Patrick Laude

L'oeuvre de Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998) a parfois la r putation d' tre d'un abord difficile. Le pr sent ouvrage en propose une approche en se concentrant sur six foyers th matiques et symboliques. Il vise moins l'exhaustivit que l'analyse explicative d'un certain nombre d' intentions fondamentales de l'oeuvre de Schuon. Ces intentions sont exprim es par Schuon lui-m me dans certaines de ses pr faces, mais elles se manifestent aussi par des symboles ou des formules r currentes dans son oeuvre, lesquels offrent autant de points d'entr e dans son univers intellectuel et spirituel. Ce livre en retient six qui informent chacun des chapitres: 1) Savoir penser, 2) La barque de la pri re, 3) Le symbolisme du soleil de plumes, 4) La transparence m taphysique des ph nom nes, 5) Qu'est-ce que l' sot risme ?, 6) Conna tre, c'est tre. Le d veloppement de ces six axes de m ditation laisse au fond fort peu des aspects les plus importants de l'oeuvre de Schuon inabord s.

Le pire travers de notre poque est sans doute de nier qu'il existe une V rit - ou R alit - intangible. Autrefois, l'esprit de subversion, fatalement pr sent dans le monde, tait plus ou moins endigu par les religions et les sagesses traditionnelles. Mais les digues protectrices ont fini par c der et les v rit s les plus videntes, qui rel vent d'un principe, sont syst matiquement remises en question. Or, qui dit v rit s, dit v rit totale laquelle elles se conforment, sauf n'avoir d'autre fondement que le caprice ou l'int r t. On s'ing nie plus que jamais remplacer le R el immuable par une illusion de R el. Au fond, l'homme s'approprie - du moins le croit-il - la pure Libert qui n'appartient qu' la V rit . On n'a jamais autant travesti le R el, parce qu'on n'a jamais tant ha la V rit . On laisse entendre aux hommes d'aujourd'hui que l'absence de crit res est la libert , les projetant ainsi dans le flux des r ves illusoires. C'est pourquoi, il est apparu fort utile de r unir l'essentiel de ce que Frithjof Schuon a crit sur le R el et l'irr el. Ce n'est qu'en connaissance de cause que l'homme peut juger des ph nom nes qui sont susceptibles d'obscurcir son regard.

This book offers a comparative examination of the esoteric dimension across diverse religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. It seeks to answer the question of whether the concept of the esoteric can be applied across traditions and explores intersections, convergences, and differences in its use and presence therein. The book provides new avenues for research by moving beyond the study of Western esotericism and examining how the category of the esoteric can be applied in the contexts of Abrahamic faiths and Asian traditions. The book is organized into six centers of reflection, including the esoteric dialectics of hiding and revealing, the claim of esoteric traditions to restore wholeness and provide a comprehensive understanding of reality, the character of immediacy and directness, the intrinsic esoteric distinction between two truths, and the non-dualistic leanings of esoteric schools in terms of the unity of reality and the subjective immanence of an all-embracing Divine Selfhood. Overall, the book provides a comprehensive phenomenology of the esoteric in religions. It will be of interest to researchers and students of theology and religious studies.

The Indian sage Ramana Maharshi (1879- 1950) is perhaps the most widely known Indian spiritual figure of the last century, second only to Gandhi. This new book offers a fresh introduction to the Maharshi’s life and teachings, intending to situate him within the non-dualistic traditions of Hinduism. It also delves into themes and questions particularly relevant to the spiritual crisis and search for meaning that have characterised, in various ways, both the modern and postmodern outlooks. While the Maharshi’s background and frames of reference were traditional, the spiritual resonance of his teachings in today’s world must also be recognised. The sage’s message lies at the intersection of the contemporary search for Self-knowledge, and today’s critical reflections on the foundations and limits of religion. Thus, the book comprises seven chapters that touch upon such central issues as the role of religion in Self-inquiry; the relationship between devotion and knowledge; the role and limitations of traditional forms; and the implications in our postmodern era of both the Maharshi’s emphasis on surrender, and his basic question: ‘Who am I?’ Published in collaboration with GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY Center for International and Regional Studies, School of Foreign Service in Qatar.

