George Gurdjieff's Teachings And Views

[RL_Adducul]

Hi

Is Gurdjieff’s teachings truly dangerous? And what was his views in God and the church?

Thank you and God bless!

 

[po18guy]

May he rest in peace, but even the photo of him looks nuts. “Fourth way”? Wack.

 

[White_Tree]

I’ve studied quite a bit of Gurdjieff. His teachings are very abstruse, and that’s not an accident. He intentionally made his writings very difficult to penetrate, so that a casual reader would come away with a false or clouded impression of their actual meaning.

In order to really understand him, you would need to invest a significant amount of time and intellectual energy, which was partially his way of ensuring that only people who were very serious about his teachings would be able to use them.

Do I think he is dangerous? No.

Do I think people can read his works and become confused or get the wrong impression of his meaning? Absolutely yes. To what degree that presents a “danger” depends on the person. The same could be said of the Bible, or virtually any sacred book. Though even though Gurdjieff wrote some profound things, I would not put his works on the same level as the Bible.

As for his views on the Church, I’m not familiar with them. Suffice it to say he had doctrinal differences with the Catholic Church, but whether he actively spoke about the Church, I couldn’t say. I haven’t read his entire corpus. He might have written about it somewhere, possibly in a veiled manner, but I haven’t seen anything in his works that directly addressed it.

Note: everything I’ve said above is based on what I’ve studied of Gurdjieff himself. I’ve had no involvement with his “Fourth Way” school, nor am I at all familiar with what his modern disciples are teaching. Quite possibly they have made his teachings more accessible to laymen, which I would presume would almost have to be the case if they are to get any new followers whatsoever. Whether in doing so they have stayed true to his original meaning is something I couldn’t answer, because I haven’t studied with them.

I do not want to denigrate Gurdjieff’s works, because obviously they contain very deep meaning. Though if you’re interested in mysticism, there are other authors who teach the same things Gurdjieff taught, but didn’t bury their real meaning quite so deep.

 

[RL_Adducul]

Hi, what was George Gurdjieff says about God, did he ever believed in Him? And what is the meaning of his quote says; "If you want to lose your faith, make friends with a priests? " thank you!

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Hi, I note that you already started a thread about Gurdjieff’s religious views here:

George Gurdjieff's Teachings And Views Non-Catholic Religions

Hi Is Gurdjieff’s teachings truly dangerous? And what was his views in God and the church? Thank you and God bless!

Please don’t start multiple threads on the same topic, as we’re not supposed to do that under the forum rules. You can continue the discussion on your past thread.

 

[RL_Adducul]

That was about curiousity. And i’m just making sure that I will receive an answer for a new thread, because i don’t know if they can still see a question from the past. Okay?

 

[White_Tree]

Hi, what was George Gurdjieff says about God, did he ever believed in Him? And what is the meaning of his quote says; "If you want to lose your faith, make friends with a priests? " thank you!

The quote you’re describing is from Meetings with Remarkable Men. It’s listed in the book as part of a collection of what Gurdjieff called “subjective sayings” that his father would often use in conversations. Gurdjieff included that list of sayings in order to paint the reader a picture of the type of man his father was, since most of his father’s writings were lost after he was murdered and his house was sacked by vandals.

So even though that quote is often attributed to Gurdjieff, he did not claim authorship of it (besides putting it in his book, of course, and attributing it to his father).

Gurdjieff did believe in God. In Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson, he described Him as “All Loving,” “Endlessly Merciful,” “Absolutely Just,” and “All Embracing.” Though as I alluded to above, the details are somewhat esoteric.

 

[RL_Adducul]

The quote you’re describing is from Meetings with Remarkable Men . It’s listed in the book as part of a collection of what Gurdjieff called “subjective sayings” that his father would often use in conversations. Gurdjieff included that list of sayings in order to paint the reader a picture of the type of man his father was, since most of his father’s writings were lost after he was murdered and his house was sacked by vandals.

So even though that quote is often attributed to Gurdjieff, he did not claim authorship of it (besides putting it in his book, of course, and attributing it to his father).

Gurdjieff did believe in God. In Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson , he described Him as “All Loving,” “Endlessly Merciful,” “Absolutely Just,” and “All Embracing.” Though as I alluded to above, the details are somewhat esoteric.

Oh, thank you for that. But does the Catholic Church prohibited us to follow his teachings regarding his philosophy the Fourth Way, etc.?

 

[White_Tree]

Oh, thank you for that. But does the Catholic Church prohibited us to follow his teachings regarding his philosophy the Fourth Way, etc.?

I honestly don’t know if the Catholic Church has ever made any official statement on Gurdjieff. I’ve never looked into it.

My advice to you, if you feel drawn to that school, is pray about it.

Seriously, if you’re thinking of pursuing a path like the Fourth Way, the ability to receive answers in prayer is going to be a necessary skill, so you might as well start cultivating it now.

And if you feel that God is drawing you down a particular path, see where it leads. Maybe there is something there that you need to learn as part of your journey to Him. You can always leave if something feels wrong. And keep praying along the way.