In his book perspectives on initiation, guenon clarifies the signification given by the ancient greeks to the classical names of lesser and greater mysteries. Initiation ceremony is the marker of this start or the becoming part of. Initiation and spiritual realization guenon, rene, fohr, henry d. I do want to state here that we may not know how he died,perhaps he repented, distanced himself from all the occult, and died as in submission to god as a true monotheist. If rene guenon was involved in the occult,and followed the sufi sect teachings which is basically occult in its nature then yes, he was a bad guy. This is the complete text of a note on rene guenon, an essay by frithjof schuon, which appeared in the the journal studies in comparative religion, 1985 winterspring edition vol. Biography of rene guenon countercurrents publishing. And recommend them wholeheartedly to anyone who wants to get a sense of the guiding ideolog of what has evolved into current postmodern traditionalism.
On the importance of initiation ceremony katinka soetens. Counterinitiation is initiation into pseudotraditions such as theosophy, which are in fact the inversion of true tradition. Initiation and spiritual realization by rene guenon. Rene guenon apercus sur l initiation 234 pages 20 05 17. Rene guenon 18861951 was one of the great luminaries of the twentieth century, whose critique of the modern world has stood fast against the shifting sands of intellectual fashion. Mar 16, 2001 perspectives on initiation by rene guenon, 9780900588327, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Nov 15, 2010 2,358 words rene guenon 18861951 was a french metaphysician, writer, and editor who was largely responsible for laying the metaphysical groundwork for the traditionalist or perennialist school of thought in the early twentieth century. The reign of quantity and the signs of the times i rene guenon. As regards the early part of the life of rene guenon our knowledge is very limited. The author approaches the topic both in an scholarly fashion and from a traditional perspective. Still, granted that both ritual forms and initiation entail the transmission of. In his book perspectives on initiation, guenon clarifies the signification given by the. Advaita vedanta school, one of whom initiated him into their own. Rene guenon 18861951 was a french metaphysician, writer, and editor who was largely responsible for laying the metaphysical groundwork for the traditionalist or perennialist school of thought in the early twentieth century.
Rene guenons legacy today interview with mark sedgwick by religioscope, 5 june 2004 a newlypublished book by cairobased scholar mark sedgwick, against the modern world is the history of one of the most important antimodernist movements of the twentieth century. Aug 05, 2009 in traditionalist use, counterinitiation is the opposite not of initiation as such but of initiation into a valid, orthodox tradition such as that represented by vedanta. Copyright 20 roy all rights reserved this text was. The great triad rene guenon translated from the french by peter kingsley. Initiation and the crafts by rene guenon world wisdom. Rene guenon perspectives on initiation mysticism esotericism. Its always been tough to be a man, but in some cultures, proving your masculinity can be downright painful. Description of the book studies in freemasonry and the compagnonnage. Rene guenon perspectives on initiation free ebook download as pdf file. Read on wikipedia edit history talk page print download pdf. Oct, 2014 whilst away in england i read rene guenons book, written in 1927, the crisis of the modern world and have continued reading his later book 1962 symbols of sacred science whilst back in peru.
Initiation and spiritual realization is the closest thing to a work on spiritual direction rene guenon ever wrote, touching as it does upon such vital topics as the transmission of initiatic grace, the various types and functions of the spiritual master, obstacles the aspirant is likely to encounter, different modes of contemplation, and the degrees of spiritual realization. Here are some of the toughest male initiation rituals from around the world. On the importance of initiation ceremony initiation means to start, to become part of, to be admitted as a member of a group, to be given secret knowledge, and to have power or right to take action as part of that group. A note on rene guenon studies in comparative religion. Metaphysics, tradition, and the crisis of modernity rene guenon, john herlihy, martin lings on. Besides there is, in the expression chose a path, when applied to a case like that of. Perspectives on initiation is rene guenon s highly rigorous and objective account of what initiation truly means and how significant a role it plays in spiritual realization. Pdf rene guenon initiation interioartistic diy academia.
