieff’s philosophical and practical doctrine. These dances were called unnatural, too controversial and sometimes even considered a manifestation of “Satanism”, since the detached faces of the students, immersed in deep dynamic meditation, gave the impression of being hypnotized or weak-minded. And all this despite the fact that there were and could not be any weak-minded people among the enlightened intelligentsia who made up the backbone of the “Gurdjieff” group.
In fact, the “sacred dances”, borrowed by Gurdjieff from the Sufi dervishes of the Mawlawiyya order, pursue external, demonstrative goals of symbolic cosmology and, at the same time, internal, psychological goals of self-observation by students in the process of action. Gurdjieff practiced and instilled in his followers the Sufi practice of “mukhasaba”, which means “precise calculation, balancing”, which allows for constant self-control, study and analysis of one’s own actions and thoughts on the path to mastering higher knowledge. Internal self-control is the main requirement from a student walking the path of self-knowledge. Self-control allows you to structure the microcosm, snatch the true essence from the chaos of instinctive desires and reach a new level of comprehension of reality.
The Sufis, whose teachings were reworked in their own way by Gurdjieff, believed that there are four forms of knowledge of the universe, and empirical knowledge, based on the perception of the phenomena of the surrounding world with the help of the five senses and the mind, is only the lowest form of knowledge, and therefore is accessible to every person. Water is symbolically connected with it as a carrier of information.
The second form of knowledge was considered to be an intuitive comprehension of reality, accessible to people with a rich imagination, able to hear echoes of other worlds and put them into words, sounds and colors. A symbol of creative understanding of reality, characteristic of poets, musicians, etc.
Novel/ 09.11.2017 Alexander Korol.
“Someone will say that I am good, someone will say that I am bad - this is people’s opinion. and I am I"
Alexander King 2010
Alexander Korol.. you are wondering.. who is he?.. why am I reading this?.. Ask yourself!, what led you to this information?.. and while you are thinking, I will tell you what I know about him.
Alexander Korol - writer - analyst - philosopher of the 21st century, or you can just “nobody”. Why "nobody" because he could be anyone..
At the age of 16, Alexander began keeping his diary, at this age you were still in school, and this guy was already thinking about who he was, why everyone around him was different, everyone was lying to each other, well.. almost everyone. At this age, he was already trying to understand himself, even earlier, he didn’t understand why people were like this... as if it wasn’t them... as if everyone was sleeping... and he alone could see everything soberly, he was conscious.
At the same age, Alexander posted a couple of pages from his diary on the Internet, and people from everywhere began to write to him asking for help. Everyone wondered how?, how does an ordinary guy at that age have such thoughts in his head. And you see, if it was some new book based on those already read, or some guru (mentor) guided him, but no, it’s his, he wrote it himself... “Answer Book.”
And then, already in 2010, Alexander recorded a video for this book, after which he became even more famous, even though he doesn’t like all this... and people began to have even more questions, where did this information come from?..
At the same time, after the publication of the Answer Book, he began to advise people, to help solve their problems: life..., in business..., with health... etc..
And it wasn’t just a suggestion or some kind of information business, he was simply asked to help, and he helped, trying to understand himself and to better understand others.
And who do you think he is, some kind of psychic, sorcerer, sorcerer... no, neither one nor the other...
Helping people, he saw through them, felt them, as if there was a book in front of him, and to this day he does this in various forms..
And what does he see?.. But he sees where a person is, at what frequency, when describing people’s lives, he does not see their tomorrow in the literal sense, but he feels their frequency, and when describing the frequency at which a person is located, it turns out that he says everything about that person...
The Answer Book is not his only book; he has been writing for about 10 years and continues to do so.
Feeling the frequencies of people, solving their problems, learning all the facets of human essence, traveling around the world... Alexander understood many of the laws by which this world works, and his view of the world, his understanding of the world, it is truly correct. Many, many whom he helped are grateful for the fact that... he showed them how to change something in their lives, told them who they are, and why now they want this and how to get from point A to point B in their development .
And it's not just anyone psychic abilities or witchcraft, this is analytics, it’s just that someone was sitting at work at that time, and for Alexander’s work was analytics in the field of self-development, he conducted many social experiments, communicated with people from all social strata and eventually understood how everything worked.
