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Spiritual Authority - Temporal Power
Lord of the World
This remarkable book grew out of a conference headed by René Guénon, the sinologist René Grousset, and the neo-Thomist Jacques Maritain on questions raised by Ferdinand Ossendowski's thrilling account in his Men, Beast and Gods of an escape through Central Asia, during which he foils enemies and encounters shamans and Mongolian lamas, whose marvels he describes. The book caused a great sensation, especially the closing chapters, where Ossendowski recounts legends allegedly entrusted to him concerning the 'King of the World' and his subterranean kingdom Agarttha. The present book, one of Guénon's most controversial, was written in response to this conference and develops the theme of the King of the World from the point of view of traditional metaphysics. Chapters include: Western Ideas about Agarttha; Shekinah and Metatron; The Three Supreme Functions; Symbolism of the Grail; Melki-Tsedeq; Luz: Abode of Immortality; The Supreme Center concealed during the Kali-Yuga; and The Omphalos and Sacred Stones
70 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1927
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About the author
René Guénon
332 books773 followersRené Guénon (1886-1951) was a French author and intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of sacred science,traditional studies, symbolism and initiation.
French biography : http://arlesquint.free.fr/rene%20guen...
http://www.index-rene-guenon.org/
French biography : http://arlesquint.free.fr/rene%20guen...
http://www.index-rene-guenon.org/
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January 23, 2021
Was Atlantis an outpost of the Hyperboreans? Was the Grail a stone which fell from the forehead of Lucifer? Is the swastika the Sign of the Pole?
These are just three of the questions to which this book provides sometimes controversial, but always thought-provoking, answers.
Back in the Eighties a friend, sadly now deceased, introduced me to two books which would have a profound effect on my thinking about myths and symbols. The first – 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' – set me on to the study of Gnosticism – a study which, I think it is fair to say, is unlikely ever to be exhausted. The second (the first English translation of René Guénon’s 'Le Roi du Monde') introduced me to a different, non-dualist gnosis – that which is sometimes known as the primordial or integral Tradition, a variation on the Perennial Philosophy or Wisdom (Sophia Perennis).
This Tradition – the capital ‘T’ is important because we are talking about an approach to the Real that goes far beyond religious ‘conservatism’ as it is usually understood – is believed by René Guénon and his followers to derive from a spiritual centre located both symbolically and geographically at the North Pole. From this World Centre were derived secondary outposts which continued to preserve the Tradition long after the primordial one became inaccessible to all but a handful of initiates.
The Supreme Centre of our cycle of manifestation or Great Year (Mahayuga) is called Thule, but is known in folklore as the Land at the Back of the North Wind (Hyperborea). It is also called the White Island and is the archetype of all ‘sacred isles’ – including Atlantis, a spiritual centre which governs a secondary historical cycle – the Silver Age, which succeeds the Hyperborean Golden Age.
But while the Boreal Thule is lost or hidden, its symbols survive. Its ruler, a priest-king who embodies both (pontifical) spiritual authority and (regnal) temporal power, is remembered as Melchizedek or Prester John. Thule itself, Guénon writes, “constitutes the fixed point known symbolically to all traditions as the ‘pole’ or axis around which the world rotates … Such is the true significance of the swastika, seen world-wide, from the Far East to the Far West, which is intrinsically the ‘sign of the pole.’ It is doubtless here, for the first time in modern Europe, that its real sense has been made known.” Guénon, it should be said, was writing in 1927, six years before a regime came to power which would ensure that the swastika was forever afterwards a sign of something very different.
Perhaps the most powerful symbol of the lost Tradition in the West is the Holy Grail, which is sometimes said to have five forms, the last being a chalice. A late medieval German poem describes the Grail as an emerald fallen from the crown of Lucifer and fashioned into a chalice, which was used by Christ at the Last Supper. In a dazzling display of symbolic certitude, Guénon explains how the medieval author got it wrong: The emerald dropped from Lucifer’s forehead, rather than from his crown: “there is a confusion here, occurring because Lucifer, before his fall, was the ‘Angel of the Crown’ (i.e. of Kether, the first Sephirah), in Hebrew Hakathriel” – all this, it should be said, like many more such fascinating symbolic exegeses, tucked into one of the innumerable footnotes which grace the pages of this slim volume.
