Instructions
The following Annotated Bibliography contains different Tabs, each one focusing on a particular worldview (or a group of related ones).
Each Tab contains the books that The Metaphysical Compass considers most relevant for understanding and deepening the knowledge of their respective worldviews. The works of each author are ordered by recommended reading order. Each Tab is also sub-categorized and shows, from top to bottom:
- Introductions and Historical Books
- Theoretical and Doctrinal Books
- Practical Books
[EXTENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY]
The first way to use this list is to consider all the books within, which are recommended and have been selected and ordered according to their importance and accessibility. That is to say, the books within each subsection are ordered from most important to least important and, in case of doubt, those of a more introductory level are placed first.
By clicking on the Plus Symbol on the right of each book you will find a very brief Summary/Analysis of some of its most significant aspects.
The title of each book contains an Affiliate Link for those interested in buying it. By purchasing a book through these links you will be contributing to the sustainability and Ad-Free nature of The Metaphysical Compass at NO additional cost to you.
[CONDENSED BIBLIOGRAPHY]
The other two ways of using this list are defined by the following Symbols next to certain books, and were created with those with a more limited time in mind:
[!]: Key Works in relation to a Worldview that The Metaphysical Compass does not fully endorse.
These books are considered especially important because of how well they convey the ideas and doctrines relevant to their field. By reading these books you will obtain intermediate/expert knowledge on the topic at hand.
[!!]: Key Works regarding a Worldview that The Metaphysical Compass fully endorses. In addition to the above qualification, these books are Christian and predominantly Orthodox. They are characterized by their depth and/or by their accessibility in clearly communicating the Christian doctrines and its Non-Dialectical solution to the problem of the One and the Many. By reading these books you will become an expert in the key topics discussed on this website.
Alternatively, you can also check our summarized Recommended Reading List.
1.1. General Introduction to Religious and Mystical Worldviews
1. Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion
Mircea Eliade is one of the most renowned historians of ancient mythologies and religious beliefs. One of his greatest strengths is his ability to see and communicate their underlying patterns, providing deep insights and discovering structure in ancient worldviews that today may be difficult to catalog and understand.
In The Sacred and the Profane, his most accessible and popular book, Eliade exposes the paradox of how the sacred aspects of existence make their way through mankindยดs unconscious even in today’s profane and secular world. From here, Eliade explores the manifestation of the sacred in space, time, nature, the cosmos, and life. An easy read that serves as a general introduction to traditional non-secular worldviews.
2. Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces [!]
A book with an enormous impact on modern popular culture, the influence of The Hero with a Thousand Faces extends all the way from cinema (e.g., Star Wars) to video game designers.
In it, Joseph Campbell explains his belief that the same mythological pattern regarding manยดs initiation (Monomyth) and Self-deification (Apotheosis) can be found in practically all the mythico-religious traditions of the world. He called this pattern “The Hero’s Journey”.
The book also explores the doctrines of cosmogonic cycles and Emanationism, while re-interpreting the Virgin Mary as another symbol of pre-formal Chaos and the eternal feminine.
Campbellยดs book has been a primary force in orienting all modern culture towards Perennialism and Panentheism.
3. Smith, Huston. The World’s Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions
A highly influential book that examines the doctrines of the six major religions, as well as Confucianism and the native beliefs of America, Australia, Africa, and Oceania.
This book is interesting for its historical influence in the West and for how, from an apparently neutral position, it oriented the minds of many people towards Perennialism. Influenced by Aldous Huxley, Smith would later claim that the world’s religions are merely culturally mediated expressions of a โPrimordial Traditionโ.
This book, however, does not explore in depth the metaphysical presuppositions of each faith (e.g., their solution to the problem of the One and the Many).
1.2. Introduction to Traditional Symbolism
4. Guรฉnon, Renรฉ. Symbols of Sacred Science [!]
Symbols of Sacred Science is Guรฉnonยดs most important work centered on pure symbolism.
With his characteristic precision, he discusses the true meaning of symbolism as a long-lost sacred language. At the same time, he discusses the metaphysical meaning of particular symbols arranged in the following categories: the center of the world, cyclic manifestation, symbolic weapons, axial symbolism, and the symbolism of passage, of building, and of the heart.
This work is not a mere dictionary or catalog of symbols, however, as it lays the foundation for understanding the coherent metaphysical vision behind the partial realities they all represent. As such, Symbols of Sacred Science shows the many facets that the doctrines of the One use to both veil and convey the Absolute.
5. Eliade, Mircea. Images and Symbols: Studies in Religious Symbolism
A text that celebrates the modern re-discovery of symbolism through the archetypical imagery of the human unconscious, given the spotlight by the school of C.G.Jung. Its different chapters focus on some key symbolism present not only in ancient worldviews but also in modern mysticism, esotericism, and occultism, such as: the center, time and eternity (including the Indian doctrine of the Yugas), binding and knots, and aquatic symbolism (e.g., the moon, the waters, the pearl).
6. Jung, C.G. Man and His Symbols
The last work of Carl Jung and the only one he wrote as an introduction for the layman. It is usually recommended as a good starting point for those interested in his works. In it, Jung explains his worldview regarding the importance of dreams, the practical advice that can be derived from them, and how they relate to the deeper structure of our psyches. Along the way, he examines the meaning and importance of symbols throughout history.
7. Cirlot, Juan Eduardo. A Dictionary of Symbols: Revised and Expanded Edition [!]
A classic work on symbolism, it is helpful to understand symbols as visual representations of metaphysical concepts in mythology, religion, esotericism, modern psychoanalysis, and art. A Dictionary of Symbols is also useful for quickly looking up the meaning of specific symbols.
The entries are concise but usually profound. Furthermore, it contains a long introductory chapter that explains how symbols have been historically understood and analyzes their different layers of meaning, including their psychological aspects (Jungian Psychoanalysis). It includes a decent number of illustrations and photographs.
1.3. Introductory Works Regarding Key Prevalent Metaphysical Doctrines
Short and easy-to-read introductions focused on specific concepts relevant to modern spiritual worldviews
8. McGill, V. J.; Parry, W. T. The Unity of Opposites: A Dialectical Principle [!]
A short and interesting paper on the dialectical principle of complementary dualism.
Tracing its origins to the Milesian philosophers of the sixth century B.C. and to Heraclitus of Ephesus, it is a principle that has dominated mankindยดs thought during much of its history (e.g., Platonic–Aristotelian tradition, Hegelian and Marxian dialectics). It was described by Lenin as the most important of the dialectical principles.
Summarizing its meaning, this principle states that a thing is determined by its internal oppositions. There are, however, various forms of the unity of opposites doctrine, shown by this paper to be of unequal importance and having different implications and consequences.
9. Eliade, Mircea. The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History
Many worldviews conceive time as a circular reality composed of cycles that repeat periodically. This entails a special relation with time, characterized by its lack of historicity and the “terror” derived from the notion of Eternal Return. Do we face the cycles with despair or with faith?
Eliade includes and compares a wide variety of cultures in his analysis of these beliefs, which include: the symbolic archetypes used to represent them, the origin (Cosmogony) and the periodic regeneration of the world, its implications regarding destiny and pessimism, and the value of history as a Theophany. A short and easy read providing much context to understand this aspect of non-Abrahamic faiths.
