Although I sometimes refer to books written by others about their experiences in the work, only those written by Gurdjieff himself, as well as In Search of the Miraculous, written by P.D. Ouspensky and The Reality of Being ~ Mme. Jeanne de Salzmann are required reading for my own groups and students. And when and as you can afford it, I suggest you also keep on hand Maurice Nicol's
Psychological Commentaries On the Teaching of G.I. Gurdjieff and P.D. Ouspensky Volumes I through V
Meetings With Remarkable Men ~ G.I. Gurdjieff
Required Reading
Gurdjieff's autobiographical account of his youth and early travels - first published in 1963. This is a must read for anyone who wishes to study and practice the work. It is Gurdjieff's unique perspective on life and tells about the remarkable men and women who aided his search for hidden knowledge and those who accompanied him on his journeys in remote parts of the Near East and Central Asia in search of the truth. This narrative has become a classic work, suffused with a true sense of what it means to live fully - with conscience, with purpose and with heart.
Required Reading
(from Wikipedia)
"Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson or An Objectively Impartial Criticism of the Life of Man: is the first volume of the All and Everything trilogy written by the Greek-Armenian mystic G. I. Gurdjieff. The All and Everything trilogy also includes Meetings with Remarkable Men (first published in 1963) and Life Is Real Only Then, When 'I Am' (first privately printed in 1974).
Because the book was intended to be the main study tool for his teachings, and because the idea of work is central to those teachings, Gurdjieff went to great lengths in order to increase the effort needed to read and understand it. Gurdjieff himself once said, “I bury the bone so deep that the dogs have to scratch for it." [1] The book treats of an enormous number of subjects and questions. It is a vast allegorical myth structure in a literary form all its own.[2]
The plot of Beelzebub's Tales primarily revolves around the ruminations of an extraterrestrial known as "Beelzebub" to his grandson Hassein, as they travel through space towards Beelzebub's home planet "Karatas" on the spaceship Karnak. It mainly recounts the adventures and travails of Beelzebub amongst the 'three-brained beings' (humans) of the planet Earth. Beelzebub covers the entire history of the strange behaviors and customs of these beings.
Beelzebub's Tales is included in Martin Seymour-Smith's 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written, with the comment that it is "...the most convincing fusion of Eastern and Western thought has yet been seen."[3]
From the Publisher:
Editors' Note Gurdjieff wrote Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson from 1924 through 1931, and continued in later years to make significant revisions. Before his death in 1949 he entrusted the book and his other writings to Jeanne de Salzmann, his closest pupil, with instructions for future publication. Mme. de Salzmann had followed Gurdjieff for over 30 years and played a central role in his decision in the l940s to organize the practice of his teaching.
Gurdjieff wrote Beelzebub's Tales in Russian and Armenian, and the original manuscript was typed and revised in Russian. An English translation was produced in successive steps at the Prieuré. It consisted initially of a word-by-word interlinear translation with each word in English placed above the corresponding Russian word in the typescript. Reworked by different pupils at different times, the translation was finally edited by the well-known author and editor A.R. Orage, mostly in New York. Although he worked closely with Russian speakers and, indeed, Gurdjieff himself, Orage knew no Russian and was unable to read Gurdjieff's original text.
The English version was first published in 1950, just a few months after Gurdjieff died. He had overruled objections that the translation needed more work, insisting that the time had come to launch his ideas into the mainstream of Western thinking. As the English text was the initial publication of the book in any language, it was assumed by many readers to have been written or specifically approved by Gurdjieff. Although a prefatory note stated that the original was written in Russian and Armenian, the significance of this was easily disregarded in the absence of a published edition of the original Russian text. The note also stated that the author had personally directed the translation, and Gurdjieff had often been present when the translation was read aloud to English-speaking pupils and visitors.
What few readers knew was that, in fact, all of Gurdjieff's work in completing the book was in Russian. His spoken English, like his spoken French, was effective and memorably colorful for his purposes as a teacher in conversation with his pupils, but since his arrival in Western Europe in the early 1920s, he had not taken the time to master either language. He could not have judged, much less approved, the English text and had to rely on Mme. de Salzmann, who was fluent in Russian and English, for reassurance that the meaning was preserved. Gurdjieff did not approve the writing style of the English translation.
Although before his death Gurdjieff had insisted on immediate publication, he reportedly acknowledged that the English book was a "rough diamond" and asked Mme. de Salzmann to revise it at a later time. Her first priority was to prepare the French edition based on the Russian manuscript, a task that was not completed until 1956. Thereafter, she began work with selected American pupils to revise the English language version. The primary aim was to bring it closer in substance to the Russian text, using the widely admired and well accepted French edition as a model. A secondary but important aim was to have it correspond more faithfully in style to Gurdjieff's Russian writing, particularly to make it as clear and understandable as the Russian. Mme. de Salzmann herself worked for a number of years with the editorial team and then left them to complete the project. The revision, despite interruptions, was finally completed more than 30 years later"
Gurdjieff wrote Beelzebub's Tales in Russian and Armenian, and the original manuscript was typed and revised in Russian. An English translation was produced in successive steps at the Prieuré. It consisted initially of a word-by-word interlinear translation with each word in English placed above the corresponding Russian word in the typescript. Reworked by different pupils at different times, the translation was finally edited by the well-known author and editor A.R. Orage, mostly in New York. Although he worked closely with Russian speakers and, indeed, Gurdjieff himself, Orage knew no Russian and was unable to read Gurdjieff's original text.