The chalice, which conveys the sense of Eternity, is given to Adam in the Earthly Paradise, but he has to leave it behind when he is banished from Eden. His son Seth is allowed to retrieve it and establish a new spiritual centre in the image of the lost Paradise, where the primordial Tradition can be preserved in its integrity; and, although we do not know the location of this centre, Celtic legend suggests that the Druids should be counted among its guardians until the time of Christ.
Despite the plethora of footnotes, Guénon gives no sources for his rewriting of the medieval Grail story, relying perhaps on the authority of his own intellectual intuition. The Grail is, in any case, an alchemical symbol which is always transmuting. I welcome Guénon’s mythic variations, although I distrust his air of infallibility. I would like him to give more importance to that ‘intermediary space’ which he calls “the world of subtle or psychic manifestation” and in which “corporeal manifestation” and “the non-manifest world of the Principle” are reconciled.
Reconciliation in fact seems the last thing on Guénon’s mind in many of his other works in which he launches into an attack on a world which has lost the Grail and turned its back on Tradition. He was not surprisingly a big influence on Julius Evola, who discusses Hyperborea and Atlantis in his book 'The Revolt Against the Modern World' (the title says it all, really), first published in Italy seven years after 'Le Roi du Monde' appeared. In a later book, 'The Mystery of the Grail', Evola explores the symbolism of the priest-king in the Arthurian cycle and highlights the question the hero must ask if he is to heal the Maimed King and restore the Waste Land: Where is the Grail?
This question is also taken up by the historian of religion Mircea Eliade, who understands it to mean that the world has lost its sacred centre; and, consequently, is perishing from lack of imagination. Whereas Guénon stresses the tension of the opposites (“the spiritual order is analogous to the material order, but upside down, and the mark of the demon is to take everything backwards”), Eliade stresses the “reconciling principle” which Guénon identifies with “the cosmic vitality, the Anima Mundi of the Hermeticists” – the creative imagination, which enables us to perceive the ‘intermediary space’ of the soul. It is the alchemical imagination which enables us to transmute corporeal into psychic manifestation and “rejoin that unique place in which all things are contemplated from the standpoint of eternity.”
If you have enjoyed this review you may also want to read my blog: Myth Dancing (incorporating the Twenty Third Letter).
These are just three of the questions to which this book provides sometimes controversial, but always thought-provoking, answers.
Back in the Eighties a friend, sadly now deceased, introduced me to two books which would have a profound effect on my thinking about myths and symbols. The first – 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' – set me on to the study of Gnosticism – a study which, I think it is fair to say, is unlikely ever to be exhausted. The second (the first English translation of René Guénon’s 'Le Roi du Monde') introduced me to a different, non-dualist gnosis – that which is sometimes known as the primordial or integral Tradition, a variation on the Perennial Philosophy or Wisdom (Sophia Perennis).
This Tradition – the capital ‘T’ is important because we are talking about an approach to the Real that goes far beyond religious ‘conservatism’ as it is usually understood – is believed by René Guénon and his followers to derive from a spiritual centre located both symbolically and geographically at the North Pole. From this World Centre were derived secondary outposts which continued to preserve the Tradition long after the primordial one became inaccessible to all but a handful of initiates.
The Supreme Centre of our cycle of manifestation or Great Year (Mahayuga) is called Thule, but is known in folklore as the Land at the Back of the North Wind (Hyperborea). It is also called the White Island and is the archetype of all ‘sacred isles’ – including Atlantis, a spiritual centre which governs a secondary historical cycle – the Silver Age, which succeeds the Hyperborean Golden Age.
