TRADICIÓN
Perennialismo
Lo primero que esta posición dice de sí misma es que no es una filosofía ni la ocurrencia de nadie. El libro de Schuon lo declara en su primera línea: «This book is founded on a doctrine that is metaphysical in the most precise meaning of the word and cannot by any means be described as philosophical.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 30», y traza la línea por el origen de cada cosa, «it may be said that philosophy proceeds from reason (which is a purely individual faculty). whereas metaphysic proceeds exclusively from the Intellect» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 30», con la certeza apoyada en una identidad y no en un argumento: «Thus metaphysical certitude is absolute because of the identity between the knower and the known in the Intellect.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 31». Guénon lleva la misma negación un paso más lejos y la vuelve contra la noción de escuela: después de separar la metafísica de las ciencias llamadas filosóficas, dice, «For this reason, after separating metaphysics completely from the so-called philosophical sciences, there is a further need to distinguish it no less radically from the many philosophical systems which most commonly originate, as we have already seen, from someone’s attempt at intellectual originality; the individualism expressed by such a pretension is manifestly opposed to the traditional spirit, and it is also incompatible with all conceptions of a truly metaphysical order.» «Guénon — Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines (Sophia Perennis) · p. 114», y data como moderna la pretensión de la que hace nacer las escuelas, «The claim to intellectual originality, which has played a considerable part in calling the schools of philosophy into being, is, even among Westerners, quite a modern tendency, which in the Middle Ages was still unknown;» «Guénon — Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines (Sophia Perennis) · p. 45». Lo que en la India y en China cuenta, según él, es lo contrario: «It ought never to be forgotten that in India, as well as in China, one of the gravest insults one can offer to a thinker is to praise the novelty and originality of his ideas; in civilizations that are essentially traditional, this characteristic suffices to deprive such ideas of all real significance.» «Guénon — Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines (Sophia Perennis) · p. 182». Hasta las divisiones internas de una tradición se niegan como sectas: «Each person, with a view to placing himself at the standpoint best adapted to his own possibilities, will naturally be able to give precedence to any one of these functions, and in particular, because of their apparent symmetry, to one or other of the two complementary functions represented by Vishnu and Shiva: hence the distinction between Vaishnavism and Shaivism, which are not sects as Westerners suppose them to be, but simply different ways of realization, both equally legitimate and orthodox.» «Guénon — Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines (Sophia Perennis) · p. 175». Una posición que declara no ser de nadie y no ser escuela es la que aquí queda fichada bajo un nombre de escuela, y esa tensión es dato, no defecto.
Lo que esa posición sostiene es que las tradiciones dicen una sola cosa. Guénon lo enuncia en seis palabras al comparar a Dante con el esoterismo islámico: «For us however these similarities prove nothing more than the unity of doctrine in all traditions.» «Guénon — The Esoterism of Dante (Sophia Perennis et Universalis) · p. 39», y al propio Dante le atribuye haberla entendido, «Dante understood this fundamental unity also, and for this reason—and not by virtue of any superficial ‘syncretism’— employed a terminology borrowed indifferently from Christianity and Greco-Roman antiquity, as circumstances required.» «Guénon — The Esoterism of Dante (Sophia Perennis et Universalis) · p. 7». Schuon pone esa unidad en un lugar preciso, que es el que da título a su libro: «The evidence for the transcendent unity of religions results not only from the oneness ofT ruth but also from the oneness of the human race.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 184», y la ilustra justamente donde más cuesta, «The transcendent unity of the religious forms is illustrated in a particularly instructive manner by the reciprocal relationships existing between the three great so-called "monotheistic" religions. and this is precisely because these three religions alone present themselves in the form of irreconcilable exoterisms.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 130». De ahí saca la fórmula que ordena todo el volumen: «pure and absolute Truth can only be found beyond all its possible expressions~ these expressions, as such, cannot claim the attributes of this Truth~ their relative remoteness from it is expressed by their differentiation and multiplicity, by which they are strictly limited» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 55», y de ella la consecuencia que enfrenta a cada exoterismo: «The exoteric claim to the exclusive possession of a unique truth, or of Truth without epithet. is therefore an error purely and simply~ in reality, every expressed truth necessarily assumes a form. that of its expression. and it is metaphysically impossible that any form should possess a unique value to the exclusion of other forms» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 53».