Useful work especially for its main section regarding the androgyne as a symbol representing the Absolute in different traditions (e.g., Hinduism, Tantric Buddhism, Western Esotericism). It delves into its relationship with the associated doctrine of the Unity of Opposites, also discussing its most extreme but logically unavoidable consequence: the association between God and the Devil.
2.1. History and Comparison of Religious Worldviews
1. Zaehner, R.C. Mysticism: Sacred and Profane.ย An Inquiry into Some Varieties of Praeternatural Experience [!!]
Mysticism: Sacred and Profane is an important book, of which too little is said, that proposes a very interesting typology of Mysticism.
In it, Zaehner classifies the different mystical experiences found around the world as exponents of: Natural Mysticism (expansion of the ego, oceanic consciousness), Isolation Mysticism (e.g., Shamkya Yoga; spirit freeing itself from matter), Mysticism of Union into the One (e.g., Advaita Vedanta as the clearest example of this impersonal Panentheism), or Theistic Union with a personal God (e.g. Christianity).
Even if one does not fully adhere to his typology, great value can be drawn from Zaehner’s proposal, as well as from the accompanying discussions and their far-ranging implications.
Regarding the latter, for example, the mysticisms of union with the One need to include by definition the doctrine of the Unity of Opposites, in turn re-contextualizing the concept of evil into an aspect of reality to be integrated into the whole, for no-thing can remain outside the One.
Throughout this book, Zaehner investigates all types of mystical experiences, analyzing their commonalities as well as their differences in both actual experience and interpretation. This includes his own chemically-induced experiences with mescaline, common at the time of his writing. Especially illuminating is his discussion regarding the radical differences between Impersonal Monism and Theism.
Mysticism: Sacred and Profane offers a high-level view of the vast amount of mystical worldviews available, analyzing their underlying metaphysical assumptions and classifying them in a profound but simple way into categories that explain a lot about the whole mystical experience. Zaehnerยดs book, himself a Christian, can therefore work as an illuminating and profound guide in our journey in search of God.
An insightful, if brief, study of comparative religion, offering a deeper analysis than most scholarly works on the subject.
Zaehner himself spoke many languages, which enabled him to go directly to the original sources without resorting to intermediaries, a rare feature in the present field of study.
In this book, he compares Dharmic and Abrahamic religions, analyzing their underlying metaphysics, commonalities, and differences.
Authoritative work from an expert in the field tracking the early development of mysticism in both Hinduism and Sufism. A key work for understanding the commonalities between Hinduism, especially its monistic schools, with Islamic Mysticism, both being ultimately panentheistic worldviews that are superficially very different but fundamentally quite similar.
2. Eliade, Mircea. Patterns in Comparative Religion [!]
The most important work comparing the common structure found in myth and the oldest religious beliefs, discussing the recurring archetypical categories behind many of them (e.g., sky gods), as well as the most prevalent themes (e.g., Sun worship, the temple as the center of the world, cyclical time and eternal renewal) and the symbols used to convey them.
Eliade, one of the most renowned historians of religion of the last century, provides an in-depth discussion on the function of myths and the structure of their symbols, giving us an approximation to the structure and morphology of the sacred, especially of Polytheism and Monism, thus organizing the myriad data into understandable patterns.
Some caution is advised, however, to avoid projecting the exact same structure on all belief systems, overgeneralizing and uncritically accepting Eliade’s implicit Perennialism.
โ A History of Religious Ideas (Vol. I-III) [!]
A very detailed, erudite, and comprehensive synthetic historical account of all of mankindยดs spiritual and religious beliefs across the ages, containing a wealth of knowledge difficult to find elsewhere.
Volume one takes us on a chronological journey through the first magico-religious accounts available to us, the cult of Dionysus, and the religions of Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, Greece, Iran, the Indo-Europeans, and pre-Buddhic India.
Volume two, in turn, covers Chinese spirituality, Brahmanism and Hinduism, Buddhism, Roman, Celtic, and German religions, Judaism, Hellenism, Iranian syntheses, and the birth of Christianity.
Lastly, volume three continues Eliadeยดs discussion on Christianity and introduces pre-Christian Eurasian Shamanism, Islam, Tibetan Buddhism, and the various manifestations of mystical and esoteric thought, such as Hermeticism, Kabbalah, and Sufism, among many other worldviews.
3. Damick, Andrew Stephen. Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: Finding the Way to Christ in a Complicated Religious Landscape
One of the usually recommended introductions to Orthodox Christianity. Designed for modern audiences, it is an easy-to-read text that addresses in sufficient depth both the main differences and the points in common between the main Christian denominations.
However, its depiction of other faiths is comprehensive but of limited depth. They are merely brief introductions that provide key points of difference from Christianity and will need to be expanded upon by those interested in obtaining a deeper knowledge about them and their metaphysical foundations (e.g. the problem of the One and the Many, dialectics).
As such, Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy is a basic but comprehensive introduction to Orthodox Christianity that has a strong point in its thoroughness and extreme accessibility, making it a good read for those newcomers with little background or patience for more in-depth discussions.
2.2. Ancient Egyptian Religion
4. Hornung Cornell, Erik. Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many [!]
Ancient Egyptian religion had a profound influence in many still thriving metaphysical systems. Be it through Neo-Platonism, Hermeticism, or many other syncretic old and new spiritual movements, the basic axioms and pre-suppositions of Egyptian religion are still influential among us.
Therefore, it is important to know what their metaphysical views were. This book, written by Egyptologist Erik Hornung is a good way to do so.
By looking at the primary sources, this text is one of the most extensive discussions on the nature of Egyptian faiths, focusing on the solution they proposed to the problem of Unity and Plurality.
Hornung examines the characteristics, limitations, significance, and possible classifications of the Egyptian pantheon, analyzing the changing symbolism used to represent them. A central question underlying the whole work that is important for the readers of The Metaphysical Compass is: did the Egyptians believe in an impersonal Force behind the multiplicity of their deities? Or, stated otherwise: is ancient Egyptian religion one of the oldest exponents of the religions of the One?
5. Iamblichus. On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians
Iamblichus, one of the most famous later Neo-Platonists, discusses in this collection the metaphysical views and the initiatory practices of ancient Egyptian religion, as well as that of the Chaldeans (e.g. Chaldean oracles), and Assyrians. They include magical, ritualistic, and ceremonial descriptions of the practices that preceded Iamblichusยด own variation of Theurgy.
6. Wallis Budge, E.A. The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Complete Papyrus of Ani
A very visual book containing the ancient Egyptian funerary ritual that provides detailed instructions for the souls entering the afterlife and that is one of the primary sources depicting important aspects of the Egyptian worldview.
The hieroglyphs found in the tombs are here reproduced in full.
2.3. Mystery Religions, Chaldean Oracles and Orphism
7. Taylor, Thomas. Eleusinian and Bacchic Mysteries: A Dissertation [!]
Thomas Taylor was one of the most devoted and scholarly Neo-Platonists of modern times.
The Mysteries here discussed by him, in turn, were thought for centuries to be the appointed means for inner Self-transcendence through union with the Divine Essence (Henotheism). As such, they were the most important secret of Ancient Greco-Roman civilization, of which little has been revealed.
