Perennial philosophy (Latin:
philosophia perennis, more fully,
philosophia perennis et universalis; sometimes shortened to
sophia perennis or
religio perennis) is the notion of the universal recurrence of
philosophical insight independent of epoch or culture, in particular universal
truths on the nature of
reality,
humanity and
consciousness (
anthropological universals). It is also referred to as
Perennialism.
[edit] Definition
Perennialism is a perspective within the
philosophy of religion which views each of the world’s religious traditions as sharing a single, universal truth on which foundation all religious knowledge and doctrine has grown. Each world religion, including but not limited to,
Christianity,
Islam,
Judaism,
Hinduism,
Taoism,
Confucianism,
Shinto,
Sikhism and
Buddhism, is an interpretation of this universal truth adapted to cater for the psychological, intellectual and social needs of a given culture of a given period of history. The universal truth which lies at heart of each religion has been rediscovered in each epoch by saints, sages, prophets and philosophers. These include not only the 'founders' of the world's great religions but also gifted and inspired
mystics, theologians and preachers who have revived already existing religions when they had fallen into empty platitudes and hollow ceremonialism.
Although the sacred scriptures of the world religions are undeniably diverse and often superficially oppose each other, there is discernible running through each a common doctrine regarding the ultimate purpose of human life. This doctrine is mystical in as far as it views the
summum bonum of human life as an experiential union with the
supreme being that can only be achieved by undertaking a programme of physical and mental purification.
Aldous Huxley, who wrote a widely read book on the subject, defined the perennial philosophy as:
the metaphysic that recognizes a divine Reality substantial to the world of things and lives and minds; the psychology that finds in the soul something similar to, or even identical to, divine Reality; the ethic that places man's final end in the knowledge of the immanent and transcendent Ground of all being; the thing is immemorial and universal. Rudiments of the perennial philosophy may be found among the traditional lore of primitive peoples in every region of the world, and in its fully developed forms it has a place in every one of the higher religions
(The Perennial Philosophy, p. vii).
He also pointed out the method of the
Buddha:
The Buddha declined to make any statement in regard to the ultimate divine Reality. All he would talk about was Nirvana, which is the name of the experience that comes to the totally selfless and one-pointed. […] Maintaining, in this matter, the attitude of a strict operationalist, the Buddha would speak only of the spiritual experience, not of the metaphysical entity presumed by the theologians of other religions, as also of later Buddhism, to be the object and (since in contemplation the knower, the known and the knowledge are all one) at the same time the subject and substance of that experience.
The Perennial Philosophy
and that in the
Upanishads:
The Perennial Philosophy is expressed most succinctly in the Sanskrit formula, tat tvam asi ('That thou art'); the Atman, or immanent eternal Self, is one with Brahman, the Absolute Principle of all existence; and the last end of every human being, is to discover the fact for himself, to find out who he really is.
Aldous Huxley
According to
Karl Jaspers:
"Despite the wide variety of philosophical thought, despite all the contradictions and mutually exclusive claims to truth, there is in all philosophy a One, which no man possesses but about which all serious efforts have at all times gravitated: the one eternal philosophy, the philosophia perennis."
And according to
Frithjof Schuon:
It has been said more than once that total Truth is inscribed in an eternal script in the very substance of our spirit; what the different Revelations do is to “crystallize” and “actualize”, in different degrees according to the case, a nucleus of certitudes which not only abides forever in the divine Omniscience, but also sleeps by refraction in the “naturally supernatural” kernel of the individual, as well as in that of each ethnic or historical collectivity or of the human species as a whole.[1]
[edit] Origin of the term
The term was first used by
Agostino Steuco (1497–1548) who used it to title a treatise,
De perenni philosophia libri X, published in 1540.
