Gurdjieff and the Traditionalist/Perennialist Schools

Abstract

G.I. Gurdjieff (1877-1949) taught a system of ideas and methods which comprise a current within “Western Esotericism;” a spirituality with an emphasis on the efforts of the individual, the microcosm, to achieve a more perfect correspondence with the macrocosm. The question sometimes arises whether Gurdjieff’s system can be considered “traditional;” which raises the further question, what is meant by “traditional” in this context. I suggest that Gurdjieff’s system was traditional in its aim (being a system of practical mysticism), but innovatory in its methods. In particular, it has nothing in common with the Traditionalist/Perennialist stream which traces its origins to René Guénon and Fritjhof Schuon.