Resources
Following are publications about the Gurdjieff Teachings, written by Gurdjieff himself or his direct pupils.
The library at our Group house at Balmain, Sydney contains copies of all these books and many more.
Books written by Gurdjieff:
All and Everything or Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson
A large volume which Gurdjieff made deliberately difficult so that the reader could come to an individual understanding of his teachings
Meetings with Remarkable Men
Semi-autobiographic with embedded allegories containing aspects of his teaching. An easily read and enjoyable story
Life is Real Only Then, When “I Am”
Gurdjieff’s unfinished third and final book in his series containing more autobiography and further teachings
Books Written about the Gurdjieff teaching
In Search of the Miraculous - Fragments of an Unknown Teaching - PB Ouspensky
The best introduction to the Gurdjieff teaching. It corresponds to an initial stage of his teaching in Russia in the early 1900s, at times using somewhat complex mathematic allegories to illustrate the ideas. It retains a remarkable strength and freshness in orienting an active questioning for those on the path
Towards Awakening - Jean Vaysse
This book deals only with Gurdjieff's psychological ideas, leaving those of a cosmological nature for another time. Its tone of quiet lucidity is an effective introduction and point to a practical approach through giving attention to the sensation of the body
Views from the Real World
Early talks of Gurdjieff as recollected by his pupils
Books written by direct pupils of Gurdjieff
Michel Conge: Inner Octaves. Contains a large number of ‘Talks and Exchanges’ and some reminiscences of his time together with Gurdjieff.
Life - Real life Behind Appearances. A series of essays of insights into the wonder of Life and Living. Also a recounting of his experiences in WW2 and how they began his search for meaning
William Segal: Opening. A collection of writings, interviews, essays and a pictorial description of the Zen parable - The Ten Oxherding Pictures
Mme de Salzmann: The Reality of Being -The Fourth Way of Gurdjieff. Mme de Salzmann was Gurdjieff’s closest disciple for several decades and was with him at his death. This book contains over a hundred short essays from her practical experience of Gurdjieff’s teachings.