Taylor, not a mere academic but himself deeply rooted in classical metaphysics, explores these secret initiatory rituals, called the mysteries, and gives us probably the best explanation of their myths and rationale, including along the way a multitude of illustrations that reveal the symbolic language that was used.
โ The Orphic Hymns
Being one of the most important sources of later Greek metaphysics and mysticism, the Orphic Hymns are one of the unacknowledged pillars of Western esoteric currents.
These hymns were used as part of the ceremonial Mysteries two millennia ago, still being cherished by Hellenistic revivalists today.
The best repository of ancient Chaldean theology, these Oracles were also a key influence in Platoยดs doctrines. This edition contains commentaries by Psellus aimed at clarifying the principles presented.
The Chaldean Oracles are an important source of metaphysical and theological doctrines that shaped later Greek thought, little discussed despite their significance.
8. G.R.S. Mead. The Mysteries of Mithra – The Vision of Aridaeus
A brief outline of the, at one time, widely spread mysteries of the Roman empire. It describes their origin, development, expansion, and what little is known about their content and their parent religion: Mithraism.
Written by an important figure in the Theosophical movement who also influenced C.G.Jung, the Mithraic Mysteries consisted of seven initiatory degrees and were popular in the Imperial Roman army, who worshipped in underground temples (mithraeum, including Sun worship [Sol Invictus]).
2.4. Ancient Mesopotamian Religion
9. Dalley, Stephanie. Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others
The Mesopotamian myths, written in cuneiform on clay tablets, are some of the oldest ones available to us.
They are notorious for including analogous narratives to some Biblical stories, such as those of Creation and the Flood. An interesting fact, however, is that sometimes they are not mere parallel stories but inversions.
For example, the Enuma Elish depicts Ultimate Reality as an Impersonal First Principle representing Chaos (Tiamat, the Sea), who together with her counterpart (Apsu; the Sweet Waters underground) bring forth the other gods. These two primordial complementary Father/Mother gods, however, do not love their creation but despise their noisy behavior, the peace of All-Potentiality being opposite to the โnoiseโ of All-Actuality.
The hero, then, is not the highest god but the hero who conquers her, Marduk, the First Rebel, mimicking the story of Lucifer in the Bible.
The hero of the Poem of Gilgamesh, furthermore, is mentioned in the apocryphal Qumran version of the Christian Book of Giants, related to the Book of Enoch. He is there described as a giant, probably an Enochian Watcher, therefore being opposed to God according to the Christian worldview.
Stephanieยดs book is a convenient collection of the most important Mesopotamian myths, which are a necessary read to understand the whole historical context behind ancient religions in Western Asia.
10. Pardee, Dennis. Ritual and Cult at Ugarit
A collection of Ugaritic ritual texts, they are the only preserved knowledge we have on the religious practices taking place in the Syro-Palestinian region. Crude and direct in style, they emphasize the link between the cult and the royal lineage, who were engaged in a regular (lunar) cycle of sacrificial offerings to the deities of their pantheon, often asking for mundane gains.
The book includes funerary rituals, divinations, incantations, prayers, and, above all, sacrificial rituals.
11. Sandars, N. K. The Epic of Gilgamesh
The worldยดs oldest epic, this poem follows the journey of Gilgamesh, the giant king of Uruk, in his search for immortality.
During his travels, he encounters the Babylonian Noah, Utnapishtim, a survivor of the flood playing the archetypical role of the wise old man. Instead of being a servant of God, however, this Noah figure instructs Gilgamesh on how to achieve immortality by his own means.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is mankindยดs original myth depicting the Heroยดs Journey, being centered on humanityยดs fear of death and its futile struggles to overcome it.
2.5. Shamanism
12. Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy [!]
Eliadeยดs Shamanism has become almost the de facto gold standard, reference book, and first read for those interested in this extremely old spiritual worldview.
The book provides an overview of over two and a half millennia of Shamanic beliefs and practices. It discusses Siberian Shamanism, the first one of which we know about, following its Central Asian, North and South American, Indonesian, Tibetan, and Chinese variations.
The beliefs of these magico-spiritual traditions are discussed, focusing on the figure of the Shaman, at the same time magician, medicine man, healer, priest, and mystic.
Eliade explores their initiation rituals, focused on quests of ascent and descent to the underworld, how the adepts obtain their powers, the symbolism and objects of power used to convey their doctrines, and their cosmology. He also compares parallel myths, symbols, and rites, providing a comprehensive and synthetic vision of the whole phenomenon.
A long but rewarding book, it provides a wealth of knowledge about this most ancient spiritual path, still relevant today.
2.6. Zoroastrianism
13. Zaehner, R.C. The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism [!]
One of the deepest and most comprehensive studies available on Zoroastrianism, written by one of its greatest scholars.
In this book, Zaehner studies the figure of Zoroaster himself, the theology and metaphysics of the religion, the secondary deities (e.g. Mithra; the Bounteous Immortals), the rituals (e.g. Haoma), and the Magi, among many other aspects.
His approach is both religious, philosophical, and historical, following the search for a Zoroastrian orthodoxy, its variations (e.g., Dualistic tendencies contrary to its original Monism), and its decline, including the deviation of Zurvanism (Zurvan: god of Fate [Fatalism]).
A monographic work on Zurvanism, it discusses its underlying metaphysics and how it changed the original structure of the religion of Zoroaster to include a deity conceived as being beyond Good and Evil birthing them both (Complementary Dualism or Unity of Opposites).
Zaehner explores the Zurvanist cosmology, demonology, the three Creators, Fate, and the infinite and finite aspects of the fourfold Zurvan. The second part of the book, in turn, includes many original texts (e.g. from the Avesta).
A specialist one-of-a-kind work for those interested in how the doctrines of Impersonal Monism infiltrated Zoroastrianism, as well as the consequences that followed.
3.1. General Introductions and Encyclopedic Works
1. Huxley, Aldous. The Perennial Philosophy: An Interpretation of the Great Mystics, East and West [!]
The Perennial Philosophy is probably the most influential book in turning modern Perennialism into a dominant force in mainstream consciousness.
By fitting all religions into the same scheme of things and removing anything that did not fit, Huxley spoke of a common reality behind them all. For him, there is no difference between, for example, the Tri-Une God of Christianity, the panentheist Brahman of Hinduism, the impersonal Tao of Taoism, or the ultimate Emptiness of Buddhism.
This distillation of the minimum common denominator of all spiritual beliefs, however, is a naive simplification of their underlying metaphysics. Not every one of them, for example, gives the same answer to the problem of the One and the Many. Especially difficult is the task of making compatible the Abrahamic notion of a personal God with the impersonal Absolute of Dharmic religions and Western Esotericism.
Given this impossibility, the end result is that the โcommonโ religion becomes that of the One, the Absolute, transforming Jesus Christ into a mere avatar of the Unitary God and the Tri-Une God of Christianity into a sequential series of emanations or a duality of opposing principles reconciled in the Monad.
Huxleyยดs book also draws from mystical authors, such as Meister Eckhart and Rumi who, like most forms of Mysticism, try to fuse with the Divinity (Panentheism).
Overall, an interesting read mainly because of its enormous influence on popular Western culture.
2. Perry, Whitall. A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom
What Perennialism lacked in its early days was a compilation of sources from all the great religions and esoteric mystical schools classified by subject matter to show their similarities and their ultimate underlying unity.