This development was gradual, before the eyes of many people, Alexander gave out more and more new information, shared it in his books and videos, at consultations and conferences, people immediately checked it and tried it on themselves, and this information worked and works to this day, many changed your life for the better thanks to her.
This is who he is and what he does, and it doesn’t even matter who calls him what, he has no boundaries, what is important is the information he shares, the information of the present and the future, the view of the world that will allow you to be happy and satisfied with your life, allows you to change and develop, live in harmony with yourself, with your soul and in harmony with the universe.
If you are interested in this information, something trembles inside... then you can familiarize yourself with his books on the official website of akinformation
I recommend reading in order.
Videos AlexandrKorol1
VK bible page
Georgy Ivanovich Gurdjieff(wrong Gurdjieff; January 14, in other sources 1874, January 13 or December 28, Alexandropol, now Gyumri, Armenia - October 29, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) - Russian occultist of Greek-Armenian roots, mystic, spiritual teacher, writer, composer, traveler and a forced emigrant, whose activities were devoted to the self-development of man, the growth of his consciousness and being in Everyday life, and whose teachings among followers were called the “Fourth Way”. Gurdjieff was a novice of the Sarmoung Brotherhood (1899-1900 and 1906-1907; English Sarmoung Brotherhood) and the founder of the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man (1917-1925).
Encyclopedic YouTube
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Father is Greek Ivan Ivanovich Gurdjieff(Greek Ἰωάνης Γεωργιάδης ), mother is Armenian from the family Tavrizov-Bagratuni(Armenian Թավրիզ - Բագրատունի ); residents of the Armenian border city of Alexandropol, famous for its trade and handicrafts, the center of the district of the same name in the Erivan province. According to Gurdjieff, his own father and his spiritual father, the rector of the local Christian church, Father Borsch, instilled in him a thirst for knowledge of the life process on Earth, and, in particular, the purpose of human life.
Ouspensky's acquaintances, representatives of the creative intelligentsia, became interested in Gurdjieff, and a small group was also created in St. Petersburg. Ouspensky adapted Gurdjieff's ideas to the European mentality, translating them into a language understandable to Western psychological culture.
Caucasian period
In Tiflis, Gurdjieff was joined by theater designer and decorator Alexandre de Salzmann (1874-1934), an ethnic German from Georgia. His wife, the Frenchwoman Jeanne de Salzmann (1889-1990), will subsequently greatly contribute to the dissemination of Gurdjieff’s teachings in France and bring students to him after the closure of the Institute in Prieureux.
In exile
Institute of Harmonious Human Development
Gurdjieff tried several times to found the “Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man” - first in 1919 in Tiflis (Tbilisi), then in 1920 in Constantinople (Istanbul). In 1921, Gurdjieff had to leave for Germany, and then, following Ouspensky, he tried to move to Great Britain, but the authorities did not allow his followers to enter the country. Gurdjieff at that time was accompanied by a group of men and women who knew him from Moscow and St. Petersburg, and during the revolution followed him to the Caucasus, then - due to the outbreak of civil war - to Constantinople and further west to Europe. Gurdjieff spent selflessly own funds to purchase food for the entire group and took care of their life. In the summer of 1922 they arrived in France. Using funds collected by the English Assumption groups, in 1922 Gurdjieff bought the estate of Prieuré d'Avon, near Fontainebleau near Paris. The estate was purchased from the widow of Fernand Labori (1860-1917), lawyer in the Dreyfus case. Finally, the Institute for Harmonious Human Development was founded, which lasted for several years.
The community of new residents of the vast estate attracted the most lively curiosity. The first students to come to Prieuré were the English, followers of Ouspensky; then the Americans began to arrive. Among them were critics, publishers and doctors with famous surnames:
Among the French students, the poet and prose writer Rene Daumal (1908-1944) and the writer Luc Dietrich (1913-1944) - seekers of metaphysical knowledge - stand out. Daumal was Gurdjieff's student for ten years; his philosophical novel “Mountain Analogue,” dedicated to Alexander de Salzmann, who introduced him to Gurdjieff, is a poetic expression on paper of the inner experiences of Daumal and his comrades at the Institute.
Among the Sunday visitors to Prieureux was the university intellectual Denis Saurat (1890-1958), at that time the director, who came to visit his friend A. R. Orage; the conversation with Gurdjieff made a strong impression on him.
