Frithjof Schuon

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Frithjof Schuon (born June 18, 1907 in Basel ; † May 5, 1998 in Bloomington , Indiana , USA ) was a Swiss thinker of traditionalism .

Together with René Guénon , Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy and Titus Burckhardt , Schuon is considered to be one of the revivors of Sophia perennis in the twentieth century. His thinking is in the tradition of Plato , Shankara , Ibn Arabi and Meister Eckhart ; he wrote - mostly in French - more than two dozen books on metaphysics, religion and spirituality. His esototeric thinking was and is received by right-wing movements to this day.

Life

Frithjof Schuon was born in Basel in 1907 as the son of German parents . After the early death of his father, the mother returned to their family in Alsace with the thirteen-year-old and his brother . At the age of sixteen Schuon went to Paris , worked as a fabric draftsman and learned Arabic in the mosque there . From early youth he studied the great religions of the world, reading Plato and the Bhagavad Gita . His thinking was strongly influenced by René Guénon. He made numerous trips to North Africa , India , Turkey and other countries and also to the North American Indians , in whom Schuon had been interested since his childhood. He lived in Lausanne for forty years and moved to Bloomington, Indiana, USA in 1980, where he died in 1998.

Schuon wrote over twenty philosophical books that have been translated into many languages; In the last years of his life he wrote more than 3000 didactic poems in German.

Teaching

Critique of the Modern World

According to Schuon, modern thinking is shaped by relativism and (biological, psychological, existential, etc.) reductionism . Even if these viewpoints are contradicting themselves (whoever says that everything is relative, at the same time attaches absolute validity to this judgment), they have penetrated the thinking of our time so far that they are often no longer explicitly perceived because they are a Have become part of the unconscious assumptions of today. Modern thinking is functionally highly efficient, but ignores questions such as meaning, values ​​and overall context. Schuon does not see himself as a nostalgic, for whom everything earlier is better per se:

“... just to admire the traditional worlds would be to stop at a limited point of view, because every culture is a 'double-edged sword'; it is overall good only thanks to the invisible elements that determine it in a favorable way. "

- The Eternal in the Ephemeral, p. 45

“We do not blame [modern natural science] insofar as it researches this or that limited area within the limits of its competence, but only insofar as it fundamentally claims a comprehensive knowledge and allows itself to draw conclusions, the supersensible and truly spiritual Presupposing knowledge, that is to say, those knowledge the possibility of which this science rejects from the start. "

- The Eternal in the Ephemeral, p. 35

Religions

It is the religious traditions of mankind that have always tried to give answers to the comprehensive questions of man. In Schuon's view, all of the world's great religions are based on divine revelation and are therefore still valid. Their diversity is necessary because each of them is directed at a certain time to a certain group of human beings with a certain mentality. This is the " exoteric " or the outside of religion. In their inner core, the " esoteric ", they are alike. In all of his books, Schuon has dealt with the comparison of different traditions, their external differences and their common inner core.

It is not easy for many people today to join a traditional religion; the gap between modern and traditional worldview seems too strong:

"Modern science has inflicted deadly wounds on religion by asking certain questions that only esoteric can answer."

- The Eternal in the Ephemeral, p. 39

The doctrinal content of this "esotericism" is "metaphysics," which, according to Schuon, finds its clearest expression in the Advaita Vedanta .

metaphysics

For Schuon, metaphysics is not a branch of philosophy, but the science of the unconditioned, of the true essence of things.

“The highest reality is unconditional and as such is infinite. What is unconditional is that which allows neither an increase nor a decrease, neither a repetition nor a division, that is, that which is at the same time exclusively itself and entirely itself. And that which is not fixed by any limit is infinite; it is first and foremost the primal ability or the possibility in itself, and then, ipso facto , the possibility of things, that is the germinal possibility. "

- An overview of metaphysics and esotericism, p. 21

The universal radiance results from the infinity of the highest reality.

Schuon's metaphysical teaching can be summed up by the basic statement of Advaita Vedanta: " Brahma is real, the world is deception, the self is nothing other than Brahma."

The differentiation of reality into the absolute and the relative entails a further gradation of reality, because the relative must be pre-formed in the absolute, and conversely there must be traces of the absolute in the relative. This results in the following table:

BASIC

God
the uncreated
the super cosmic 		SKY (1) ABOVE BEING

Brahma nirguna
Divine Being Divinity
(Eckhart)

Pure Absolute 		ABSOLUTELY
Atma
(2) HIS

Brahma saguna
Personal God, Creator, Judge, Compassionate

Relative Absolute 		RELATIVE
Maya
RUNNING

The created 		(3) LOGOS

Buddhi , Avatara
Spiritual, angelic realm
EARTH (4) WORLD

Samsara

Particular attention should be paid to the division of the divine realm into the "pure absolute" (Meister Eckhart's deity ) and the "relative absolute" (the Creator God). In this way certain contradictions can be resolved - for example that between a creator god who is both "good" and "omnipotent" - which would otherwise be inevitable.

The realm of the relative, the Maya, should not only be assessed negatively; like a veil it conceals and reveals the highest reality at the same time, because this is all surpassing, transcendent, and deeply within, immanent.

cosmology

The highest reality, which is unconditional (absolute) and infinite at the same time, is the " highest good, " in whose nature it is to be communicated. The unconditional manifests itself in existence and in the materials that allow it to take shape; the infinite becomes manifest through space and time and through the unlimited variety of their contents. In contrast to the belief in creation of the Semitic monotheistic religions, this point of view not only emphasizes the distance between creator and creation, but at the same time gives room for the continuity of both, indeed for a "non-difference".

Epistemology

Schuon distinguishes himself on the one hand from rationalism , for which only that which can be derived from sensory perceptions through logical conclusions is valid, and on the other hand from fideism , which claims a "sacred right to illogic" for faith; on the other hand, Schuon insists on a greater range of human knowledge, which can in principle reach the unconditioned and other metaphysical truths, because these the

"Are inherent in the human spirit, ... but, depending on the situation, are buried in the 'depths of the heart', that is, they are present as possibilities or as a hidden force in the pure spirit."

- An overview of metaphysics and esotericism, p. 7

The "organ" of this knowledge is the supra-personal " intellect ", of which Meister Eckhart says: "There is something in the soul that is uncreated and uncreatable ... and that is the intellect."

Such a knowledge through the intellect or through "" spiritual vision ", which Schuon often also calls" heart knowledge ", is not possible from the distance of the uninvolved researcher; it requires the" whole person "and, conversely, contributes to this wholeness:

"Knowledge only redeems on the condition that it takes up all that we are: if it is a path that works and transforms our nature and wounds, like the plow wounds the earth."

- Spiritual Views and Human Facts, p. 188

While in intellectual knowledge the transcendent realities grasped by thinking are separated from the thinking subject, in genuine spiritual knowledge or heart knowledge

“Extends the primal realities grasped by the heart into the spiritual vision; the knowledge of the heart is one with what it recognizes. "

- Esotericism as a principle and as a way, p. 14

The real traditions of mankind can help to bring to light the knowledge that lies within man:

“The various revelations do nothing other than to let a basic set of certainties, which is not only contained in divine omniscience, but also slumber in the 'natural-supernatural' core of the human being, become 'crystals' and, depending on the circumstances, more or less 'to bring out'. "

- The Eternal in the Ephemeral, p. 163

Even if the metaphysician "sees" truths in spiritual vision, he uses inferential thinking to communicate his findings to others in order, in the best case , to trigger in them a vision of the same kind, the platonic anamnesis .

Beauty and art, symbolism

"Seeing" is more important to the metaphysician than reasoning:

“For the metaphysician in the true sense of the word… it is not about drawing certain 'conclusions' from certain 'proofs' in the face of the divine mystery; on the contrary, it is about perceiving the transcendent real through its 'signs' or its 'traces' '; it is about seeing the cause in the effects, the original reason in its manifestations, the archetypes or ideas in their images, the necessary in the possible. "

- Roots of being human, p. 65

"Beauty is the splendor of truth" is a platonic thought often cited by Schuon. Beauty in all its forms, in nature, in art or in the noble soul is a trace of the "eternal in the transitory" that can trigger an immediate spiritual vision. Schuon sets strict standards for sacred art, because

"The reflection of the super-formal in the formal is not the formless, but on the contrary the strict form."

- Spiritual views and human facts, p. 30

Anthropology and spiritual life

According to Schuon, man is "a comprehensive capacity for knowledge, free will and selfless soul"; The meaning of human existence is therefore to know the true, to will the good, to love the beautiful. This also outlines the spiritual life: it consists in the differentiation of the real from the unreal or only partially real (knowledge), in the concentration of consciousness on the real (prayer of concentration) and in the adjustment of the human being to the real (exercise of Virtues).

