Origins
In his works, Gurdjieff credits his teachings to a number of more or less mysterious sources:-
- Various small sects of 'real' Christians in Asia and the Middle East. Gurdjieff believed that mainstream Christian teachings had become corrupted. (He does not use the term "gnostic").
- Various dervishes (he did not use the term 'Sufi')
- Gurdjieff mentions practicing Yoga in his youth, but his later comments about Indian fakirs and yogis are dismissive.
- The mysterious Sarmoung monastery in a remote area of central Asia, to which Gurdjieff was led blindfold.
- The non-denominational "Universal Brotherhood".
Attempts to fill out his sketchy and perhaps mythologized account have featured:
- Technical vocabulary first appearing in early 19th century Russian freemasonry, derived from Robert Fludd (P.D. Ouspensky)
- Orthodox Esoteric Christianity (Boris Mouravieff)
- Naqshbandi Sufism, (Idries Shah, Rafael Lefort)
- Caucasian Ahmsta Kebzeh (Murat Yagan)
- Tibetan Buddhism, according to Jose Tirado.
- Chatral Rinpoche believes that Gurdjieff spent several years in a monastery in the Swat valley.
- James George theorises that Surmang, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery now in China is the real Sarmoung monastery.
- in principle to Zoroaster, and explicitly to the 12th century Khwajagan Sufi leader, Abdul Khaliq Gajadwani (J. G. Bennett)
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