The Simple Life of René Guénon

by Paul Chacornac, Cecil Bethell

René Guénon (1886-1951) is undoubtedly one of the luminaries of the twentieth century, whose critique of the modern world has stood fast against the shifting sands of recent philosophies. His oeuvre of 26 volumes is providential for the modern seeker: pointing ceaselessly to the perennial wisdom found in past cultures ranging from the Shamanistic to the Indian and Chinese, the Hellenic and Judaic, the Christian and Islamic, and including also Alchemy, Hermeticism, and other esoteric currents, at the same time it directs the reader to the deepest level of religious praxis, emphasizing the need for affiliation with a revealed tradition even while acknowledging the final identity of all spiritual paths as they approach the summit of spiritual realization. The present volume, first published in 1958 by Guénon's friend and collaborator Paul Chacornac, whose bookstore, journal (first called Le Voile d'Isis, later changed to tudes Traditionnelles), and publishing venture-ditions Traditionnelles-were so instrumental in furthering Gunon's work, was the first full-length biography of this extraordinary man to appear, and has served as the foundation for the many later biographies that have appeared in French, as well as the lone biography in English, René Guénon and the Future of the West, by Robin Waterfield. Its translation and publication in conjunction with The Collected Works of René Guénon represents an important step in the effort to bring Guénon's oeuvre before a wider public.

Genres: Biography, Philosophy, Nonfiction

130 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

Reviews

[Καιρὸς · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great man with a great mind.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

„La vie simple de René Guénon”, scrisă de Paul Chacornac, este o lucrare semnificativă care oferă o privire de ansamblu asupra vieții și operei lui René Guénon, un filozof și scriitor francez de mare influență în domeniul gândirii tradiționale și spiritualității. Guénon este cunoscut pentru critica sa adusă modernității și pentru promovarea unei viziuni tradiționale asupra existenței, bazate pe principii esoterice și mistice. Lucrarea lui Chacornac se dovedește a fi nu doar o biografie, ci și o meditație asupra ideilor lui Guénon și a impactului pe care acesta l-a avut asupra gândirii contemporane.„La vie simple de René Guénon” nu este doar o biografie, ci o resursă valoroasă pentru cei care doresc să înțeleagă profunditatea gândirii tradiționale și provocările pe care modernitatea le ridică. Lucrarea lui Chacornac contribuie la revalorizarea ideilor lui Guénon, care continuă să aibă un impact semnificativ asupra mișcărilor tradiționale contemporane și asupra celor care caută o alternativă la valorile moderne.

[Michael Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book. By no means is this an introduction to Guenon's philosophy, but it does provide the context in which he wrote about it. It answers my questions, not completely, but satisfactorily, about why he chose to write so much about Vedanta despite being a practicing Muslim who was initiated into the Shadhili Tariqa (order) in his later years. He had a Hindu Guru for an unspecified period, Hindu friends, Hindu Art featuring a Brahmin funeral in his home in France, and a ring which had the AUM symbol. Based on the book, I have made my own judgement that we inwardly believed in Vedantic ideas, as well his own Traditionalist concepts, and practiced Islam exoterically and had a sincere devotion to God. It doesn't speak so much about his religion, in this case. It does however explore his relationships, his wife, his family, his education, his move from France to Egypt, his health problems, his private reclusive nature, and the instability of his material life in regards to constantly running out of money, changing careers, jobs, occult orders and primary and secondary schools. It was a great read and I felt I could relate to literally his whole life story, except his interest in mathematics, I found that incredibly strange. I HATE MATHS. Regardless, amazing book.

[OSCAR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro resultó más un folleto laudatorio de René Guenon que una biografía en sentido estricto.

Se dedicaron muchas páginas, a mi parecer, para describir los domicilios donde vivió el maestro René Guenon y considero que aspectos más relevantes como sus relaciones con el medio católico o con la Action Française permanecieron ignorados por Paul Chacornac.

Agradezco que la prosa, incluso para alguien que se aventura a leer textos en francés como principiante, sea sencilla. El mensaje que se quiso comunicar fue conciso y claro: René Guenon describió el panorama del esoterismo en Occidente y mostró los fines y los medios para reestablecerlo y conseguir el máximo objetivo: La identidad suprema, que no es una disolución en la Nada sino la verdadera plenitud.

La obra guenoniana puede desagradar, como lo hizo desde el principio, al público, pero Chacornac, al mostrarnos el equilibrio entre la vida y la obra de Guenon, regaló esta "hagiografía", que es edificante y que además, y esto es lo más importante, nos compele o nos conmina a leer los textos de René Guenon. De lo contrario, no hubiera pasado "La vie simple de René Guenon" de ser un pasquín barato.

[Rod Naquin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neat, short book on the life of Guenon, who I’m reconnecting w lately after reading a bunch of his books like fifteen years ago. For better or worse, exercised a lot of influence on me. This tome useful for context on spiritual milieu that birthed and sustained him—names and books, etc. Sympathetic if uncritical narrative of his life and work