G. I. Gurdjieff quotes

G. I. Gurdjieff was a Greek-Armenian spiritual teacher and mystic, renowned for introducing the Fourth Way philosophy to the West. His teachings blend elements of Eastern and Western esoteric traditions and focus on awakening human consciousness. He inspired many followers and schools dedicated to self-development and inner transformation. Here are 81 of his quotes:

Without self knowledge, without understanding the working and functions of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself and he will always remain a slave.

G. I. Gurdjieff

A man will renounce any pleasures you like but he will not give up his suffering.

G. I. Gurdjieff

It is the greatest mistake to think that man is always one and the same. A man is never the same for long. He is continually changing. He seldom remains the same even for half an hour.

G. I. Gurdjieff

Conscious faith is freedom. Emotional faith is slavery. Mechanical faith is foolishness.

G. I. Gurdjieff

Sincerity is the key which will open the door through which you will see your separate parts, and you will see something quite new. You must go on trying to be sincere. Each day you put on a mask, and you must take it off little by little.

G. I. Gurdjieff

I ask you to believe nothing that you cannot verify for yourself.

G. I. Gurdjieff

Remember you come here having already understood the necessity of struggling with yourself - only with yourself. Therefore thank everyone who gives you the opportunity.

G. I. Gurdjieff

By teaching others you will learn yourself.

G. I. Gurdjieff

Remember yourself always and everywhere.

G. I. Gurdjieff

One of the best means for arousing the wish to work on yourself is to realize that you may die at any moment. But first you must learn how to keep it in mind.

G. I. Gurdjieff

From my point of view, he can be called a remarkable man who stands out from those around him by the resourcefulness of his mind, and who knows how to be restrained in the manifestations which proceed from his nature, at the same time conducting himself justly and tolerantly towards the weaknesses of others.

G. I. Gurdjieff

Man has the possibility of existence after death. But possibility is one thing and the realization of the possibility is quite a different thing.

G. I. Gurdjieff

Love of consciousness evokes the same in response Love of feeling evokes the opposite Love of body depends only on type and polarity.

G. I. Gurdjieff

Hope of consciousness is strength Hope of feelings is slavery Hope of body is disease.

G. I. Gurdjieff

Don't judge a man by the tales of others.

G. I. Gurdjieff

Every ceremony or rite has a value if it is performed without alteration. A ceremony is a book in which a great deal is written. Anyone who understands can read it. One rite often contains more than a hundred books.

G. I. Gurdjieff

It is impossible to recognize a wrong way without knowing the right way. This means that it is no use troubling oneself how to recognize a wrong way. One must think of how to find the right way.

G. I. Gurdjieff

In right knowledge the study of man must proceed on parallel lines with the study of the world, and the study of the world must run parallel with the study of man.

G. I. Gurdjieff

Rest comes not from the quantity but from the quality of sleep.

G. I. Gurdjieff

Here we can only direct and create conditions, but not help.

G. I. Gurdjieff

Every one of those unfortunates during the process of existence should constantly sense and be cognizant of the inevitability of his own death as well as of the death of everyone upon whom his eyes or attention rests. Only such a sensation and such a cognizance can now destroy the egoism completely crystallized in them that has swallowed up the whole of their Essence, and also that tendency to hate others which flows from it.

G. I. Gurdjieff

Man has no permanent and unchangeable I. Every thought, every mood, every desire, every sensation, says "I."

G. I. Gurdjieff