Ren Gunon (1886-1951) was the founder of the Traditionalist School.
Along with Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and Frithjof Schuon, he
reintroduced traditional metaphysics and esoterism into the Western
world after a lapse of centuries, and was perhaps the first to
present the doctrines of the Vedanta, Taoism, and Sufism not as
Eurocentric orientalists or occult fantasts had done, but strictly
in their own terms. To the 'mathematical' precision of Gunon's
metaphysics, cosmology, and esoteric history, Frithjof Schuon
(1907-1998) added a poetic or 'musical' element, inspired by his
close relationship to the Divine Feminine. He also presented the
spiritual path as a concrete praxis, involving the spiritual
virtues and 'stations of wisdom', that was not so prominent in
Gunon's writings. On the other hand, Gunon's prophetic eschatology,
especially in The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times, as
well as his analysis of the 'counter-tradition', gives him a
unexpectedly contemporary 'edge' that is perhaps less prominent in
Schuon's more aesthetic approach. Ren Gunon and Frithjof Schuon
illuminate each other, both through their unanimity and the
specific points where they differ. Each is almost the only means of
taking the other's measure. Questions of who was greater, who more
traditional, are finally less interesting than the tremendous
vision of human reality and spiritual truth that emerges from their
shared role as renewers of traditional metaphysics and religious
understanding. Schuon, as the younger man, was in a position to
compose an evaluation of his early intellectual master, and in view
of his long and illustrious career as an author after Gunon's
death, Schuon's central essay Ren Gunon: Some Observations is also
his profoundly appreciative as well as pointedly critical
declaration of independence (though simultaneously a declaration of
collegiality) from the man who, more than anyone else in the modern
world, opened to him a fundamental view of 'principial' reality.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