But while the Boreal Thule is lost or hidden, its symbols survive. Its ruler, a priest-king who embodies both (pontifical) spiritual authority and (regnal) temporal power, is remembered as Melchizedek or Prester John. Thule itself, Guénon writes, “constitutes the fixed point known symbolically to all traditions as the ‘pole’ or axis around which the world rotates … Such is the true significance of the swastika, seen world-wide, from the Far East to the Far West, which is intrinsically the ‘sign of the pole.’ It is doubtless here, for the first time in modern Europe, that its real sense has been made known.” Guénon, it should be said, was writing in 1927, six years before a regime came to power which would ensure that the swastika was forever afterwards a sign of something very different.
Perhaps the most powerful symbol of the lost Tradition in the West is the Holy Grail, which is sometimes said to have five forms, the last being a chalice. A late medieval German poem describes the Grail as an emerald fallen from the crown of Lucifer and fashioned into a chalice, which was used by Christ at the Last Supper. In a dazzling display of symbolic certitude, Guénon explains how the medieval author got it wrong: The emerald dropped from Lucifer’s forehead, rather than from his crown: “there is a confusion here, occurring because Lucifer, before his fall, was the ‘Angel of the Crown’ (i.e. of Kether, the first Sephirah), in Hebrew Hakathriel” – all this, it should be said, like many more such fascinating symbolic exegeses, tucked into one of the innumerable footnotes which grace the pages of this slim volume.
The chalice, which conveys the sense of Eternity, is given to Adam in the Earthly Paradise, but he has to leave it behind when he is banished from Eden. His son Seth is allowed to retrieve it and establish a new spiritual centre in the image of the lost Paradise, where the primordial Tradition can be preserved in its integrity; and, although we do not know the location of this centre, Celtic legend suggests that the Druids should be counted among its guardians until the time of Christ.
Despite the plethora of footnotes, Guénon gives no sources for his rewriting of the medieval Grail story, relying perhaps on the authority of his own intellectual intuition. The Grail is, in any case, an alchemical symbol which is always transmuting. I welcome Guénon’s mythic variations, although I distrust his air of infallibility. I would like him to give more importance to that ‘intermediary space’ which he calls “the world of subtle or psychic manifestation” and in which “corporeal manifestation” and “the non-manifest world of the Principle” are reconciled.
Reconciliation in fact seems the last thing on Guénon’s mind in many of his other works in which he launches into an attack on a world which has lost the Grail and turned its back on Tradition. He was not surprisingly a big influence on Julius Evola, who discusses Hyperborea and Atlantis in his book 'The Revolt Against the Modern World' (the title says it all, really), first published in Italy seven years after 'Le Roi du Monde' appeared. In a later book, 'The Mystery of the Grail', Evola explores the symbolism of the priest-king in the Arthurian cycle and highlights the question the hero must ask if he is to heal the Maimed King and restore the Waste Land: Where is the Grail?
This question is also taken up by the historian of religion Mircea Eliade, who understands it to mean that the world has lost its sacred centre; and, consequently, is perishing from lack of imagination. Whereas Guénon stresses the tension of the opposites (“the spiritual order is analogous to the material order, but upside down, and the mark of the demon is to take everything backwards”), Eliade stresses the “reconciling principle” which Guénon identifies with “the cosmic vitality, the Anima Mundi of the Hermeticists” – the creative imagination, which enables us to perceive the ‘intermediary space’ of the soul. It is the alchemical imagination which enables us to transmute corporeal into psychic manifestation and “rejoin that unique place in which all things are contemplated from the standpoint of eternity.”
If you have enjoyed this review you may also want to read my blog: Myth Dancing (incorporating the Twenty Third Letter).
February 29, 2024
Se vi piacciono: martin mystere, evangelion, corto maltese, indiana jones, Roberto giacobbo, conan il barbaro, questo è il libro per voi.
Oltre a Battiato (unico motivo che mi ha ispirato la lettura), di cui capisco l'innamoramento, si sono sicuramente letti questo libro: Alfredo Castelli, Hugo Pratt, George Lucas (e me ne verranno in mente altri poi).
Hai la sensazione di aver letto una supercazzola, ma affascinante.
P.s. le note sono praticamente un libro a parte.
Oltre a Battiato (unico motivo che mi ha ispirato la lettura), di cui capisco l'innamoramento, si sono sicuramente letti questo libro: Alfredo Castelli, Hugo Pratt, George Lucas (e me ne verranno in mente altri poi).