Gurdjieff said that main idea teachers - awaken a sleeping thought and feeling true reality in man. Fearing that followers would quickly drown in abstractions instead of real practices, he decided to rely on art (sacred dances) and practical work in groups where like-minded people could help each other realize themselves. The brief material of excerpts from his lectures to his “students” testifies to the simplicity of his language, which tends more towards Hodja Nasredin or Aesop. The clearest presentation of some of Gurdjieff’s ideas can be found in P. D. Uspensky’s book “In Search of the Miraculous,” where the author systematizes his basic concepts. Gurdjieff himself chose a completely different style to present his ideas - the style legomonism(English legomonism), so that the reader comprehends the scriptures not just by logic, like Uspensky, but by intuition.
The only public performance of Gurdjieff and his disciples at that time was a performance of sacred dances and movements at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris in October 1923. Theater performance was announced as dervish dances and sacred ceremonies, as well as a teaching method. The public demanded the keys to understanding the dance language.
In January 1924, Gurdjieff and Ouspensky's paths in life diverged. Ouspensky continued his journey on his own, returning to Great Britain. Gurdjieff, accompanied by four dozen students, traveled to New York on January 4, 1924, to present two series of theatrical performances to the American public, at the Neighborhood Playhouse and at Carnegie Hall. In July 1924, a few weeks after returning from America, Gurdjieff was involved in a car accident in which he nearly lost his life. Having recovered from the accident with difficulty, Gurdjieff decides to partially close the Institute and begin his writing career in order to “transmit ideas in a form accessible to others.” After this, the Prieuré becomes more closed, although many of Gurdjieff's students remain there or continue to visit it regularly.
Writing and musical activities
After the accident, Gurdjieff began work on All and Everything, ten books organized into three series:
- "Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson";
- “Meeting wonderful people”;
- "Life is only real when I am».
He chose Russian as the language of his books, preferring it to other languages he knew (Greek, Armenian, Turkish, Persian, English). He wrote everywhere - in Prieureux, on trips, on the tables of provincial cafes and especially in the Parisian Café de la Paix, which he called his office. Having finished a chapter, he gave it away for translation for subsequent reading by everyone who was part of his social circle, while reading, carefully observing the readers’ reactions and making corrections in the text. Thus he was engaged in writing for more than ten years.
At the same time, he did not stop playing music, almost daily improvising hymns, prayers or simply melodies of Kurds, Armenians and Afghans on a portable harmonica. Together with his student, the composer Thomas de Hartmann, during this period he wrote 150 short pieces of music for piano, often based on Armenian and Turkic folklore, as well as music for “sacred dances”.
Having completed “Everything and Everything” and finally closing the institute in Prieuré, Gurdjieff moved to live in Paris, continuing to visit the USA from time to time, where, after his previous visits, Alfred Orage, former owner English magazine "New Age" (The New Age), led groups of his students in New York and Chicago. In Paris, Gurdjieff continued to work with French students, organizing meetings in city cafes or at home. His activities decreased, but did not stop even during the Second World War, a period that he spent continuously in Paris.
Post-war period
The largest musical composition by Gurdjieff and Hartmann was ballet "Struggle of the Magicians". Ballet plot: The White Magician teaches his students freedom; The Black Magician suppresses their will, using them for his own selfish interests, he instills fear in them. If the result of the activity of the first is the elevation of the spirit; then the result of learning from the second is personality degradation.
Gurdjieff did not know musical notation (although he played the harmonica), so his collaboration with Hartmann was of a specific nature:
“Mr. Gurdjieff used to whistle or play on the piano with one finger a very complex type of melody, which, despite the apparent monotony, are all oriental melodies. To grasp this melody, to write it down in European notation, something like a “tour de force” was required... Mr. Gurdjieff's music was unusually diverse. The greatest impact was that which he remembered from his travels to remote Asian monasteries. Listening to such music, you plunge into the depths of your being..."
A. Lyubimov. In search of forgotten rituals. Booklet for the concert. St. Petersburg Philharmonic. P. 6.
Gurdjieff often tapped the rhythm on the top of the piano. In 1929, Hartmann ended his collaboration with Gurdjieff. He later recalled:
"I think to torment me, he would start repeating the melody before I had finished recording - usually with subtle changes, adding embellishments that would drive me crazy."
Thomas de Hartmann. Our life with Gurdjieff.
Heritage
Ideological heritage
After Gurdjieff's death, his student Jeanne de Salzmann united the students various groups, which marked the beginning of the community known as the Gurdjieff Foundation (the name in the USA, in Europe the same community is known as the Gurdjieff Society, “Gurdjieff Society”). Also actively disseminating Gurdjieff’s ideas after his death were the British mathematician John G. Bennett (1897/1974), the British psychiatrist Maurice Nicoll (1884-1953), English writer Rodney Collin (1909-1956) and Lord Pantland (1907-1984). The books of the journalist and spiritualist researcher Peter Ouspensky (1878-1947) also contribute to the dissemination of the foundations of Gurdjieff's teachings.
After Gurdjieff's death, famous musicians Keith Jarrett and Robert Fripp studied with his students. Currently, Gurdjieff groups exist in many cities around the world. Gurdjieff's books are published in the West and in Russia in large editions, and his ideas resonate in the hearts of readers.
Legacy in music
In 1949, after Gurdjieff's death, Hartmann edited the works he had co-authored. After a long break, the music of Gurdjieff and Hartmann was performed publicly in 1980 by the jazz pianist, improviser and composer Keith Jarrett, who later recorded the disc G.I. Gurdjieff Sacred Hymns". In Russia, a major musical cycle of piano works by Gurdjieff and Hartmann, “Seekers of Truth (Journey to Inaccessible Places),” was performed for the first time in January
The exact date of birth of Gurdjieff is unknown. He once said that the time will come and the descendants themselves will determine it. He spoke many languages, but preferred Armenian and Russian (his mother's native language). His father of Russian-Greek origin, Ashug, an expert on religion and a teller of Asian legends, attracted many of the most colorful people with his performances. They lived in the town of Karsk, near the Russian-Turkish border, whose population consisted of Greeks, Armenians, Turks, Kurds, Caucasian Tatars, Georgians, Russians, who professed Buddhism, Sufism and Christianity in half with shamanism and devil worship. So, from early childhood, George touched the sacraments of ancient symbolism, liturgy, rhythmic breathing techniques and various meditations, and witnessed inexplicable phenomena. For example, the children of the Yazidis (a people who worship the devil) often amused themselves by drawing a circle around a boy with chalk, in which he remained standing, as if paralyzed, until one of the adults freed him.
According to contemporaries, “he was a man with the face of an Indian rajah or an Arab sheikh; his appearance was somehow constantly confusing or discouraging, since it was noticeable that he was not who he said he was.”
Gurdjieff's gaze was special - deep, penetrating into the soul. It was also fascinating to think that he knew all the answers to all the questions and that nothing was impossible for him.
Before her death, George Gurdjieff’s grandmother admonished her grandson: “Listen and remember my strict order: either do nothing - just go to school, or do something that no one else is doing.”
Shortly after her death, Georgy's wisdom tooth was knocked out in a fight. "Extremely large sizes", as he later described himself Gurdjieff. That strange tooth had seven roots and at the end of each of them there was a drop of blood standing prominently... This was a clear hint of some kind of secret. And George Gurdjieff decided to find out about her, no matter what the cost.
At the age of 11, he ran away from home and became an eternal wanderer. He sought wisdom on the hidden paths of Africa, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Tibet, India, Russia, and Egypt. By hook or by crook, he penetrated into the essence of closed and inaccessible secret teachings to the world, and met many amazing people.
Gurdjieff liked to repeat: “Knowledge is worth acquiring...”. The levels of existence from which the Fourth Way man draws his knowledge are remarkably congruent with Robert A. Wilson's The Tunnels of Reality, a study of the psychology of evolution, while at the same time echoing the law of the Silver Octave, which operates throughout the Universe.
The power of knowledge and Gurdjieff
“Always being merciless towards his natural weaknesses and maintaining self-observation almost all the time,” Gurdjieff, in his words, “was able to achieve almost everything that is within the limits of human capabilities...”.
