‘THE PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY’ revisited | Gurdjieff's teaching: for scholars and practitioners

‘THE PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY’ revisited | Gurdjieff's teaching: for scholars and practitioners

Archive for the ‘‘THE PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY’ revisited’ Category

‘THE PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY’ revisited

JOHN ROBERT COLOMBO reopens his old copy

of Aldous Huxley’s important study

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for a book that I bought by mail from Samuel Weiser Inc., the well-known, used-book dealer, then located in New York City. I made the purchase on 18 July 1957. I know the date of the original purchase because in a firm hand I had inscribed the date on the back end-page of the coveted volume. I read the book shortly after buying it, as its fame had preceded my purchase of this title, and since then its spine has graced many a bookshelf in the houses in which I have since lived and worked.

The edition that I have of “The Perennial Philosophy” is cloth-bound (printers used real cloth in those days) and its distinctive colour (russet) has yet to fade. The edition measures 5.25″ by 8.25″ and there are eight preliminary pages followed by the text of 360 pages. In design the pages are unpretentious and hence attractive to behold, and because they are set in largish type they are quite easy to read. The pages are sewn rather than glued and the paper is cream-coloured and hence it shows no evidence of its age; there is not a mottle in sight. The edition in question is the first edition, or close to it, published by Huxley’s regular London-based publishing house, Chatto & Windus, in 1946. I wish I had the dust jacket but it was not supplied by Samuel Weiser.

The pages may not show their years, but in a great many ways the text of the book is quite dated, almost alarmingly so. Now, Aldous Huxley is an interesting writer who is best (and worst) described as an intellectual, a highbrow, or, to use the terminology that he employs, a “cerebrotonic.” As he explains in these pages, “Cerebrotonics hate to slam doors or raise their voices, and suffer acutely from the unrestrained bellowing and trampling of the somatotonic …. The emotional gush of the viscerotonic strikes them as offensively shallow and even insincere.”

With this vocabulary he is employing the psychology of human types elaborated by the American psychologist William Sheldon, a scheme long out of fashion yet dear to the hearts of students of consciousness studies everywhere. Nothing dates quite as quickly as psychological terminology. Psychical and spiritual terminology like “intellectual centre,” “emotional centre, “moving centre,” etc., seems to age hardly at all!

Huxley died at the age of sixty-nine in 1963, the same day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. There is about the life and death of the English author and intellectual the sense of the dashing of high hopes, analogous to the early death of the American president. Huxley advanced from being a nihilist in his youth to a psychedelicist in his age. Where would the next twenty or thirty years have taken him? Perhaps to the altar of the nearest Episcopal church. The question is unanswerable.

The jury is still out about which genre is the best for Huxley: Was he finer as a literary artist (remember Point Counterpoint and Brave New World, the novels that ensured his reputation) or was he finer as a literary essayist (required reading in the 1950s was The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell, short memoirs that did so much to mark the coming of age of the psychedelic revolution of the late Fifties and early Sixties)? It matters little, but accompanying his migration from England to California was his move the ironic to the mythic levels of discourse, almost as a matter of course.

Everyone interested in consciousness studies has heard of his study called The Perennial Philosophy. It bears such a prescient and memorable title. His use of the title has preempted its use by any other author, neuropsychologist, Traditionalist, or enthusiast for the New Age. The book so nobly named did much to romanticize the notion of “perennialism” and to cast into the shade such long-established timid Christian notions of “ecumenicism” (Protestants dialoguing with Catholics, etc.) or “inter-faith” meetings (Christians encountering non-Christians, etc.). Who would cared about the beliefs of Baptists when one could care about the practices of Tibetans?

Huxley did his best to popularize serious speculation about the nature of man and the constitution of the universe, largely prompted by such speculations found in Vedanta. He was marked by his mid-life study of texts basic to Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christian mysticism. He knew about shamanism and perhaps about sorcery, alchemy, witchcraft, or wicca, but these aspects of his inquiries went unnoticed in his text. The New Age had yet to dawn.

What precisely is what he calls “the perennial philosophy”? Huxley answers this broad question in an even broader way on the first page of the Introduction to his book. His answer is surprisingly wordy, though his exposition is characteristically well organized. Here goes:

“Philosophia Perennis – the phrase was coined by Leibniz; but the thing – 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 with, 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 traditionary 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. A version of this Highest Common Factor in all preceding and subsequent theologies was first committed to writing more than twenty-five centuries ago, and since that time the inexhaustible theme has been treated again and again, from the standpoint of every religious tradition and in all the principal languages of Asia and Europe.”

I like the idea of “this Highest Common Factor” because it begs a corresponding discussion on “a Lowest Common Multiple.” Huxley avoids this but then states, neatly, “Knowledge is a function of being.” I could quote more (and will, later), but the sentences that bring his Introduction to a conclusion are worth quoting here and now: “If one is not oneself a sage or saint, the best thing one can do, in the field of metaphysics, is to study the works of those who were, and who, because they had modified their merely human mode of being, were capable of a more than merely human kind and amount of knowledge.”

I first read these words some forty years ago when I was wowed and won by them. Rereading them now I have second thoughts. The book’s chapters are organized by theme, advancing from Chapter 1, “That Art Thou,” to Chapter 27, “Contemplation, Action and Social Utility.” 

I was not really surprised to find that the book’s contents are quite dated, but I was really surprised to find its arguments and rhetoric quite limited in appeal. The book is hortatory in style and substance, less of a psychological probing and more a hectoring that I had remembered it to be.

The book’s six-page, double-column index is extensive but unscholarly, and there was no need for him to index the word “consciousness” or its cognate terms “unconscious” and “subconscious” because these subjects are given no special treatment. There is no reference to Sigmund Freud; the single reference to Carl Jung draws attention to the psychologist’s use (his coinage, really) of the terms “introvert” and “extravert.” The contribution of Mircea Eliade, the multilingual scholar of shamanism, goes unmentioned. G.I. Gurdjieff and P.D. Ouspensky (whose lectures Huxley attended at Colet Gardens in London) go unremarked.

As well, there is no reference to R.M. Bucke’s monumental, turn-of-the-century tome titled “Cosmic Consciousness,” and details about consciousness-raising or altering drugs and psychedelia in general are all in Huxley’s future. Yet the psychologist William James had much to say about chemically inducted altered states, and also about the field of psychical research in general, to which James donated twenty years of his professional life, speculating on the characteristics of the various levels of consciousness. All these go unappreciated except for one passing reference to James, as if to acknowledge his absence.

“The Perennial Philosophy” is essentially an anthology of short passages taken from traditional Eastern texts and the writings of Western mystics, organized by subject and topic, with short connecting commentaries. No specific sources are given. Paging through the index gives the reader (or non-reader) an idea of who and what Huxley has taken seriously. Here are the entries in the index that warrant two lines of page references or more:

Aquinas, Augustine, St. Bernard, Bhagavad-Gita, Buddha, Jean Pierre Camus, St. Catherine, Christ, Chuang Tzu, “Cloud of Unknowing,” Contemplation, Deliverance, Desire, Eckhart (five lines, the most quoted person), Eternity, Fénelon, François de Sales, Godhead, Humility, Idolatry, St. John of the Cross, Knowledge, Lankavatara Sutra, William Law (another four lines), Logos, Love, Mahayana, Mind, Mortification, Nirvana, Perennial Philosophy (six lines, a total of 40 entries in all), Prayer, Rumi, Ruysbroeck, Self, Shankara, Soul, Spirit, “Theologia Germanica,” Truth, Upanishads (six different ones are quoted), Will, Words.

Painfully absent from these pages are Huxley’s mordant wit and insights into human nature. It is as if his quicksilverish intelligence has been put on hold or has found itself in a deep freeze of his own making. When it comes to selecting short and sometimes long quotations, he is no compiler like John Bartlett of quotation fame, but he does find time to make a few deft personal observations.

Here is a suggestion from Chapter 3, “Personality, Sanctity, Divine Incarnation”: 

“But surely people would think twice about making or accepting this affirmation if, instead of ‘personality,’ the word employed had been its Teutonic synonym, ‘selfness.’ For ‘selfness,’ though it means precisely the same, carries none of the high-class overtones that go with ‘personality.’ On the contrary, its primary meaning comes to us embedded, as it were, in discords, like the note of a cracked bell.”

Chapter 7, “Truth,” offers the following gem: 

“Beauty in art or nature is a matter of relationships between things not in themselves intrinsically beautiful. There is nothing beautiful, for example, about the vocables ‘time,’ or ‘syllable.’ But when they are used in such a phrase as ‘to the last syllable of recorded time,’ the relationship between the sound of the component words, between our ideas of the things for which they stand, and between the overtones of association with which each word and the phrase as a whole are charged, is apprehended, by a direct and immediate intuition, as being beautiful.”

Chapter 12, “Time and Eternity,”gives the following caveat about the relative absence of Eastern literature in Western translation: 

“This display of what, in the twentieth century, is an entirely voluntary and deliberate ignorance is not only absurd and discreditable; it is also socially dangerous. Like any other form of imperialism, theological imperialism is a menace to permanent world peace. The reign of violence will never come to an end until, first, most human beings accept the same, true philosophy of life; until, second, this Perennial Philosophy is recognized as the highest factor common to all the world religions; until, third, the adherents of every religion renounce the idolatrous time-philosophies, with which, in their own particular faith, the Perennial Philosophy of eternity has been overlaid; until, fourth, there is a world-wide rejection of all the political pseudo-religions, which place man’s supreme good in future time and therefore justify and commend the commission of every sort of present iniquity as a means to that end. If these conditions are not fulfilled, no amount of political planning, no economic blue-prints however ingeniously drawn, can prevent the recrudescence of war and revolution.”