Hai la sensazione di aver letto una supercazzola, ma affascinante.
P.s. le note sono praticamente un libro a parte.
Read
November 4, 2014Non saprei che giudizio dare, di questo libro.
Da un lato, �� la morte mia: occultismo, tradizionalismo, geografie immaginarie, Templari e Atlantidi e Assassini del Veglio della Montagna, e Aghartha la Bibbia le etimologie dal sancrito, connessioni ardite che rivangano nella Storia e la riscrivono da capo in nome di un nuovo Principio Chiarificatore... Fantastico, no?
C'�� per�� di mezzo il fatto che questo qua ci credeva. Che quella che sembra una parodia di questo genere di complottismi esoterici, degna di Umberto Eco, in realt�� �� serissima. Cos�� tutte queste etimologie ad capocchiam, tutte queste connessioni azzardate del tutto prive di fondamento, questa mentalit�� paurosamente antiscientifica e fuori dal mondo - tutte queste cose finiscono per farmi un po' pena. Non riesco ad aver stima di uno sciroccato simile, n�� a farmi affascinare dal suo tipo di ragionamenti (termine forse troppo lusinghiero).
Se lo guardo come pagliacciata, per��, mi risulta geniale.
Da un lato, �� la morte mia: occultismo, tradizionalismo, geografie immaginarie, Templari e Atlantidi e Assassini del Veglio della Montagna, e Aghartha la Bibbia le etimologie dal sancrito, connessioni ardite che rivangano nella Storia e la riscrivono da capo in nome di un nuovo Principio Chiarificatore... Fantastico, no?
C'�� per�� di mezzo il fatto che questo qua ci credeva. Che quella che sembra una parodia di questo genere di complottismi esoterici, degna di Umberto Eco, in realt�� �� serissima. Cos�� tutte queste etimologie ad capocchiam, tutte queste connessioni azzardate del tutto prive di fondamento, questa mentalit�� paurosamente antiscientifica e fuori dal mondo - tutte queste cose finiscono per farmi un po' pena. Non riesco ad aver stima di uno sciroccato simile, n�� a farmi affascinare dal suo tipo di ragionamenti (termine forse troppo lusinghiero).
Se lo guardo come pagliacciata, per��, mi risulta geniale.
January 7, 2018
A good overview of esoteric doctrines - particularly pertaining to the idea of a spiritual centrality. This book is informative though a bit dated, and Guénon veers into some rather odd territory at times (particularly interesting are sections which lay precedent for the ideas of a hollow Earth, Hyperborea, and other ideas that would influence the infamous Thule Society preceding the Third Reich). All in all worth the read, but more so as a window into the esoteric theories of the late 19th century than as a practical guide - for which there are many superior volumes extant today.
November 21, 2023
Studija se bavi čudnovatim izveštajima dvojice autora (Sen-Iv i Osendovski) koji svedoče o postojanju podzemnog carstva negde u Srednjoj Aziji - Agarti. To je naravno tek polazna tačka za dalja promišljanja o inicijatičkim tradicijama, koje su uvek i bile primarna fascinacija Genonova, jer je verovao da istinske spoznaje nisu moguće bez već ostvarenih vodiča, na kraju je, nakon što se temeljno uverio da na zapadu više takvih tradicija nema, i završio u jednoj Sufi zajednici. Knjižica se bavi i dubokim pogledima na simbolično-metafizičko značenje pojmova kakvi su Manu, osa/pupak sveta, sveto kamenje, sveti putiri (gral), svete zemlje, gradovi, ostrva, zemaljskog raja, hijerarhijskim ustrojstvima drevnog sveta, odnosa sveštenik-kralj... Kakvo je simbolično značenje (pre svega severnog) pola i tako dalje...
