George Gurdjieff was an interesting and complicated individual. Anyone who wishes to study the man should also look into at least a couple biographies.. my favorite being the one by James Moore, altho the one by Bennet is also quite good considering he was a student of G as well. This provides "outside" angles on G and his work, most valuable of which are simple accounts of events and so forth - things which G himself would never mention. Perhaps the most entertaining involves his skill (or lack of) in driving, and his judgment on such matters which some would have probably deemed "psychotic".
He would generally keep to the old-world tradition of secrecy within esotericism, for good reason. By the time he had made contact with the public world, G had already been through a gauntlet of evolutionary and mystical practices. His heavy handed approach was not understood by those who never had real contact with such matters and the sheer weight behind them.
The personal task he set before himself was insurmountable, yet he persevered until the end - most notably upon death his doctors stated his body should have given out many years previously, according to their knowledge of medicine. His institute never became a formal (or informal) success, and thus his remaining time was spent laboring on the "All and Everything" series - which he did not complete. Of course, considering the gargantuan magnitude of "Beezelbub", one may see why.
I do recommend all of G's writings, "Meetings", "Life is Real", "Views from the Real World", and "Beelzebub" - it is essential to make contact with these connections before attempting to grasp 4th way practices proper, as it places them within the context which is so often lacking.