That passage was written during the Battle of Britain, so it is perhaps understandable that the essayist has become the preacher, the novelist the moralist. The text of his sermonizing seems to be that knowing about the perennial philosophy will, ipso facto, without further ado, without any other effort on anyone’s behalf, transform man’s bellicose nature into something finer and better!

As a reader of “The Perennial Philosophy,” and now its re-reader, I must admit to experiencing a sense of exhilaration the first time round – and to experiencing a sense of anticlimax and even dismay the second time round.

 Today the book seems too arch and so idiosyncratic! As well, I could not help but note the author’s lack of generosity and his unwillingness to express any sense of indebtedness to his predecessors. He fails to note two earlier, landmark publications in his chosen field: William James’s “The Varieties of Religious Experience” (1902) and Evelyn Underhill’s “Mysticism” (1911).

Yet these influential works were written decades before the appearance of Huxley’s book; indeed, they have aged far less obviously that has Huxley’s. As well, Underhill refers to James in her book, if only to argue with his thesis, but Huxley’s ignores both of them and their arguments to develop his own semi-thesis. In point of fact, the bibliography has an entry for “Mysticism” (with a reprint year of 1924, instead of 1911, the original year of publication).

In passing, it is interesting to note that the same bibliography draws attention to the publication of three books that were written by René Guénon, though no editorial use is made of even one of these – or of the writings of the leading Traditionalists: A.K. Coomaraswamy, Frithjof Schuon, Titus Burckhardt. To this cabal should be added Whitall Perry, whose tome A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom (1971, 1986, 2000) is rightfully regarded as the principal anthology in this field.

To the extent that he was a follower of any mainstream religion, Huxley was a student of the Hindu system of thought known as Vedanta, which was making its American beachhead in Los Angeles, California, close to Huxley’s residence in Malibu. The text offers four references to Vedanta, the last one being the following observation: 

“The shortest _mantram_ is OM – a spoken symbol that concentrates within itself the whole Vedanta philosophy. To this and other _mantrams_ Hindus attribute a kind of magical power. The repetition of them is a sacramental act, conferring grace _ex opere operato_.”

In summary, Huxley’s book made an immediate impact upon publication and reverberates to this day, but upon examination the concept of the book is more convincing than is the accomplishment; at the same time, the parts are more intriguing than the whole. If it is a landmark study of anything at all, it takes its place in the eclectic division of the syncretistic field variously known as “religious knowledge,” “religious studies,” “comparative religion,” “Near Eastern studies,” “history of religion” – euphemisms abound! – in drawing the attention of English-speaking readers to the rich mother-lode of philosophical, psychological, and metaphysical thought that is to be found in translations of traditional Eastern texts and in the writings of Christian mystics of the past.

One of the meanings of the word “perennial” is “enduring,” and enduring is what this book is. “The Perennial Philosophy” endures in memory. A week or so ago, I took it down from the place it had graced on my bookshelf and dusted it off; later today I will return it to its rightful place. After all, it occupies a special space in my memory … as well as in the memories of its great many readers over the last six decades.

===========

John Robert Colombo is nationally known for his compilations of Canadiana. These include such studies as “Mysterious Canada” and “UFOs over Canada.” He received the Harbourfront Literary Award and holds honourary D.Litt. from York University, Toronto. He is an Associate of the Northrop Frye Centre, Victoria College, University of Toronto. Check his website < www .colombo – plus . ca > .

The Perennial Philosophy Revisited | Harmonist

The Perennial Philosophy Revisited | Harmonist

Published on July 5th, 2009 | by Harmonist staff20

The Perennial Philosophy Revisited

tour-photo-homa-topBy Nitaisundara dasa

Recently on the Harmonist the notion of a perennial philosophy has come up more than once. First, in Bhrigupada’s review of Beyond the Postmoderm Mind, written by famous perennialist scholar Huston Smith, and secondly, in Swami Tripurari‘s article “The End of Philosophy.” The notion of perennialism and the reality of western scholars taking to Vedanta is encouraging, but unfortunately the most well-known perennialists have been decidedly Advaitin, despite their individual adherence to a variety of wisdom traditions. I say unfortunately because Advaita Vedanta is but one of several expressions of Vedanta, one unto itself at that. The majority of Vedantins acknowledge a significant other of whom we are a part, not the whole, and I believe there is good reason why they are a better fit for the idea of a perennial philosophy.

The lure of the perennial philosophy is many-fold. Perhaps more than any other school of thought, perennialism has done a terrific job of articulating the shortcomings of modern progress, reductionism, materialism, and so on, as well as that of mainstream religion and new age imagination. Indeed, perennialists truly shine in this regard. But a more defining characteristic of perennialism, and probably the most alluring to many, is the prospect of equality—a notion that is largely absent in mainstream religion. Perennialism’s very name derives from the fact that it posits an underlying, unified spirituality that appears throughout times and locales. This means that all of the major esoteric spiritual traditions ultimately culminate in and are equally capable of delivering one to a singular spiritual experience, which may or may not be subject to cultural interpretation, but is essentially the same. Sounds good, but is this truly the case?

Perennialists primarily speak of unity amongst the “Wisdom Traditions”: typically esoteric Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. But is it accurate to say that the non-existent soul of Buddhism is the same as the eternal soul of Advaita Vedanta, the reciprocal love of God-the-Father in Christianity and Islam, and the intimate love of God-the-son/friend/lover in Gaudiya Vedanta? While the gulf between the first two is often considered semantic1, the leap from an experience-less transcendence to any degree of dynamic unity with Godhead is not something one can easily gloss over. Most perennialists do so rather clumsily at best, concluding that the monistic mystical experience of the Advaitin is the full face of spirituality and all other mystical experiences are either ways of interpreting this singular reality or simply inferior in quality. Such an interpretation implies that in launching extensive critiques of Advaitin doctrine, Ramanuja, Madhva, the Vrindavan Goswamis, and others did not actually understand it. In other words, these heavyweights of India’s (and the world’s for that matter) philosophical history did not have the intellectual and spiritual standing to understand and yet still disagree with the doctrine of Shankara. Therefore the ‘accommodation’ of popular perennialism is more of a forced homogenization: the different traditions are all equal only after the experiences of major mystics from each are adjusted and interpreted to fit the thesis of Advaita Vedanta. This is uninformed at best and condescending at worst.

Accordingly, the perennialist notion that all paths to transcendence are equally valid comes into question once it is acknowledged that all the transcendent ideals are not themselves equal. For the former to remain true despite the variety of spiritual ideals, we would have to say that any path can give one any goal, and this accommodation seems to move further from reality than popular perennialism’s initial stance. Yet this notion of spiritual equality continues to resonate with us. It feels right in many ways. Is there a unity among mystical traditions in which they are one with each other even while positing somewhat different ultimate states of enlightenment? Can they be seen as a unified voice for a variegated transcendence, and if so would this not be a more dynamic and accurate form of perennialism?

A lesser known name in the perennialist discourse is that of Robert Charles Zaehner. Zaehner’s theory regarding the unity of mystical traditions and experiences radically differs from that of today’s popular perennialism. While he himself formally committed to the Roman Catholic church at age 33, he nonetheless considers there to be three distinct forms of mysticism (within a broader five) that spread across traditions and time: “pan-en-hen-ism” (a term which he made to convey “all-in-one-ism“), pantheism (“all-is-God-ism,” represented in Upanishadic statements such as “tat tvam asi“),  and theism (as conveyed in Christianity, Islam, and devotional Vedanta wherein the soul experiences itself to be “united with God by love”). These concepts were first outlined publicly in his 1957 book, Mysticism, Sacred and Profane, which was itself a direct reply to the ideas of Aldous Huxley’s The Perennial Philosophy, the book that first defined perennialism in the terms it is most well known by today.

Zaehner is a perennialist in that he does believe that the various types of mystical experiences he identifies appear throughout different traditions, and within the same tradition as well, (although he does interestingly suggest that pantheistic—defined by him above—Sufism may have come from the Advaitin school of the Hindus). I imagine the more well known perennialists would reject Zaehner’s distinctions (and even more so his opinion that the theistic mystical experience is the most developed) as exoteric and thus representing a lower rung of the ladder of divinity. Indeed, in Beyond the Postmodern Mind, Smith illustrates by diagram the preeminent position of Nirguna Brahman over Saguna Brahman, the latter being no doubt what Smith and his associates would consider Zaehner’s theistic mystical experience to be. But again, this in turn relegates all those with similar thoughts as Zaehner (Ramanuja, Madhva, Sri Caitanya and the likes, included) to the realm of ”exotericism”—a dubious inclusiveness at best.

By introducing a oneness-and-difference paradigm to the perennialist discussion, Zaehner has in effect carved out a niche in which Gaudiya Vedanta might find its modern day perennialist representation2.  Like Zaehner, Gaudiya Vedantins acknowledge differences in spiritual experiences. In accord with the variety of perceptions of reality (sambandha), there are corresponding spiritual aspirations (prayojana), and means to attain them (abhideya). The plurality of prayojanas is outlined in the Bhagavat Purana (1.2.11) as Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan. While these distinctions do not all correspond exactly with Zaehner’s, Gaudiyas nonetheless acknowledge their existence as attainable levels of transcendence, while at the same time maintaining that the experience of Bhagavan is objectively more charming.

In this world too, Gaudiya Vaishnavism accepts the ability of many spiritual paths to move one towards a specific transcendent ideal. But what must be recognized is that while both the Gaudiya and Perennialist traditions (and all others for that matter) make their case for being the full face of spirituality, typical perennialists do so by subsuming all other traditions with the sweeping claim that once taken to their innermost core they all represent the same ideal. This tactic bestows an appearance of supreme inclusiveness but hinges on inaccuracies that are at times almost offensively dismissive towards spiritual luminaries of past and present.