A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom is that compendium, a series of books compiling what the major spiritual traditions have to say regarding every aspect of the spiritual life (e.g., faith, patience, suffering, mercy).
From Rumi to Milarepa, the Talmud, Black Elk, and even Shakespeare, countless representatives of each major and many minor spiritual worldviews have their place here. If we are aware of the authorโs perennialist bias, these books can be a good source for comparative studies.
3.2. Works of Renรฉ Guรฉnon, the Father of Traditionalism
3. Guรฉnon, Renรฉ. Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines [!]
Due to its structure, this book is probably the best starting point for the new readers of Renรฉ Guรฉnon.
In Part I, Guรฉnon prepares the Western minds for their encounter with Eastern metaphysics, clearing away possible ingrained prejudices born of a predominantly Greco-Roman culture.
Part II introduces, in a general way, the main characteristics of Eastern thought, establishing the metaphysical basis of the whole conceptual edifice that Guรฉnon sets out to build. Key concepts such as religion, philosophy, symbolism, mysticism, and esotericism are precisely defined, as well as the true nature of the metaphysical knowledge necessary to achieve self-realization in order to attain the Absolute.
Part III presents a more detailed examination of Hindu doctrine and its different schools of thought (including tantric ones such as Shaivism and more theistic ones such as Vaishnavism). He presents the panentheistic version of Vedanta, however, as the highest peak of Hinduism, at the same time rejecting Buddhism as non-traditional.
Part IV is aimed at removing current misconceptions regarding Hindu doctrines born of trying to syncretize them with incompatible modern Western ideas. True knowledge, Guรฉnon asserts, cannot be decided through pure intellectual efforts but has to come from the first-hand experience of Jnana or Gnosis.
At the Metaphysical Compass we recommend starting with this book, only then proceeding to Man and His Becoming according to Vedanta, The Multiple States of Being, The Symbolism of the Cross, and Studies in Hinduism. This sequential order will provide a thorough understanding of the metaphysical doctrines of Perennialism and classical Impersonal Monism (Panentheism) while minimizing the reader’s difficulties with the material being presented. Whoever follows this itinerary will have received the best “initiation” to traditional metaphysics published in modern times, written by its best exponent.
Man and His Becoming according to the Vedanta is often considered the best exposition of general Hindu metaphysics in Western language. It is followed by The Multiple States of Being and The Symbolism of the Cross, with all the rest of Guรฉnonยดs works being focused on more narrow and specialized topics.
According to this book, Vedanta represents the most ancient, pure, and comprehensive expression of traditional metaphysics we currently possess. Because of this, it can be used as a key to interpret every other traditional worldview.
The book discusses all major metaphysical doctrines of Advaita Vedanta, including: the fundamental distinction between the ego and Self, the Seat of Brahma inside every being, Purusha and Prakriti, mystical anthropology (e.g., Atman, Buddhi, and Manas), the different states of being, the symbolism behind the sacred syllable Om, spiritual evolution, the degrees of re-absorption into the Absolute depending on the knowledge obtained (Gnosis), and the attainment of liberation once the Supreme Identity is realized.
For those who intend to read only one book written by Guรฉnon, Man and His Becoming according to the Vedanta should be the one.
โ The Multiple States of the Being [!]
This text is Guรฉnonยดs most comprehensive work on abstract metaphysics. It focuses on pure Being and its multiple states, both manifest and unmanifest, the former proceeding from the latter as mere possibilities of the Absolute or All-Possibility, Panentheismยดs conception of Ultimate Reality.
By realizing our true inner nature, we become aware of the insignificance of our individual existence and personality (ego), at the same time discovering our identity with the impersonal Sea of Being from where all particular possibilities of existence emanate.
Atman is Brahman, with the annihilation of the ego uncovering our true essence as the source of all life. Opposites are reunited in the One, the Absolute discovering Itself again in us, our existence being a circular path to become what we already are.
If Man and His Becoming according to the Vedanta is Guรฉnonยดs metaphysical Magnum Opus, and Symbols of Sacred Science is his most important work on symbolism and cosmology, The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times is, without a doubt, his most complete criticism of the modern world, in which he does not pull any punches. His critique, even if he was an adherent of Panentheism, is in agreement with all spiritual worldviews.
In it, Guรฉnon summarizes the current problems the world faces from the point of view of traditional values and metaphysics. He analyzes the spiritual nature of the modern deviation, focusing on the metaphysical background and presuppositions of modern science and philosophy, which were primary influences in shaping our current reality.
Guรฉnonยดs diagnosis is that history is descending from a fixation on Form (or Quality) towards Matter (or Quantity). Furthermore, he predicts that after the Reign of Quantity of modern Materialism, a new reign of โinverted qualityโ will arise just before the end of the age takes place. This would be the end of the Kali Yuga and the victory of a global counter-initiation, the kingdom of the Antichrist understood in a perennialist sense.
This is Guรฉnonยดs call to action against a world in crisis, his “manifesto” against the widespread degeneracy of modernity. In it, he studies the metaphysical roots of the problem.
Interpreting the spiritual darkness of this age as a symptom of the Hindu age of decay (Kali Yuga) that points to the end of a cycle, this is a work focused on social, moral, and spiritual criticism.
Guรฉnonยดs diagnosis is clear: the cause of all this malady is the loss of tradition, its exaltation of action over knowledge, and its excessive individualism leading to a lack of any type of unity.
This critique would continue and attain its ultimate form in The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times, one of his best books.
This is Renรฉ Guรฉnonยดs collection of articles focusing on a key doctrine of panentheistic worldviews: the doctrine of Cosmic Cycles.
The articles here included are representative of Jewish Mysticism (contrary to exoteric Judaism on many points), Hermeticism, ancient Egyptian religion, and the myth of Atlantis and Hyperborea.
Guรฉnon defines initiation as basically the transmission of a “spiritual influence” that represents the beginning of the spiritual journey of the adept. This is done through the appropriate rites of each tradition.
Perspectives on Initiation explains the conditions that a valid initiation needs to observe and the necessary traits that the organizations transmitting them need in order to be qualified to do so.
In addition, many other subjects are tangentially discussed, including magic and Mysticism, Ceremonial Magic, psychic abilities, and the Greater and Lesser Mysteries.
This book is Guรฉnonยดs guide on all aspects related to initiation. From discussing how the transmission of initiatory grace works, to the different types of spiritual masters and their roles, or the common obstacles that the adepts may encounter on their quest, this book explains the reasons behind the different steps that those on the path toward a return to The One may follow.
The book also discusses the doctrine of the Unity of Opposites (e.g., chapters on metaphysics and dialectics and the meeting of the extremes) applied to initiation, as well as other popular subjects such as Egregores.
Guรฉnon makes the important observation that initiatory Esotericism can only be legitimately and effectively practiced within the context of established exoteric religions in possession of valid rites.
This small volume brings together a number of Guenon‘s early articles on Sufism (Islamic Mysticism). It explains the particularities of Islamic initiation, consisting of three stages: the exoteric basis (Shari’ah), the way and its means (Tariqah), and the results attained (Haqiqah). Other chapters include explanations of technical terms such as the concept of the absolute simple unity of Allah (Tawhid), a key concept to understand the Islamic position on the problem of the One and the Many.