Studies the original vocabulary of Frithjof Schuon, its relevance to comparative religion, and the status of metaphysical and theological terms in religion.This book explores the work of the religious philosopher Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998) by focusing on the way he develops his own expansive adaptations of traditional religious terms. As a leading proponent of perennial philosophical and religious thought, Schuon borrows widely from specific religious traditions, expanding the scope of traditional terminology-from upaya and yin-yang to "quintessential Sufism" and "vertical Trinity"-beyond their respective traditional definitions. This is one of Schuon's strengths as a thinker, but it can also be an obstacle to understanding his writings. This study develops the full implications of these key terms by first delving into their specific traditional denotations and, secondly, exploring their universal connotations in Schuon's universe of meaning. Such a task is particularly timely when both hardened religious identities and skepticism or hostility toward religious traditions increasingly clash with each other. The current questions and challenges surrounding cross-civilizational relations make such a contribution particularly needed and likely to receive a broader attention in the years to come.

Studies the original vocabulary of Frithjof Schuon, its relevance to comparative religion, and the status of metaphysical and theological terms in religion.This book explores the work of the religious philosopher Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998) by focusing on the way he develops his own expansive adaptations of traditional religious terms. As a leading proponent of perennial philosophical and religious thought, Schuon borrows widely from specific religious traditions, expanding the scope of traditional terminology-from upaya and yin-yang to "quintessential Sufism" and "vertical Trinity"-beyond their respective traditional definitions. This is one of Schuon's strengths as a thinker, but it can also be an obstacle to understanding his writings. This study develops the full implications of these key terms by first delving into their specific traditional denotations and, secondly, exploring their universal connotations in Schuon's universe of meaning. Such a task is particularly timely when both hardened religious identities and skepticism or hostility toward religious traditions increasingly clash with each other. The current questions and challenges surrounding cross-civilizational relations make such a contribution particularly needed and likely to receive a broader attention in the years to come.

Leo Schaya (1916-1986) was a brilliant author and editor whose only book to appear in English was the much-acclaimed The Universal Meaning of the Kabbalah, which is often cited in books on Jewish mysticism. This new book, Universal Aspects of the Kabbalah and Judaism, is a collection of writings by Schaya, including some previously unpublished material, that highlight the particular way in which Judaism expresses universal truths and concepts. Schaya explains in great depth and beauty how the God of Israel manifests His goodness, power, and mercy in multiple levels of creative emanations, which are the main focus of the Kabbalah. Even more, however, Schaya looks through Judaism's particular forms and demonstrates that at its core Judaism reveals the same mysterious universal source from which all of the great religious traditions of the world draw their spiritual sustenance and energy.

An anthology on the Prayer of the Heart, otherwise known as the way of invocation, collects key selections from the major classics of spirituality as well as essays by top scholars and religious authorities, in a volume that presents arguments from a range of faiths about why prayer is the essence of the human condition. Original.

Collaboratively compiled and organized by Patrick Laude and Barry McDonald MUSIC OF THE SKY: AN ANTHOLOGY OF SPIRITUAL POETRY is a compilation of heartfelt verses from a vast diversity of authors embracing spirituality from Buddhist Christian Hindu Islamic and Native American traditions. A meaningful anthology that reverberates with reverence for God and the value of the transcendent human spirit MUSIC OF THE SKY is a collection to set one's mind and soul at ease. MUSIC OF THE SKY offers readers a highly recommended and insightful reflection upon values which far transcend individual desires and greed. There are books one hardly has to open to know they are of highest quality. This is one of those.

This groundbreaking book underlines the primordial richness of language by focusing upon the spiritual qualities in poetry which serve to bridge the human and the Divine.

Cette etude est une lecture detaillee du chef-d'oeuvre du poete symboliste belge Charles Van Lerberghe. L'auteur y etudie les etapes de la quete d'une sagesse edenique: du matin de l'eveil au monde au crepuscule d'une maturite apaisee. L'etude montre comment cette nostalgie d'une sagesse de l'innocence est placee par Van Lerberghe sous le signe de la feminite. L'Analyse des modulations de cette nostalgie est, pour le critique, indissociable de l'examen d'une langue symboliste qui vise a entredire les etres et les choses.