Sarmoung Brotherhood
Encyclopedia
The Sarmoung Brotherhood was an alleged esoteric Sufi brotherhood based in Asia
. The reputed existence of the brotherhood was brought to light in the writings of George Gurdjieff, a Greek
-Armenian
spiritual teacher. Some contemporary Sufi-related sources also claim to have made contact with the group although the earliest and primary source is Gurdjieff himself, leading some scholarship to conclude the group was merely a fictional teaching device.
pronunciation of the Persian term 'Sarman', which may mean either 'he who preserves the doctrine
of Zoroaster
', or 'bee'.
Regarding the meaning, the author John G. Bennett
, a student and aide of the mystic Georges Gurdjieff
writes:
and Central Asia
. Gurdjieff states that the Brotherhood was known to have existed somewhere in Mesopotamia
up to the sixth or seventh century AD. "But," he wrote before his later encounters: "about its further existence one could not obtain anywhere the least information".
Gurdjiieff's experiences on these journeys, and a sketchy account of his somewhat mysterious relationship with the Sarmoung Brotherhood, can be found in his autobiography Meetings with Remarkable Men
. His attempts to establish a link between the Brotherhood, ancient Sumer
, and even "pre-sand Egypt
", was an intriguing attempt at acquiring esoteric knowledge that had been passed down from antiquity.
circa 2500 BC, at around the time the Egyptians built the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Ouspensky Foundation state that the brotherhood was active in the golden Babylonian time of Hammurabi (1728-1686 BC) and is connected with Zoroaster
, the teacher of Pythagoras
(born c. 580 BC–572 BC, died c. 500 BC–490 BC). According to the Foundation, Pythagoras stayed for twelve years in Babylon.
In The Masters of Wisdom, J.G. Bennett states that the Sarman left Babylon before the arrival of the Greek king of Macedon, Alexander the Great (who reigned 336-323 BC), moved up the Tigris and made their headquarters in the abandoned capital of the Assyria
n Kings, close to modern-day Mosul
in northern Iraq
.
The Commagene King Antiochus I Theos
Epiphanes (c. 86 BC-38 BC, ruled 70 BC-38 BC) seems to have been connected to the Brotherhood, and may even have been (as Adrian Gilbert
suggests) its leader.
In Gurdjieff in the Light of Tradition (2002), Whitall Perry wrote that Gurdjieff believed that the northern Sufi
orders could well be under the hidden direction of the Khwajagan
- the 'Masters of Wisdom' - themselves in turn delegated by the Sarman 'Inner Circle', the 'Assembly of the Living Saints of the Earth'.
According to Account of the Sarmoun Brotherhood (1966, 1982) by Major Desmond R. Martin, a major centre of the contemporary Sarmoun Brotherhood was in the Hindu Kush
mountains of northern Afghanistan
. Major Martin was an associate of the writer and Sufi teacher, Idries Shah
.
In the account, the motto of the Sarmouni is said to be "Work produces a Sweet Essence" (Amal misazad yak zaati shirin), work being not only work for God and for others but also self-work. In relation to this, it is maintained that just as the bee accumulates honey, so the Sarmouni accumulate, store and preserve what they term "true knowledge" (which is equally seen as existing as a positive commodity and associated with the spiritual gift or energy of Baraka
). In times of need this is released once more into the world through specially trained emissaries.
In The People of the Secret, Edward Campbell (writing as Ernest Scott), another associate of Idries Shah, describes studies in extrasensory perception being undertaken in the contemporary Sarmoun monastery in Afghanistan.
, the Coordinator, Unit for Arab and Islamic Studies at Aarhus University writes:
We could surmise that the name 'sarmoung brotherhood' was not any formal institution but instead a title adopted by Gurdjief as a metaphor for great traditions handed down from the past that he had discovered in his travels, thus providing greater legitimacy and a historical anchor for his teachings.
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. The reputed existence of the brotherhood was brought to light in the writings of George Gurdjieff, a Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
-Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
spiritual teacher. Some contemporary Sufi-related sources also claim to have made contact with the group although the earliest and primary source is Gurdjieff himself, leading some scholarship to conclude the group was merely a fictional teaching device.
Name
The word 'Sarmoung' uses the ArmenianArmenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
pronunciation of the Persian term 'Sarman', which may mean either 'he who preserves the doctrine
Doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
of Zoroaster
Zoroaster
Zoroaster , also known as Zarathustra , was a prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism who was either born in North Western or Eastern Iran. He is credited with the authorship of the Yasna Haptanghaiti as well as the Gathas, hymns which are at the liturgical core of Zoroastrianism...
', or 'bee'.