El corte con que las dos voces trabajan no pasa entre religiones sino dentro de cada una. Schuon lo dice en la forma más corta al final: «In the final analysis the relationship between exoterism and esoterism is equivalent to the relationship between "'form" and "'spirit" that is discoverable in all expressions and symbols» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 65», y describe qué le ocurre a una religión que pierde su dimensión interior: «The exoteric viewpoint is. in fact. doomed to end by negating itself once it is no longer vivified by the presence within it of the esoterism of which it is both the outward radiation and the veil.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 44». La salida que señala es la lectura de la forma a la luz de lo que la excede: «A religious dogma ceases, however, to be limited in this way once it is understood in the light of its inherent truth. which is of a universal order. and this is the case in all esoterism.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 37». Guénon separa lo mismo por el lado de la definición, y contra la identificación con la religión: «For our part, we do not think it necessary to look at things in this way, for true esoterism is something quite different from the outward aspect of religion, and, if it has some relationship with it, this can only be in so far as it finds a symbolic mode of expression in religious forms.» «Guénon — The Esoterism of Dante (Sophia Perennis et Universalis) · p. 7»; el sentido que busca en la Comedia lo nombra con los dos adjetivos que usa siempre, «For us, it can only be a strictly initiatic sense, metaphysical in its essence; one to which numerous particulars are related which, though not all of a purely metaphysical order, are nonetheless esoteric in character.» «Guénon — The Esoterism of Dante (Sophia Perennis et Universalis) · p. 6». Schuon, que trabaja con ese mismo término, advierte además de su uso: «the term ··esoterism" has been so often misused in order to cloak ideas that are as unspiritual as they are dangerous.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 34».
Detrás de las formas ponen las dos voces un origen común, y lo nombran Tradición Primordial. Guénon lo presenta como conclusión de una acumulación de concordancias: «When one finds such agreement everywhere, is this not more than a mere indication of the existence of a primordial tradition?» «Guénon — Fundamental Symbols (Quinta Essentia) · p. 32», y objeta a quienes la admiten y luego la olvidan, «And how can it be explained that in most cases, those who feel obliged to admit this primordial tradition in principle thereafter think no more about it, and in fact reason as if it had never existed, or at least as if nothing of it had been preserved» «Guénon — Fundamental Symbols (Quinta Essentia) · p. 32». Los símbolos repetidos son su prueba: «Another observation is likewise called for, this time on symbolism: there are symbols which are common to the most diverse and most widely separated traditional forms, not as a result of ‘borrowings’, which in many cases would be quite impossible, but because in reality they pertain to the Primordial Tradition from which these forms have issued either directly or indirectly.» «Guénon — Fundamental Symbols (Quinta Essentia) · p. 37». A esa Tradición le adjudica origen no humano —«As regards the primordial language, its origin must be ‘non-human’, like that of the Primordial Tradition itself: and every sacred language still participates in this transcendence in that it is, in its structure (al-mabam ) and in its signification (al-ma cam) a reflection of the primordial language.» «Guénon — Fundamental Symbols (Quinta Essentia) · p. 45»—, guardianes encargados de mantener el lazo con lo derivado —«This brings us directly to the second function of the ‘guardians’ of the supreme Centre, a function which, as we said just now, consists in ensuring certain outward relationships and above all in maintaining the bond between the Primordial Tradition and the secondary derived traditions.» «Guénon — Fundamental Symbols (Quinta Essentia) · p. 74»— y una localización que enmienda al paso: «It would be better, therefore, in spite of the usage that has prevailed since then, to term the Primordial Tradition not ‘Hyperborean’ but simply ‘Borean’, affirming thereby unequivocally its connection with ‘Borea’ or the ‘land of the wild boar’.» «Guénon — Fundamental Symbols (Quinta Essentia) · p. 121». Schuon usa el mismo término y lo enmarca en una caída: «Divine Providence has permitted no mingling of the revealed forms since the time when humanity became divided into different .. humanities" and moved away from the Primordial Tradition, the only unique religion possible.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 59», con el Abraham coránico por ejemplo, «when it is stated in the Koran that Abraham was neither Jew nor Christian but hanlf ("orthodox" in relation to the Primordial Tradition). it is clear that the names ··Jew" and ··christian" can only be intended to denote certain general spiritual attit'tldes of which the formal limitations of Judaism and Christianity are but particular manifestations or examples.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 58». Y le pone su nombre hindú: «The conception of Saniitana Dharma, the "'Eternal [or Primordial] Law," is static and not dynamic, in the sense that it is an acknowledgment of fact and not an aspiration as in the case of the corresponding Semitic conceptions» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 121», con la relación cíclica que fija entre las dos formas que más le importan, «Islam is the last Revelation of the present cycle of terrestrial humanity. just as Hinduism represents the Primordial Tradition. though without identifying itself with it purely and simply. being in fact merely its most direct branch: consequently between these two religious forms there is a cyclic or cosmic relationship that as such. is in no way fortuitous.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 124». Guénon nombra la misma dependencia por el lado de la autoridad de un texto: «That is why only those who know the integral Veda are qualified to compose authentic traditional scriptures, the authority of which is a participation in the authority of the primordial tradition whence it is derived and on which alone it is founded, without the individuality of the author playing the smallest part;» «Guénon — Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines (Sophia Perennis) · p. 209».