Već smo sto puta to rekli - specifičan autor koji nije za svakoga. Duboko ukorenjen u mišljenju koje nije moderno, naučno, redukcionističko, čovek je to koji se pojavnošću bavi tek periferno, tek onoliko koliko je primoran. Istorija, vreme, prostor, sve su to za njega takođe simboli, tako da je za njega u najmanju ruku banalno razmišljati o vreme-prostornim odrednicama kakvim se bavi istorijski, pravolinijski čovek. Za njega je Atlantida postojala, čini se da je to nepokolebljiva činjenica, kao i biblijski potop. I jeste između njega i potpunog šarlatana tanka linija, čitalac koji je tek zeru ozbiljniji od zamišljenog šarlatana tu razliku neće shvatiti.
Neko je rekao da što su vremena starija to su bolja, a najbolja su ona koja nikada nisu ni bila i to je osnovna doskočica koja se može uputiti Genonu i svim tradicionalistima dvadesetog veka, kao i maltene svim teolozima, duhovnicima, gurima, učiteljima... O tome se može diskutovati na drugom mestu, no ako ste zainteresovani za pojmove koje sam pomenuo u prvom pasusu, onda uzmite i isčitajte ovo. Svakako nije u pitanju laka literatura, ali je makar kondenzovana na mali broj strana.
Već smo sto puta to rekli - specifičan autor koji nije za svakoga. Duboko ukorenjen u mišljenju koje nije moderno, naučno, redukcionističko, čovek je to koji se pojavnošću bavi tek periferno, tek onoliko koliko je primoran. Istorija, vreme, prostor, sve su to za njega takođe simboli, tako da je za njega u najmanju ruku banalno razmišljati o vreme-prostornim odrednicama kakvim se bavi istorijski, pravolinijski čovek. Za njega je Atlantida postojala, čini se da je to nepokolebljiva činjenica, kao i biblijski potop. I jeste između njega i potpunog šarlatana tanka linija, čitalac koji je tek zeru ozbiljniji od zamišljenog šarlatana tu razliku neće shvatiti.
Neko je rekao da što su vremena starija to su bolja, a najbolja su ona koja nikada nisu ni bila i to je osnovna doskočica koja se može uputiti Genonu i svim tradicionalistima dvadesetog veka, kao i maltene svim teolozima, duhovnicima, gurima, učiteljima... O tome se može diskutovati na drugom mestu, no ako ste zainteresovani za pojmove koje sam pomenuo u prvom pasusu, onda uzmite i isčitajte ovo. Svakako nije u pitanju laka literatura, ali je makar kondenzovana na mali broj strana.
December 10, 2020
Incredibly interesting book on the myths of prester john, agartha, the physical evidence, and their lasting impact on modernity
April 14, 2023
Credo che "illuminante" sia una parola adeguata per definire questo testo.
August 12, 2021
En este libro René Guénon trata él de desentrañar el relato de Ossendowski, donde éste ultimo relató sus experiencias en Asia Central. En este libro el tradicionalista francés exploró los simbolismos que el autor de ascendencia polaca en su ignorancia sólo confundió o reprodujo mal. La concisión y claridad en la exposición son puntos a favor de Guénon en este magnífico trabajo.
Las figuras analizadas, arquetipos presentes en varias culturas, son símbolos que nos trasladan a realidades perdidas, que nos regresan a la tradición primordial de la cual nos hemos desviado. La insistencia en la existencia de un centro del mundo, desde el cual gire el resto del orbe y desde el cual el Rey del Mundo diriga los destinos de la humanidad no es un prurito intelectual de un autor estrafalario sino un punto nodal del pensamiento tradicionalista: si la Tradición abandónó el mundo, estamos sumergidos en el nihilismo. El Kali Yuga como expresión epocal de la suma decadencia habría triunfado pero Guénon considera que el Universo está sometido a ciclos fatales y por tanto siempre es posible la reversión del orden existente, y por tanto un centro del mundo oculto permite que la Tradición vuelva a esparcir su labor regeneradora.
El tratado no sólo es simbólico, sino que tiene matices políticos: la necesidad de una élite que sienta o perciba la sabiduría perenne para seguir influyendo en el mundo, la separación entre la esfera temporal y la espiritual y el gobierno divino del mundo. Una lectura cuidadosa revela estos insospechados detalles.