The comparative aspect of the book makes Islamic Esotericism analogous to Taoism, while the external law represented by the Shari’ah finds its Chinese correspondence in Confucianism. Given that both worldviews share a view of absolute Unity (The One) as the First Principle, it is not difficult to see how all their other derived metaphysical doctrines can be seen as compatible between them.
โ The Great Triad
In many esoteric worldviews the ternary aspects of existence are emphasised. The triad of the doctrines of The One (Impersonal Monism), however, is very different from the classical Christian Trinity.
In Chinese tradition, this triad is described as Heaven, Man, and Earth. In this book, Guรฉnon identifies Heaven with Essence, Earth with Substance, and Man in the middle as the mediator whose metaphysical destiny is to be a vessel for Spirit (Heaven) while at the same time spiritualizing matter (Earth).
This way of thinking is a dialectical one, because Man is seen as the mediator between two aspects (both originated from Ultimate Reality) that are viewed as opposed and in conflict, with one of them being clearly superior to the other. On the contrary, the Trinity of the Christian faith represents a non-dialectical ternary of three co-equal personifications of the same essence in harmony with each other, with the Logos (Jesus Christ) being the intermediary between them all and creation.1This is why the Filioque clause introduced by Roman Catholicism is so problematic, because it transforms the non-dialectical theology of Orthodox Christianity into a version closer to panentheist and perennialist metaphysics.
In this book, Guรฉnon explores traditional Chinese cosmology and other esoteric schools in order to explain the metaphysical significance of the many dialectical dichotomies present in their thought, including: Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, Solve et Coagula, Celestial and Terrestrial Numbers, the Square and the Compass, and the Double Spiral. He does so to show us their ultimate unity in their respective ternaries: the Three Worlds; Triple Time; Spiritus, Anima, and Corpus; Sulfur, Mercury, and Salt; and God, Man, and Nature.
In this way, Guรฉnon shows how the principle of the Unity of all Opposites is an absolutely key axiom for all the doctrines that believe in the Absolute, The One.
Since the late nineteenth century, the Theosophical Society has been one of the main influences behind the movement now known as the New Age. Nowadays, its influence may be more indirect, relying on different spin-offs2Such as Elizabeth Clare Prophetโs Summit Lighthouse, and Benjamin Crรจmeโs insistence that the โsecond comingโ of Maitreya as World Teacher was imminent, reminding us of the previous efforts of the Society with Jiddu Krishnamurti., but it has certainly not diminished.3For example, it plays a part in todayโs global interfaith movement.
Surprisingly for many, the Society has also established intimate ties with the political and economic โelitesโ of the world (e.g. Lucis Trust and its Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations).
Guรฉnon, to put it mildly, was not a fan of Theosophy. Once approached to see if they could convince him to join their ranks, he instead wrote the present book to denounce what he considered to be the dangerous influences behind the movement, not necessarily of a mundane nature.
In this book, he shows how many of the popular esoteric ideas of todayยดs Western world, such as Karma and Reincarnation, actually owe more to Theosophy than to the original Dharmic religions from where the concepts were appropriated. Guรฉnon also denounces their frequent charlatanry and their thirst for political power.
Overall, this is an appealing book for those interested in the unseemly marriage between esoteric pseudo-secret societies and politics, a topic more important than ever in the wake of the events of 2020.
Studies in Freemasonry and the Compagnonnage is Guรฉnonยดs attempt to rediscover the lost roots of Freemasonry as well as an exposition of the underlying metaphysical background of this influential semi-initiatic and not-so-secretive organization.
It includes chapters on the masonic vision of God (The Great Architect of the Universe), the nature of the knowledge attainable (Gnosis and Freemasonry), as well as on the particularities of specific higher grades (e.g., The Masonic High Grades; Some Unpublished Documents on the Order of the Elect Cohens; Concerning the Unknown Superiors and the Astral). It also discusses some of the important figures and controversies of the first half of the twentieth century, providing historical context.
Guรฉnonยดs final evaluation concluded that Freemasonry may be a largely degenerated and no longer strictly operative offshoot of a true initiatory lineage. He regarded its symbolism as sound and legitimate, however, being able to communicate certain truths. An interesting book written by an insider4Guรฉnon ultimately abandoned Freemasonry and the best panentheist metaphysician of modern times.
Both The Spiritist Fallacy and Theosophy, the History of a Pseudo-Religion are at the same time historical chronicles and works of metaphysical criticism. As such, they both offer valuable insights into the origins of the New Age movement, which they heavily influenced, and of some false ideas that infected Western culture as a whole.
Guรฉnon starts his investigation by tackling the โspirit manifestationsโ of the Fox sisters in New York (1847). Even if he is prepared to accept the partial reality of these phenomena, he denies that they are the manifestation of the spirits of the dead. He criticizes the spiritist notion of spirit being some kind of rarefied quasi-material body, with death being no more than the shedding of the physical body by a spirit that remains unchanged (a widely represented doctrine in todayยดs popular culture).
Guรฉnon shows how the different โspirit philosophiesโ are little more than reflections of the dominant worldview held by those living in the places where they were summoned, also covering in great detail the adverse effects of these spiritual entities on the mediums who call them.
3.3. Other Influential Traditionalist Authors
4. Evola, Julius. Revolt Against the Modern World: Politics, Religion, and Social Order in the Kali Yuga [!]
In this book, Julius Evola spares no one. He analyzes the spiritual and cultural unrest at the heart of modern Western civilization, as well as where โprogressโ has taken us.
One of its clearest analyses of modern cultural and moral decay, Revolt Against the Modern World clearly identifies what we have lost, why we have lost it, and where we are headed. Prophetic and provocative, it studies the metaphysics of history and how the pillars of Western civilization have been eroded to the point of collapse.
In this situation, Evola advocates for revolt as the only logical conclusion. This revolt, however, is not only supposed to be an external one, being at its core an internal re-discovery and re-commitment to the traditional values that gave birth to Western civilization, codified in the myths and sacred literature of the IndoโEuropeans.
The topics explored include: politics, law, the rise and fall of empires, social institutions and the caste system, the limits of racial theories, capitalism and communism, relations between the sexes, and the meaning of warriorhood.
An in-depth look at the metaphysical aspects of sexuality. It analyzes the symbolism, the meanings, and the uses of sex as a means of spiritual advancement, as well as its historical representations in religion, mysticism, folklore, psychology, and mythology.
Evola includes sections on the metaphysics of sex (e.g. the meaning of the hermaphrodite; the sacred marriage), as well as on its ceremonial and initiatory use in some esoteric worldviews (e.g. Tantra; Sabbat).
This wide-ranging study analyses both left-hand and right-hand paths, ancient beliefs (e.g., Eleusinian mysteries) as well as modern ones (e.g., Thelema), making it the most comprehensive study on the significance of the realm of sexuality in the human psyche and on its value as a symbol of higher realities.
This is Julius Evolaโs final major work, in which he discusses the type of human being able to give meaning to his or her life in the decaying modern world, which he deconstructs with clarity and without mercy.
Evola is unambiguous in his evaluation of the times. In his view, the institutions that in a traditional civilization would have allowed an individual to realize himself are no longer there and, if they are, their inversion implies that they work against us. What can we do, then?
Ride the Tiger is a handbook for the minority, the spiritual Aristocracy of the world, whom Evola seeks to guide in transforming the trials and tribulations of life into a meaningful existence leading to enlightenment. By showing a path to transform destruction and dissolution into inner liberation (related to the doctrine of the Unity of Opposites), he offers hope to those embracing Traditionalism.
Julius Evolaยดs particular genius was especially sharp when dissecting modern culture and its metaphysical deficiencies and incongruencies. The most unique and important aspect of his works regarding modern society and culture is how they show that these modern evils are the direct consequence of having lost our metaphysical and spiritual roots. We are immersed in a spiritual war and we are losing it.
By focusing on the Hindu doctrine of cyclical time and its periodic ages of prosperity and decline, Evola identifies our current one as the latter, the Kali Yuga. Men Among the Ruins is thus a frontal attack against the prevalent Materialism and selfishness of the times, our actual reality being so decadent that strife, struggle, and the inversion of the natural order of things become the norm. Evola argues that in such a time, this is especially evident in the institutions that should protect us against them.
Evola argues that this unacknowledged occult war aims at uprooting all traditional values that served as spiritual pillars of the past in order to transform man into a passive instrument of the rulers of this age.
Evola was a complex figure whose meritocratic (and aristocratic) ideas regarding how a person’s worth is equal to his or her spiritual stature could have dangerous consequences depending on the intention of the appropriator. He was also a master at diagnosing modern spiritual illnesses, analyzing them with clinical precision and with a clear understanding of their causes and consequences. Like Nietzsche, his most important work was that of diagnosis, deconstruction, and destruction.
5. Coomaraswamy, Ananda. A New Approach to the Vedas: An Essay in Translation and Exegesis
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy was one of the “founding fathers” of modern Perennialism. In this small text, we can find his essay on translation and interpretation of the Vedas. It also contains passages from the notoriously difficult-to-interpret Rig Veda and the Brhadaranyaka and Maitri Upanishads.
These translations deal with the classical metaphysics of Vedic Hinduism, focusing on its cosmogony, ontology, and teleology. Coomaraswamy provides an interesting comparative interpretation regarding their technical significance.
Many of Coomaraswamyยดs works are mainly focused on symbolic aspects. This work, however, is his deepest work on the pure metaphysics behind the symbolism. In it, we can get a clear taste of his perennialist worldview and of the one behind it, the Absolute.
The different articles clarify, among other topics, how Impersonal Monism understands โevilโ (Who is Satan and Where is Hell), how all religions are just different expressions of the same truth (Sri Ramakrishna and Religious Tolerance), how East and West once shared a similar conception of Absolute Unity as Ultimate Reality (Recollection, Indian and Platonic), how the One is an impersonal reality (Vedic โMonotheismโ; On the One and Only Transmigrant), the key importance of the Unity of Opposites in the religions of The One (Tantric Doctrine of Divine Biunity) and how we have to lose what makes ourselves unique in order to return to it (Self-Naughting).
A clear exposition of the key doctrines of Perennialism/Panentheism by one of its founding fathers and deepest minds.
In another very short book, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy examines the foundational myths and metaphysical background of both Hinduism and Buddhism, understood through the perennialist lens characteristic of the author as fundamentally endorsing the same metaphysical truths and overall worldview. In Coomaraswamyยดs perspective, Buddhism is merely an outgrowth of Hinduism.
An overview of each religionโs foundational myths is provided, including key concepts such as Karma, Maya, Reincarnation, sacrifice, and caste. The section on Buddhism claims that the Buddha, instead of aiming at founding another religion, intended to provide a better and deeper understanding of the old one. Very readable and short, but comprehensive, overview of both Dharmic faiths examined in a comparative context.
6. Teitaro Suzuki, Daisetz. Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist
D.T. Suzuki was a very influential figure during the twentieth century.5From C.G. Jung to Thomas Merton, many popular spiritual figures recognized their sympathy for his teachings. He transformed Zen Buddhism into a popular worldview in a Western world feeling the loss of religion and spirituality, having been devastated by its rampant reductionistic Materialism and the inevitable Nihilism and spiritual thirst that followed.
Himself of a perennialist disposition6As exemplified,for example, by this book and the fact that he married a theosophist., in this book he equates the Kensho experience of Shin/Zen Buddhism with the ones described by the popular โChristianโ mystic Johannes Eckhart.
There is no arguing, however, that Meister Eckhartยดs experiences were a deviation from orthodox Christian theology and experience, speaking of the Ground of Existence in impersonal terms compatible with Panentheism and certain notions of Non-Dualism but not with Trinitarian theology.
Thus, this book is a perennialist attempt to make Christianity fit into the framework of the doctrines of The One by changing some of its most central tenets, making it an interesting read for all those curious to see what the roadmap for incorporating Christianity into a hypothetical future One World Religion might look like.
7. Pallis, Marco. A Buddhist Spectrum: Contributions to the Christian-Buddhist Dialogue
Renรฉ Guรฉnon was not very fond of Buddhism, which he considered a non-traditional worldview and a deviation from Vedanta. Marco Pallis tried to change this view, showing how Buddhism, especially its tantric Vajrayana tradition, contains the same metaphysical background and can be integrated into Perennialism. This he accomplished with moderate success.
4.1. Original Sources, Historical and Early Patristic Works
1. De Young, Fr. Stephen. Religion of the Apostles: Orthodox Christianity in the
First Century [!!]
A short and easy read by a popular priest and communicator, aiming to show the unbroken continuity of the original Christian faith of the Apostles with todayยดs Orthodox Christianity.
Religion of the Apostles corrects common misconceptions, especially for those only acquainted with the Latin-derived Christian traditions (Roman Catholicism and Protestantism), while also discussing the first-century Jewish worldview through which the Christian revelation was interpreted.
2. Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine
(Vol. I-V)
A famous, easy-to-read, five-volume set that chronicles the modifications of the original Apostolic Christian doctrine from the first to the twentieth century. Probably equally interesting is the fact that Pelikan eventually abandoned Lutheranism to embrace Orthodox Christianity near the end of his life.
3. Eusebius. Eusebius: The Church History
This book by Eusebius is the most widely read introduction to the historical aspects of the early Christian church, written by a contemporary and chronicling the terrible persecutions and executions that took place, as well as the theological heresies that threatened it from within.
4. Dionysius the Areopagite. Pseudo Dionysius: The Complete Works [!!]
These short works are some of the most influential treatises on Christian Mysticism ever written, having been instrumental in shaping both Western and Eastern thought. As such, they are a short, sometimes challenging, but almost mandatory read for anyone interested in the mystical side of Christianity.
For some, they represent the incursion of Neo-Platonism into Christian theology, while for the Orthodox they are the clearest and most direct expression of the original mystical theology of Christianity, already implied in Scriptures.
Famous for its (extremely brief) exposition of the negative (Apophatic) way of doing theology, this compilation also includes Dionysiusยด treatise on the names of God (his attributes; positive or Cataphatic theology), his writings on the angelical and ecclesiastical hierarchies, and his letters.
5. St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Against Heresies (Vol. I-V)
The classic five-volume set focused on describing and refuting the many different flavors of Gnosticism, it contains the earlier and most extensive description of all types of Gnostic beliefs, a worldview composed of many different metaphysical tenets and even drastically incompatible morality systems.