Las dos voces no dicen lo mismo, y esta ficha no las concilia. Del budismo, Guénon habla de ruptura y de desprendimiento: sitúa una separación de la tradición primordial al explicar el iranismo, «At some period or other therefore a rupture must have occurred not unlike that brought about by Buddhism at a later date, and the separated branch, constituting a deviation from the primordial tradition, then became what is known as ‘Tranism, eventually destined to form the basis of the Persian tradition, known also as Mazdaism.» «Guénon — Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines (Sophia Perennis) · p. 140», y a las formas más accesibles del budismo las adjudica a escuelas «these forms belong to schools which, having cut adrift from the regular tradition and having in consequence lost sight of the real metaphysics, were inevitably led into substituting for it something resembling the philosophical point of view in a certain measure— but only in a certain measure.» «Guénon — Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines (Sophia Perennis) · p. 153», aunque acota el alcance de esa objeción en una nota propia, «but, unfortunately, although the new information we have has been entirely favorable to Shakyamuni’s doctrine (which does not mean favorable to all schools of Buddhism without distinction), it is quite otherwise with all those other things whose anti-traditional character we have denounced.» «Guénon — Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines (Sophia Perennis) · p. 151». Schuon no reparte así: empareja la vía cristiana con las del budismo —«But there is another thing to be considered namely, that the Christian way is essentially a way of Grace, being in this respect analogous to the "bhaktic" ways of India and certain ways to be found in Buddhism.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 171»— y, al rechazar que Cristo fuera el Mleccha Avatara, expone la exclusión hindú del budismo como explicación ajena y no como juicio propio: «The opinion that Christ was the Mleccha Avatara. the "Divine Descent of the Barbarians" ( or"for the Barbarians"). that is to say. the ninth incarnation of Vishnu. must be rejected for reasons both of traditional fact and of principle. In the first place the Buddha has always been considered by Hindus as an Avatara. though since Hinduism had necessarily to exclude Buddhism. the apparent Buddhist heresy was explained on the one hand by the need to abolish blood sacrifices. and on the other hand by the need to involve corrupted men in error in order to hasten the inevitable advance of the Kali-yuga.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 156». Tampoco la relación entre los dos autores es la de discípulo a maestro dentro de una escuela declarada: Schuon cita a Guénon, pero por artículos de revista, «Definition given by Rene Guenon in his article"Creation et Manifestation .. (Etudes Traditionnelles. October. 1937» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 167».
El nombre que encabeza esta ficha no lo imprime ninguno de los cuatro libros: lo ponen sus prologuistas y sus estudiosos, y aquí va con dueño. Whitall N. Perry usa el latín al presentar a Coomaraswamy: «The first great response to Guenon’s preparatory work came in the early thirties in the synthesizing effect it had on the vast erudition of Ananda Coomaraswamy, whose writings from there on would be the diffusion of manifold doctrines relating to the philosophia perennis, and whom Guenon would henceforth refer to as a ‘collaborator’.» «Guénon — Fundamental Symbols (Quinta Essentia) · p. 9». Martin Lings usa el otro: «On the basis of this universality, often known as religio perennis, it was also Guenon’s function to remind us that the great religions of the world are not only the means of man’s salvation but that they offer him beyond that, even in this life, two esoteric possibilities which correspond to what were known in» «Guénon — Fundamental Symbols (Quinta Essentia) · p. 11». El editor del volumen sobre Dante, que no se firma, usa el adjetivo de fuera dos veces en la misma plana: «The publisher assumes that most readers into whose hands this volume falls will already be familiar with Guénon’s work, and with the ‘traditionalist’ perspective it represents, as well as with the works of such related writers as Frithjof Schuon, Titus Burckhardt, A.K. Coomaraswamy, Martin Lings, Marco Pallis, S.H. Nasr, and Huston Smith.» «Guénon — The Esoterism of Dante (Sophia Perennis et Universalis) · p. 3» y «As a general point of orientation it may be remarked that Guénon was the first chef d’école» «Guénon — The Esoterism of Dante (Sophia Perennis et Universalis) · p. 3». La contratapa de Sophia Perennis lo convierte en nombre de escuela: «In this book Guénon establishes the criteria which formed the basis of his later works and set the tone for the Traditionalist School that came after him: the meaning of Tradition, the relationship between ‘religion’, ‘theology’, ‘metaphysics’, etc.—all leading up to an exhaustive definition and comprehensive overview of Hinduism, which Guénon saw as the most ancient and most complete spiritual tradition on earth, embracing the most profound and explicit metaphysics.» «Guénon — Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines (Sophia Perennis) · p. 280». Huston Smith, prologando a Schuon, prefiere el otro término —«It then emerges as at once the most powerful statement of the grand or better. primordial. tradition that is original in incorporating what our age for the first time demands: that religion be treated in global terms.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 10»— y describe el corte del libro como horizontal: «Schuon draws the line between esoteric and exoteric. And immediately we begin to suspect that we are in the presence of something different The fundamental distinction is not between religions; it is not, so to speak. a line that, reappearing. divides religion's great historical manifestations vertically, Hindus from Buddhists from Christians from Muslims, and so on. The dividing line is horizontal and occurs but once, cutting across the historical religions. Above the line lies esoterism, below it exoterism.» «Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest) · p. 13». Y Wouter Hanegraaff, que escribe desde fuera y lo declara, iguala los dos nombres y los data: «As a matter of fact, the continuation of the theosophical current seems to have been (and still to be) hampered by the appearance of a new one, widely represented in the esoteric scene: perennialism (otherwise called the Traditionalist School) [> Tradition], founded on the idea of a “primordial Tradition” overarching all the traditions of the world.» «Hanegraaff (ed.) — Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism, ed. inglés · p. 298». Él mismo separa a los dos grupos que el uso confunde: «A cluster of intellectuals calling themselves “traditionalists” (> Frithjof Schuon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, Titus Burckhardt, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, etc., who were all affected by Sufism), took the philosophia perennis as the inner wisdom lying at the heart of outwardly divergent religions. They distinguished themselves from such “perennialists” as Aldous Huxley, however, by insisting on greater attention to the particulars in each tradition» «Hanegraaff (ed.) — Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism · p. 133», y traza la divisoria con el ocultismo por un criterio de método, «Their implicit respect for historiography — i.e., the importance attached to sources and documents as “proof”, see e.g. the mysterious books referred to by — H.P. Blavatsky as basic to Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine — makes their approach different from that of the so-called “perennialist” or “Traditionalist” current represented by authors like + René Guénon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, > Frithjof Schuon, > Julius Evola, Seyyed Hosseyn Nasr and many others.» «Hanegraaff (ed.) — Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism · p. 556». De la posición enuncia el postulado, «There exists a primordial Tradition of non-human origin — humanity has not invented but received it — which has progressively gotten lost, and of which the various historical traditions and metaphysics are the membra disjecta.» «Hanegraaff (ed.) — Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism · p. 556», el cierre circular que le atribuye, «The Tradition can only be understood from the perspective of Tradition itself; the very idea of neutral, “disinterested” historical research in which the evidence of surviving sources is the ultimate yardstick reflects a modernist and historicist perspective incompatible with Tradition.» «Hanegraaff (ed.) — Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism · p. 556», y la fórmula con que separa el término del objeto: «Tradition is not a tradition, esoteric or otherwise; it is seen as the true metaphysics than can be found in any “authentic” tradition.» «Hanegraaff (ed.) — Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism · p. 557».
en la biblioteca: 4 obras adscritas · 4 autores vinculados
Obras adscritas
cada adscripción se consigna en la ficha de su obraQué dicen de ella las obras
cómo la define cada obra, con su pasajeAsprem — Arguing with Angels (2012)
Asprem y Granholm (eds.) — Contemporary Esotericism (2013)
Faivre — Access to Western Esotericism (1994)
Guénon — The Esoterism of Dante (Sophia Perennis et Universalis)
Guénon — Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines (Sophia Perennis)
Guénon — Fundamental Symbols (Quinta Essentia)
Hammer — Claiming Knowledge (2004)
Hanegraaff — Esotericism and the Academy (2012)
Hanegraaff (ed.) — Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism
Hanegraaff — Hermetic Spirituality and the Historical Imagination (2022)
Hanegraaff — New Age Religion and Western Culture (1996)
Hofmann — LSD: My Problem Child (2009)
Jorjani — Closer Encounters (2021)
The Study Quran, ed. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, HarperOne 2015
The Study Quran, ed. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, HarperOne 2015
The Study Quran, ed. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, HarperOne 2015
The Study Quran, ed. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, HarperOne 2015
The Study Quran, ed. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, HarperOne 2015
Robinet — Taoist Meditation (1993)
Schuon — The Transcendent Unity of Religions (Quest)
El Umbral de la Consciencia (2026, en curso)
Autores vinculados
Afirmaciones
51 entradas«This book is founded on a doctrine that is metaphysical in the most precise meaning of the word and cannot by any means be described as philosophical.» — la primera línea del Preface de Schuon: declara el libro fundado en una doctrina metafísica en el sentido más preciso de la palabra y no describible como filosófica.
«it may be said that philosophy proceeds from reason (which is a purely individual faculty). whereas metaphysic proceeds exclusively from the Intellect» — la línea con que separa las dos cosas por su origen: la filosofía procede de la razón, facultad puramente individual, y la metafísica exclusivamente del Intelecto.
«but whereas metaphysic proceeds wholly from intellectual intuition. religion proceeds from Revelation.» — y el segundo corte, el que separa la metafísica de la religión: la una procede de la intuición intelectual y la otra de la Revelación.