El libro para quien lee por primera vez a Guénon parecerá un galimatías ininteligible o una antología de símbolos religiosos, pero sólo para los avezados seguidores de su filosofía será un manantial de sabiduría.
Las figuras analizadas, arquetipos presentes en varias culturas, son símbolos que nos trasladan a realidades perdidas, que nos regresan a la tradición primordial de la cual nos hemos desviado. La insistencia en la existencia de un centro del mundo, desde el cual gire el resto del orbe y desde el cual el Rey del Mundo diriga los destinos de la humanidad no es un prurito intelectual de un autor estrafalario sino un punto nodal del pensamiento tradicionalista: si la Tradición abandónó el mundo, estamos sumergidos en el nihilismo. El Kali Yuga como expresión epocal de la suma decadencia habría triunfado pero Guénon considera que el Universo está sometido a ciclos fatales y por tanto siempre es posible la reversión del orden existente, y por tanto un centro del mundo oculto permite que la Tradición vuelva a esparcir su labor regeneradora.
El tratado no sólo es simbólico, sino que tiene matices políticos: la necesidad de una élite que sienta o perciba la sabiduría perenne para seguir influyendo en el mundo, la separación entre la esfera temporal y la espiritual y el gobierno divino del mundo. Una lectura cuidadosa revela estos insospechados detalles.
El libro para quien lee por primera vez a Guénon parecerá un galimatías ininteligible o una antología de símbolos religiosos, pero sólo para los avezados seguidores de su filosofía será un manantial de sabiduría.
September 7, 2022
I dont know why I look at Guenon like a figure that could reveal me secrets but it still happens everytime when I am in a discussion about him. I really want him to reveal subtarrenean worlds but this book is little more then interwar weird fiction treated as philosophy.
Association of literature / myth / religion with hermeuniticists, anthropologists and perenniallists were all mistakes. We should try burning some books of Guenon.
Association of literature / myth / religion with hermeuniticists, anthropologists and perenniallists were all mistakes. We should try burning some books of Guenon.
July 26, 2014
Evola's The Mystery of the Grail provides some useful background for this essay.
May 27, 2023
theres a spinning swastika in heaven and there is one on earth which imitates its movement
April 27, 2022
The third short e-book by Rene Guenon that I have read, and possibly slightly less mind-blowing than The Crisis of the Modern World and Spiritual Authority and Temporal Power, although all three are related.
Guenon's esoterism is not the same as Strauss's esoterism, although both enable a reader to understand ancient authors better, for example Gregory of Nyssa's On the Soul and the Resurrection: Theological Treatise on Immortality and Infinity of God (which would not have interested Strauss, btw).
Guenon's esoterism is not the same as Strauss's esoterism, although both enable a reader to understand ancient authors better, for example Gregory of Nyssa's On the Soul and the Resurrection: Theological Treatise on Immortality and Infinity of God (which would not have interested Strauss, btw).
February 27, 2023
A short collection of essays intending to expound on the particular nature of the unseen forces structuring the world of Tradition from the "supreme center" of our realm- the mysterious and perhaps transitory Agarttha.
Definitely interesting, though at times also arcane, there is a lot of information packed into this short work.. take it for what you will! There is some specific information to life in the Kali yuga which was particularly helpful, and as always with Guenon- a synthesis of perspectives from various traditional branches, the correlation of which aides in attending to their corresponding convergences.
Definitely interesting, though at times also arcane, there is a lot of information packed into this short work.. take it for what you will! There is some specific information to life in the Kali yuga which was particularly helpful, and as always with Guenon- a synthesis of perspectives from various traditional branches, the correlation of which aides in attending to their corresponding convergences.
April 17, 2024
Dopo averlo letto, si comprende perchè Battiato abbia scritto una canzone a riguardo. Una delle sue più belle.
July 6, 2021
Introduced me to some esoteric and mythical themes I had not come across before. My favourite rabbit holes were Agartha, Lapsit exillis, and Prester John. With some essays, I lacked the background (especially etymological, Biblical and Jewish sources) to extract their essence. Most importantly, this book was an inspiration to dive deeper into those topics that captured me. Guénon, to be continued...
May 29, 2022
As always with RG patience is required here to discern the valuable moments from the nonsense, but I found a lot that was worthwhile in this one. Really felt like Eliade taken to the next level, especially re: axis mundi and priest-kings and so on.
Read
August 11, 2021E più si cresce e più mestieri nuovi
gli artisti pop, i manifesti ai muri
i Mantra e gli Hare Hare a mille lire
l'Esoterismo di René Guénon.
René Guénon rielabora miti alla ricerca di quella che lui definisce "Tradizione". I ragionamenti non hanno carattere scientifico, Guénon semplicemente è convinto di ciò che afferma: plasma collegamenti a partire dal patrimonio umano di leggende, miti, religioni. La vita tra Parigi e il Cairo, la conversione all'Islam e l'interesse per l'induismo, idee incredibili quanto i confronti azzardati tra parole e simboli di religioni di tutto il mondo, verità rivelate, etimologie acrobatiche.
Insomma, non mi interessa credergli.
Ma nella sua convinzione riesce a trasmettere un mondo di regole diverse, denso di energie esoteriche, libri scomparsi e indecifrabili, viaggi iniziatici in terre sconosciute, scenari perfetti di racconti magici.
Questo è ciò che mi piace di Guénon, ed è per questo che vedo una grande differenza tra suoi libri di esoterismo e tristi libri recenti su sardi nuragici volanti con raggi fotonici in una mano e dizionario trilingue sardo/sumero/accadico nell'altra.
gli artisti pop, i manifesti ai muri
i Mantra e gli Hare Hare a mille lire
l'Esoterismo di René Guénon.
René Guénon rielabora miti alla ricerca di quella che lui definisce "Tradizione". I ragionamenti non hanno carattere scientifico, Guénon semplicemente è convinto di ciò che afferma: plasma collegamenti a partire dal patrimonio umano di leggende, miti, religioni. La vita tra Parigi e il Cairo, la conversione all'Islam e l'interesse per l'induismo, idee incredibili quanto i confronti azzardati tra parole e simboli di religioni di tutto il mondo, verità rivelate, etimologie acrobatiche.
Insomma, non mi interessa credergli.
Ma nella sua convinzione riesce a trasmettere un mondo di regole diverse, denso di energie esoteriche, libri scomparsi e indecifrabili, viaggi iniziatici in terre sconosciute, scenari perfetti di racconti magici.
Questo è ciò che mi piace di Guénon, ed è per questo che vedo una grande differenza tra suoi libri di esoterismo e tristi libri recenti su sardi nuragici volanti con raggi fotonici in una mano e dizionario trilingue sardo/sumero/accadico nell'altra.
January 8, 2019
Si tratta di un breve studio adatto a chi si è da poco affacciato all'esoterismo. Guénon mostra in poche pagine la sua grande preparazione, scandagliando fin dalla notte dei tempi i collegamenti tra diverse vie iniziatiche e dottrine esoteriche, a partire da un fantasioso libro di Ossendowski che raccoglieva un minestrone di miti e leggende sfocianti nella figura leggendaria del "Re del Mondo". A differenza di Ossendowski, Guénon si concentra esclusivamente sull'eziologia e sulle radici comuni di svariati miti che l'uomo tramanda da sempre in ogni luogo della Terra.
September 20, 2016
Je pense que «Le Roi du Monde» soit l’œuvre la plus fascinante de Guénon. Le thème du monde souterrain est abordé d’une façon très riche pour ses liens convaincantes avec les traditions littéraires et religieuses les plus importantes. Lorsque le livre fut publié, le roman de voyage d’Ossendowski avait parlé de l’Agartha avec un succès mondial, aujourd’hui, peut-être, c’est le bon moment pour relancer ce mythe extraordinaire !
December 22, 2014
Le Roi Du Monde,
The King of the World,
Lord of the World,
Alemin Kralı,
Agarta Dünya Kralı
Rene Guenon, Paris 1927,
176 sayfa.
Ruh ve Madde Yayınları, 2008.
