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The Essential Frithjof Schuon
Frithjof Schuon had a unique ability to penetrate to the heart if the world's great spiritual traditions, revealing new dimensions that astounded general readers and scholars alike. Schuon's insights on religion, prayer, the spiritual life, aesthetics and philosophy shine throughout this book.
560 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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About the author
Frithjof Schuon
180 books222 followersFrithjof Schuon was a native of Switzerland born to German parents in Basel, Switzerland. He is known as a philosopher, metaphysician and author of numerous books on religion and spirituality.
Schuon is recognized as an authority on philosophy, spirituality and religion, an exponent of the Religio Perennis, and one of the chief representatives of the Perennialist School. Though he was not officially affiliated with the academic world, his writings have been noticed in scholarly and philosophical journals, and by scholars of comparative religion and spirituality. Criticism of the relativism of the modern academic world is one of the main aspects of Schuon's teachings. In his teachings, Schuon expresses his faith in an absolute principle, God, who governs the universe and to whom our souls would return after death. For Schuon the great revelations are the link between this absolute principle—God—and mankind. He wrote the main bulk of his metaphysical teachings in French. In the later years of his life Schuon composed some volumes of poetry in his mother tongue, German. His articles in French were collected in about twenty titles in French which were later translated into English as well as many other languages.
http://www.sophia-perennis.com/philos...
Schuon is recognized as an authority on philosophy, spirituality and religion, an exponent of the Religio Perennis, and one of the chief representatives of the Perennialist School. Though he was not officially affiliated with the academic world, his writings have been noticed in scholarly and philosophical journals, and by scholars of comparative religion and spirituality. Criticism of the relativism of the modern academic world is one of the main aspects of Schuon's teachings. In his teachings, Schuon expresses his faith in an absolute principle, God, who governs the universe and to whom our souls would return after death. For Schuon the great revelations are the link between this absolute principle—God—and mankind. He wrote the main bulk of his metaphysical teachings in French. In the later years of his life Schuon composed some volumes of poetry in his mother tongue, German. His articles in French were collected in about twenty titles in French which were later translated into English as well as many other languages.
http://www.sophia-perennis.com/philos...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 18, 2009
Universal Wisdom- the Religion of the Sages
_It is my belief that all serious students of the esoteric will eventually be drawn to the Philosophia Perennis. How could they not? It is the golden thread that runs through every path of real worth- and Frithjof Schuon was its greatest expositor in the modern age.
_I mean it when I say that if I could have but one book on a desert island or solitary cell it would be this one. After all, Schuon himself approved this volume as truly representing the core of his essential thought. My next choice would be his entire collected works, but they run to over twenty volumes. He is more easily understood than Guenon, but without sacrificing any of the profound content.
_What is the Philosophia Perennis? It is the metaphysical truth which has no beginning, and which remains the same in all expressions of wisdom. It is the esoteric core of all true religious traditions- recognized or not. It hinges on the truths innate in the human spirit and accessible in the pure Intellect. It is the way of the Gnostic, the pneumatic, and the theosopher- it is the way of Pythagoras and Plato. It is jnana. You see, Man's intelligence was made to know the Absolute and it is only the Absolute that man can know absolutely. Metaphysics is this knowledge. It is why we and our intellect exist. We are here to see things as they are- not as they appear (essence over form.) An intellect capable of this, but wasted on materialistic trivia is a cosmic tragedy.
_The book itself is divided into nine sections: 1) Religion and Revelation, 2) The Study of Religions, 3) The Nature of Reality, 4) Art and the Spiritual Significance of Beauty, 5) Man, 6) The Spiritual Life, 8) Eschatogy and the Afterlife, 8) Criticism of the Modern World, 9) Spiritual Impressions.
_It is my belief that all serious students of the esoteric will eventually be drawn to the Philosophia Perennis. How could they not? It is the golden thread that runs through every path of real worth- and Frithjof Schuon was its greatest expositor in the modern age.
_I mean it when I say that if I could have but one book on a desert island or solitary cell it would be this one. After all, Schuon himself approved this volume as truly representing the core of his essential thought. My next choice would be his entire collected works, but they run to over twenty volumes. He is more easily understood than Guenon, but without sacrificing any of the profound content.
_What is the Philosophia Perennis? It is the metaphysical truth which has no beginning, and which remains the same in all expressions of wisdom. It is the esoteric core of all true religious traditions- recognized or not. It hinges on the truths innate in the human spirit and accessible in the pure Intellect. It is the way of the Gnostic, the pneumatic, and the theosopher- it is the way of Pythagoras and Plato. It is jnana. You see, Man's intelligence was made to know the Absolute and it is only the Absolute that man can know absolutely. Metaphysics is this knowledge. It is why we and our intellect exist. We are here to see things as they are- not as they appear (essence over form.) An intellect capable of this, but wasted on materialistic trivia is a cosmic tragedy.
_The book itself is divided into nine sections: 1) Religion and Revelation, 2) The Study of Religions, 3) The Nature of Reality, 4) Art and the Spiritual Significance of Beauty, 5) Man, 6) The Spiritual Life, 8) Eschatogy and the Afterlife, 8) Criticism of the Modern World, 9) Spiritual Impressions.
March 15, 2019
A bit light on metaphysics and heavy on traditional 'orthodoxy' for my taste.
April 22, 2014
Schuon's thoughts on various religious streams.Very deep work
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March 19, 2019After reading 200 pages, I stopped. I can’t rate it since I couldn’t understand many (maybe majority) of the given statements. What motivated me to try to read traditional books is their radical positions that they have about orthodox religions, sciences and modern spiritual cults and religions. But when I try to investigate the sources and arguments they give for their cases, I cannot actually make much sense of it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews