DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - On Frithjof Schuon, The Messenger of Perennialism

**!!!maryann!!!** · 04-03-2011, 02:06 AM

Hmmm…a person who by his own behavior and words has made a mockery of his claims to be a Sufi “Shaykh” is an “eccentric”? It is a lack of “discernment” if we dare question the “tahqiq” of someone who proudly claims visions of the (naked) Virgin Mary as clinching evidence of his spiritual rank?

Although following the “vocation of an intellectual school with roots in the most ancient philosophical traditions” and even “Plato, an initiate in the Orphic esoterism…” may sound mightily impressive in certain circles, for Muslims the greatest source of pride and happiness is being blessed with faith in the Revealed Din of Islam, which - contrary to the “tahqiq” of Schuon and the Perennialists- is the only Din which Allah Azza wa Jall has Himself protected to this day in the form it was first revealed and therefore cannot be equated with any other religion.

Asalamu 'alaykum,

I think it goes without saying that Schuon was eccentric. Those who are ill-disposed towards him from the outset will understand his proclivities as a mark of his deviance. For myself I think the majority of his writings are unparalleled for what they propose to be; that is to say, they are unparalleled in their attention to the primacy of metaphysical principles, and in their dialectical precision and sense of the sacred. That said, there are some aspects of Schuon's writing and personality that I don't give much attention to, simply because I feel they manifest more his particular human limitations. I don't ascribe these to vice, but to a sort of spiritual intoxication that took him beyond the parameters of the Law as we understand it. In any event the perennial wisdom is not reducible to Schuon but instead is the vocation of an intellectual school with roots in the most ancient philosophical traditions (If Muslims have read and benefited from Plato, an initiate in the Orphic esoterism, then I see no problem in benefitting from Schuon, or Shankara, or Kobo Daishi, etc.--truth is its own protector). Schuon left his indelible mark on formulations of perennial philosophy, but no one I know who ascribes to this school would say that his word is final. As I've explained to Hayraan on numerous occasions, the school is concerned with tahqiq; it is not another theology or ideological contrivance.

To equate Schuon with Farrakhan and Elijah Muhammad betrays a lack of discernment verging on the consummate. To equate black nationalist theology and UFO speculation with a school of philosophy rooted in the heuristic teachings of Plato and Ibn 'Arabi is either tragic or comical. To dismiss perennial philosophy as antiquarianism or as a mere pathos for dying religions, while better than the former equation, is to admit to having only a superficial familiarity with their views. Also I cannot but wonder at the dismissal of the perennialists thesis as nothing more than doors to "official Islam"; that they have nothing to offer but "fluff" and that whatever good comes from them are a few meager converts from the West to add to the scorecard.

Unless some serious arguments are presented or questions posed I'll leave this thread to its calumny and paroxysms of religious zeal.

Shuayb

04-03-2011, 02:06 AM	#26
!!!maryann!!! Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 346 Senior Member	Hmmm…a person who by his own behavior and words has made a mockery of his claims to be a Sufi “Shaykh” is an “eccentric”? It is a lack of “discernment” if we dare question the “tahqiq” of someone who proudly claims visions of the (naked) Virgin Mary as clinching evidence of his spiritual rank? Although following the “vocation of an intellectual school with roots in the most ancient philosophical traditions” and even “Plato, an initiate in the Orphic esoterism…” may sound mightily impressive in certain circles, for Muslims the greatest source of pride and happiness is being blessed with faith in the Revealed Din of Islam, which - contrary to the “tahqiq” of Schuon and the Perennialists- is the only Din which Allah Azza wa Jall has Himself protected to this day in the form it was first revealed and therefore cannot be equated with any other religion. Asalamu 'alaykum, I think it goes without saying that Schuon was eccentric. Those who are ill-disposed towards him from the outset will understand his proclivities as a mark of his deviance. For myself I think the majority of his writings are unparalleled for what they propose to be; that is to say, they are unparalleled in their attention to the primacy of metaphysical principles, and in their dialectical precision and sense of the sacred. That said, there are some aspects of Schuon's writing and personality that I don't give much attention to, simply because I feel they manifest more his particular human limitations. I don't ascribe these to vice, but to a sort of spiritual intoxication that took him beyond the parameters of the Law as we understand it. In any event the perennial wisdom is not reducible to Schuon but instead is the vocation of an intellectual school with roots in the most ancient philosophical traditions (If Muslims have read and benefited from Plato, an initiate in the Orphic esoterism, then I see no problem in benefitting from Schuon, or Shankara, or Kobo Daishi, etc.--truth is its own protector). Schuon left his indelible mark on formulations of perennial philosophy, but no one I know who ascribes to this school would say that his word is final. As I've explained to Hayraan on numerous occasions, the school is concerned with tahqiq; it is not another theology or ideological contrivance. To equate Schuon with Farrakhan and Elijah Muhammad betrays a lack of discernment verging on the consummate. To equate black nationalist theology and UFO speculation with a school of philosophy rooted in the heuristic teachings of Plato and Ibn 'Arabi is either tragic or comical. To dismiss perennial philosophy as antiquarianism or as a mere pathos for dying religions, while better than the former equation, is to admit to having only a superficial familiarity with their views. Also I cannot but wonder at the dismissal of the perennialists thesis as nothing more than doors to "official Islam"; that they have nothing to offer but "fluff" and that whatever good comes from them are a few meager converts from the West to add to the scorecard. Unless some serious arguments are presented or questions posed I'll leave this thread to its calumny and paroxysms of religious zeal. Shuayb
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