According to Osho, Gurdjieff failed to attract large numbers because he arose in revolutionary Russia, where militant atheism persecuted mystics; he had to flee or be killed. In such a climate, people were programmed into a negative belief that gave no inner nourishment, stifling the appetite for discipleship. Only decades later did Russians feel atheism’s hollowness and become receptive—by then, his moment had passed.
He came at the wrong time and place—Soviet atheism crushed mystics, so people weren’t free or hungry enough to follow him.