[2]
However, Steuco drew on an already existing philosophical tradition, the most direct predecessors of which were
Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) and
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–94). Ficino, an important figure in early modern philosophy, was influenced by a variety of philosophers including Aristotelian
Scholasticism and various pseudonymous and mystical writings. The key theme of Ficino’s philosophy held that there is an underlying unity to the world, the soul or love, which has a counterpart in the realm of ideas. Platonic Philosophy and Christian theology both embody this truth. Ficino saw his thought as part of a long development of philosophical truth, of ancient pre-Platonic philosophers (including
Zoroaster,
Hermes Trismegistus,
Orpheus, Aglaophemus and
Pythagoras) who reached their peak in Plato. The
Prisca theologia, or venerable and ancient theology, which embodied the truth and could be found in all ages, was a vitally important idea for Ficino.
[3]
Pico, a student of Ficino, embodies a more ambitious attempt to use the philosophies and theologies of the past, especially the priscia theologica. Pico went further than his teacher by suggesting that truth could be found in many, rather than just two, traditions. This proposed a harmony between the thought of Plato and Aristotle, and saw aspects of the Prisca theologia in
Averroes, the
Koran, the
Cabala among other sources.
[4] After the deaths of Pico and Ficino this line of thought expanded, and included
Symphorien Champier, and
Francesco Giorgio.
Agostino Steuco was the strongest defender of the tradition of the prisci theologica, and
De perenni philosophia was the most sustained attempt at philosophical synthesis and harmony.
[5] Steuco represents the liberal wing of 16 Century Biblical scholarship and theology, although he rejected Luther and Calvin.
[6] De perenni philosophia, is a complex work which only contains the term philosophia perennis twice. It states that there is “one principle of all things, of which there has always been one and the same knowledge among all peoples.”
[7] This single knowledge (or sapientia) is the key element in his philosophy. In that he emphasises continuity over progress, Steuco’s idea of philosophy is not one conventionally associated with the
Renaissance. Indeed, he tends to believe that the truth is lost over time and is only preserved in the prisci theologica. Steuco preferred Plato to Aristotle and saw greater congruence between the former and Christianity than the latter philosopher. He held that philosophy works in harmony with religion and should lead to knowledge of God, and that truth flows from a single source, more ancient than the Greeks. Steuco was strongly influenced by
Iamblichus’s statement that knowledge of God is innate in all,
[8] and also gave great importance to Hermes Trismegistus.
Steuco’s perennial philosophy was highly regarded by some scholars for the two centuries after its publication, then largely forgotten until it was rediscovered by Otto Willmann in the late part of the 19 century.
[9] Overall, De perenni philosophia wasn’t particularly influential, and largely confined to those with a similar orientation to himself. The work was not put on the
Index of works banned by the Roman Catholic Church, although his
Cosmopoeia which expressed similar ideas was. Religious criticisms tended to the conservative view that held Christian teachings should be understood as unique, rather than seeing them as perfect expressions of truths that are found everywhere.
[10] More generally, this philosophical syncretism was set out at the expense of some of the doctrines included within it, and it is possible that Steuco’s critical faculties were not up to the task he had set himself. Further, placing so much confidence in the prisca theologia, turned out to be a shortcoming as many of the texts used in this school of thought later turned out to be bogus.
[11] In the following two centuries the most favourable responses were largely Protestant and often in England.
Gottfried Leibniz later picked up on Steuco's term. The German philosopher stands in the tradition of this concordistic philosophy; his
philosophy of harmony especially had affinity with Steuco’s ideas. Leibniz knew about Steuco’s work by 1687, but thought that
De la Verite de la Religion Chretienne by Huguenot philosopher
Phillippe du Plessis-Mornay expressed the same truth better. Steuco’s influence can be found throughout Leibniz’s works, but the German was the first philosopher to refer to the perennial philosophy without mentioning the Italian.
[12]
Max Müller, one of the founding figures in the academic discipline of
comparative religion, was fond of saying to his students "He who knows one knows none" by which he meant that people who are only familiar with the teaching and doctrine of one religious tradition fail to see the deeper meaning of their own religion. Only by breaking out of the bigoted attachment to one's own religious belief system and making the effort to study the doctrines of other religions can a human being penetrate to the universal underlying meaning lying behind each unique cultural and historical expression of religion.
[edit] History
The idea of a perennial philosophy has great antiquity. It can be found in many of the world's religions and philosophies.
[edit] Western world
[edit] Greek philosophy
Cicero mentions 'universal religion' in his
Tusculan Disputations.
Ammonius Saccas in the 3rd century tried to reconcile differing religious philosophies.
[13]
[edit] Christianity
The following statement by
St Augustine can be taken as an assertion of the perennial philosophy.
[14]:
The very thing that is now called the Christian religion was not wanting among the ancients from the beginning of the human race, until Christ came in the flesh, after which the true religion, which had already existed, began to be called “Christian.
[15]
However others see this statement as expressing the Roman Catholic notion of ‘semina verbi’ (‘seeds of the word’), whereby there is some truth (seeds of truth) in pre-Christian Greek thought, but these required purification by the light of the Gospels. This idea was current among many other early Christians including
Clement of Alexandria,
Origen,
Basil of Caesarea,
Gregory of Nyssa, and
Leo the Great as well as Augustine
[16]
[edit] Sanatana Dharma
Outside the European tradition of the philosophia perennis, one of the best known traditions to propose a similar idea of a common truth residing within all religions is
Sanatana Dharma of Hinduism. Indeed this term can be seen as the original name of Hinduism, the latter being a term invented by ancient Persians.
[17] This notion has influenced thinkers who have proposed versions of the perennial philosophy in the Twentieth Century.
'
Dharma' is commonly taken to mean divine law or right way of living, while 'sanatana' corresponds to eternal or immutable, so 'Sanatana Dharma' is eternal law. This refers broadly to human identity, our relationship to God and paths to salvation. It also contains a sense of a universal religion that eclipses sectarian divisions, known as the 'Manava Dharma' or religion of man. Adherents of the Sanatana Dharma see it as referring to the common truths in all religions, rather than simply their own faith. The Sanatana Dharma includes a wide variety of beliefs, encompassing both the existence of a personal deity and an impersonal Absolute.
[18] The Sanatana Dharma can be seen to have its roots in the belief, found in the
Rig Veda, in one god combined with the belief in the existence of several gods, known as
Henotheism.
[19] There the phrase 'ekam sadavipra bahudha vadanti' (that which exists is one, sages call it by various names), is found in
verse 1.164.46. Sanatana Dharma has also influenced the Indian conception of
secularism, where the notion of 'sarva dharma sambhava' (all religions or truths are equal or harmonious to each other) prefers to tolerate all faiths equally rather than rejecting religion per se.
[20]
The unity of all religions was a central impulse among Hindu reformers in the Nineteenth century, who in turn influenced many Twentieth century perennial philosophy-type thinkers. Key figures in this reforming movement included two Bengali Brahmins.
Ram Mohan Roy, a philosopher and the founder of the modernising
Brahmo Samaj religious organisation, reasoned that the divine was beyond description and thus that no religion could claim a monopoly in their understanding of it. The mystic
Ramakrishna's spiritual ecstasies included experiencing the sameness of Christ, Mohammed and his own Hindu deity. Ramakrishna's most famous disciple,
Swami Vivekananda, travelled to the United States in the 1890s where he formed the
Vedanta Society. Roy, Ramakrishna and Vivekananda were all influenced by the Hindu school of
Advaita Vedanta, which, arguably, emphasises unity over diversity.
[21]
[edit] Tirukkural
| “ |
Tirukkural transcends all the physical limits like clan, clime, creed and colour.
| ” |
|
|
The
Tirukkuṛaḷ by
Tiruvalluvar is noted as the perrenial philosophy of the
Tamil culture.
[22][23][24] It was composed during the late
Cankam period and is the oldest and most revered among the secular
Tamil books of Law.
Tiruvalluvar, whose social and religious identity is only theorised by scholars presents a philosophy that is rationalistic, secular and universal. The
Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente noted that
Tirukkural transcends all the physical limits like clan, clime, creed and colour.[25] It is split into the three aspects, or முப்பால் (muppāl) viz. அறம் (virtue), பொருள் (material) and இன்பம் (pleasure). Its chapters covers all aspects of human life in 1330 couples from அமைச்சு (The establishment [of bureaucracy]) to அன்புடமை (The possession of Love).
