Gurdjieff Foundations

Gurdjieff Foundations

Info at a Glance

Name: The Gurdjieff Foundations.

Purpose: The attainment of higher consciousness.

Founder: George Gurdjieff.

Source of authority: Gurdjieff.

Revealed teachings: Yes.

Examples of occult potential: Psychic powers; spiritism.

Key literature: All and Everything; Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson and other literature by Gurdjieff and Peter D. Ouspensky.

Attitude toward Christianity: Rejecting.

Quotes:

“I hate your Jesus” (Gurdjieff, C. S. Nott, Teachings of Gurdjieff, p. 103). “He never spoke well of the Christian Churches” (J. G. Bennett, Gurdjieff, Making a New World, p. 141).

“Everyone idiot. I am idiot. Even God is idiot” (Gurdjieff, Further Teachings of Gurdjieff; p. 79).

Note: J. G. Bennett, a 30 year Gurdjieff disciple, was instrumental in helping propagate the occult Subud teachings in the U.S. Although he is said to have changed his mind, he once believed Subud to be the “logical” culmination of Gurdjieff’s teachings. Werner Erhard, the founder of est/the Forum, was also influenced by Gurdjieff/Subud.

Doctrinal Summary

God: Ineffable, although conceived in quasi-Christian terms.

Jesus: A Master.

Salvation: Enlightenment is achieved through specific techniques, sometimes involving strenuous human efforts toward the attainment of systematic “self-observation” leading to the comprehending of “objective” reality or true consciousness.

Man: Inwardly divine (potentially), although currently asleep.

The Bible: Interpreted mystically.

Death: Some individuals experience reincarnation, others are “annihilated.”