Ireneus discusses at length the Valentinian worldview, the most important one and the basis of modern Neo-Gnosticism, which he traces back to Simon Magus. Refuting it through scriptural proofs, he defends the unity of the Old Testament and the Gospels, rejecting the notion of an evil Old Testament God (Demiurge).
6. St. Athanasius of Alexandria. On the Incarnation
As C.S. Lewis remarks in the introduction, this is a classic little book that is at the same time very deep and very simple.
Written when it seemed that Arianism would destroy Christianity from within, bringing back the simple Monad as the definition of the Divine instead of the Tri-Une God of revelation, this work is not only important because of its orthodox defense of basic Christian doctrines but also because it was instrumental in the triumph of Christianity against the doctrines of The One.
7. St. Basil the Great. On the Holy Spirit
Once the battle against the Divinity of the Second Person of the Trinity waged by the Arians had subsided, the Third Person, the Holy Spirit, came under attack.
This short classic monographic work of Trinitarian theology was written by St. Basil to demonstrate that the nature of the Spirit, like that of the Son, is the same (Homoousion) as that of the Father, being at the same time One (in Nature) and Many (different personifications of that common Essence).
Since the Christian Godhead is in itself a communion in love of the Many in the One, we may expect for ourselves a similar destiny, speaking therefore of our elevation or Deification (Theosis) instead of our absorption into The One, as do the pure monistic doctrines.
8. Photios, St. The Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit
A theological overview of the Filioque controversy, a seemingly minor and abstract issue to those unfamiliar with the problem that nevertheless carries the risk of completely changing the character of the Tri-Une Christian God back to that of Monism (e.g., The One of Neo-Platonism).
This brief book addresses the issue in non-technical language, making it a very readable text that provides not only the context of the split between Rome and Constantinople, but also profound and visionary insights into the grave further consequences that would ensue if the Filioque were embraced, as Rome ultimately did.
9. Lumpkin, Joseph. The Books of Enoch: the Angels, the Watchers and the Nephilim [!]
The contents of the Book of Enoch, although apocryphal and not in the Bible, were part of the common background of first-century Christianity, with some Biblical passages alluding to it. In addition, stories about Fallen Angels, Watchers, and Nephilim are common in contemporary popular media.
Therefore, it is important to have a correct knowledge of their origin and meaning, as they are still present in both our interpretations of Biblical times and in modern culture.
The story of the Fallen Angels is told in an interlinked way through different apocryphal books, such as the books of Enoch, Jasher, Jubilees, The Book of Giants, and The Scrolls of War.
The present book is a useful resource that combines the most important of those in a single volume: The First Book of Enoch (The Ethiopic Book of Enoch), The Second Book of Enoch (The Slavonic Secrets of Enoch), and The Third Book of Enoch (The Hebrew Book of Enoch). Additionally, it includes The Book of Fallen Angels, The Watchers, and the Origins of Evil, thus being one of the most complete packages on the Enochian tradition.
10. St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology. The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today’s World [!!]
The first-ever study edition of the Orthodox canon of the Holy Bible, which contains additional books compared to those of Catholicism and Protestantism, it provides additional patristic commentary that aims at clarifying complex issues as well as providing liturgical insights.
The Old Testament is translated from the Greek Septuagint, while the New Testament employs the New King James Version.
Containing useful maps and individual book introductions, it is usually the go-to version of the Bible for new enquirers into Orthodox Christianity.
11. Schaff, Philip. Ante-Nicene Fathers: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325, Series – Vol I-IX. Enhanced Version (Early Church Fathers)
A culturally important scholarly work, Schaffยดs classic volumes contain the works of the early Church Fathers, used by generations of Christians willing to go directly to the primary sources.
Consisting of over twenty volumes, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church is probably the most influential collection of texts written by Christian classical and medieval theologians.
The first series focuses on Blessed Augustine and St. John Chrysostom, of key importance in Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, respectively.
4.2. Analysis of the Modern World from a Christian Perspective
12. Davis, G.M. Antichrist: The Fulfillment of Globalization: The Ancient Church and the End of History
This book offers a well-researched synthesis of where the modern developments of society, characterized by the globalization of every aspect of life, seem to be leading us.
By mainly discussing the current globalized spheres of economics (e.g. fiat currency based on debt and the alchemical multiplication of money out of nothing), politics, religion (e.g. the dangers of a perennialist form of Ecumenism), as well as their relation with Chiliasm, Gnosticism, and a false notion of โJudeo-Christianityโ, incompatible with the latter by definition, the author shows how current events puts us in spiritual danger and lead to a series of events long-prophesied in Biblical eschatological accounts.
A good introductory read for those perplexed by the current state of world affairs and the seemingly coordinated irrationality behind them, this book provides a wealth of knowledge and clues for further research without falling into sensationalism.
13. Bailey, Fr. Spyridon. Orthodoxy and the Kingdom of Satan
In this book, Fr. Spyridon discusses a wide variety of matters that have become common discussion topics, especially in the aftermath of COVID-19, such as: the intentional role of the United Nations and the economic elites in our current polarized world, Freemasonry and the role of pseudo-secret societies in todayยดs state of affairs, Ancient Mystery Cults, the dangers of Ecumenism and Zionism, the excessive power of the banking sector in shaping the world, how everything seems to point towards a One World Government, the modern indoctrination suffered through the educational system, child abuse, and the prevailing Nihilism and Materialism that are the necessary pre-condition for increasing general dissatisfaction to the levels necessary to awaken a revolutionary spirit.
More importantly, Fr. Bailey discusses how to prepare for what is to come, offering spiritual guidance to what are, deep down, spiritual problems.
A short and easy read, this book, although it would have benefited from the addition of supplementary notes, offers interesting and provocative reflections on a wide variety of modern issues that affect us all, highlighting the spiritual nature of the problems we are facing.
4.3. Christianityยดs Analysis and Solution to the Problem of the One and the Many
14. Rushdoony, Rousas John. The One and the Many: Studies in the Philosophy of Order and Ultimacy [!!]
One of the most important and revealing books in relation to the problem of the One and the Many and how the answer we pre-suppose as a solution to this question will make us believe in one type of divinity or another (e.g., Monism, Polytheism, Trinitarianism).
Rushdoony shows the tremendous historical weight that such a choice has had on the formation of different civilizations and the values they held.
A heavily annotated book, The One and the Many includes a scholarly but easy-to-understand study of the Christian One/Many solution, a unique perspective among all spiritual worldviews that transcends the dialectical logic underlying the problem in order to propose both a Unitarian and Plural vision of God as revealed in Scriptures.
15. Farrell, Joseph P. God, History, and Dialectic (Volume I-III) [!!]
A Doctor of Patristics (Oxford University) and one of the translators of the Philokalia, in God, History, and Dialectic Joseph P. Farrell has created one of the most important analyses of the origins and historical consequences of dialectics and how this way of thinking is profoundly incompatible with Christian theology.
Through an exceedingly detailed historical analysis, Farrell shows how the infiltration of a seemingly minor dialectical theological doctrine in Catholicism (the Filioque clause) led to the unavoidable partition of both Christianity and Europe.
Following the different steps of Hellenization suffered by the Latin Church, and drawing parallels with the Gnostic principles that the process apparently followed, Farrell demonstrates how dialectics was able to gradually erode the theological pillars of Western Christianity, showing with great clarity how the most basic metaphysical axioms regarding Who God is can impact and even define the culture that holds them.
