George Ivanovich Gurdjieff c. The practice of his teaching has become known as "The Work" [ 3 ] connoting work on oneself and is additional to the ways of the Fakirs Sufis , Monks and Yogis , so that his student P. Ouspensky referred to it as the " Fourth Way ". Gurdjieff's teaching has inspired the formation of many groups around the world. After his death in , the Gurdjieff Foundation in Paris was established and led by his close pupil Jeanne de Salzmann in cooperation with other direct pupils of Gurdjieff, until her death in ; and then by her son Michel de Salzmann , until his death in His father Ivan Ivanovich Gurdjieff was Greek , and a renowned ashugh under the pseudonym of Adash , who in the s managed large herds of cattle and sheep.
There are conflicting views regarding Gurdjieff's birth date, ranging from to The bulk of extant records weigh heavily toward , but Gurdjieff in reported conversations with students gave the year of his birth as c. Gurdjieff spent his childhood in Kars , which, from to , was the administrative capital of the Russian-ruled Transcaucasus province of Kars Oblast , a border region recently acquired following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire.
It contained extensive grassy plateau-steppe and high mountains, and was inhabited by a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional population that had a history of respect for travelling mystics and holy men, and for religious syncretism and conversion. Both the city of Kars and the surrounding territory were home to an extremely diverse population: although part of the Armenian Plateau , the Russian-ruled Transcaucasus province of Kars Oblast was home to Armenians , Caucasus Greeks , Pontic Greeks , Georgians , Russians , Kurds , Turks , and smaller numbers of Christian communities from eastern and central Europe such as Caucasus Germans , Estonians , and Russian Orthodox sectarian communities like the Molokans , Doukhobors , Pryguny , and Subbotniks.
Gurdjieff makes particular mention of the Yazidi community. Growing up in a multi-ethnic society, Gurdjieff became fluent in Armenian , Pontic Greek , Russian , and Turkish , speaking the last in a mixture of elegant Ottoman Turkish with some dialect. Early influences on him included his father, a carpenter and amateur ashik or bardic poet, [ 16 ] and the priest of the town's cathedral , Dean Borsh, a family friend.
The young Gurdjieff avidly read literature from many sources and influenced by these writings and witnessing a number of phenomena that he could not explain, he formed the conviction that there existed a hidden truth known to mankind in the past, which could not be ascertained from science or mainstream religion.
