Beelzebubs Tales to His Grandson

An allegory for . . . the most convincing fusion of Eastern and Western thought that has yet been seen.- Martin Seymour-Smith, The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written (1998)The spiritual way brought by G.I. Gurdjieff (1866-1949) has been recognized as one of the most original, enduring, and penetrating teachings of our time.- While he used varied forms of transmission-such as group meetings, meditation, dance, and music-Gurdjieff gave special importance to the publication of Beelzebubs Tales to His Grandson.This allegory, majestic in argument and scale, ranges in scope from the genesis of the cosmos and the unfolding of life at all levels, through the history of mankind, to vividly detailed portraits the convey Gurdjieffs vision of human purpose in the vast cosmological scheme.- It presents an incisive critique of the violence and misdirection in human culture, though this is always tempered by the authors compassionate humour and emphasis on the potential for evolution.In this book Gurdjieff speaks a patterned language, unlike that of any other writer, to dismay automatic thinking.- The present volume returns to print the classic edition first published in 1950.In Beelzebubs Tales, soaring off into space, like a great, lumbering, flying cathedral, Gurdjieff gathered the fundamentals of his teaching. - P.L. Travers