About the way
“There gradually arose in me that ‘something’ which has brought the whole of me to the unshakeable conviction that, apart from the vanities of life, there exists a “something else” which must be the aim and ideal of every man, and it is only this something else that may make a man really happy and can give him real values, instead of the illusory goods with which he is always full.”
G. I. Gurdjieff, “Skridlov” in Meetings With Remarkable Men
Every human being has an essential, but hidden, need to be present in his or her life and to be inwardly free. In response to this need, G. I. Gurdjieff brought a teaching that is neither religious nor philosophical, to be practiced in the conditions of daily life. Self-observation and self-awareness are central to this path. It is an ongoing search to find a harmonious connection between body, thought, and emotion. This practice engages the entire being and allows one to open oneself to another quality of attention.
“What is meditation? My body consciously gives itself to another energy. At first, it does not agree. But little by little the body wants it. It feels happiness, and even – joy… This energy is not the body. It comes from somewhere else, perhaps from the planets, perhaps even further away. It needs the body to express itself and organize itself. It is this that will create what we sometimes call the soul.”
Michel de Salzmann
In the Gurdjieff groups, there is personal practice alongside activities which are undertaken together in a group; these may include meditation, small group meetings, ‘Movements’ classes, music, physical work, various crafts, and studying the ideas of Gurdjieff’s teachings. All of these are components of the practical spiritual path brought by G. I. Gurdjieff, and all have the aim of understanding and being in touch with the true nature of the world and of oneself. They foster attention and openness which enable an awakening to life, to self-remembering, and to being present in the moment.
“Beyond the thin shell of imagined reality there is another reality. Something, for some reason, stands between us and it.”
P. D. Ouspensky
In the late 1950’s, a group of young people gathered around Dr. Joseph Schechter, a teacher and philosopher, who awakened in them an interest in existential questions concerning the meaning of life and inner development. In 1960, this group founded Yodfat as an agricultural community seeking to live a spiritual life. The members explored various spiritual paths, including Gurdjieff’s teachings.
In 1968, they approached the Gurdjieff Center in Paris and, with its blessing, formed the Gurdjieff Groups, which were later called “Drahim – Gurdjieff Groups of Israel”. The main house of the groups is still in Yodfat, and another center of “Drahim” is located in central Israel. “Drahim” – which mean “Paths” – maintains continuous contact and exchange visits with the center in Paris, as well as with other Gurdjieff centers around the world.
G. I. Gurdjieff (1866 -1949)
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff was born in the Caucasus, to a Greek father and an Armenian mother. In his book “Meetings with Remarkable Men”, he describes his unique upbringing which evoked in him many questions concerning the meaning of life.
Finding no satisfactory answers in religion or science, his search became the focus of his life and led to his search for hidden ancient knowledge. He was able to make contact with various communities throughout Central Asia and the Middle East, where parts of this ancient knowledge were still alive. Gurdjieff travelled for many years, seeking and integrating the practical wisdom and knowledge which constitutes his teaching.
In 1912, Gurdjieff arrived in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where a small group of students interested in his teaching gathered around him. Due to the conditions during World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution, Gurdjieff left Russia together with his closest students, intending to bring his teaching to seekers in the West.
In 1922, he founded the “Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man” at Fontainebleau near Paris. In the years between the two world wars, Gurdjieff taught many students and wrote his main work, “Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson”. He also visited the United States and other countries, lectured to the general public and organized public performances of the sacred dances and exercises called ‘the Movements’.
During the Second World War, Gurdjieff lived in a small apartment in Paris and worked tirelessly to create a nucleus of students who would be able to continue this multi-faceted quest, later known simply as “The Work”. After Gurdjieff’s death in 1949, students from all over the world continued under the guidance of Mme. Jeanne de Salzmann, who was authorized by Gurdjieff to continue his work. Centers were first founded in Paris, London, New York and Caracas in order to establish a direct transmission of his teachings. Over the years, many new groups have been added, including the group in Israel.
