ABSTRACT
This paper examines the legacy of George Ivanonich Gurdjieff (1866[?]–1949), specifically the esoteric school he founded called the “Work,” as an embodiment of a gnostic sensibility. The term “legacy” refers to both Gurdjieff and his teaching, an integrated system of ideas that includes cosmology, metaphysics, science, psychology, and a corpus of sacred music and dance. First, his biography and teaching demonstrate how the Work addresses an inner search for development of consciousness. After a comparison of Gurdjieff’s teaching and the gnostic paradigm, the activities and organizations that comprise the Work today are delineated as elements in an esoteric school organized around the aim of self-inquiry and eventual transformation. All of these elements evoke the gnostic sensibility for understanding: for awakening to the truth of human existence. A final section addresses the gnostic motive underlying Gurdjieff’s legacy as a whole, and the Work in particular.