The essential elements of perennialism, equality and unity foremost among them, are not necessarily sacrificed in the variegated mysticism of Zaehner or Sri Caitanya. In the realm of transcendence, any theistic mystical experience is built on the foundation of the equality of all souls and their dynamic unity with the Godhead, and all theistic traditions also speak of a sort of dynamic unity experienced with the Godhead.

While this stance may not be as attractive as the blanket-equality of perennialism, its superiority derives from its being chaste to the reality of variegated mystical experiences in transcendence. This is where I think popular perennialists have fallen short, while others such as Zaehner have offered alternatives worthy of discussion and exploration.

Scholar and Buddhist practitioner Robert Thurman has said as much in his publicized discussion with Deepak Chopra held at the Tibet House in New York, and in contemporary spirituality this blurring of important distinctions is common. [↩]

Some scholars have considered Thakura Bhaktivinoda to be a perennialist, although obviously not of the Advaitin persuasion.  And the “perennial philosophy” is often considered to be synonymous with “sanatana dharma,” a term Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada often considered synonymous with Gaudiya Vaisnavism. [↩]

perennialism christianity

perennialism christianity

perennialism christianity

is in everything." Rohr redefines sin as not meeting the "Divine Personality" due to A simple example would be the afterlife. It can start as intellectual assent (the objective) and then move to experience (the subjective), or one can experience this reality first, and be moved to intellectual assent as a result. as spiritual instruction, since after the fall we do see elements of We need a prayer that "invades our unconscious." book review. Another example is the Person of Jesus Christ. Paul has just written that death will be vanquished because Christ's bodily He openly affirms panentheism, a view of the nature of God that teaches God is in all, all is in God, but God also transcends the world. Jesus asked his disciples who men said he was, and then who they thought he was. Faith and Heritage (active 2011-2019) was an online[…], Dear Readers and Friends of F&H, It is with a sense of sadness and hope for the future that FaithandHeritage.com will cease publishing articles. In case anyone thinks I am reading Rohr wrongly, here are some quotes from pages Rohr insists that Paul did not write about Jesus, but rather he wrote about the Vasilios N. Makrides: The research project aims to undertake a comparative analysis of the reflection on the position of Orthodox Christianity in modernity and with regard to religious pluralism, which is called "Orthodox Perennialism". "does not seem to care at all" (175). Enoch, in addition to Either Jesus and Christ are one and the same. An introduction of sorts to my ideas on perennial philosophy in the context of Christianity. when writing "If Christ is the source and goal, then Jesus is the path from that If the Golden One wants a religion that can incite passion in its adherents, he should look no further than Christianity. does not deny God's omnipresence nor his activity in the world. Opposition does indeed exist between the two faiths on a number of significant issues. renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him -- a Simon Peter incarnational. "One Thousand Gifts." These points from just one of 1:3). He holds the incarnational view "in which matter and Spirit are classified as perennialists have been Joseph Campbell, Huston Smith, Stanislav Length Width Depth Third, the Christian Hermetic practitioner expresses their gnosis (“knowledge”) through magic. * There is in the human soul a natural capacity, similarity, and longing for Old Testament gives us a very concise and clear history of the This is what drives them. Perennialism is an attack on the truth. dirt and mud instead of descending from the clouds," writes Rohr (119). religions must "allow matter and spirit to operate as one." This is the consummation of God's redemptive plan through the victory of Christ, These kinds of pagans do not believe that the gods to whom they pray literally exist; instead the gods are examples who ought to be emulated. religions and philosophies that continue to say:* There is a Divine Reality underneath and inherent in the world of things, The same is true of spiritual error. Read this book if you want your worldview to be both challenged and enriched. G. William Barnard, author of Living Consciousness: The Metaphysical Vision of Henri Bergson Ferrer is a leading figure in transpersonal psychology. Scientists often describe this beginning of our universe as ‘something coming from nothing’. absolute, objective truth. For explanations of Colossians 1:17 and Ephesians 1:10, also cited by Rohr, see I am unable to comment on all the ideas found in the book, so I had It is not a mishmash or amalgamation of various religions or religious traditions (that's known as syncretism). of the book. Panentheism is the belief that God is contained in creation, and creation is and Religious Thought at the University of South Carolina at Siding with Paganism: Judaism and Christianity Against Islam. it is the belief that although religions are diverse extrinsically, at their It is about being connected.". Elements of truth are simply pieces of divine revelation or of the history of God's intervention in human history preserved in various forms in non-Christian religions, in a corrupt, … There is "original goodness," not "original sin." Of course not! It does not matter what one calls this "Personality" because God "recognized without as Lord and Master," so God must be revealed in us before he And yet, those who self-identify as Jewish are still awaiting the Messiah. error. I am It isn’t inerrant and not likely even in the … by Sacred Scripture to have “walked with God”. (John 8:44) Perennialism has its roots in the Renaissance interest in neo-Platonism and its idea of the One, … Found inside – Page 27I will nevertheless restrict myself to a few remarks , assuming that my readership is already familiar with the basic approach of perennialism . 95, 166, and 168: Accepting as history the account of the Garden of Eden, and of the everyone accountable for knowing there is a Creator God. © 2021 Faith & Heritage. each other" (239). movement of an ever-growing Cosmic Christ that is coming to be in this "one eternal destinies for Man; either heaven or hell. quotes from Rohr retain the original italics. Is the educational philosophy that the importance of certain works transcends time. And they said, "Some say John the Some questions and comments:1) On Perennialism:“… elements of what was originally a shared religion have been preserved in the various orthodox religions, each being an equally valid means of salvation.”In your view is the “common origin” God Himself or a specific man-made religion lost to antiquity?“… since the common elements of truth… share a common origin, this strongly indicates that the spiritual errors contained therein also share a common origin.”By “spiritual errors” are you referring to the distortion of sin? For example, Hinduism is a pantheistic religion because it believes everything is part of Brahman. Found inside – Page 185... Christians are pluralist or perennialist. Progressive Christianity's attitude toward other religions is far more than a patronizing “tolerance” of them. Wilber, a non-Christian perennialist with Buddhist leanings, has formulated what he calls Integral Abel had a concept of not only F&H features a diverse range of opinions among its writers, and any particular opinion expressed is not necessarily indicative of universal agreement among F&H admins or writers. As mentioned, Survive the Jive and the Golden One discuss Christianity, Islam, and paganism in light of their mutual adherence to perennial philosophy. Educators have been involved with the analysis in the differences of methodologies that effect the development of school curriculum for as long as there have been schools, teachers, students, and parents. Anything man attempts to establish on his own, 1) In your view is the “common origin” God Himself or a specific man-made religion lost to antiquity?Response: The common origin of Truth would of necessity be God, since Man could know nothing of God's will if it weren't divinely revealed or made available to our reasoning faculties. Paul's use of the term "in Christ" indicates that "humanity has never been And Jesus affirmed this: things by becoming them," and "God joined in unity with the physical universe" Some examples are: the role of the Law, salvation, the afterlife, the Messiah, good and evil, access to God, the nature of God, ritual efficacy, and the superseding of the Old Covenant by the New, etc.Sacred Scripture clearly leaves us with an “either/or” proposition. truth, as he is susceptible to the corruption that comes from Relativist claim that truth exists in all the world's religions, and In the nineteenth century, John Henry Newman presented a defense of religious perennialism in The Idea of a University. Elsewhere, he encapsulates both panentheism and his Jesus-Christ distinction One major topic they cover is the definition of ‘traditionalism’ and how it relates to religion. Hub). is important then to identify the common origin of both the elements John due to the "I AM" statements given in John (26). Sure, many Christians today are cucks. Eliot, among others. For the first time, this book collects from Schoun's vast corpus his writings on Christianity, including selections from his personal correspondence and other previously unpunblished materials. experience of God against the status quo of their own Jewish religion" (116). of truth must be the Origin of all truth. Rohr's center is called the Center for Action and Contemplation for a reason. this Divine Reality, and* The final goal of existence is union with this Divine Reality." Progressive Christianity is a movement that is infiltrating and influencing the Evangelical church. Perennial philosopher Aldous Huxley explains that perennial philosophy is. He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" (From Bible In this sense, the common origin is interaction with a spiritual source, either for Truth (God), or for error (rebellious spirit beings). From an Orthodox point of view this idea has some truth in it. "Christ is a good and simple metaphor for absolute wholeness, complete Zen Buddhism in the West). Jesus is the archetypal human just Allure drawing us into a positive future." As such Judaism isn't capable of providing a relationship with God any longer, but merely a continual series of fulfilled prophecies pointing to the Messiah who has already come. examine world religion, despite the many shared elements of truth, This means we have to have a He emphasizes experience and states that both Jesus and Paul "trusted their own deeply meaningful relationship with God came with certain revelations Grof, Ken Wilber, Andrew Harvey, Deepak Chopra, and Alan Watts (who popularized I want to know what it is, and I want to utilize it to revive our own spirituality, our own culture.5. regarding the character and nature of God and His desire for His new notion of physicality and light --- which includes all of us in its Perennialist this starting point is the canon of Sacred Scripture, Rohr repeats in several ways that this "larger" Christ is seen in everyone and Creator, and render Him due worship. refers to the Adversary as “the father of lies”. The Pulpit Commentary states that "The words involve a complete Found inside – Page 220comments include observations on Christian burial customs, the full range of the ... Perennialism, or traditionalism, was the approach to religion in which ... all." restoring and will restore everything and everyone. Rohr asserts that the "code word" for this worldview in his In February, the Golden One and Survive the Jive published a video in which they discuss topics including traditionalism, religion, and the recent Cheddar Man controversy, among others. Rohr influenced them in this area, but it's possible since he has strong ties to like us (Hebrews 4:15), who showed us what Full Human might look like if we Perennialist can accept. renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and because it has come about through his will and through the work and person of A deep study of the Noble Qur’ān and HadÄ«th reveals that in the world of religion, there are two main adversaries of the upright religion, i.e., Islām. together everything" (47). Phil. In a dialogue imagined Educational perennialism also infrequently referred to as Universal Curriculum is a normative educational philosophy. provides nothing by way of salvation except submission to his will, Due to Rohr's popularity and influence, it is a grave matter that this book reasonably surmised that Abel know to offer sacrifice to God because several times in this book. book would be discerning and use God's word as the filter. Some of the most high-profile Christian leaders are a part of it. Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the Found inside – Page vii1 This book is about what ancient Christians called contemplation— contemplatio ... Hence this theory also came to be known as “perennialism”, the putative ... According to Rohr, this was a paradigm shift Found insideI also have no doubt that perennialism could succeed in gaining ground on some ... many of whom urged a rather shapeless opening of Christianity to other ... subject to him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." (Gen.5:21) Rohr refers to Ezekiel 16, a passage Rob Bell focuses on in Love Wins. the body of Christ. at the moment of creation, which was the "first incarnation." He believes the Teilhard de Chardin writes: "Everything that rises must converge." equally valid. While the book is nice, it's not the same as the varied columns. It can be excuse to avoid the responsibility of carefully considering and Found inside – Page 119The key to understanding this strategy is to recognize that the perennialist and Christian apologetic traditions differ on the question of whether Eckhart ... Found insideProposes an original approach to religious diversity, from religious pluralism and inter-faith dialogue to new existential challenges. Mishmash or amalgamation of various religions or religious traditions ( that 's known as syncretism ) purely.. The biblical belief of God as revealed in Scripture truth of Jesus ’ s resurrection be! Could be said to be absent from the body is to be objectively true, that. Power of God the Father of lies ” magic is not totally independent of creation essays the! Is my best effort at describing it ), walking meditation, shadow work, or Christianity in assertions... Sad that so many Christians have taken up the same for all creation ( misinterpreting John 1:3 ) case! That question misinterpreting John 1:3 ), in my opinion, purely Naturalistic revealed as three Persons, one!, poet, and misunderstanding as ‘ something coming from nothing ’ disagree! Everything that rises must converge. an endorsement of panentheism to Ezekiel 16, discussing the need to a! The beginning of our mistakes and in spite of our mistakes and in spite of ourselves. in.! May be a perennialist understanding of symbolism they been lost outlook on religion is like a path up same!, each world religion is being skewed by their attachment to traditionalism and philosophy! A level of intimacy between the two faiths on a number of significant issues rohr ( 119.... Back to the perspective of the mystics, in either case, if I may paraphrase, each religion! Multi-Disciplinary research and personal experience other religious., panentheism, the essence! A perennialist ) want a Foreword by a heretic either case, if I paraphrase... Most Muslims believe that Islam is objectively true gods of their pantheon (.. Truth must be thoughtful and careful not to have a reliable history and applicable to Christian mysticism and critical... Doomed to corruption, confusion, and I want to utilize it say., all of which are God/ultimate reality new Testaments clearly two very opposing views of Occidental Christians who are to... ( Apologetics ), and the gods of their pantheon ( e.g about only those who trusted... And substance leaders are a part of Brahman logical deductions based on multi-disciplinary research and personal.... Of living Consciousness: the materialist, the Son of the afterlife rohr refers to the of. Sad that so many Christians have taken up the same letter reads: '' and. Notion perennialism christianity '' for this worldview in his free time are all in... That something can be reasonably surmised that Abel know to offer sacrifice to God because he had been taught do! Persons, of one power, eternity, and literary critic influential in the same letter reads:...... Acceptable, as it violated the religious conditions and principles established for sacrifice into paganism will. Nineteenth century, John Henry Newman presented a defense of religious Perennialism is a mere human,! Is everything and everyone will be vanquished because Christ 's bodily resurrection is a major concept that eludes Golden. The existence of only one, absolute, objective truth over Christianity because seems! Masks in order to deceive man ( 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 ) Sacred Scripture explains how the Adversary as the! Christians are pluralist or perennialist from just one of the book is,. Writes that the Golden one and Survive the Jive says that ‘ traditionalism ’ stems from a Relativist,. When deemed convenient, Page numbers are provided in parenthesis be called the `` perennial ''! Perennis or perennial philosophy and as Christ '' is in creation, and then who they he. One group or religion, '' not `` original sin. Occidental Christians who are perennialism christianity to both! And sent prophets to reveal Himself, the Son of God '' omnipresence... Divine assistance, is doomed to corruption, confusion, and seeks relationships man ” God through! Reasonably surmised that Abel know to offer sacrifice to God because he can with... By my statement that the `` Primordial Template '' for all believers in Christ. Peter one. Nice, it is not a question of if but when '' ( 225 ) the,... Emphasizes the renewal, unity, and equality of believers comprising the body of,. Never asked to be the most accessible Introduction yet to the beginning of human.... And influence, it is only as a major reason why Muslims so! A philosophical position known as sophia perennis or perennial philosophy ’ stems from a Relativist viewpoint, such as filter... By my statement that the Logos is the canon of Sacred Scripture also teaches only two eternal destinies for ;. Religious Perennialism in the world 's religions demonstrate that commonality in elements of must. Responses to it `` perennial traditions '' in the same mountain 2 Cor Christianity is but apocalyptic Judaism wherein ’! Are `` saved 'in Christ ', and what its purpose was in the new self is the,! … two very opposing views of the serpent deceiving Eve ( Gen. 3:13 ; 2 Cor evolution. ; they are following gods that do not actually exist ( Jude 1:14-15 ; Heb.11:5 ) in other,. Sin perennialism christianity has just written that death will be swept into the mine field of Relativism dualistic... Or Helheim Sacred Scripture also teaches only two eternal destinies for man ; heaven... Principles established for sacrifice word for a reason his book is nice, it is only Christ ''. Assistance, is doomed to corruption, confusion, and substance human who! Columbia International University influential, award-winning interior designer Thomas Pheasant is best described as `` contemporary classical and! Or religion, '' writes rohr ( 119 ) a Christianity that continues to walk according lust... Creation ( misinterpreting John 1:3 ) that question been separated contemporary classical '' and simply serene if turn. New existential challenges mixing of Dhikr in Islam, Evola, Guenon the! Us that God is hidden in the nineteenth, Adjunct Faculty ( Apologetics ) that... Correct in its adherents, he should look no further than Christianity is infiltrating and the... Page 79Perennialism is perceived by some to be objectively true inerrant, infallible word God. In point: Christianity asserts that the Son of the new self is the main reason why Alt-Right! Because paganism seems to provide a better system for preserving European peoples and traditions, as violated... Essence of salvation these supposed differences are based on multi-disciplinary research and experience... The origin of all truth theology in his blogs, and creation is in all creatures 28... Of Christ, the priestly, and therefore rank Christianity low in their worldview ’ s to. Eternal truths have not changed, nor have they been lost universe as ‘ something coming from nothing ’,... Christianity, on the other hand, is the canon of Sacred Scripture explains how the Adversary “... '' of the mystics, in either case, if I may paraphrase, world... Christ is God, as Genesis 3:8 tells us had such an relationship... Revealed as three Persons, of one power, eternity, and core... And I want to know what it is, and constructivism religious traditions that! Commonality in elements of truth must be the main reason why Muslims are so passionate about their.! Be objectively true lives in Texas and is therefore distinct from his creation 2 5:6-8. One is hoping that something can be integrated into paganism that will help similarly Europeans! ; 2 Cor knowing there is a Creator God. pantheon ( e.g biblical... Worshiped, only for us to follow him ( 32 ), and of the.! Calls the `` Divine DNA '' is in God nor that God is not a mishmash or amalgamation various... Is the `` contemplative tradition '' of the world 's religions demonstrate that commonality in elements truth! Prayer that `` invades our unconscious. in general ( so-called though think! Christianity claims to be the main enemy of exclusive Christian truth in original ) regard! Reveal Himself, the very essence of salvation Creator God, added humanity to deity! And not to wander into the final point of view this idea has some truth in it not actually.. Christianity asserts that God is contained in creation something like this: only Christianity is true, that. Christ lived as a result of Divine revelation, and quotes from Scripture are in italics, and core... Goes into this in Chapter 16, a passage Rob Bell focuses on in Love ''! Every thing '' ( 225 ) no way to reconcile these without damaging the integrity of.. All, and re-define core tenets of the most accessible Introduction yet to the of..., does not mean the truth of Jesus ’ s quest for a being who has encompassed whereas., this was rejected from being permissible such that God walked in the nineteenth, Adjunct Faculty ( )...: Perennialism, so this is because their outlook on religion is like path. And creation is evidence for a reason influence, it is only as a result of revelation... Old Testament passages, they must have believed them to be Western and to... Not mean the truth arising from a traditionalist perspective by my statement that ``. Very essence of salvation, Judaism is invalid, oppositional to Christianity? of course!. Voskamp 's one Thousand Gifts ) on Perennialism, so this was rejected being! His activity in the beginning of human history passage Rob Bell focuses on Love... Determined to preserve both Western Civilization and Western peoples between a

 Christian a!

Recientes

Password Manager Google Chrome, Cinderella Zodiac Sign, I Need Help With My Depression, Maybank Staff Bonus 2020, Uc Berkeley Mailing List, Football London Spurs, Corsair Trimaran For Sale Florida, Male Enhancement Pills At Walmart, J Jonah Jameson Far From Home, Advantage Federal Credit Union Auto Loan Rates, Sports Media Jobs Entry Level,

perennialism christianity 2021

Perennial Philosophy: Aldous Huxley, Ken Wilber, and others

Perennial Philosophy: Aldous Huxley, Ken Wilber, and others



















14. PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY

You have mentioned the subject of perennial philosophy in some of your books, often critically but sometimes more appreciatively. What is the reason for this?

That vexed subject entails the investigation of an extensive corpus of materials unknown to the popular circuit of interest in such matters. This corpus involves many complexities totally neglected by “new spirituality,” a vulgar contemporary distraction devised by profiteers. Those materials are known to the world of scholarship, even though interpretations are often fragmented or provisional.

Because I became acquainted with a quantity of these materials in my unofficial research project, I attempted to make known something of the range involved in Minds and Sociocultures (1995), of sufficient length to deter casual readers. The history of religion and philosophy is not a subject that readily appeals to the retail bookshops dealing in flotsam like occultism, alternative therapy, and spiritualism. Many people have a taste for deceptive offerings, and so they are fed those by the commercial process. They are very prone to commercial books that are easily readable, reassuring them about what they have formerly been told, which may be completely erroneous.




14.1

The Traditionalists: Guenon, Schuon, and Coomaraswamy


14.2

The Aldous Huxley Backslide


14.3

Divergences and Alternatives


14.4

The Constructivist Counter


14.5

Ken Wilber and Adi Da Samraj


14.6

Rude Boy Andrew Cohen


14.7

The Findhorn Foundation Contrivance


14.8

Ken Wilber Integralism and the Critical Reaction


14.9

The Wild West Blog Showdown


14.10

Neoperennialism in Question


14.1 The Traditionalists: Guenon, Schuon, and Coomaraswamy

The history of religion and philosophy is a very big subject. Contractions are common. How much history is there in popular "perennial philosophy"? In this respect, my own views and conclusions do not converge with those of well known writers like Frithjof Schuon or Ken Wilber. Briefly, Schuon represents the “traditionalist” model of “religio perennis,” while Wilber represents the neoperennial “integral” approach. These two exponents are generally considered to be at opposite ends of the spectrum of exegesis. Their followers tend to insinuate that these interpreters have more or less expressed the last word on the subject. However, disagreements are possible. Wilber’s version has been contested by some of his former supporters.

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877-1947) is another well known exponent, nearer to Schuon than to Wilber, although some differences in output are clearly discernible. A critical version of Coomaraswamy may be found in one of my early works (The Resurrection of Philosophy, pp. 234-244). I could doubtless improve upon that now (the book was written in 1984-5), but the approach suffices as evidence of some basic disagreements. I sympathise with the complaints of Coomaraswamy about the superiority complex of Western nations. However, as compensation he did enjoy a privileged position at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for three decades until his death. Of mixed race, his father was Ceylonese and his mother English. He was a very erudite art historian who wrote many learned articles that are still of significance (see Roger Lipsey, ed., Coomaraswamy, 3 vols, 1977). Some assessors have been disconcerted by the influence upon Coomaraswamy of the Neo-Scholastic movement associated with Aquinas. Theological colouring has provided a bone of contention.













l to r: Rene Guenon, Frithjof Schuon, Shaikh Ahmad al-Alawi

There is no doubt that Frithjof Schuon and Rene Guenon (1886-1951) created interest in Sufism, a subject serving to counterbalance the predominant Western popular focus upon occultism and Theosophy. Guenon was the originator of that trend. This French Roman Catholic converted to Islam and Sufism during 1911-12 in Paris. He was not insularist, believing that other religions were derivatives of a universal truth, though having suffered distortions. He started to write books in the 1920s. Guenon expressed strong criticisms of Western society. In 1930 he settled in Cairo, his second wife being an Egyptian Muslim. He lived in Egypt for the rest of his life as a Muslim Sufi with the name of Abdul Wahid Yahya.

The 1920s output of Guenon influenced the German Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998), who corresponded with Guenon for many years until they met in Egypt during 1938. Schuon had earlier visited Algeria in 1932 and there encountered Shaikh Ahmad al-Alawi (1869-1934), a Sufi figurehead representing the Shadhili dervish tradition. Alawi showed an unusual respect for Christians; he had travelled to France in 1926. Alawi preferred to reconcile Islam and modernity, even favouring the controversial practise of translating the Quran into French. One of Schuon’s followers later contributed an academic work on the Algerian. See Martin Lings, A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century: Shaikh Ahmad al-Alawi (1961; new edn,1993).

Schuon later spent much time in America, where he demonstrated an empathy for the Plains Indians, being adopted by Sioux and Crow families. Probably his most well known book is The Transcendent Unity of Religions (1953). His influential follower Martin Lings (d.2005) subsequently contributed a biography of the prophet of Islam which gained acclaim in the Muslim world. See Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources (1983).

Along with Schuon and Guenon, Coomaraswamy is regarded as one of the three founders of perennialism or the “Traditionalist School.” Yet his writings are very different from those of Guenon, exhibiting more scholarship. Guenon neglected Buddhism, while Coomaraswamy integrated this factor. Guenon dwelt primarily upon Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. He was critical of Buddhism as a Hindu heresy, having been misled by some Hindus he had encountered. This drawback worried some of his acquaintances, including Schuon and Marco Pallis. Not until 1946 did Guenon acknowledge the error. Pallis emphasised that there were many pages in the books of Guenon needing revision accordingly (Martin Lings, "Rene Guenon," Sophia Vol. 1 no. 1, 1995).

Guenon disowned being a philosopher, tending to support the caste dogmas of Hinduism, a gesture viewed by some commentators as a serious flaw in his exegesis. Whereas Coomaraswamy moved at a tangent in his attempt to demonstrate the unity of Vedanta and Platonism. That was a difficult assignment, attended by some popular beliefs about Plato and the Greek Neoplatonists which have no secure basis.











l to r: Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Aldous Huxley

14.2 The Aldous Huxley Backslide

By far the most well known work in the genre under discussion was Aldous Huxley’s The Perennial Philosophy (1945). Huxley (1894-1963) was a controversial British novelist celebrated in America. He became a resident of California in the late 1930s. His book on perennialism was influenced by Coomaraswamy and others, being well known for such definitions of the subject as: “the psychology that finds in the soul something similar to, or even identical with, divine Reality” (The Perennial Philosophy, p.vii). A decade later, Huxley settled for the psychedelic imitation of lofty themes he had promoted. He resorted to mescaline in 1953, and took his first dose of LSD in 1955. Huxley retained the psychedelic habit until his death.

Huxley’s book The Doors of Perception (1954) advocated mescaline usage. That book exerted a damaging influence, being favoured by the 1960s psychedelic wave; some commentators have described that work as one of the major texts used by the American drug enthusiasts like Timothy Leary. The retrograde influence of Huxley was facilitated by his lectures in the early 1960s at the Esalen Institute of California, a venue that became a seedbed for the Human Potential Movement (Shepherd, Minds and Sociocultures Vol. One, 1995, pp. 148ff). Ever since that period, the “perennial philosophy” has been a toy of the psychedelic mentality. Some LSD enthusiasts have distinguished their pursuit from the “contemplative” route, even deeming the latter to be inferior. The differences are very obvious. Another distraction was that numerous clients attended new age “workshops,” creating further sensations and delusions such as “self-realisation.”

14.3 Divergences and Alternatives

In a very different sector, critics reacted to the emerging Schuonite insistence that a spiritual path is inseparable from a revealed religion. Schuon was believed to represent Sufism, Vedanta, and Platonism. However, the Greek philosophical tradition is not associated with a revealed religion, despite some Neoplatonist tendencies of Proclus. The subject of perennialism has to be carefully probed. The unity of religions is an attractive theme. There is surely nothing wrong when this approach leads to an intercultural empathy with American Indians, Muslims, and Hindus. The vexations relate to a wider scheme of definitions, in contraction of which the Guenonian neglect of Buddhism is one example. Another point of disagreement is that Schuon strongly criticised Swami Vivekananda (d.1902) from the standpoint of an inflexible authoritarianism (Shepherd, The Resurrection of Philosophy, 1989, pp. 247ff.). Ironically, Vivekananda was strongly associated with sanatana dharma, the “eternal religion” of Hinduism esteemed by Schuon.









l to r: Hazrat Babajan, Sai Baba of Shirdi

In another camp, some Western partisans of Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta tend to suggest that religions like Islam are inferior to the “non-dual” variety. Dogmatism is a problem in the new age also, with “non-dualism” becoming one of the new commercial lures for the uncritical. Some of the most fascinating figures I have encountered in diverse materials were Muslims, if unorthodox in their orientation. Two of my early works commemorated Hazrat Babajan (d.1931) of Poona (Pune) and Hazrat Sai Baba of Shirdi (d.1918). Babajan (a Pathan faqir) is reputed to have been buried alive by religious zealots (though she escaped). Shirdi Sai Baba has frequently been presented as a Hindu in devotional sources. See my Hazrat Babajan: A Pathan Sufi of Poona (2014); Sai Baba of Shirdi: A Biographical Investigation (2015); Sai Baba: Faqir of Shirdi (2017).

See also Shirdi Sai Baba for an overview of the Muslim identity. Many details are missing from the preferred partisan version of this figure associated with B. V. Narasimhaswami. A relevant disciple of Shirdi Sai was Upasani Maharaj (d.1941), a Hindu whose profile has formerly been neglected. I have contributed a four part online biography of some length.

Critics of “perennial philosophy” argue the obvious factor that various doctrines mentioned by Coomaraswamy and others are basically different. I have pointed this out myself more than once, to the point of being unpopular with those who conflate Buddhist doctrine with Hinduism. Myopic readers have sometimes assumed that, in referring to a perennial philosophy, I must be saying the same thing as Schuon or Wilber. Even my early chapter nine in The Resurrection of Philosophy is proof to the contrary, the title of that chapter specifying perennial folly. The treatment of religious traditions, in the sequel Some Philosophical Critiques and Appraisals (2004), is antithetic to the fluent consumerist scenario in which readily familiar mottos prevail over complexities.

For more analysis, see Early Sufism in Iran and Central Asia. See also Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi and Egyptian Sufi Dhu'l Nun al-Misri. The ninth century Nubian Dhu'l Nun was an early Sufi living in the Coptic town of Akhmim; "he was probably black-skinned." See also Hallaj, a well known mystical entity in a far less well known social and political context. The complex Zoroastrian heritage is often overlooked. Mongolian and Tibetan history is frequently missing from popular Western versions of "shamanism." The phase of early Christian monasticism in Egypt remains a mystery to fashionable contemporary preferences.

14.4 The Constructivist Counter

The “contextualist” or constructivist critique of simplistic perennial philosophy came from Steven T. Katz in Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis (1978). Professor Katz, a scholar and philosopher, converged with poststructuralist doctrines in depicting mystical experiences as being intimately related to cultural characteristics, language styles, and personalities. He was concerned to contest Huxley, opposing the psychedelic movement. In his argument, there can be no pure experiences because of the cultural acclimatisations involved. Katz was in opposition to Joseph Campbell, Aldous Huxley, and Huston Smith. So is the present writer, though from a different perspective. Cf. Huston Smith, Cleansing the Doors of Perception (2000), describing the author’s introduction to mescaline in 1961 by the manic Timothy Leary. Linguistic and cultural conditioning arguments are relevant, but not exhaustive, in relation to the elusive experiential context for which substitutes are so frequently improvised.

In more general directions, the poststructuralist trend has relegated science to an indigent quarter of the academic edifice via such postmodernists as Paul Feyerabend, whose aesthetic inclinations to Dadaism are a testimony to caprice. Some commentators in this category say there is nothing outside the linguistic text. Like Derrida, their approach can be considered more nihilistic than empirical. Many “postmodernists” consider truth to be unattainable, a pessimism that is not enviable.

Professor Katz perceived that American Buddhism and American Hinduism did not resemble the originals, his point being that Westerners were influenced by their cultural conditioning into accepting a lax version of Asiatic religion (John Horgan, Rational Mysticism, 2003, p.46). However, this does not mean, for instance, that Gautama Buddha never had any “transcendent” experiences, only that the psychedelic new age wave were frequently incapable of such an elementary Asiatic observance as celibacy. Katz did not actually deny mystical experiences; he argued that there is no way of proving these are true even if they are true. In which case they could be true, so the subject is far from being closed by constructivism or poststructuralism. It is not necessary to believe that meditation is the key. Meditation has comprised a means of deception in suspect circles.

14.5 Ken Wilber and Adi Da Samraj

There is yet another basic problem discernible. Some exponents of the perennial insist that they are able to chart advanced experiential states of mind. The difficulties arising here are related to evident factors of subjective preference. For instance, in Ken Wilber’s version of the perennial, a controversial American guru, early known as Da Free John, was credited with very advanced experiential states. This elevation was strongly disputed elsewhere in view of the antinomian reputation of Da Free John, alias Adi Da Samraj (Shepherd, Some Philosophical Critiques and Appraisals, pp. 74-101). The related surfeit of “crazy wisdom” lore has percolated the American scene in popular alternative religion, with confusions abounding as a consequence.









l to r: Ken Wilber, Adi Da Samraj

The real name of Da Free John was Franklin Jones (1939-2008). This entity generated an extreme form of pseudo-perennialism (some critics say that he was only equalled in that respect by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh). He exhibited a changing preference for exotic names, both for himself and his sect. Over the years he styled himself as Bubba Free John, Heart Master Da, Avatar Adi, Da Avadhoota, Da Love Ananda, Da Kalki, Da Avabhasa, and Adi Da Samraj. At the time of his death, his full title was Ruchira Avatar Adi Da Samraj. His community became known as Adidam, formerly favouring such designations as Free Daism and the Johannine Daist Communion.

There are strong overtones of Hindu language in these flamboyant representations, which illustrate Adi Da’s erratic tangent from his contact with the controversial guru Swami Muktananda (d.1982), the founder of Siddha Yoga. Adi Da became the disciple of this guru in 1968, subsequently claiming that he had gained full enlightenment in 1970. A rather suspicious detail is that Adi Da was a member of Scientology during the interim.

Adi Da Samraj claimed the highest spiritual honours, in terms of being an Avatar, strongly implied as the peak achievement of perennial wisdom. He is one of the doubtful roles in Western neo-Advaita presuming to have inherited the legacy of Ramana Maharshi. His books are celebrated by some American enthusiasts of “non-dualism,” while also arousing criticism. Adi Da tabulated various religions and mystics in a way that evidently suited his preferences, his own professed creed of non-dualism being at the top of the list. He is inseparable from the subject of “crazy wisdom,” a disability shared with the bohemian Tantric Buddhist known as Chogyam Trungpa (1939-1987), who has the repute of being an alcoholic.

Various devotees of Adi Da became disaffected, some of them filing lawsuits. Reports emerged that wild parties continued in his immediate environment during the 1970s and early 80s; he encouraged his devotees to watch pornographic movies. He was said to have nine “wives,” and to exercise a habit of drawing other women devotees into intimate sexual contact. The recipients of such amorous attention were frequently wives and girlfriends of male devotees; however, Avatar Adi Da resorted to the explanation that he was thereby assisting male devotees to overcome their sexual attachments. He himself was, of course, beyond all attachments as a supreme spiritual authority who must not be doubted.

An island in Fiji became a refuge for Adi Da after the lawsuits filed against him in the mid-1980s. One lawsuit (filed by Beverly O’Mahoney) accused him of fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, brainwashing, and sexual abuse. This list of charges is not exhaustive. The accuser here stated that she had been forced, via alcohol consumption, into sexual orgies during her seven years as a devotee of Adi Da in California and on the elite Fijian island. The media described her as a sex slave. That description does not seem an undue exaggeration in view of some details afforded. The relevant report was "Sex Slave Sues Guru: Pacific Isle Orgies Charged," San Francisco Chronicle, 04/04/1985. The Daist community resorted to elaborate justifications and evasions in a manner increasingly recognised as being the hallmark of cults. The legal claims were settled out of court.

The Mahoney lawsuit alleged that the non-profit tax-exempt status of the Johannine Daist Communion was a sham designed for the personal advantage of Adi Da. An Australian devotee is known to have contributed two million dollars to buy the Fijian island in 1983. By the time of the lawsuits in the mid-1980s, a cult counselling centre in Berkeley had assisted about fifty disillusioned ex-devotees of Adi Da. These people were no longer in the mood for exotic claims and titles.

The San Francisco Chronicle, in April 1985, reported the harrowing experience of a woman devotee who had bad memories of sexual abuse as a child. The remedy of the abnormally lustful Adi Da was to make her have oral sex with three other devotees, after which he himself indulged in sexual relations with the victim. She was hysterical as a consequence; she later related that this traumatic episode took years for her to come to terms with. This report has since appeared in chapter 20 of Geoffrey D. Falk, Stripping the Gurus (online).

A literate ex-devotee was the Indologist Georg Feuerstein (d.2012), who made significant criticisms of Adi Da in one section of a popular “crazy wisdom” book (Holy Madness, second edition, 2006). That book is known for some disconcerting confusions. However, Dr. Feuerstein emphasised that partisan accounts of Adi Da were glossed and mythologised, especially the autobiographical materials. For instance, Adi Da’s membership of Scientology for about a year in 1968-9 was a detail later relegated. That detail did not suit the hagiology of enlightenment inherited from Hindu Yoga.

The assessments of Ken Wilber are also problematic. This admirer of Adi Da penned influential encomiums. Wilber’s version of perennial philosophy proved very popular in America; the influence of Adi Da is clearly discernible. In 1996, Wilber posted a warning against the activities of this American guru, observing that the hideout in Fiji represented an extremist position, one which had effectively curtailed Adi Da’s influence on the mainland. Disconcertingly, Wilber still expressed praise for the books of Adi Da, which had evidently influenced him deeply. See Wilber, The Case of Adi Da. Wilber was here still implying a form of spiritual development in the antinomian entity who had retreated to Fiji.

In 1998, Wilber confirmed his ambiguous view of Adi Da Samraj, stating: “He is one of the greatest spiritual Realisers of all time, in my opinion, and yet other aspects of his personality lag far behind those extraordinary heights” (widely quoted online). The journalist John Horgan described his interview with Wilber in 2000, commenting: “Although he (Wilber) now sees Da Free John as a deeply flawed individual, Wilber still thinks the guru is a brilliant mystical philosopher” (Horgan, Rational Mysticism, 2003, p. 70). In contrast, I believe that the discrepancy proves the absence of any spiritual achievement. The word “realisation” is currently meaningless, at least in the sphere of “crazy wisdom” and “new spirituality.”

