Product Information
The Armenian-born mystic, philosopher, and spiritual teacher G. I. Gurdjieff (c.1866-1949) is an enigmatic figure, the subject of a great deal of interest and speculation, but not easily fitting into any of the common categories of esoteric, occult, or New Age. Scholars have for the most part passed over in silence the contemplative exercises presented in Gurdjieff's writings. Although Gurdjieff had intended them to be confidential, some of the most important exercises were published posthumously in 1950 and in 1975. Arguing that an understanding of these exercises is necessary to fully appreciate Gurdjieff's contribution to modern esotericism, Joseph Azize offers the first complete study of the exercises and their theoretical foundation. It shows the continuity in Gurdjieff's teaching, but also the development and change. His original contribution to Western Esotericism lay in his use of tasks, disciplines, and contemplation-like exercises to bring his pupils to a sense of their own presence which could to some extent be maintained in daily life in the social domain, and not only in the secluded conditions typical of meditation. Azize contends that Gurdjieff had initially intended not to use contemplation-like exercises, as he perceived dangers to be associated with these monastic methods, and the religious tradition to be in tension with the secular and supra-denominational guise in which he first couched his teaching. As Gurdjieff adapted the teaching he had found in Eastern monasteries to Western urban and post-religious culture, however, he found it necessary to introduce contemplation.Product Identifiers
PublisherOxford University Press
ISBN-139780190064075
eBay Product ID (ePID)10046538023
Product Key Features
Book TitleGurdjieff: Mysticism, Contemplation, and Exercises
AuthorJoseph Azize
FormatHardcover
LanguageEnglish
TopicAlternative Belief Systems, Religious History
Publication Year2020
Dimensions
Item Height243mm
Item Width162mm
Additional Product Features
Title_AuthorJoseph Azize
Series TitleOxford Studies in Western Esotericism
Country/Region of ManufactureUnited States