Books published by Sophia Perennis et Universalis

BLURB for Self and SpiritWhat is the basis and purpose of esoteric religion, and what is the self? Self and Spirit answers these questions in depth and in a way true to the spirit of traditional wisdom. This book illuminates from a new angle the Non-Dualistic conceptions that have become influential through the work of many modern traditionalists, including René Guénon and Frithjof Schuon, whose influence is evident in Dr. Bolton's treatment of religion and tradition.Here, Gnostic ideas usually taken to support pantheistic religion are shown to be able to provide a foundation for belief in a personal God. Religion is not forced into a preconceived system, because no attempt is made to evaluate all religious doctrines by the standard of one doctrine. Instead, certain profound ideas common to many traditions are invoked, these ideas being of a kind that cannot be identified with any one confessional origin. This in turn sheds new light on the dividing-line between the esoteric and the exoteric, and allows these ideas to combine in ways that are natural and free.The key to this new departure is the true nature of the individual self, a subject largely ignored by Non-Dualist thought. Here it is given its full weight, however, and its impact on all other realities is made clear. The relation of the self to its world is also here connected significantly to the cosmic role of religion, illustrating how a conversion from worldly to spiritual priorities can have consequences far beyond the personal concerns of those involved. Throughout, Bolton's thinking is daring, yet true to traditional spirituality.

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.This small volume brings together a number of Guénon's early articles relating to Sufism (tasawwuf), or Islamic esoterism. The later article 'Islamic Esoterism' has also been included, since it so well articulates the particularities of initiation in Islam by defining the fundamental elements of tasawwuf: shari'ah, tariqah, haqiqah. The first constitutes the necessary fundamental exoteric basis; the second, the Way and its means; the third, the goal or final result. In the other chapters, Guénon expresses with his usual synthetic clarity what tawhid and faqr are, and gives examples of traditional sciences, relating angelology to the Arabic alphabet, and chirology to the science of letters ('ilm al-huruf). A number of book and article reviews give interesting insights into traditional orthodoxy.The Collected Works of René Guénon brings together the writings of one of the greatest prophets of our time, whose voice is even more important today than when he was alive.Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions, etc.

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.Traditional Forms and Cosmic Cycles is a wide-ranging collection of articles that could just as well have been called Fragments of an Unknown History. Although they must remain fragments, as Guénon did not return to many of these themes again, it would have been regrettable to leave such fascinating articles buried in old journals, and so this posthumous collection is now offered to Anglophone readers for the first time.The book opens with the key article 'The Doctrine of Cosmic Cycles', followed by two pieces on Atlantis and Hyperborea. Two sections follow, concerned respectively with the Hebrew Tradition and the Egyptian Tradition. The former comprises five articles concerned primarily with the Kabbalah and the Science of Numbers, and the latter includes three articles on Hermes and the Hermetic Tradition. Book reviews are inserted at relevant points. To lend the collection coherence, no other spiritual Traditions are here represented. A list of the Collected Writings of René Guénon has been provided for those who wish to investigate Guénon's metaphysical expositions on such topics as Christianity, Islam, the Greco-Latin Traditions, Celtism, etc.