Regarding the meaning, the author John G. Bennett
John G. Bennett
John Godolphin Bennett, was a British mathematician, scientist, technologist, industrial research director, and author. He is perhaps best known for his many books on psychology and spirituality, and particularly the teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff...
, a student and aide of the mystic Georges Gurdjieff
G. I. Gurdjieff
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff according to Gurdjieff's principles and instructions, or the "Fourth Way."At one point he described his teaching as "esoteric Christianity."...
writes:
"The word can be interpreted in three ways. It is the word for bee, which has always been a symbol of those who collect the precious 'honey' of traditional wisdom and preserve it for further generations. A collection of legends, well known in Armenian and Syrian circles with the title of The Bees, was revised by Mar Salamon, a Nestorian Archimandrite in the thirteenth century. The Bees refers to a mysterious power transmitted from the time of Zoroaster and made manifest in the time of Christ.... Man is Persian meaning as the quality transmitted by heredity and hence a distinguished family or race. It can be the repository of an heirloom or tradition. The word sar means head, both literally and in the sense of principal or chief. The combination sarman would thus mean the chief repository of the tradition." Yet another possibility was "those whose heads have been purified", in other words: the enlightened.
Gurdjieff's account
The Brotherhood was also sought by Georges Gurdjieff on his journeys (pre-1912) through SouthwestSouthwest Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East, which describes a geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than its location within Asia...
and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. Gurdjieff states that the Brotherhood was known to have existed somewhere in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
up to the sixth or seventh century AD. "But," he wrote before his later encounters: "about its further existence one could not obtain anywhere the least information".
Gurdjiieff's experiences on these journeys, and a sketchy account of his somewhat mysterious relationship with the Sarmoung Brotherhood, can be found in his autobiography Meetings with Remarkable Men
Meetings with Remarkable Men
Meetings with Remarkable Men is the second volume of the All and Everything trilogy written by the Greek-Armenian mystic G. I. Gurdjieff...
. His attempts to establish a link between the Brotherhood, ancient Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
, and even "pre-sand Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
", was an intriguing attempt at acquiring esoteric knowledge that had been passed down from antiquity.
Contemporary accounts
In Studies in Comparative Religion (Winter 1974), it is said that according to the Armenian book Merkhavat, the Sarmoung Brotherhood, also referred to as the 'Inner Circle of Humanity', originated in ancient BabylonBabylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
circa 2500 BC, at around the time the Egyptians built the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Ouspensky Foundation state that the brotherhood was active in the golden Babylonian time of Hammurabi (1728-1686 BC) and is connected with Zoroaster
Zoroaster
Zoroaster , also known as Zarathustra , was a prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism who was either born in North Western or Eastern Iran. He is credited with the authorship of the Yasna Haptanghaiti as well as the Gathas, hymns which are at the liturgical core of Zoroastrianism...
, the teacher of Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
(born c. 580 BC–572 BC, died c. 500 BC–490 BC). According to the Foundation, Pythagoras stayed for twelve years in Babylon.
In The Masters of Wisdom, J.G. Bennett states that the Sarman left Babylon before the arrival of the Greek king of Macedon, Alexander the Great (who reigned 336-323 BC), moved up the Tigris and made their headquarters in the abandoned capital of the Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n Kings, close to modern-day Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
in northern Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
The Commagene King Antiochus I Theos
Antiochus I Theos of Commagene
Antiochus I Theos Dikaios Epiphanes Philorhomaios Philhellenos Antiochus I Theos Dikaios Epiphanes Philorhomaios Philhellenos Antiochus I Theos Dikaios Epiphanes Philorhomaios Philhellenos (Greek: о Αντίοχος Θεός Δίκαιος Επιφανής Φιλορωμαίος Φιλέλλην, meaning Antiochos, a just, eminent god, friend...
Epiphanes (c. 86 BC-38 BC, ruled 70 BC-38 BC) seems to have been connected to the Brotherhood, and may even have been (as Adrian Gilbert
Adrian Gilbert
Adrian Gilbert is a bestselling British author and independent publisher who lives in England. His books are centred around investigations into ancient Esoteric knowledge and religious Mysteries....
suggests) its leader.
In Gurdjieff in the Light of Tradition (2002), Whitall Perry wrote that Gurdjieff believed that the northern Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
orders could well be under the hidden direction of the Khwajagan
Khwajagan
Khwājagān is a Persian title for "the Master". Khwajagan is a word often used to refer to a chain of Central Asian Naqshbandi Sufi Masters from the 10th to the 16th century...
- the 'Masters of Wisdom' - themselves in turn delegated by the Sarman 'Inner Circle', the 'Assembly of the Living Saints of the Earth'.