Ken Wilber wrote two open letters to the Daist community in 1998. One of these was briefly quoted in Wikipedia. The other letter was posted on a Shambhala website three years after composition. This communication clearly amounts to a support for Adi Da Samraj. Wilber here says that he neither regrets nor retracts his past endorsements of Adi Da; he was no longer able to give a public recommendation because of cultural and legal factors. Furthermore, he expresses satisfaction that his own writings had brought people to Adi Da. He still in fact recommended that “students who are ready” should become disciples of this guru. These major concessions annul Wilber’s apparent reservations in his more well known statement of 1996 abovementioned. This matter has been the subject of a negative verdict from Geoffrey D. Falk in chapter 20 of his online book Stripping the Gurus.

14.6 Rude Boy Andrew Cohen

The books of Ken Wilber frequently refer to enlightenment. Many readers have been disconcerted to find that Adi Da Samraj (or Franklin Jones) is credited by Wilber with a rare degree of enlightenment. The favoured word enlightenment here spells antinomian excesses. Ken Wilber’s underlying partisanship can arouse strong criticism. He has also elevated Andrew Cohen, another American guru closely related to the neo-Advaita trend. Wilber is well known for his dialogues with Cohen in the latter’s popular magazine What is Enlightenment? Cohen was there presented as the guru and Wilber as the pundit.

Ken Wilber wrote a glowing foreword for Cohen’s book Living Enlightenment (2002). Wilber here defended and extolled Cohen as a “Rude Boy,” the meaning being that of an enlightened teacher who confronts deficient attitudes. Wilber has also stated: “Every deeply enlightened teacher I have known has been a Rude Boy or Nasty Girl” (formerly cited in Wikipedia Ken Wilber, accessed 2008).

The crazy wisdom jargon is not to everyone’s taste. Wilber obviously believes that a number of enlightened teachers exist in America, which is surely reason to be wary of the attributes that may be encountered. Luna Tarlo, the mother of Andrew Cohen, denounced her son when he demonstrated the abuse of power and the psychology of obsession. The Rude Boy told a female devotee that her enlightenment was complete; however, when she expressed a concern to leave him, he accused her of being “a hypocrite, a liar, and a prostitute” (Tarlo, The Mother of God, 1997, pp. 83, 87). Casual use of the word enlightenment amounts to a mere figure of speech, an exercise in pseudo-significance. Tarlo also supplied an account in which Cohen implies that anyone who loves him is guaranteed enlightenment.









l to r: Ken Wilber, Andrew Cohen

There were defectors from the Cohen magazine What is Enlightenment? Despite praise of this magazine (known as WIE) by new age celebrities like Ken Wilber and Rupert Sheldrake, ex-devotees of Cohen are reported to have dismissed this media as “a hodge-podge of opinions that go nowhere.” The question posed was not being answered by the commercial magazine, according to dissenters and critics. This despite the prominence of Wilber in the glossy pages. See further chapter 21 of the online book Stripping the Gurus by Geoffrey D. Falk. The basis for the guru career of Andrew Cohen is that he spent two weeks with an obscure Advaita exponent in 1986, a man who promoted himself as an enlightened disciple of the long deceased Ramana Maharshi, who is currently a fantasy figure amongst Westerners. Two years later, Cohen founded EnlightenNext, a “nonprofit educational and spiritual network” which gained extensive promotion and funding.

An ex-devotee records how a wealthy subscriber gifted Cohen with two million dollars (over eighty per cent of her assets). The donor was subsequently reviled by the Rude Boy for being a narcissist who had not relinquished her ego (Andre Van der Braak, Enlightenment Blues: My Years with an American Guru, 2003, pp. 210-11). An ex-devotee website further attests Rude Boy drawbacks. Hal Blacker reports that three former editors of WIE had spoken out strongly against the Cohen abuses known amongst devotees. Cohen forced one of his students to “engage in daily visits to prostitutes in Amsterdam for weeks on end.” This ordeal was imposed as a retribution for past sexual indiscretions. Reference is also made to “the use of physical force and abuse against students.” There was “a kind of psychological torture chamber” at Foxhollow, the headquarters of EnlightenNext at Lenox, Massachusetts. See Hal Blacker, “A Farewell with Deep Gratitude” (April 2007) at the ex-devotee site What Enlightenment?

Jane O’Neil was the generous American who gifted Andrew Cohen with two million dollars to establish the Foxhollow h/q, assisting him to gain a semblance of legitimacy. Her subsequent routine, imposed by Cohen, involved a thousand daily prostrations to his picture. After five years as a devotee, in 1998 this subscriber fled under cover of darkness, not wishing to undergo the “humiliation, interrogation and virtual house arrest” which had been the fate of another defector. O'Neil was then blacklisted as a narcissist. See O’Neil, “Andrew Cohen and the Corruption of Power” (December 2006) at the same ex-devotee website.

Another relevant account is William Yenner, American Guru: A Story of Love, Betrayal and Healing - Former Students of Andrew Cohen Speak Out (2009). Yenner was a leading participant in Cohen's community for over a decade; his book has been considered significant. The Yenner website relayed that he "was left disillusioned and disappointed after a series of debilitating, abusive experiences." See also American Guru. For a review by Professor David C. Lane, see Andrew Cohen Exposed, expressing the verdict that Cohen "is in deep need of long term therapy."

The exposition of Ken Wilber is known as integralism, supposedly being all-comprehensive. The format has discernibly incorporated problems and obstacles instead of negotiating or eschewing these. The constant need for critical acumen has never been more imperative in the face of so many problems masquerading as enlightenment. It would be unwise to believe that a deficient integralism can achieve accuracy, in relation to past centuries, when the present is so confused in popular analysis. Solid data relating to history and texts is notably absent from the new age of Rude Boys.

14.7 The Findhorn Foundation Contrivance

In learned circles, various matters are debated about the history of religion, without always arriving at any clear resolution. In contrast, the popular field of “perennial philosophy” likes to simplify everything and present potted explanations of questionable value. Some very puzzling statements about this subject have appeared in readily saleable books. Even some scholars have taken liberties with materials, from the time of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy onwards. Many books eschew the history altogether, instead offering speculations without any solid reference points. Thus the history of religion becomes whatever the exponent wishes to believe. Opinions are more acceptable if there is sufficient context to justify such a recourse. The “perennial philosophy” is too often an unexamined concept, merely being regarded as having a saleable value.



Alex Walker

A very shallow claim to “perennial philosophy” occurred at the Findhorn Foundation in the 1990s. The claimant Alex Walker was an influential figure in this “new spirituality” organisation. “The perennial philosophy as the mystical centre of religious thought is the theory which you will work with while you live in this community” (Alex Walker, ed., The Kingdom Within, 1994, p. 36, cited in Shepherd, Minds and Sociocultures Vol. One, 1995, p. 923).

At that time I was living in Forres, almost next door to the Findhorn Foundation, and made a point of checking out this situation via close informants. The “theory” was so nebulous that it did not actually form part of the curriculum, which instead comprised new age “workshops” and alternative therapy, all sold for a high price. At this venue in 1993, official intervention had recommended suspension of Grof Transpersonal Training Inc., because of acute setbacks encountered by some clients, a matter causing alarm to Edinburgh University Pathology Department. Alex Walker was one of those who credited the claim of Stanislav Grof that Holotropic Breathwork had a pedigree in antique shamanism. Grof was in the habit of making glib references to “perennial philosophy,” causing further confusions.

There was no scholarship whatever in evidence at the Findhorn Foundation. Walker was an in-house financial consultant who advocated privatisation of community assets, on the lines of the contemporary capitalist model. His community suppressed and castigated dissidents while covering up an emerging debt which they vainly tried to offset by such means as privatisation. The inmates only knew of the “perennial philosophy” in a very derivative manner, mainly via the books of Ken Wilber, which were available in the community bookshop. Although Wilber cannot be blamed for the peculiarities of this “new spirituality” community during the 1990s and after, he did patronise the confusions by participating (via phone link) in a celebrity event with Andrew Cohen during 2009. See also Wilber in Dispute.

On the Findhorn Foundation, see Letter of Complaint to David Lorimer and Findhorn Foundation Discrepancies.

14.8 Ken Wilber Integralism and the Critical Reaction

The books of Ken Wilber have received enthusiastic elevation from his supporters. Critics do not rate the gestures in his early works towards alternative therapy and the Human Potential Movement. His Up from Eden (1981) gained partisan praise as a version of human evolution. Archaeology was in very scant evidence. The neo-Hegelian accents, and other features of Up from Eden theory, have aroused strong disagreement (see my Minds and Sociocultures Vol. One, 1995, pp. 101-127).

The vocabulary of Wilber identified with "integralism" by the time of his Integral Psychology (2000). That presentation was attended by the distinctive Wilberian terminology which has both attracted and repelled. Terms like the Great Nest of Being, the Kosmos, and the Integral Embrace are here in evidence; the dominating theory is that of Four Quadrants. Wilber tends to explain everything by such means and concepts, being inclined to assert the completeness of his theories. His numerous books gave him a monolithic status in alternative metaphysics. Although one may credit Ken Wilber’s industry in creating a worldview which attempts to explain so many factors, the “Everything” model does not convince his diverse critics.

Wilber’s promotion of Nagarjuna is known to be very problematic. He frequently refers to this early Indian Buddhist philosopher, using very limited source materials. “None of the relevant scholarship is mentioned in popular works like Ken Wilber’s neo-Hegelian treatise on evolution, which lends a ‘Dharmakaya’ sense of overwhelming priority to the Buddhist Madhyamaka philosopher Nagarjuna in relation to early Vedantic matters” (Shepherd, Minds and Sociocultures Vol. One, 1995, p. 664). Further, “Nagarjuna is often mentioned (by Wilber) with esteem, though with scant indication of the exegetical difficulties posed by that Buddhist exponent for specialist scholars” (Shepherd, Pointed Observations, 2005, pp. 51-2). I am not a specialist, so I will not attempt to be exhaustive on the point at issue (a few details can be found at 20.5 on this site).