From the beginning, Islam has embraced a limited form of the perennial philosophy. The Qur'an is replete with references to earlier religious figures from the Jewish and Christian traditions, and advocates the view that Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mary and other holy beings were always Muslims, and that Islam is at the core of non-pagan religion. The idea of a single religious truth was more apparent among Sufi mystics, who borrowed from both the Judaeo-Christian tradition and from Hinduism, than it was among orthodox scholars, who accepted the Jewish and Christian truths, but rejected all beliefs that ran counter to Islam (such as the Trinity, the sonship of Christ, or the reality of the crucifixion). Orthodox Islam rejects in their entirety all other religious traditions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
Al-Farabi (872–950), the 10th century
Islamic philosopher advocated the idea of philosophy and religion being two avenues to the same truth. His own personal philosophy strongly emphasized a classification of knowledge and science on the basis of methodology. Thus, he described his notion of an esoteric philosophy which referenced the eternal truth or wisdom which lies at the heart of all traditions as a "science of reality" based on the method of "certain demonstration" (
al-burhan al-yaqini). This method is a combination of intellectual intuition and logical conclusions of certainty (
istinbat). He reasoned that it was therefore a superior kind of knowledge to the exoteric domain of religions (
millah) since that relied on a method of persuasion (
al-iqna), not demonstration. This philosophy is compared with the
philosophia perennis of
Leibniz and later in the 20th century,
Schuon.
[26]
Al-Farabi developed a theory to explain the diversity of religions. He posited that religions differed from one another because the same spiritual and intellectual truths can have different "imaginative representations". He further stated that there was a unity of all revealed traditions at the philosophical level, since all nations and peoples must have a philosophical account of reality that is one and the same.
[27]
[edit] Baha'ism
One attempt at a religion that emerged out of Shi'ite Islam in the 19th century was Baha'ism, which preaches a complete doctrine of perennial truth. According to Baha'i teaching, all religions carry the same truth, ranging from Hinduism and Zoroastrianism to Islam and the Baha'i faith itself. This was a development from the Islamic doctrine that Judaism and Christianity were early forms of one religion, Islam. Unlike Muslims, Baha'is do not believe in the Qur'anic doctrine of tahrif, which states that the Old and New Testaments were corrupted by rabbis and priest. It is questionable whether Baha'ism has been accepted as a mainstream religion and none of the mainstream proponents or prolific writers on Perennial School of Philosophy have been Baha'is. One of the requirements for the faith is to be one of angelic/divine nature and to have a record of spiritual transformation of individuals.
[edit] Recent uses of the term
The term was popularized in more recent times by
Aldous Huxley in his 1945 book:
The Perennial Philosophy. A "philosophia perennis" is also the central concept of the "
Traditionalist School" formalized in the writings of 20th century thinkers
René Guénon,
Frithjof Schuon,
Ananda Coomaraswamy,
Titus Burckhardt,
Martin Lings, and
Seyyed Hossein Nasr. The idea of a perennial philosophy, sometimes called perennialism, is a key area of debate in the academic discussion of mystical experience. Writers such as
WT Stace,
Huston Smith, and
Robert Forman argue that there are core similarities to mystical experience across religions, cultures and eras.
[28] For Stace the universality of this core experience is a necessary, although not sufficient, condition for one to be able to trust the cognitive content of any religious experience.
Karen Armstrong's writings on the universality of a
golden rule can also be seen as a form of perennial philosophy.
[29] For writer Stephen Prothero, many perennialist thinkers (including Armstrong, Huston Smith and
Joseph Campbell) are influenced by Hindu reformer
Ram Mohan Roy and Hindu mystics
Ramakrishna and
Swami Vivekananda.
[30]
Meditation teacher
Eknath Easwaran came to the U.S. in the 1960s with a message based on the term, but quickly adapted his teachings to reflect the busy, hurried nature of modern American life. His concept of "slowing down" inevitably leads back to a broader understanding of Perennial Philosophy.
Under the term '
Sanātana Dharma'-- the eternal law—the concept of a philosophy which is 'authorless' but perceived by the great ancient seers, has been a fundamental concept of Hinduism for over two thousand years. It is identified with the
Veda and
Purana, and as '
shruti', 'heard', is potentially to be added to by such seers.
[edit] Perennial philosophy and religious pluralism
Religious pluralism is the philosophical concept that states that various world religions are formed by their distinctive historical and cultural contexts and thus there is no single, true religion. There are only many equally valid religions. Each religion is a direct result of humanity’s attempt to grasp and understand the incomprehensible divine reality. Therefore, each religion can hold an authentic but ultimately inadequate concept of divine reality, producing a partial understanding of the universal truth, which requires syncretism to achieve a complete understanding as well as a path towards salvation or spiritual enlightenment.
[31] Although perennial philosophy shares the idea that there is no single true religion, it differs when discussing divine reality. Perennial philosophy states that the divine reality is what allows the universal truth to be understood.
[32] Each religion provides its own interpretation of the universal truth, based on its historical and cultural context. Therefore, each religion provides everything required to observe the divine reality and achieve a state in which one will be able to confirm the universal truth and achieve salvation or spiritual enlightenment. According to Aldous Huxley, in order to apprehend the divine reality, one must choose to fulfill certain conditions: “making themselves loving, pure in heart and poor in spirit.”
[33] Huxley argues that very few people can achieve this state. Those who have fulfilled these conditions, grasped the universal truth and interpreted it have generally been given the name of saint, prophet, sage or enlightened one.
[34] Huxley argues that those who have, “modified their merely human mode of being,” and have thus been able to comprehend “more than merely human kind and amount of knowledge” have also achieved this enlightened state.
[35]
[edit] See also
- ^ The Essential Writings of Frithjof Schuon, Suhayl Academy, Lahore, 2001, p.67.
- ^ Charles Schmitt, Perennial Philosophy: From Agostino Steuco to Leibniz, Journal of the History of Ideas. P. 507, Vol. 27, No. 1, (Oct. – Dec. 1966)
- ^ Charles Schmitt P. 508, (1966)
- ^ Charles Schmitt P. 513 (1966)
- ^ Charles Schmitt P. 515 (1966)
- ^ Schmitt (1966) p. 516
- ^ De perenni philosophia Bk 1, Ch 1; folio 1 in Schmitt (1966) P.517
- ^ Jamblichi De mysteriis liber, ed. Gustavus Parthey (Berlin), I, 3; 7-10
- ^ Charles Schmitt P. 516 (1966)
- ^ Charles Schmitt (1966) P. 527
- ^ Charles Schmitt (1966) P. 524
- ^ Charles Schmitt (1966) P. 530-1
- ^ Thackara, W.T.S. The Perennial Philosophy, Sunrise magazine, April/May 1984
- ^ Cross, Stephen Coomaraswamy, St. Augustine, and the Perennial Philosophy, in Harry Oldmeadow Crossing Religious Frontiers: Studies in Comparative Religion (2010) p.73 World Wisdom, ISBN 1-935493-55-8
- ^ St Augustine Retractationes, 1.13.3, in Gustave Bardy (ed.) Biblioteque Augustinienne, Vol. 12 (1950), Paris, in Cross, Stephen Coomaraswamy, St. Augustine, and the Perennial Philosophy, in Harry Oldmeadow Crossing Religious Frontiers: Studies in Comparative Religion (2010) p.73 World Wisdom, ISBN 1-935493-55-8
- ^ The New Evangelization and the Teaching of Philosophy by Bishop Allen Vigneron p. 99, in Eds. Foster, D.R. and Koterski, J.W. (2003) The two wings of Catholic thought: essays on Fides et ratio, CUA Press, ISBN 0-8132-1302-9?
- ^ Kapur, Kamlesh (2010) History Of Ancient India (portraits Of A Nation), p.176, Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd, ISBN 81-207-4910-3
- ^ Rosen, Steven (2006) Essential Hinduism, pps.35-36, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0-275-99006-0
- ^ Smart, Ninian (1998) The World's Religions, p.56, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-63748-1
- ^ Jaffrelot, Christophe (2007) Hindu nationalism: a reader, p.327, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-13098-1
- ^ Prothero, Stephen (2010) God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World—and Why Their Differences Matter, p. 165-6, HarperOne, ISBN 006157127
- ^ Thani Nayagam, Xavier S. (1971). Thirumathi Sornammal Endowment lectures on Tirukkural, 1959-60 to 1968-69, Part 1. University of Madras.