Jun 11, 2014 initiation rites are an integral part of traditional societies. If, therefore, he is to profit by the light to which the. Initiation ceremony article about initiation ceremony by. John andrew morrow, in the course of his ongoing researches on the covenants of prophet muhammad with the christians of his time, and other peoples of the book, has made a number of intriguing discoveries.
Initiation and spiritual realization rene guenon, henry d. Rene guenon initiation and the crafts we have often said that the profane conception of the sciences and the arts, such as is now current in the west, is a very modern one and implies a degeneration with respect to a previous state where both presented an altogether different character. The logic of the absolute the metaphysical writings of rene guenon by peter samsel parabola 31. Guenon remains influential today for his writings on the intellectual and spiritual bankruptcy of the modern world, on symbolism, on spiritual. A prolific writer and author of over 24 books, rene guenon. Initiation is presented as essentially the transmission, by the appropriate rites of a given tradition, of a spiritual influence. We can now return to the question of the conditions necessary for initiation. French philosopher rene guenon 18861951, who spent many years searching for a true esoteric way, crossed paths with many false and subversive spiritualities before arriving at the threshold of islamic sufism. In modern society, initiation ceremonies usually mark the transition into adulthood, as demarcated by the community. Studies in freemasonry and the compagnonnage is both an attempt to rediscover the lost roots of masonry and a fascinating look into the many controversies swirling around the subject of masonry in serious intellectual circles during the first half of the twentieth century. Studies in freemasonry and the compagnonnage sophia perennis. Hinduism because the hindu ritual life is not compatible with the western way of life. Rene guenon 19861951, the remarkable french expositor of the philosophia perennis, has long enjoyed a reputation among those familiar with his writings as perhaps the preeminent metaphysician of the twentieth century.
As of june 20 i make my text available in pdf and epub format. Thus, in accepting a shadilite initiation, it was initiation that guenon chose, and not a path. Rene guenon english pdf book packbear in mind that sophia perennis might have changed slightly the content of some books in its english translation, we never. For most traditions in zambia, this meant when a girl came of age which usually happened during her adolescent years, she would be handed over to a traditional counselor in order to be initiated into womanhood. Rene guenon english translations is a decidedly useful selection of guenon in english. Examples of initiation ceremonies might include christian baptism or confirmation, jewish bar or bat mitzvah, acceptance into a fraternal organization, secret society or religious order, or graduation from school or recruit training. About 10 years ago i got acquainted with traditionalism, mostly the author rene guenon 1886. Rene guenon autorite spirituelle et pouvoir temporel 64 pages 20 05 17. The bulk of this research appears in his seminal book the.
Rene guenon november 15, 1886 january 7, 1951, also known as shaykh abd alwahid yahya, was a french author and intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from metaphysics, sacred science and traditional studies to symbolism and initiation. We have often said that the profane conception of the sciences and the arts, such as is now current in the west, is a very modern one and implies a degeneration with respect to a previous state where both presented an altogether different character. Times of zambia initiation ceremonies and marriage. Conditions for initiation rene guenon by brett stevens on august 30, 2002. Initiation ceremony definition of initiation ceremony by. Historically, initiation ceremonies that entail the rites of passage of girls into womanhood were largely associated with marriage. An initiation rite is a ritual or ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. The book presents such central principles as the dangers and barrenness of syncretism, the often dire consequences of fostering psychic powers, and the superiority of sacerdotal initiation into the greater mysteries over royal initiation into the lesser mysteries, though both are necessary parts of the initiatic path. Skip to main content this banner text can have markup. Aug 30, 2002 conditions for initiation rene guenon by brett stevens on august 30, 2002. Jul 27, 2004 initiation and spiritual realization guenon, rene, fohr, henry d. Heres a list of similar words from our thesaurus that you can use instead. Full text of rene guenon english pdf internet archive. The logic of the absolute the metaphysical writings of rene.