The King of the World,
Lord of the World,
Alemin Kralı,
Agarta Dünya Kralı
Rene Guenon, Paris 1927,
176 sayfa.
Ruh ve Madde Yayınları, 2008.
August 8, 2022
La mia opinione su Guénon come persona, come ricercatore e come scrittore rimane molto bassa anche dopo questa lettura. Perché, checché ne dica l'autore, io ho letto Bestie, Uomini e Dei. Il mistero del Re del Mondo. L'interpretazione che fa Guénon di quello che Ossendowski scrisse è del tutto frutto delle teorie esoteriche del René, anche il sottotitolo italiano dell'opera di Ossendowski è influenzata a posteriori dalle speculazioni altamente inattendibili di Guénon.
1 stella nel complesso è il voto giusto, ma se siete dei complottari (complottoidi? Complottatori?) potete arrivare anche alle 5 stelle.
1 stella nel complesso è il voto giusto, ma se siete dei complottari (complottoidi? Complottatori?) potete arrivare anche alle 5 stelle.
October 3, 2020
Pročitala sam nedavno da je gospodin Guenon prešao na islam, i da je u svojim glavnim djelima pisao protiv okultnog. Zanimale su ga, više nego išta, istočne religije u kojima je vidio spas nakon velike katastrofe u koju je svijet upao.
Ovdje Guenon pokazuje to svoje vrlo znanje o hinduizmu, kabali, pomalo i islamu i na osnovu jedne sintagme (Kralj svijeta) pokušava dokazati postojanje nevidljivog svijeta božanskog. Čini mi se da je stao tek na početku, da je mogao pisati i završiti knjigu. Ovako mi sve djeluje kao neki uvod. Šteta, vidi se ambicija.
Ovdje Guenon pokazuje to svoje vrlo znanje o hinduizmu, kabali, pomalo i islamu i na osnovu jedne sintagme (Kralj svijeta) pokušava dokazati postojanje nevidljivog svijeta božanskog. Čini mi se da je stao tek na početku, da je mogao pisati i završiti knjigu. Ovako mi sve djeluje kao neki uvod. Šteta, vidi se ambicija.
November 21, 2020
Rene Guenon'un Agarta'ya yönelik verdiği bilgilere ek olarak çevirmen Haluk Özden'in de ciddi eklemeler yaptığı bir kitap...
1992 yılına ait bir kitap, içerdiği bilgilere yönelik çok daha yeni ve ilave verilere sahip kaynaklar kesinlikle var ama yine de mevcut dönemin bilgilerini iyi derlemiş ve toparlamıştı.
1992 yılına ait bir kitap, içerdiği bilgilere yönelik çok daha yeni ve ilave verilere sahip kaynaklar kesinlikle var ama yine de mevcut dönemin bilgilerini iyi derlemiş ve toparlamıştı.
December 26, 2024
Il mio problema con Guénon è che egli dà per scontato che i suoi voli pindarici vengano colti immediatamente e non ci sia bisogno di spiegare nulla. Non si tratta della difficoltà dei contenuti che pure persiste ma del modo in cui l'autore spazi da un tema all'altro accontentandosi di accennare ciò che andrebbe sviluppato. Questo rende i suoi scritti poco convincenti.
December 26, 2025
I had been curious about this book for a little bit now, but ultimately found it disappointing. Aside from some interesting references to obscure biblical and mythological material, it felt shallow and repetitive. I found it to be more a list of symbolic parallels and name dropping than a meaningful exploration. After reading Guénon’s other works, this one didn’t offer much that stayed with me.
January 31, 2021
Parfait
January 29, 2022
interesting lecture, many points to be taken into consideration moving forward in your quest
March 11, 2022
Better than I was expecting. I knew he was an influence on Evola, Dugin, and others. In this one he espouses on the ice and Hyperborea. I had been reading Serrano and this fit in well with what he had wrote about in many of his books.
August 16, 2022
Heavily references Saint-Yves' Agartha, which I've read before
September 20, 2022
Idk it’s cool if you are familiar with this kind of stuff. Also probably accessible and enjoyable if not, or if you don’t mind looking up a bunch of stuff
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