Splendor of the True: A Frithjof Schuon Reader

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SUNY Press, May 1, 2013 - Religion - 307 pages
Frithjof Schuon (1907 1998), the leading figure in the perennialist school of comparative religious thought, remains one of the most provocative voices on religion. Bridging the divide between seeker and scholar, Schuon challenges the prevailing notion that religion should be studied with agnostic neutrality. He speaks to those who are looking for greater interfaith understanding and a deeper penetration to the esoteric heart of specific traditions, while turning the tables on an increasingly noisy chorus of skeptics.

In Splendor of the True, James S. Cutsinger selects essential writings that reflect the full range of Schuon s thought on religion and tradition, metaphysics and epistemology, human nature and destiny, sacred art and symbolism, and spirituality and contemplative method. In addition to Schuon s essays, the book includes a number of poems, artworks, and previously unpublished materials drawn from his letters, personal memoirs, and private texts for disciples. An introductory chapter provides a careful examination of Schuon as perennial philosopher, Sufi shaykh, and teacher of gnosis.
 

Contents

ILLUSTRATIONS
vi
POEMS
viii
FOREWORD
xiii
INTRODUCTION
xv
PREFACE
xlix
I RELIGION AND TRADITION
1
II THE PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY
41
III HUMAN NATURE AND DESTINY
81
V SPIRITUALITY
153
RELIGIO PERENNIS
191
SELECTIONS FROM LETTERSSPIRITUAL TEXTS AND MEMOIRS
199
TRANSLATORS NOTES
235
GLOSSARY
263
SOURCES
275
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS BY FRITHJOF SCHUON
277
INDEX
287

IV SACRED ART AND SYMBOLISM
119

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About the author (2013)

James S. Cutsinger is Professor of Theology and Religious Thought at the University of South Carolina. His many books include Advice to the Serious Seeker: Meditations on the Teaching of Frithjof Schuon, also published by SUNY Press.

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