The English version was first published in 1950, just a few months after Gurdjieff died. He had overruled objections that the translation needed more work, insisting that the time had come to launch his ideas into the mainstream of Western thinking. As the English text was the initial publication of the book in any language, it was assumed by many readers to have been written or specifically approved by Gurdjieff. Although a prefatory note stated that the original was written in Russian and Armenian, the significance of this was easily disregarded in the absence of a published edition of the original Russian text. The note also stated that the author had personally directed the translation, and Gurdjieff had often been present when the translation was read aloud to English-speaking pupils and visitors.
What few readers knew was that, in fact, all of Gurdjieff's work in completing the book was in Russian. His spoken English, like his spoken French, was effective and memorably colorful for his purposes as a teacher in conversation with his pupils, but since his arrival in Western Europe in the early 1920s, he had not taken the time to master either language. He could not have judged, much less approved, the English text and had to rely on Mme. de Salzmann, who was fluent in Russian and English, for reassurance that the meaning was preserved. Gurdjieff did not approve the writing style of the English translation.
Although before his death Gurdjieff had insisted on immediate publication, he reportedly acknowledged that the English book was a "rough diamond" and asked Mme. de Salzmann to revise it at a later time. Her first priority was to prepare the French edition based on the Russian manuscript, a task that was not completed until 1956. Thereafter, she began work with selected American pupils to revise the English language version. The primary aim was to bring it closer in substance to the Russian text, using the widely admired and well accepted French edition as a model. A secondary but important aim was to have it correspond more faithfully in style to Gurdjieff's Russian writing, particularly to make it as clear and understandable as the Russian. Mme. de Salzmann herself worked for a number of years with the editorial team and then left them to complete the project. The revision, despite interruptions, was finally completed more than 30 years later"
About the Author
G. I. Gurdjieff was born in 1887 in Alexandropol. After studying with spiritual masters in the Near East and Asia, he founded the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man in France."
Life Is Real Only Then When I AM ~ G.I. Gurdjieff
Required Reading
"Regarding this series, Gurdjieff said, "With the contents of the third series of books to share the possibilities which I had discovered of touching reality and, if so desired, even merging with it." All serious followers of Gurdjieff's teaching are encouraged to study this book. Gurdjieff's friendly advice is to read each of his written expositions at least thrice.
Copyright 1975, 1978 by Triangle Editions, Inc. Published in the United States 1981 by Elsevier-Dutton Publishing Company, Inc. 2 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 81-65602, ISBN: 0-525-14547-8. Published simultaneously in Canada by Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited, Toronto and Vancouver." ~ Wikipedia.com
The Herald of Coming Good ~ G.I. Gurdjieff
The Reality of Being ~ Mme. Jeanne de Salzmann
Required Reading
"These twelve chapters take the reader from a concentration on the ego through schools with practices to a sense of the cosmos, not really step by step but all at once. Hologram-like, these homilies repeat the main thesis that change in level of being is possible and they treat the reader to an array of approaches to the central existence of gnosis or the 'knowledge of being.' The book is rightly named The Reality of Being for it deals with what is most real in us and in the world in which we live. This is Madame de Salzmann’s predominant testament, one that is to be prized."
From a review by John Robert Colombo of The Reality of Being, on his Books, News, and Reviews web site. Read the entire review.
The Work of Craft ~ Carla Needleman
Very strongly recommended reading
Craft was the outer work we employed as we studied our inner work. Carla Needleman, in the Work of Craft, brings us a profound understanding of the balance between inner and outer work as she talks about her experiences with pottery from the Work perspective. I read this early in my Work experience and benefited tremendously from her example.
"The Work of Craft is a profound meditation on the relationship between craft and craftsman. Focusing in turn on pottery, weaving, and woodcarving, and grounding her insights in her own experiences as a potter, Carla Needleman shows that the basic material every craftsman works with is himself or herself. The stuff between one's hands-the clay, the wood, the wool-responds to the quality of one's inner state. The product of one's work is not just an object but a way of being. Thus, the exploration of a craft is-like this book- an exploration of the processes of life itself." Amazon.com
In Search of the Miraculous ~ P.D. Ouspensky
Required Reading & Reference Material
In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown Teaching is a 1949 book by Russian philosopher P. D. Ouspensky about the teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff. It is widely regarded as the most comprehensive single volume account of Gurdjieff's system of thought. Wikipedia.com
This was, in addition to Gurdjieff's own books, the only other book used by the groups I studied with as a reference and teaching tool. It is required reading and reference material for my own groups.
The Psychology of Human Evolution ~ P.D. Ouspensky
The Strange Life of Ivan Osokin ~ P.D. Ouspensky
Talks With A Devil ~ P.D. Ouspensky
Conscience ~ P.D. Ouspensky
Psychological Commentaries On the Teaching of G.I. Gurdjieff and P.D. Ouspensky ~ Maurice Nicol
Volumes I through V
Required Reference Material