Publications
Books by G.I. Gurdjieff:
Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson
Preferably the 1992 edition. The most difficult of Gurdjieff’s books to approach, a work that remains vitally relevant and constantly revealing new depths throughout a lifetime of study.
Meetings With Remarkable Men
An autobiography of Gurdjieff’s early years, although the accuracy of the account is always of secondary importance to the message that he wishes to convey. Contains much material that is “buried deep” in the stories, whose value often surfaces long after the first reading.
Life Is Real Only Then, When I Am
Also called “The Third Series”, an unfinished collection of talks and lectures, containing unique gems, but perhaps best studied after having worked in the groups for some years.
Views From the Real World, Early Talks of Gurdjieff
Talks from different periods and places; very valuable because it is Gurdjieff’s own voice, and an entirely different approach from the systematic structure laid out by Ouspensky.
Gurdjieff’s Teaching:
In Search of the Miraculous, Fragments of an Unknown Teaching, P. D. Ouspensky
The clearest and most accessible presentation of almost all the system of knowledge that Gurdjieff brought. This is where any discussion of Work ideas begins.
Exchanges on The Five Obligolnian Strivings
The five Obligolnian Strivings from Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson are a program for inviting Conscience to manifest in daily life. This booklet contains group exchanges on each striving.
Published privately by Drahim – the Gurdjieff Groups of Israel, and available for purchase. If you are interested, please inquire on the “contact” page.
The Psychology of Man’s Possible Evolution, P. D. Ouspensky
Five introductory lectures given by Ouspensky; a rather succinct introduction to the work ideas.
Venture With Ideas, Kenneth Walker
By an English student of Ouspensky. A clear exposition of the Gurdjieff’s teaching.
Towards Awakening, Jean Vaysse
A very accessible introduction to the ideas.
Personal testimonials:
Our Life With Gurdjieff, Thomas and Olga de Hartmann
A very personal and touching account of years of intensive work with Gurdjieff. De Hartmann was the musician responsible for giving form to Gurdjieff’s music.
Childhood With Gurdjieff, Fritz Peters
The account of a young boy who spent summers with Gurdjieff. A joy to read and contains precious insights as well.
Gurdjieff – A Master in Life, Tcheslaw Tchekhovitch
A non-intellectual view of Gurdjieff the man and his Work as recollected by a lifelong pupil.
Heart Without Measure, Ravi Ravindra
A moving account of Ravindra’s contacts with Jeanne de Salzmann, who was responsible for the groups after Gurdjieff’s death.
Notes on the Next Attention, (Michel de Salzmann) by Fran Shaw
Notes from Work sessions with Michel de Salzmann, at Chandolin in the Swiss Alps. An intimate portrayal of group sessions 1993 through 2000.
Books by Gurdjieff’s direct pupils:
The Reality of Being, Jeanne de Salzmann
Contains very profound insights into different aspects of the Work. Should not be read as a “book” but rather to be referenced as a true support for working on one’s own questions.
Inner Octaves, Michel Conge
More than any other pupil, Conge digested Gurdjieff’s ideas in life and invites the reader to partake in the wonder and mystery of inner search. An invaluable aid but should only be approached after one is familiar with the system of ideas.
The Taste for Things That Are True, Henri Tracol
Talks, recollections, interviews with one of Gurdjieff’s most eloquent students.
Opening, William Segal
Segal came to Gurdjieff from Zen, and he brought a simple yet resounding call to open, to be in question.
Gurdjieff’s music
“Our inner world is the soil where the seeds of art germinate. In these seeds lies the magic of life and from them grow works of art…
Without them there is no art and no music.” Thomas de Hartmann
Thomas de Hartmann composer and pianist
The young Russian composer Thomas de Hartmann, in search of a spiritual teaching, came to Gurdjieff in 1916. He began by harmonizing, developing, and fully realizing Gurdjieff’s music for the sacred dances, or Movements, which were an integral part of Gurdjieff’s teaching. Some years later, de Hartmann collaborated on Gurdjieff’s musical works that were independent of the Movements. Amazingly, these pieces, very considerable in number, were almost all composed between 1925 and 1927 at the Prieuré in Fontainebleau, France.
