About G. I. Gurdjieff
G. I. Gurdjieff (ca. 1866-1949) was a philosopher, mystic, spiritual teacher, and composer of Armenian and Greek descent, born in Alexandropol, Russian Empire (now Gyumri, Armenia).
“The work of Gurdjieff has many aspects. But through whatever form he expresses himself, his voice is heard as a call. He calls because he suffers from the inner chaos in which we live. He calls to us to open our eyes. He asks us why we are here, what we wish for, what forces we obey. He asks us, above all, if we understand what we are. He wants us to bring everything into question. And because he insists and his insistence compels us to answer, a relationship is created between him and ourselves, which is an integral part of his Work. For nearly forty years, this call rang with such force that people came to him from all over the world. But to meet him was always a test. In his presence, every attitude seemed artificial: whether too deferential or, on the contrary, pretentious. From the first moment, it was shattered and nothing remained but a human creature stripped of his mask and revealed for an instant as he truly was.” Jeanne de Salzmann
"One had the impression that he could put on a personality like another man puts on a new hat. And, at the same time, he was what he was: a man with an extraordinary intelligence, extraordinary energy, an extraordinary compassion for people like you and me, and a certain intolerance for our stupidity in our not being able to see what was possible, with our being content to stay with the way we are. You ask about Gurdjieff. That was my impression." Thomas Forman
About Thomas Forman
Thomas Forman was born on May 29, 1910, in Nottingham, England. He died on March 23, 2001, in New York City. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge. He kept people wondering about his “profession,” describing himself as a “musicologist” or “linguist” or “ex-intelligence officer” at different times. Any and all of them were true. He worked for British Intelligence during the Second World War. He served as an editor of the American Heritage Dictionary and on the Board of Editors of Gentry Magazine, published by William Segal. He played the swarmandal (an Indian, zither-like instrument).
Introduced to the Work by Dr. Kenneth Walker, he studied with P. D. and Mme. Ouspensky for a number of years. He and others, such as Lord John Pentland and Hugh Brockwell Ripman, who had worked with the Ouspenskys, met Gurdjieff in the US in the winter of 1948 after P. D. Ouspensky's death, with the aid of Mme. Ouspensky and Mme. Jeanne de Salzmann. When Gurdjieff met with some from that group for a time in Paris in 1949, the year he died, Tom Forman stayed behind, in part, to care for Mme. Ouspensky, who was quite frail.
He was responsible for the original transfer of the Gurdjieff/de Hartmann music from various recorded pieces to the original published cassette and LP versions. He was a trustee of the Gurdjieff Foundation of New York and was responsible for groups in New York, Philadelphia, and Cleveland. While he stated that his preferred environment was "with a small group in a room by a fire," Mr. Forman could speak about Gurdjieff’s ideas and practices anywhere to anyone in approachable terms, whatever their level of familiarity.
Photo Credit: Cora Kelley Ward