- ^ Speeches of President V. V. Giri, Volume 1. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India. 1974.
- ^ C. Rajasingham (1987). Thirukkural, the daylight of the psyche. International Institute of Tamil Studies.
- ^ East and west, Volume 44, Issues 2-4. Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente. 1994.
- ^ Classification of Knowledge in Islam by Dr. Osman Bakar, 1998, ISBN 0-946621-71-3, p.81
- ^ Classification of Knowledge in Islam by Dr. Osman Bakar, 1998, ISBN 0-946621-71-3, p.83
- ^ Wildman, Wesley J. (2010) Religious Philosophy as Multidisciplinary Comparative Inquiry: Envisioning a Future for the Philosophy of Religion, p. 49, SUNY Press, ISBN 1-4384-3235-6
- ^ Prothero, Stephen (2010) God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter, p. 6, HarperOne, ISBN 0-06-157127-X
- ^ Prothero p.166
- ^ Livingston, James. "Religious Pluralism and the Question of Religious Truth in Wilfred C. Smith." he Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory 4, no. 3 (2003): pp.58-65.
- ^ Bowden, John Stephen. "Perennial Philosophy and Christianity." In Christianity: the complete guide . London: Continuum, 2005. pp.1-5.
- ^ Huxley, Aldous. The perennial philosophy . [1st ed. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1945. p.2
- ^ Huxley, Aldous. The perennial philosophy . [1st ed. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1945. p.3
- ^ Huxley, Aldous. The perennial philosophy . [1st ed. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1945. p.6
[edit] Sources
- The Unanimous Tradition, Essays on the essential unity of all religions, by Joseph Epes Brown, Titus Burckhardt, Rama P. Coomaraswamy, Gai Eaton, Isaline B. Horner, Toshihiko Izutsu, Martin Lings, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Lord Northbourne, Marco Pallis, Whitall N. Perry, Leo Schaya, Frithjof Schuon, Philip Sherrard, William Stoddart, Elémire Zolla, edited by Ranjit Fernando, Sri Lanka Institute of Traditional Studies, 1991 ISBN 955-9028-01-4
- The Perennial Philosophy, by Aldous Huxley, published by Chatto & Windus in the UK, and by Harper & Row in the US1944, Harper & Brothers. Harper Perennial 1990 edition: ISBN 0-06-090191-8, Harper Modern Classics 2004 edition: ISBN 0-06-057058-X
- The Return of the Perennial Philosophy: The Supreme Vision of Western Esotericism by John Holman PhD, Watkins Publishing (2008), ISBN 1-905857-46-2
- Frithjof Schuon and the Perennial Philosophy, Authors Harry Oldmeadow and William Stoddart, Contributor William Stoddart, Publisher World Wisdom, Inc, (2010) ISBN 1-935493-09-4
- The other perennial philosophy: a metaphysical dialectic, Author Alan M. Laibelman, University Press of America, (2000), ISBN 0-7618-1827-8
- Perennial Philosophy,Brenda Jackson, Ronald L McDonald, Penguin Group (USA) ISBN 0-452-00144-7
- James S. Cutsinger, The Fullness of God: Frithjof Schuon on Christianity, Bloomington, Indiana: World Wisdom, 2004
- ‘The Mystery of the Two Natures’, in Barry McDonald (ed.), Every Branch in Me: Essays on the Meaning of Man, Bloomington, Indiana: World Wisdom, 2002
- Whitall N. Perry, A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom, Louisville, Kentucky: Fons Vitae, 2001
- Philip Sherrard, ‘Christianity and Other Sacred Traditions’ in Christianity: Lineaments of a Sacred Tradition, Brookline, Massachusetts: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1998
- Mateus Soares de Azevedo, Ye Shall Know the Truth: Christianity and the Perennial Philosophy, Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2005 ISBN 0-941532-69-0
[edit] External links