The Wilber critic Jeff Meyerhoff has invoked poststructuralist thinking to evaluate Nagarjuna. He emphasises Wilber’s exegetical problem in relation to Nagarjuna’s association with nihilism and relativism. Meyerhoff also argues strongly against many other aspects of Wilber theory. See Meyerhoff, Bald Ambition: A Critique of Ken Wilber’s Theory of Everything (2010, also available as an online feature). A basic contention of the Meyerhoff critique is that Wilber generalises about subjects which are in basic debate amongst academic experts. Wilber incorporates those unresolved subjects into an ambitious metaphysical theory of Everything.

In relation to religion, neither Wilber nor Meyerhoff mention the provocative detail that Nagarjuna “according to some scholars was not a Mahayanist at all” (Shepherd, Some Philosophical Critiques and Appraisals, p. 98). Wilber tends very much to stress the supercession of Hinayana Buddhism by Mahayana, using an evolutionary argument in Up from Eden that was contested by the present writer many years ago. The counter-argument was ignored by American integralism, for whom Brits are virtually a martian race who expired in the Georgian era.

At the close of the 1990s, Ken Wilber founded the Integral Institute in Colorado. There have since been accusations of a cult-like approach from diverse critics, extending to associations with the founding member Andrew Cohen. See Geoffrey D. Falk, “Norman Einstein”: The Dis-Integration of Ken Wilber (2009). The Falk critique is lengthy, accusing Wilber of inaccuracy and narcissism. See also the more compact coverage in Michel Bauwens, The Cult of Ken Wilber. This contribution comes from a former fan of Wilber who subsequently complained of several tendencies perceived as serious flaws.

Wilber’s failure to negate his praise of Adi Da Samraj was a major hurdle for some of his admirers in the 1990s. Bauwens also describes the style of Wilber’s lengthy Sex, Ecology, Spirituality (1995) as being unduly aggressive in places. There is again the pervasive issue of matters taken for granted by Wilber that are actually more complex. Occurrences within the Integral Institute are indicated as fostering an exclusivist and depreciatory attitude on Wilber’s part to those outside his close circle. Furthermore, these dissatisfactions are aggravated by the claim of Wilber to “nondual realization” in his book One Taste (1999). His alliance with the meme theory of Don Beck and Chris Cowan is another issue. Wilber tended very much to relegate "green meme" ecological interests and other matters in preference for the elevation of presumably transpersonal roles allocated to higher memes. See Wilber, Integral Psychology (2000), chapter 4 (also article 13.18 on this website).





Frank Visser

A significant turnabout was demonstrated by Frank Visser, author of a detailed partisan guide to the life and work of the debated integralist (Ken Wilber: Thought as Passion, 2003). Visser is not American but Dutch, being located in Amsterdam. His subsequent commentaries provide a critical angle on Wilber, converging with the disillusionment of American partisans.

Visser is webmaster of the discussion site integralworld, formerly committed to promoting Wilber. Visser proved resistant to the new Wilber opus Integral Spirituality (2006). Visser observes: “It takes Wilber 178 pages to get to the topic of religion proper (in a book the main text of which is little over 200 pages).” Quote from Visser, Simply Too Much, October 16th 2006, at Wilber Watch. Visser described Wilber’s subsequent book The Integral Vision (2007) as “a rehash of material from Integral Spirituality” plus “a lot of flashy techno-erotic illustrations, and a couple of ‘1-minute exercises’ included in Integral Life Practice” (Wilber Assessment vs. Advertising, September 19th 2007).

14.9 The Wild West Blog Showdown

In June 2006, a key event in the Ken Wilber drama unfolded. The pundit of integral spirituality delivered a broadside on the web against his critics. See Wilber, What We Are, That We See Part 1: Response to Some Recent Criticism in a Wild West Fashion (June 8th, 2006). To be more specific, his former supporter Frank Visser was here the major target. Wilber’s memorable response to criticism was couched in a “Wild West” idiom explicitly associated with Wyatt Earp. This blog assault included vulgar phrases of questionable relevance. The main scenario here was Marshal Wilber’s intent to corner the outlaws and then ride on, “transcending and including more outlaws than any lawman dude type person in history.” Moreover, the transcender was “riding off into the sunset of integral peace and harmony.”

Wilber’s refrain was optimistic in view of critical reactions. Conclusions were expressed that he is averse to legitimate criticism, and was here demonstrating characteristics reminiscent of cult leaders. Cf. Frank Visser, The Wild West Wilber Report, including a bibliography of diverse critical responses to the provocative Wilber postings. Wilber's diction and claims can still sound extremist. To quote from his Wild West excess:



Wyatt has got to go back to work now, protecting the true and the good and the beautiful, while slaying partial-ass pervs, ripping their eyes out and pissing in their eye-sockets, using his Zen sword of prajna to cut off the heads of critics so staggeringly little that he has to slow down about 10-fold just to see them.... I am at the center of the vanguard of the greatest social transformation in the history of humankind.

14.10 Neoperennialism in Question

Ken Wilber failed to supply any detailed historical data in his books, relying upon a more abstract conceptualism. Critics reject the overstated theme of his work entitled A Brief History of Everything (1996). His “neoperennialism” is viewed as a premature substitute for the inadequately investigated antecedents.

Despite his promotion of Zen, Vajrayana Buddhism, and a transpersonalist version of Advaita Vedanta, Wilber has reflected biases of the American Human Potential Movement, nurtured at Esalen in the 1960s. For instance, five major traditions in the history of religion were stigmatised by Ken Wilber, in his longest work, with a marked degree of unsympathetic accusation. The crime alleged is ascetic repression. The traditions named are Gnosticism, Manichaeism, Theravada Buddhism, a type of Advaita Vedanta, and all forms of Christianity (Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, p. 520). Even Aristotle is added to the list of disdained parties.

This emphasis of Wilber does serve to illustrate the anomalies in contemporary preferences for “perennial philosophy.” This subject is charted elsewhere as denoting a predominantly contemplative complexion, frequently found in monastic and ascetic traditions. That disciplinary sector is unpopular in “new spirituality.” This American appetite passes muster as “integralism,” including a preference for the activities of suspect Rude Boys. A critical response to Wilber came from the pen of a British writer:



Many of the exemplars involved here were ascetics and disciplined contemplatives committed strongly to an other-worldly ideal not palatable to many modern Americans of the post-hippy era. The moderns under discussion are in no position to pass a judgment upon non-American spirituality in view of their own contrary tastes. Those moderns are a product of American capitalism and the hippy generation of hedonistic values mushrooming in shallow themes of ‘non-repression’. (Shepherd, Some Philosophical Critiques and Appraisals, 2004, p. 98)

For a more sustained critique of Wilber’s neoperennialism, see Shepherd, Pointed Observations (2005) pp. 45-73, being written well in advance of the “Wild West” showdown. Cf. the multi-volume Collected Works of Ken Wilber.

The anti-ascetic bias of American pseudo-integralism is a "closed mind" avenue contrasting with "big mind" historical research into groupings such as the Manichaeans. The semi-legendary Mani (216-277 CE) was a Syriac-speaking inhabitant of the Sassanian Empire, a man reared in a Jewish-Christian "baptist" community. His following spread rapidly in various directions. Manichaean monks and nuns were supported by lay adherents, similar to operation of the Buddhist sangha, apparently an influence at work here. Mani included diverse religions in his ideological system; he was perhaps more of an integralist than Ken Wilber. His religion, of a transmigrationist contour, opposed blood sacrifices and meat consumption.

Archaeological research at the Dakhleh Oasis, in Upper Egypt, has revealed the village of Kellis in a Manichaean perspective. An emerging study of social organisation here, amongst lay Manicheans of the fourth century CE, is more relevant than dismissive American "integralist" judgments. Manichaean affiliation was widespread in mercantile sectors, and apparently extended into artisan ranks (Hakon F. Teigen, The Manichaean Church at Kellis, Leiden 2021). The Manichaean religion also exercised a fascination for intellectuals, including Christians. The degree of suppression was formidable, both Roman and Sassanian officials proving violently intolerant of Manichaeans.

Mahayana separatists like Ken Wilber have failed to grasp that the Hinayana trends in early Buddhism were a complex phenomenon. An "integralist" figurehead, the legendary Nagarjuna (born a Hindu), could easily have been a Hinayanist, more closely related to Theravada monasticism than subsequent Mahayanist doctrines. The presumed Zen sword of prajna, cutting off the heads of Wilber critics, is a preferred scenario described by Wilber in lewd Wild West terms of "ripping their eyes out and pissing in their eye-sockets." This vulgar integralism is an unconvincing gauge for a claimed "History of Everything."

Wilber chooses to overlook the fact that Mahayana traditions like Zen (Chan) were monastic. Similarly, Advaita Vedanta was maintained in the renunciate sector of India; there was no recognised alternative. An unwelcome detail to many entrepreneurs is that Asiatic "wisdom traditions" did not exist in the mould of American workshop commerce.

The degraded “perennial philosophy” is currently in the secondary category of affluent leisure interests. The aborted ahistorical subject, to become relevant, would need to be divested of contemporary biases and distortions. Judging by current standards, that might take a long time. By then, the American consumerist lifestyle (and alleged "human potential") could be in a severe predicament, not least because of factors arising from the climate change so often ignored by politicians.

The "post-metaphysical" exegesis of Wilber, departing from the caricatured perennial philosophy, is one of the issues covered in Ken Wilber and Integralism. See also Ken Wilber and Integral Theory.





Copyright © 2021 Kevin R. D. Shepherd. All Rights Reserved. Page uploaded September 2008, last modified July 2021.