«Thus metaphysical certitude is absolute because of the identity between the knower and the known in the Intellect.» — de dónde hace derivar el carácter absoluto de la certeza metafísica: de la identidad entre el que conoce y lo conocido en el Intelecto.
«The evidence for the transcendent unity of religions results not only from the oneness ofT ruth but also from the oneness of the human race.» — la apertura del capítulo noveno: apoya la unidad trascendente de las religiones en la unidad de la Verdad y en la del género humano; el troceo imprime *ofT ruth*.
«The transcendent unity of the religious forms is illustrated in a particularly instructive manner by the reciprocal relationships existing between the three great so-called "monotheistic" religions. and this is precisely because these three religions alone present themselves in the form of irreconcilable exoterisms.» — la apertura del capítulo sexto: dice que las tres grandes religiones llamadas monoteístas ilustran esa unidad de modo instructivo precisamente por presentarse como exoterismos irreconciliables.
«pure and absolute Truth can only be found beyond all its possible expressions~ these expressions, as such, cannot claim the attributes of this Truth~ their relative remoteness from it is expressed by their differentiation and multiplicity, by which they are strictly limited» — la fórmula con que resume el capítulo: la Verdad pura y absoluta solo se halla más allá de todas sus expresiones posibles, cuya lejanía se expresa en su diferenciación y multiplicidad; el troceo imprime la tilde de la eñe por el punto y coma.
«The exoteric claim to the exclusive possession of a unique truth, or of Truth without epithet. is therefore an error purely and simply~ in reality, every expressed truth necessarily assumes a form. that of its expression. and it is metaphysically impossible that any form should possess a unique value to the exclusion of other forms» — llama error puro y simple a la pretensión exotérica de poseer en exclusiva una verdad única, y da la razón metafísica: toda verdad expresada asume una forma.
«A religious dogma ceases, however, to be limited in this way once it is understood in the light of its inherent truth. which is of a universal order. and this is the case in all esoterism.» — la salida que señala: el dogma religioso deja de estar limitado cuando se lo entiende a la luz de su verdad inherente, de orden universal, que es lo que dice que ocurre en todo esoterismo.
«In the final analysis the relationship between exoterism and esoterism is equivalent to the relationship between "'form" and "'spirit" that is discoverable in all expressions and symbols» — reduce la relación entre exoterismo y esoterismo a la de forma y espíritu, discernible en toda expresión y todo símbolo.
«The exoteric viewpoint is. in fact. doomed to end by negating itself once it is no longer vivified by the presence within it of the esoterism of which it is both the outward radiation and the veil.» — sostiene que el punto de vista exotérico acaba negándose a sí mismo cuando deja de estar vivificado por el esoterismo, del que es radiación exterior y velo.
«the term ··esoterism" has been so often misused in order to cloak ideas that are as unspiritual as they are dangerous.» — la advertencia que pone sobre su propio término: el nombre de esoterismo se ha usado abusivamente para encubrir ideas que llama tan poco espirituales como peligrosas.
«Divine Providence has permitted no mingling of the revealed forms since the time when humanity became divided into different .. humanities" and moved away from the Primordial Tradition, the only unique religion possible.» — atribuye a la Providencia Divina que no se mezclen las formas reveladas desde que la humanidad se dividió y se alejó de la Tradición Primordial, a la que llama la única religión única posible.
«when it is stated in the Koran that Abraham was neither Jew nor Christian but hanlf ("orthodox" in relation to the Primordial Tradition). it is clear that the names ··Jew" and ··christian" can only be intended to denote certain general spiritual attit'tldes of which the formal limitations of Judaism and Christianity are but particular manifestations or examples.» — el ejemplo con que lo ilustra: el Abraham coránico ni judío ni cristiano sino hanif, que glosa entre paréntesis como ortodoxo respecto de la Tradición Primordial; las transliteraciones salen corrompidas por el escaneo y van tal cual.
«The conception of Saniitana Dharma, the "'Eternal [or Primordial] Law," is static and not dynamic, in the sense that it is an acknowledgment of fact and not an aspiration as in the case of the corresponding Semitic conceptions» — cómo caracteriza el Sanatana Dharma, la Ley Eterna o Primordial: estática y no dinámica, reconocimiento de un hecho y no aspiración como en las concepciones semíticas.
«Islam is the last Revelation of the present cycle of terrestrial humanity. just as Hinduism represents the Primordial Tradition. though without identifying itself with it purely and simply. being in fact merely its most direct branch: consequently between these two religious forms there is a cyclic or cosmic relationship that as such. is in no way fortuitous.» — en nota, la relación cíclica que fija entre las dos formas: el islam como última Revelación del ciclo y el hinduismo como la Tradición Primordial, sin identificarse con ella y siendo su rama más directa.
«But there is another thing to be considered namely, that the Christian way is essentially a way of Grace, being in this respect analogous to the "bhaktic" ways of India and certain ways to be found in Buddhism.» — declara esencial de la vía cristiana el ser vía de Gracia y la empareja con las vías bhákticas de la India y con ciertas vías del budismo.
«The opinion that Christ was the Mleccha Avatara. the "Divine Descent of the Barbarians" ( or"for the Barbarians"). that is to say. the ninth incarnation of Vishnu. must be rejected for reasons both of traditional fact and of principle. In the first place the Buddha has always been considered by Hindus as an Avatara. though since Hinduism had necessarily to exclude Buddhism. the apparent Buddhist heresy was explained on the one hand by the need to abolish blood sacrifices. and on the other hand by the need to involve corrupted men in error in order to hasten the inevitable advance of the Kali-yuga.» — en nota, rechaza por razones de hecho tradicional y de principio la opinión de que Cristo fuera el Mleccha Avatara, y expone como ajena la explicación hindú de la aparente herejía budista.
«Definition given by Rene Guenon in his article"Creation et Manifestation .. (Etudes Traditionnelles. October. 1937» — en nota, Schuon atribuye a René Guénon la definición de exoterismo que acaba de usar y remite a un artículo de Études Traditionnelles de octubre de 1937, no a un libro suyo.
«For us however these similarities prove nothing more than the unity of doctrine in all traditions.» — la lectura que Guénon hace de las semejanzas entre Dante y el esoterismo islámico: no prueban más que la unidad de doctrina en todas las tradiciones.
«For our part, we do not think it necessary to look at things in this way, for true esoterism is something quite different from the outward aspect of religion, and, if it has some relationship with it, this can only be in so far as it finds a symbolic mode of expression in religious forms.» — declara el esoterismo verdadero cosa distinta del aspecto exterior de la religión, y reduce su relación con ella a hallar en las formas religiosas un modo simbólico de expresión.
«Dante understood this fundamental unity also, and for this reason—and not by virtue of any superficial ‘syncretism’— employed a terminology borrowed indifferently from Christianity and Greco-Roman antiquity, as circumstances required.» — a Dante le atribuye la misma comprensión de esa unidad fundamental, y niega expresamente que su terminología mezclada sea sincretismo superficial.
«For us, it can only be a strictly initiatic sense, metaphysical in its essence; one to which numerous particulars are related which, though not all of a purely metaphysical order, are nonetheless esoteric in character.» — cómo nombra el cuarto sentido que busca en la Comedia: estrictamente iniciático y metafísico en su esencia.
«For this reason, after separating metaphysics completely from the so-called philosophical sciences, there is a further need to distinguish it no less radically from the many philosophical systems which most commonly originate, as we have already seen, from someone’s attempt at intellectual originality; the individualism expressed by such a pretension is manifestly opposed to the traditional spirit, and it is also incompatible with all conceptions of a truly metaphysical order.» — separa la metafísica también de los sistemas filosóficos, que hace nacer del intento de originalidad intelectual, individualismo que declara opuesto al espíritu tradicional.
«The claim to intellectual originality, which has played a considerable part in calling the schools of philosophy into being, is, even among Westerners, quite a modern tendency, which in the Middle Ages was still unknown;» — data como moderna, y desconocida aún en la Edad Media, la pretensión de originalidad intelectual que dice haber hecho nacer las escuelas de filosofía.
«It ought never to be forgotten that in India, as well as in China, one of the gravest insults one can offer to a thinker is to praise the novelty and originality of his ideas; in civilizations that are essentially traditional, this characteristic suffices to deprive such ideas of all real significance.» — consigna que en la India y en China elogiar la novedad y la originalidad de las ideas de un pensador cuenta entre los mayores insultos.
«Each person, with a view to placing himself at the standpoint best adapted to his own possibilities, will naturally be able to give precedence to any one of these functions, and in particular, because of their apparent symmetry, to one or other of the two complementary functions represented by Vishnu and Shiva: hence the distinction between Vaishnavism and Shaivism, which are not sects as Westerners suppose them to be, but simply different ways of realization, both equally legitimate and orthodox.» — niega que vishnuismo y shivaísmo sean sectas, como suponen los occidentales, y los declara vías de realización distintas, igualmente legítimas y ortodoxas.
«That is why only those who know the integral Veda are qualified to compose authentic traditional scriptures, the authority of which is a participation in the authority of the primordial tradition whence it is derived and on which alone it is founded, without the individuality of the author playing the smallest part;» — reserva a quienes conocen el Veda íntegro la composición de escrituras tradicionales auténticas, cuya autoridad participa de la de la tradición primordial sin que cuente la individualidad del autor.