According to Account of the Sarmoun Brotherhood (1966, 1982) by Major Desmond R. Martin, a major centre of the contemporary Sarmoun Brotherhood was in the Hindu Kush
Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range that stretches between central Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. The highest point in the Hindu Kush is Tirich Mir in the Chitral region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.It is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram Range, and is a...
mountains of northern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Major Martin was an associate of the writer and Sufi teacher, Idries Shah
Idries Shah
Idries Shah , also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi , was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.Born in India, the descendant of a...
.
In the account, the motto of the Sarmouni is said to be "Work produces a Sweet Essence" (Amal misazad yak zaati shirin), work being not only work for God and for others but also self-work. In relation to this, it is maintained that just as the bee accumulates honey, so the Sarmouni accumulate, store and preserve what they term "true knowledge" (which is equally seen as existing as a positive commodity and associated with the spiritual gift or energy of Baraka
Barakah
In Islam, Barakah is the beneficent force from God that flows through the physical and spiritual spheres as prosperity, protection, and happiness. Baraka is the continuity of spiritual presence and revelation that begins with God and flows through that and those closest to God. Baraka can be found...
). In times of need this is released once more into the world through specially trained emissaries.
In The People of the Secret, Edward Campbell (writing as Ernest Scott), another associate of Idries Shah, describes studies in extrasensory perception being undertaken in the contemporary Sarmoun monastery in Afghanistan.
Scepticism
Mark SedgwickMark Sedgwick
Mark Sedgwick is a British/Irish historian specializing in traditionalism, Islam, Sufi mysticism, and terrorism. He is secretary of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism.-Education:...
, the Coordinator, Unit for Arab and Islamic Studies at Aarhus University writes:
Although few commentators in Gurdjief would put it so bluntly, it seems clear to me that the Sarmoung are entirely imaginary. No Sufi tariqa of such a name is known, and in fact "Sarmoung" is a typically Gurdjieffian fantastical name. It is immediately obvious to anyone who knows anything about regular Sufism that there is nothing remotely Sufi about the Sarmoung Order described by Gurdjieff.
We could surmise that the name 'sarmoung brotherhood' was not any formal institution but instead a title adopted by Gurdjief as a metaphor for great traditions handed down from the past that he had discovered in his travels, thus providing greater legitimacy and a historical anchor for his teachings.
See also
- AgarthaAgarthaAgartha is a legendary city that is said to reside in the earth's core. It is related to the belief in a hollow earth and is a popular subject in esotericism....
- Bön
- Fourth Way
- Great White BrotherhoodGreat White BrotherhoodThe Great White Brotherhood, in belief systems akin to Theosophical and New Age, are said to be supernatural beings of great power who spread spiritual teachings through selected humans. The members of the Brotherhood may be known as the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or the Ascended Masters...
- Greco-Buddhist monasticismGreco-Buddhist monasticismThe role of Greek Buddhist monks in the development of the Buddhist faith under the patronage of emperor Ashoka around 260 BCE, and then during the reign of Menander is described in the Mahavamsa, an important non-canonical Theravada Buddhist historical text compiled in Sri Lanka in the 6th century...
- Gurdjieff movements
- GymnosophistsGymnosophistsGymnosophists is the name given by the Greeks to certain ancient Indian philosophers who pursued asceticism to the point of regarding food and clothing as detrimental to purity of thought ....
- KhwajaganKhwajaganKhwājagān is a Persian title for "the Master". Khwajagan is a word often used to refer to a chain of Central Asian Naqshbandi Sufi Masters from the 10th to the 16th century...
- MagiMagiMagi is a term, used since at least the 4th century BC, to denote a follower of Zoroaster, or rather, a follower of what the Hellenistic world associated Zoroaster with, which...
- NaqshbandiNaqshbandiNaqshbandi is one of the major Sufi spiritual orders of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "Potent" order.The Naqshbandi order is over 1,300 years old, and is active today...
- ShambhalaShambhalaIn Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala or Shangri-la is a mythical kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia...
- Shangri-LaShangri-LaShangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. Hilton describes Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains...
- ShramanaShramanaA shramana is a wandering monk in certain ascetic traditions of ancient India including Jainism, Buddhism, and Ājīvikism. Famous śramaṇas include Mahavira and Gautama Buddha....
- Surmang MonasterySurmang MonasterySurmang refers to a vast alpine nomadic and farming region, historically a duchy under the King of Nangchen, with vast land holdings spreading over what is today the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province. In Tibetan King of Nangchen's realm was called the "nyishu dza nga" or the 21...
- ZoroastrianismZoroastrianismZoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
Literature
- Adrian G. Gilbert, Magi: The Quest for a Secret Tradition, Bloomsbury Publishing, 1996