''The Fourth Way'' (1957) is a book about the

Fourth Way The Fourth Way is spiritual teacher George Gurdjieff's approach to human spiritual growth, developed and systematised by him over years of travel in the East (c. 1890 – 1912), and taught to followers in subsequent years. Gurdjieff's students ...

, a system of

self-development Self-help or self-improvement is "a focus on self-guided, in contrast to professionally guided, efforts to cope with life problems" —economically, physically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. When ...

as introduced by Greek-Armenian philosopher G.I. Gurdjieff. It is a compilation of the lectures of P. D. Ouspensky at

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

between the years 1921 through 1946, published posthumously by his students in 1957. The term " The Fourth Way" has also come to be used as a general descriptive term for the body of ideas and teachings which Gurdjieff brought to the west from his study of eastern schools.The Fourth Way, P.D, Ouspensky, Alfred A. Knopf 1957, chapter 1 Ouspensky was given the task of bringing these ideas to a wider audience in an unadulterated form by Gurdjieff. ''The Fourth Way'' is considered to be the most comprehensive statement of Gurdjieff's ideas as taught by Ouspensky. The book consists of adaptations of Ouspensky's lectures, and the accompanying question and answer sessions.

The Fourth Way

The '

' to which the title refers is a method of inner development - "the way of the sly man," as Gurdjieff described it. Rather than the three commonly known ways of enlightenment—physical, spiritual, and emotional—The Fourth Way presents a new way of reaching enlightenment, a more effective combination of the three known ways. This way is to be followed under the ordinary conditions of everyday life, as opposed from the three traditional ways that call for retirement from the world: those of the

fakir Fakir, faqeer, or faqīr (; (noun of faqr)), derived from ''faqr'' (, 'poverty'), is an Islamic term traditionally used for Sufi Muslim ascetics who renounce their worldly possessions and dedicate their lives to the worship of God. They do ...

, the

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

, and the

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297–299, 331 ...

, which Gurdjieff maintained could only result in partial, unbalanced development of man's potential.

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External links

Books by P. D. Ouspensky
1957 non-fiction books Philosophy books Self-help books Fourth Way Books by P. D. Ouspensky Alfred A. Knopf books {{self-book-stub

The Fourth Way

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Further reading

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