For example, he could kill a yak at a distance of tens of miles. However, Gurdjieff took an oath to himself: never to use his amazing abilities for any purpose, except for research and therapeutic purposes. But along this path he achieved amazing success. Maurice Nicole, who was dying in Tiflis during an outbreak of a typhus epidemic, describes how Gurdjieff literally pulled him out of the other world, completely giving up all his life force: “When I woke up, I saw Gurdjieff’s face bending over me in great tension and perspiration, drops of sweat covered everything his face, he held my head in his hands and silently looked into my eyes. He was deathly pale. The very next day I was completely healthy.” As soon as he came to his senses, Nicole asked Gurdjieff: “What about you? - thinking that he sacrificed his life for him.” “Don’t worry,” he reassured Gurdjieff. “I only need ten minutes to regain my strength.”
From Gurdjieff's technique of self-development grew the most promising modern direction of psychology: neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). The first on the path to “linking” behavior and psyche were the doctor Wilhelm Reich and the zoopsychologist Konrad Lorenz, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in this area.
The intoxicating dream in which our life takes place distorts the real picture of existence. The first Christians, who called for awakening, knew about this feature of human existence.
Surprisingly, but modern science discovered an analogue of “sleeping” consciousness. According to neuropsychologists, the functioning of our nervous system limited by the DNA code that determines human behavior, from birth to death. But as soon as ideas and examples of other levels of existence become available to people, humanity will move to new level evolution.
Biography of Gurdjieff
George Gurdjieff(1877-1949) worked all his life on their development until he achieved perfection. Having become acquainted with the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh as a child, George realized that secret, secret knowledge is transmitted different ways through millennia. Soon the young man learned to predict the future with incredible accuracy. He did this by sitting between two candles and staring intensely at his thumbnail until he went into a trance state and could see the future in his nail. One day, a young man Gurdjieff knew well died after falling from a horse. The night after the funeral, he was noticed trying to enter his house. They cut his throat and returned him to the cemetery, burying him now as a vampire.
This phenomenon prompted Gurdjieff engage in the occult. For the first forty years of his life, he visited monasteries throughout Europe and Asia, then began to theorize, developing his own doctrine, according to which revelation comes to a person in a state of “awakened consciousness” and is that there is always a goal, and all extraordinary efforts and every undertaking awakens consciousness.
U Gurdjieff there turned out to be many followers and students. He woke up his students at any time at night and taught them to remain “frozen” no matter what position they were in at that time. At public sessions it looked like this. At his command, the troupe of students turned around at the back of the stage, facing the audience. Another command - students rush to the ramp. Gurdjieff turns away and smokes. A human avalanche flies through the air through the orchestra, landing on empty chairs, on the floor, bodies piled on top of each other and... freeze in complete stillness and silence. And not a single scratch on anyone!
These are of course tricks. But Gurdjieff needed them to attract new students, whom he taught telepathy, hypnosis, clairvoyance, and most importantly, to convince them that love and continuous efforts invested in work not only give new degrees of freedom to a person, but make him creatively a free person who chose the “fourth path”, having gone through the path of a fakir, a monk and yogis.
And in more detail, all the extraordinary, exceptionally original and brilliant ideas of the Russian magician Gurdjieff were outlined in his book “In Search of the Miraculous” by his best student and follower Ouspensky.
How come people are so imperfect? Gurdjieff explains this by the fact that all humanity as a whole and each person individually is in captivity of the laws of the material world, to which all life on the planet is subject. “You are in the prison of your own ideas,” this is how this unusual person explains the state of mind.
Gurdjieff's philosophy
Gurdjieff compared modern man - his thoughts, feelings, psychology - to a carriage, a horse and a coachman. The crew is our physical body. Horse - emotions. The coachman is the mind. And the passenger in the stroller is our “I”. A carriage driven by a coachman who knows nothing about its structure. The horse is obedient to the blows of the whip of the eternally sleepy driver. And he is ready to go anywhere, as long as the rider pays in full.
Man exists on planet Earth for a specific purpose. In a sense, he is the instrument and embodiment of this goal. And in order to correspond to it, he simply must develop and be free. That is, we all Gurdjieff born to know themselves, but in obtaining this knowledge to embody them in accordance with the eternal laws of the Universe.
Gurdjieff turned out to be one of the few who could offer to modern man synthesis of practical experience of ancient secret teachings aimed at self-improvement in accordance with the laws of the Universe. Gurdjieff embodied these laws in a diagram or enneagram, the principles of which formed the basis of modern computer programs. Many tried to take Gurdjieff's path. But no one managed to complete it to the end. It was no coincidence that the guru’s wisdom tooth had seven roots.