«At some period or other therefore a rupture must have occurred not unlike that brought about by Buddhism at a later date, and the separated branch, constituting a deviation from the primordial tradition, then became what is known as ‘Tranism, eventually destined to form the basis of the Persian tradition, known also as Mazdaism.» — sitúa una ruptura con la rama separada por desviación de la tradición primordial, que llama iranismo y hace base de la tradición persa; el troceo imprime *Tranism* por Iranism.
«these forms belong to schools which, having cut adrift from the regular tradition and having in consequence lost sight of the real metaphysics, were inevitably led into substituting for it something resembling the philosophical point of view in a certain measure— but only in a certain measure.» — adjudica las formas más accesibles del budismo a escuelas desprendidas de la tradición regular que, perdida de vista la metafísica real, sustituyeron por algo parecido al punto de vista filosófico.
«but, unfortunately, although the new information we have has been entirely favorable to Shakyamuni’s doctrine (which does not mean favorable to all schools of Buddhism without distinction), it is quite otherwise with all those other things whose anti-traditional character we have denounced.» — en nota propia acota el alcance de esa objeción: la información nueva favorece a la doctrina de Shakyamuni, y eso no la hace favorable a todas las escuelas budistas sin distinción.
«When one finds such agreement everywhere, is this not more than a mere indication of the existence of a primordial tradition?» — la conclusión que saca de las concordancias acumuladas: las tiene por más que un mero indicio de la existencia de una tradición primordial.
«And how can it be explained that in most cases, those who feel obliged to admit this primordial tradition in principle thereafter think no more about it, and in fact reason as if it had never existed, or at least as if nothing of it had been preserved» — y la objeción que dirige a quienes admiten esa tradición en principio y luego razonan como si nunca hubiera existido.
«Another observation is likewise called for, this time on symbolism: there are symbols which are common to the most diverse and most widely separated traditional forms, not as a result of ‘borrowings’, which in many cases would be quite impossible, but because in reality they pertain to the Primordial Tradition from which these forms have issued either directly or indirectly.» — explica los símbolos comunes a formas tradicionales muy separadas por su procedencia de la Tradición Primordial y no por préstamos, que declara imposibles en muchos casos.
«As regards the primordial language, its origin must be ‘non-human’, like that of the Primordial Tradition itself: and every sacred language still participates in this transcendence in that it is, in its structure (al-mabam ) and in its signification (al-ma cam) a reflection of the primordial language.» — le adjudica a la lengua primordial origen no humano, como a la Tradición Primordial misma, de modo que cada lengua sagrada participa de esa trascendencia; el troceo imprime *al-mabam* y *al-ma cam*.
«This brings us directly to the second function of the ‘guardians’ of the supreme Centre, a function which, as we said just now, consists in ensuring certain outward relationships and above all in maintaining the bond between the Primordial Tradition and the secondary derived traditions.» — la segunda función que asigna a los guardianes del Centro supremo: mantener el lazo entre la Tradición Primordial y las tradiciones derivadas.
«It would be better, therefore, in spite of the usage that has prevailed since then, to term the Primordial Tradition not ‘Hyperborean’ but simply ‘Borean’, affirming thereby unequivocally its connection with ‘Borea’ or the ‘land of the wild boar’.» — enmienda el nombre recibido y prefiere llamar boreal y no hiperbórea a la Tradición Primordial, para dejar dicho su vínculo con la tierra del jabalí.
«That being so, cannot one see in the number of twelve Apostles one sign, among a multitude of others, of the perfect conformity of Christianity with the Primordial Tradition, to which the name ‘prechristianity’ is so exactly suited?» — lee en el número de los doce apóstoles un signo de conformidad del cristianismo con la Tradición Primordial, a la que llama precristianismo.
«The first great response to Guenon’s preparatory work came in the early thirties in the synthesizing effect it had on the vast erudition of Ananda Coomaraswamy, whose writings from there on would be the diffusion of manifold doctrines relating to the philosophia perennis, and whom Guenon would henceforth refer to as a ‘collaborator’.» — Whitall N. Perry, en la Introduction, atribuye a Ananda Coomaraswamy la primera respuesta de fondo a Guénon y llama a lo que difunde doctrinas relativas a la philosophia perennis; es una de las dos planas donde el latín entra en este volumen, y entra por el prologuista.
«On the basis of this universality, often known as religio perennis, it was also Guenon’s function to remind us that the great religions of the world are not only the means of man’s salvation but that they offer him beyond that, even in this life, two esoteric possibilities which correspond to what were known in» — Martin Lings, en el Editor's Foreword, nombra religio perennis a la universalidad de la que saca las dos posibilidades esotéricas de las grandes religiones; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana.
