Studies in Hinduism [Hardcover]

Rene Guenon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1985

Translated here for the first time in its entirety, Guénon's Studies in Hinduism, together with his Man and His Becoming according to the Vedanta and Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines, provides what leading Indian thinkers have called the most authentic expression of Hindu metaphysics in any Western language. Chapters include: Atma-Gita; The Spirit of India; Kundalini Yoga; The Hindu Theory of the Five Elements; Dharma; Varna; Tantrism and Magic; The Fifth Veda; Nama-Rupa; Maya; and Sanatana Dharma. Guénon's crucial lecture 'Eastern Metaphysics' has also been added-the closest thing to a 'thumbnail sketch' of metaphysics he ever produced-as well as special indexes of Buddhist and Sanskrit terms. Also known as the Primordial Tradition, the sanatana dharma, which constitues the central theme of this text, is the guarantee of both the universality and the indestructibility of essential metaphysical truth.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

René Guénon (1886–1951) was one of the great luminaries of the twentieth century, whose critique of the modern world has stood fast against the shifting sands of intellectual fashion. His extensive writings, now finally available in English, are a providential treasure-trove for the modern seeker: while 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, they direct the reader also 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. René Guénon, of whom Jacob Needleman wrote in The Sword of Gnosis that ‘no other modern writer has so effectively communicated the absoluteness of truth,’ is gradually being recognized by deeper thinkers as one of the few who have truly penetrated the seductive veil of the modern age. As an expositor of pure metaphysics and its application to the science of symbols, Guénon is without peer; and his extraordinarily prescient critique of the modern world is attracting more and more attention among cultural commentators. Little known in the English-speaking world till the recent appearance of his Collected Works in translation, Guénon has nevertheless long been recognized as a veritable criterion of truth by a vanguard of remarkable writers who evince that rare combination: intellectuality and spirituality. After a lonely childhood, often interrupted by ill health, Guénon navigated the seductive half-truths of occultism toward a deeper, unified vision offering a way out from the confusion and fragmentation of our time. Regarded by leading scholars as the first truly authentic interpreter of many Eastern doctrines in the West, Guénon never tired, in face of the seemingly inexorable process of dissolution in the twentieth century, of pointing to the transcendent unity of all religious faiths and the abiding Truth that contains them all. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 87 pages
• Publisher: South Asia Books (December 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8170130166
• ISBN-13: 978-8170130161
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,037,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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