Works

Original works

  • Guiding principles for original reflection. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich / Leipzig 1935; improved new edition under the title Urbesinnung. The thinking of the real Aurum-Verlag, Freiburg 1989, ISBN 3-591-08277-5 .
  • Diary and night book. Urs-Graf-Verlag, Bern 1947
  • Sulamith. Urs-Graf-Verlag, Bern 1947
  • De l'unité transcendante des religions. (1948, 1958, 1979, 2000)
  • L'Oeil du coeur (1950, 1974, 1995)
  • Perspectives spirituelles et faits humains. (1953, 1989, 2001)
  • Sentiers de gnose (1957, 1987, 1996)
  • Castes et races (1957, 1979)
  • Les Stations de la sagesse (1958, 1992)
  • Language of the Self (1959, 1999)
  • Images de l'Esprit (1961, 1982)
  • Comprendre l'Islam. (1961, 1976)
    • German edition: Understanding Islam. An introduction to the inner teaching and the mystical experience of a world religion. German by Irene Hoening. Barth, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-502-65541-3 .
  • Treasures of Buddhism (In the Tracks of Buddhism) (1968, 1989, 1993)
    • German edition: Treasures of Buddhism. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2007, ISBN 3-833-49939-7 .
  • Regards sur les mondes anciens. (1968, 1997)
    • German edition: The eternal in the transitory. From the one truth in the ancient cultures. OW Barth, Weilheim 1970, ISBN 3-87041-238-0 .
  • Logique et transcendance. (1970, 2007)
  • Forme et substance dans les religions (1975)
  • L'Ésotérisme comme principe et comme voie. 1978, 1997
  • Le Soufisme, voile et quintessence (1980, 2006)
  • Christianisme / Islam: visions d'oecuménisme ésotérique (1981)
  • You Divin à l'humain (1981, 1993)
  • Sur les traces de la Religion pérenne (1982)
  • Résumé de métaphysique intégrale (1985, 2000)
    • The latter two are summarized in the American translation Survey of Metaphysics and Esoterism. 1986, 2000
  • Approches du phénomène religieux (1984, 1993)
  • Avoir un center (1988)
  • Racines de la human condition (1990)
  • Les Perles du pèlerin (1991)
    • German edition: Pearls of the Pilgrim. Thoughts and aphorisms. Benziger, Düsseldorf / Zurich 2000, ISBN 3-545-20179-1 .
  • Le Jeu des Masques (1992)
  • Images of Primordial and Mystic Beauty (1992)
  • La Transfiguration de l'Homme (1995)
  • Road to the Heart: Poems (1995)
  • Love. Herder, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-451-26454-4 .
  • Life. Herder, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-451-26451-X .
  • Sense. Herder, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-451-26452-8 .
  • Luck. Herder, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-451-26453-6 .
  • Epistles = Poésies didactiques. 10 volumes, bilingual edition. Editions Les Sept Flèches, Lausanne 2001–2005.
  • Schuon's epistles. 5 volumes. Les Sept Flèches Publishing House, Lausanne 2016–2017. [1]

Anthologies

  • The Essential Frithjof Schuon , ed.Seyyed Hossein Nasr (1986, 2005), World Wisdom, Bloomington (IN), ISBN 0-9415-3292-5 .
  • The Feathered Sun: Plains Indians in Art and Philosophy , World Wisdom, Bloomington (IN) 1990, ISBN 0-9415-3210-0 .
  • The Fullness of God: Frithjof Schuon on Christianity , ed.James S. Cutsinger, World Wisdom, Bloomington (IN) 2004, ISBN 0-9415-3258-5 .
  • Prayer Fashions Man: Frithjof Schuon on the Spiritual Life , ed.James S. Cutsinger, World Wisdom, Bloomington (IN) 2005, ISBN 0-9415-3265-8 .
  • Art from the Sacred to the Profane: East and West , ed. Catherine Schuon, World Wisdom, Bloomington (IN) 2007, ISBN 1-9333-1635-7 .
  • James S. Cutsinger: Splendor of the True: A Frithjof Schuon Reader . State University of New York Press, Albany (NY) 2013, ISBN 1438446101 .

Secondary literature

  • James S. Cutsinger: Advice to the Serious Seeker. Meditations on the teaching of Frithjof Schuon . State University of New York Press, Albany (NY) 1997, ISBN 0-7914-3249-1 .
  • Jean-Baptiste Aymard, Patrick Laude: Frithjof Schuon. Life and Teachings . State University of New York Press, Albany (NY) 2004, ISBN 0-7914-6205-6 .
  • Harry Oldmeadow: Fithjof Schuon and the Perennial Philosophy . World Wisdom, Bloomington (IN) 2010, ISBN 978-1-935493-09-9 .
  • Michael O. Fitzgerald: Frithjof Schuon: Messenger of the Perennial Philosophy . World Wisdom, Bloomington (IN) 2010, ISBN 1935493086 .

Web links

Wikiquote: Frithjof Schuon  - Quotes

Remarks

  1. ^ Mark Sedgwick: Against the Modern World . Ed .: Oxford University Press.
  2. ^ Mark Sedgwick: Against the Modern World . Oxford University Press.
  3. ↑ See the afterword written by Schuon to: Schwarzer Hirsch: Die heilige Pfeife. The Indian wisdom book of the seven secret rites . Lamuv Verlag, Bornheim 1992, ISBN 3-921521-68-8 , pp. 219-228. Also the book The Feathured Sun.
  4. ↑ Cf. From the inner unity of religions , p. 15 ff.
  5. ↑ See Metaphysics and Esoterics at a Glance , p. 21 ff.
  6. ↑ See Esotericism as a Principle and as a Way , pp. 59–86
  7. ↑ See Metaphysics and Esoterics at a Glance , p. 54 ff.
  8. ↑ See Metaphysics and Esoterics at a Glance , p. 16.
  9. ↑ Cf. for example the sermon 13 Vidi supra montem Sion agnum stantem
  10. ↑ Roots of Being Human , p. 82.
personal data
SURNAME Schuon, Frithjof
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss metaphysician and religious philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH June 18, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Basel
DATE OF DEATH May 5, 1998
Place of death Bloomington (Indiana)