Summary
Georges Gurdjieff: Encounters with Extraordinary Men
Encounters with Extraordinary Men - Gurdjieff's autobiographical account of his own youth and early travels - has become something of a legend since it was first printed in 1963. On the surface, it is a book in the tradition of adventure stories, but it is imbued with Gurdjieff's unique outlook on life. These adventure stories are a new perspective on life, which allows us to glimpse the hidden reality of a higher order. The biography is only used as a basis for allegorical stories, refined irony, deep and wise lessons, but also sharp sarcasm and merciless mockery of human imperfection.
The book is organized as an account of exceptional people who helped Gurdjieff in his search for hidden knowledge, or accompanied him on his travels in the isolated regions of the Middle East and Central Asia. Although these people cannot be considered remarkable in any way, he calls them exceptional because of their living desire to understand the deepest secrets of life. Among these exceptional individuals whom the reader will meet are Gurdjieff's father (a traditional bard), a Russian prince dedicated to the search for truth, a Christian missionary who entered the World Brotherhood deep in Asia, and a woman who escaped white slavery and became a trusted member of Gurdjieff's group of seekers of truth.
So this is a book about lives, not about learning, although the reader will greatly appreciate Gurdjieff's accounts of conversations with sages. Gurdjieff uses all literary means in order to throw the reader out of the usual way of thinking, to confuse, astonish, confuse, and even anger, to shake the reader from his foundations and finally to wake him up. The encounters convey an ever-present sense of what it means to live fully - with conscience, with purpose and with heart. Gurdjieff's presentation of their views in the face of external challenges in the search to understand the secrets of life is the real essence of this classic work.
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