Spirituality Studies 10-2 Fall 2024 11 Samuel Bendeck Sotillos of Gurdjieff), firmly asserted that the nine-pointed figure derived from Islamic esoterism: “The central symbol of the Gurdjieff work, the enneagram, is almost certainly of Sufi origin – an indication of the importance of these teachings in the system Gurdjieff developed” (Speeth 1989, 9). Palmer, who also avows that the origins of the Enneagram are to be found in the mystical dimension of Islam, dedicated her first book on the Enneagram to Lord Pentland (Henry John Sinclair, 1907–1984), a prominent disciple of Ouspensky and Gurdjieff who became the president of the Gurdjieff Foundation in both New York and California: “The Enneagram is an ancient Sufi teaching” (Palmer 1991, 3). Ichazo nevertheless questions the Sufi origins of the Enneagram: “I know Ṣūfism extensively – I’ve practiced traditional ‘zhikr’, prayer, meditation – and I know realized Sufi sheiks. It [note: the Enneagram] is not part of their theoretical framework. They couldn’t care less about the Enneagon” (quoted in Goldberg 1993, 24). A. H. Almaas, who took part in the early SAT group under Naranjo, presents the connection between Gurdjieff, Ichazo, and Naranjo (1998, 3) in a summary fashion that sheds light on contemporary understandings of the Enneagram: The nine-pointed symbol of the Enneagram first made a significant appearance in the modern West through the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff, an Armenian mystic, around the turn of the century. Gurdjieff appears to have learned it from a secret school in the Middle East, a school steeped in a spiritual tradition that is at least two thousand years old. He did not, as far as we know, teach the Enneagram of personality fixation, which is currently the most widely known Enneagram. This Enneagram, which has become popular in recent years, came mostly from Claudio Naranjo, a Chilean psychiatrist and teacher, who learned it from Oscar Ichazo, a South American spiritual teacher. It is not clear which parts of this Enneagram teaching originated with Ichazo and which were added to or elaborated upon by Naranjo in the context of his extensive knowledge of depth psychology. Naranjo, from whom we learned the body of knowledge associated with the Enneagram, related it to the Middle Eastern school with which Gurdjieff was associated, but clearly stated that he received the basic knowledge of the Enneagram from Oscar Ichazo. We will defer to Naranjo’s assessment of the current state of the “enneagram community” that he was instrumental in launching: “I see the movement as pervaded by a combination of greed and arrogance, and by a great disrespect toward the sources of the knowledge” (quoted in Parkin and Fittkau 1996, 23). We again cite Naranjo: “I will finish by saying that I have been ambivalent about the enneagram movement that I have unwittingly fathered… looking in retrospect, we may say what Oscar [note: Ichazo] used to say concerning the excitement of the enneagram movement (and this was one of his most favorite slogans): ‘the devil doesn’t know for whom he works’” (Parkin and Fittkau 1996, 17). 6 Origins of the Enneagram and Islamic Spirituality Although the Enneagram is known to have several different origins, a primary source can be found within the esoteric tradition of Islam. Yet this does not detract from the universal dimension of this symbol as it applies to all revealed religions and their “science of the soul.” As previously indicated, a significant encounter – that reveals the traditional genesis of the Enneagram – took place between Gurdjieff and Shaykh ‘Abd Allāh al-Fā’iz ad-Dāghestanī, who was raised and trained by his maternal uncle, Shaykh Sharafuddīn ad-Dāghestanī (1875–1936) of the Naqshbandī Sufi order. It was this meeting, along with a number of key Sufi works, that not only provide a richer context for the Enneagram – or the “face of God” (Ar. wajh Allāh) as it is known in Súfism – but unveils its esoteric depth as well. Bennett also made the acquaintance of Shaykh ‘Abd Allāh (Kabbani 2004, 449–51). We cite the following account of this encounter at length in order to show that the wajh Allāh is clearly a spiritual symbol connected to a major divine revelation (quoted in Kabbani 2004, 404). As soon as they met, Shaykh Abd Allah said, ‘You are interested in the knowledge of the Nine Points. We can speak on it in the morning after the dawn prayer [note: fajr]. Now you eat something and rest.’ At the time of the dawn prayer, Shaykh Abd Allah called Gurdjieff to come and pray with him. As soon as the prayer finished, the shaykh began to recite Surah YaSin from the Holy Quran. As he finished reading, Gurdjieff approached him and asked if he could speak of what he had just experienced. Gurdjieff said: ‘As soon as you finished the prayer and began to recite, I saw you come to me and take my hand.’ We were transported to a beautiful rose garden. You told me that this garden is your garden and these roses are your disciples, each with his own color and perfume. You directed me to one particular red rose and said, ‘That one is yours. Go smell it.’ As I did, I saw the rose open and I disappeared within it and became the rose. I entered its roots, and
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