Thomas de Hartmann wrote:
“Georgi Ivanovich put always a great weight on music. He himself played and he also composed. After working with Georgi Ivanovich, we can better understand the role that music plays in religious ceremony. Music helps to concentrate oneself, to bring oneself to an inner state where we can receive the greatest possible emanations. That is why music helps you to see higher.
Mr. Gurdjieff’s music had great variety. The most deeply moving was that which he remembered hearing in remote temples during his Asian travels. Listening to this music, one was touched to the depth of his being.”
Song of the Fisherwoman, performed by Thomas de Hartmann
Laurence Rosenthal composer and pianist
“What can we consider to be the purpose of Gurdjieff’s music? Perhaps it is related to man’s work on himself, what Gurdjieff called “harmonious development.” He offered food for the growth of a man’s being through the different sides of his nature: ideas for the mind, special exercises and dances for the body and mind together, and music as a way to awaken a sensitivity in the feelings, to arouse in the deeper level of the listener’s interior world questions and intimations beyond words. And perhaps, in dissolving the barriers created by associations and conditioning, these sounds could bring the listener into closer contact with his own essential nature.”
Sayyid Chant and Dance #10, performed by Laurence Rosenthal
“Mélodie afghane”, by the Resonance Ensemble
Solange Claustres pupil of Gurdjieff
The music of G.I. Gurdjieff is an expression of life itself; an almost forgotten way of life
His music has nothing to do with what we generally know and recognize as music. Gurdjieff’s music is a world of sounds of a universe unknown to us, as it were beyond time.
Parts of his music bring back images of forgotten lives hidden here and there in the world. It is as if Gurdjieff wanted to pass on to us rapidly disappearing sounds.
Some parts resemble a call which comes from afar and which may resonate in us in a very subtle and profound way. This very special music carries not only a message but also a question and helps us to listen to a voice which speaks directly both to our being and heart and also to our body which registers its effects. A new way of listening is possible, once we have been freed from the limitations of the world we live in, to actually hear the sound of joy, or sadness, and of seriousness or dance, which seems to come to us straight from the ether. These sounds inspire us to a really unusual quality of inner listening.
On Listening
to the Gurdjieff / de Hartmann Music
One of the titles given to a collection of this music was “Journeys to Inaccessible Places,” and there seems no better description for the strange inner travelling I was called to, when available to it. At such moments there was a sense of total “consonance” between the vibrations of sound, a passing phenomenon in a temporal world, and the resonance from a world which has always been.
The music is very varied, from folk songs to sacred hymns, and the responses evoked are equally varied, sometimes speaking of the suffering and joy of a human life, sometimes eliciting a strange and quite unfamiliar coloration of the feelings, and sometimes, for me at least, as if conveying a definite knowledge hidden from my ordinary thoughts. But when I listen tomorrow? I have no idea. If only it simply depended on the music! But it also
depends on me.
Anon., “International Gurdjieff Review”, Summer 1999
Movements
Group work is an essential feature of the way brought by Gurdjieff. Working together with others in various activities allows us to experience simply being present in life.
“Work on the sacred movements brought by Gurdjieff was carefully preserved and carried on by Jeanne de Salzmann. In the years following Gurdjieff’s death she prepared a nucleus of people capable of transmitting this remarkable study to groups throughout the world.”
Impressions from work in Gurdjieff groups
How can I know if this Way is right for me? How can I join a group?
Introductory meetings, open to everyone, are held in Tel Aviv and in the North several times a year. The purpose of these meetings is to allow those who are interested to get to know the path, the ideas, and to get a taste of the practice. If you feel it is right for you, joining a group may be possible after this initial introduction.
An open introductory meeting will be held on Tuesday 13.1.26 at 18:30, at Seminar HaKibbutzim in Tel Aviv. For details and registration: Gilad (Jill) 054-4474066