«The publisher assumes that most readers into whose hands this volume falls will already be familiar with Guénon’s work, and with the ‘traditionalist’ perspective it represents, as well as with the works of such related writers as Frithjof Schuon, Titus Burckhardt, A.K. Coomaraswamy, Martin Lings, Marco Pallis, S.H. Nasr, and Huston Smith.» — el editor sin firma del volumen sobre Dante supone en su lector familiaridad con la perspectiva que llama tradicionalista, y enumera como afines a Schuon, Burckhardt, Coomaraswamy, Lings, Pallis, Nasr y Smith.
«As a general point of orientation it may be remarked that Guénon was the first chef d’école» — y el sitio que le da a Guénon dentro de ese círculo, primero en el orden; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente.
«In this book Guénon establishes the criteria which formed the basis of his later works and set the tone for the Traditionalist School that came after him: the meaning of Tradition, the relationship between ‘religion’, ‘theology’, ‘metaphysics’, etc.—all leading up to an exhaustive definition and comprehensive overview of Hinduism, which Guénon saw as the most ancient and most complete spiritual tradition on earth, embracing the most profound and explicit metaphysics.» — la contratapa de Sophia Perennis adjudica al libro fijar los criterios de la obra posterior y el tono de la escuela tradicionalista que vino después de su autor.
«It then emerges as at once the most powerful statement of the grand or better. primordial. tradition that is original in incorporating what our age for the first time demands: that religion be treated in global terms.» — Huston Smith, en la Introduction a Schuon, llama al libro la formulación más potente de la tradición primordial y prefiere ese término al de grande.
«Schuon draws the line between esoteric and exoteric. And immediately we begin to suspect that we are in the presence of something different The fundamental distinction is not between religions; it is not, so to speak. a line that, reappearing. divides religion's great historical manifestations vertically, Hindus from Buddhists from Christians from Muslims, and so on. The dividing line is horizontal and occurs but once, cutting across the historical religions. Above the line lies esoterism, below it exoterism.» — Huston Smith describe el corte del libro: no divide verticalmente unas religiones de otras sino que corre horizontal a través de todas ellas, con el esoterismo arriba y el exoterismo abajo.
«As a matter of fact, the continuation of the theosophical current seems to have been (and still to be) hampered by the appearance of a new one, widely represented in the esoteric scene: perennialism (otherwise called the Traditionalist School) [> Tradition], founded on the idea of a “primordial Tradition” overarching all the traditions of the world.» — Wouter Hanegraaff iguala los dos nombres de fuera, perennialismo y escuela tradicionalista, y los funda en la idea de una Tradición primordial que arquea todas las tradiciones del mundo.
«A cluster of intellectuals calling themselves “traditionalists” (> Frithjof Schuon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, Titus Burckhardt, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, etc., who were all affected by Sufism), took the philosophia perennis as the inner wisdom lying at the heart of outwardly divergent religions. They distinguished themselves from such “perennialists” as Aldous Huxley, however, by insisting on greater attention to the particulars in each tradition» — Hanegraaff separa a los dos grupos que el uso confunde: los que se llaman a sí mismos tradicionalistas, con Schuon, Coomaraswamy, Burckhardt y Nasr, y los perennialistas como Aldous Huxley, de quienes dice distinguirse por atender a los particulares de cada tradición.
«Their implicit respect for historiography — i.e., the importance attached to sources and documents as “proof”, see e.g. the mysterious books referred to by — H.P. Blavatsky as basic to Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine — makes their approach different from that of the so-called “perennialist” or “Traditionalist” current represented by authors like + René Guénon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, > Frithjof Schuon, > Julius Evola, Seyyed Hosseyn Nasr and many others.» — la divisoria que traza con el ocultismo, y la traza por método y no por doctrina: el respeto implícito por la historiografía separa a los ocultistas de la corriente perennialista o tradicionalista de Guénon, Coomaraswamy, Schuon, Evola y Nasr.
«There exists a primordial Tradition of non-human origin — humanity has not invented but received it — which has progressively gotten lost, and of which the various historical traditions and metaphysics are the membra disjecta.» — Hanegraaff enuncia el primer postulado de la corriente: existe una Tradición primordial de origen no humano, que la humanidad no inventó sino recibió, y de la que las tradiciones históricas son los membra disjecta.
«The Tradition can only be understood from the perspective of Tradition itself; the very idea of neutral, “disinterested” historical research in which the evidence of surviving sources is the ultimate yardstick reflects a modernist and historicist perspective incompatible with Tradition.» — y el cierre que le atribuye: la Tradición solo puede entenderse desde la perspectiva de la Tradición misma, de modo que la investigación histórica neutral queda descalificada de antemano.
«Tradition is not a tradition, esoteric or otherwise; it is seen as the true metaphysics than can be found in any “authentic” tradition.» — la fórmula con que Hanegraaff separa el término del objeto: la Tradición no es una tradición, esotérica ni de otra clase, sino la metafísica verdadera que se dejaría hallar en cualquier tradición auténtica.