The Way Forward for Perennialism

After accepting some wise criticism from certain followers of Frithjof Schuon, the

decision was made to withdraw the first edition of this book from publication soon after it

appeared. The present Revised Edition, published by Divaan e Ishq, includes a number

of changes and additions and makes no mention whatsoever of Schuon's actions,

concentrating entirely on his books and paintings.

Perennialism (also known as Traditionalism) may be defined as the certain knowledge

that the reality of God, the truth of Humanity as God's central manifestation in terrestrial

existence, and the relationship between God and the cosmos He creates, has always

been known and transmitted by the human race, sometimes esoterically, sometimes

openly. Intimately related to this knowledge is the understanding that God has sent

more than one revealed religion over the course of history to bring Humanity back into

union with Him, and that more than one of these revelations may be in force at the

same time. This doctrine has its roots in the philosophy of Leibnitz, the writings of

Renaissance philosophers like Marcilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola, as well as in St.

Augustine, the Holy Qur'an and the Hindu concept of the sanatana dharma. In the 20 th

and 21 st centuries, however, Perennialism has become perhaps the most interesting and

useful attempt to deal with the fact of religious pluralism in a globalizing world without

relativizing the traditional religions and emptying them of their sacred content. In earlier

ages-apart, perhaps, from the syncretistic religion of Manichaeism-Perennialism was

an arcane dimension of religious understanding, of interest only to a handful of sages.

In our own time, however, it has unexpectedly appeared as one of the necessary

defenses of faith in God and the metaphysical order against the assaults of an

increasingly secularized world. The contemporary Traditionalist/Perennialist School is

considered to have been founded by French metaphysician René Guénon (1886-1951),

with significant contributions from the Anglo-Indian writer on traditional art and

metaphysics, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. After Guénon's death, the most significant

figure in the School was Swiss metaphysician and "unofficial" Sufi Shaykh, Frithjof

Schuon (1907-1998), who remains the most provocative figure Perennialism has

produced in the 20th Century. The Way Forward for Perennialism, which is both

appreciative of his profound insights and critical of his occasional though sometimes

serious errors, aspires to be a guide to those attempting to walk the Perennialist road

through the darkness and uncertainties of the 21st Century.