In volume two, Farrel focuses on Augustinianism and how dialectics inverted the patristic theological order, putting human reason above revelation, and transforming the Trinity into a similar Godhead to that of the Mystery religions and Panentheism. Volume three, in turn, discusses in detail the many historical implications and consequences that these axiomatic modifications caused in all the spheres of life (e.g., religion, politics, science).
Given all the above, and the undeniable merit of God, History, and Dialectic, it is all the more incomprehensible the drift that Farrellยดs later writings took. This, however, cannot detract from the great value of the present work.
16. Radde-Gallwitz, Andrew. Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and the Transformation of Divine Simplicity [!!]
Absolute Divine simplicity is the metaphysical doctrine that God, as the ultimate principle, must be an absolutely simple Unity, a Monad, non-composite and lacking any differentiation or particular attribute: The One.
The idea does not come from revealed theology, but from philosophy. However, it was appropriated by some Christian theologians and ended up being a crucial departure that changed some denominations of Christianity forever, being one of the principal issues that precipitated the split between East and West.
Radde-Gallwitz follows the historical impact of this doctrine from the second through the fourth centuries, focusing especially in two of the three Cappadocian Fathers, Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa, which he considers the deepest and most subtle writers on this subject.
Showing how Divine Simplicity can be an attribute of God without the need of it being above Him (thus transforming Unity into an idol), the present book shows the Orthodox understanding of this doctrine and its differences with the Absolute Simplicity of the philosophers, exemplified by Eunomius of Cyzicus, the historical rival of the Fathers.
A useful and comprehensive historical account of the simple but deep metaphysical doctrine of Divine Simplicity that, even if little known by the layman, has the greatest impact in all aspects of religious life.
4.4. Orthodox Christianity
17. Hopko, Fr. Thomas. The Orthodox Faith (Vol. I-IV)
A series of short books designed to provide basic, easy-to-read, but comprehensive information on all aspects of both theology and practice of the Christian Orthodox Church, written by a reputable priest and being the first introduction to the faith for millions of Americans.
18. Lossky, Vladimir. The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church [!!]
The most popular and influential book of Vladimir Lossky, used as a common introduction to Eastern Orthodoxy. It includes illuminating discussion on the aspects that separate Eastern from Western theology, such as the Uncreated Energies of God, the non-Filioquist patristic understanding of the Holy Trinity, the Divine Light, and the Orthodox understanding of the Way of Union as a state of deified communion in love, not of absorption into a monadic essence (Roman Catholicism; Beatific Vision).
Losskyยดs style may seem dense, but this is compensated by his unparalleled ability to condense into short texts the deepest meanings and subtleties of the faith, which other authors struggle to convey in even longer expositions.
A brief introductory text that addresses the most relevant aspects of Christian theology and how it affects us. Ideal for newcomers looking for a good starting point to the study of Orthodox theology.
With his characteristic style, Lossky is able to convey deeper meanings than most introductory texts in a very succinct manner.
โ Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: Creation, God’s Image in Man and the Redeeming Work of the Trinity [!!]
These are Lossky‘s classroom lectures on dogmatic theology. In his customary dense but deep style, he provides a concise introduction to all the theological doctrines of Orthodox Christianity, including: Apophatic (negative) and Cataphatic (positive) theology, transcendence and immanence in God, the order present in creation, Godยดs Image in mankind, the Persons of the Trinity, the Incarnation, ecclesiology and eschatology.
Interpreting everything through the two cornerstones of Christian thought, the Tri-Une (One/Many) God and the Incarnation of the Logos, Lossky emphasizes patristic thought and the implications of theology in our everyday life, rejecting a false split between theory and practice.
A recommended mid-level book masquerading as an introductory text.
โ In the Image and Likeness of God [!!]
Lossky became one of the most influential Orthodox scholars of the last century. Showing an unparalleled capacity to unveil the deeper meanings of Christian theology and condense them in short texts, he was both a master of analytical as well as synthetic writing.
Deeply rooted in both scriptural and patristic tradition, the twelve essays of this book provide the Christian answer to questions such as the knowability of God, the relation between Creator and creature, the theology behind having been created in Godยดs Image, and the theological notion of the human person (Hypostasis).
The latter, obviously, being almost the complete opposite of the panentheist concept of individuals being Godยดs masks. Masks that, in such a worldview, would eventually have to be discarded.
In this monographic study, Lossky analyses the meaning of the vision of God and its impact on Orthodox theology and practice since its earliest days to the famous defense of St. Gregory Palamas.
The Vision of God is a useful text for those interested in learning more regarding the Esence-Energies distinction, one of the main theological topics separating Eastern and Western Christianity.
19. Staniloae, Dumitru. The Experience of God (Vol. I-VI) [!!]
A series of, mostly, short books that offer an in-depth explanation of all Orthodox Christian theology, they provide deep and illuminating insights while linking the importance of each doctrine to the personal life of the Christian.
Written in a style contrary to other popular theologians such as Vladimir Lossky, characterized by his precise but dense explanations, Staniloae develops in a more gradual way the topics discussed, taking the time necessary to lead the reader step by step towards an appropriate doctrinal understanding.
The end result is longer texts that, however, do not lose depth, making Staniloae and Lossky equally profound theologians as well as complementary writers.
20. Rose, Fr. Seraphim. Nihilism: the Root of the Revolution of the Modern Age
One of the most popular introductory books to Eastern Orthodoxy among young people, it describes the problems of modern society (the “Spirit of the Times“) as caused primarily by the spiritual disease (disguised as a worldview) known as Nihilism, aptly prophesied by Friedrich Nietzsche long ago.
Rose diagnoses and describes the problem, focusing on its phases (e.g., passive versus active Nihilism), its theology (e.g., metaphysical, moral, and epistemological Relativism; the worship of nothingness), as well as the solution it proposes when hopelessness and passivity have run their course: Revolution.
Rose distrusts the ultimate end of Nihilism, considering it a precursor of the destruction of the Old Order that aims, however, to raise a new one that, depending on its foundations, may not be the right solution.
The New Earth and the New Man arising from this revolution, Rose argues, could easily become the new chiliastic idol devised as a substitute for a previously intentionally engineered crisis.
The most well-known and highly recommended book from Fr. Seraphim Rose, an Orthodox monk who during his lay years extensively studied Dharmic religions and Taoism and was influenced by Renรฉ Guรฉnon. This book is a common first reading for those enquiring about Orthodox Christianity.
In it, Rose argues that the building blocks for a future worldview incompatible with a One/Many religion (Trinitarian Christianity, especially its Orthodox denomination) are being put in place through apparently very varied but, deep down, very similar new spiritual movements all of them representing panentheistic/non-dual views.7We may ask ourselves why only the purely monistic version of Hinduism (Advaita Vedanta) has been imported into the West, forgetting the theistic schools (e.g., Vaishnavism; Ramanujaยดs Vishishtadvaita Vedanta) much more prevalent in India.
While discussing a wide variety of modern spiritualities, such as Eastern meditation-focused worldviews or the revival of Charismatic movements, he points at this underlying metaphysical unity of purpose as something worthy of consideration as another clue regarding the signs of the times.8Throughout the book, Rose discusses a wide variety of spiritual movements, such as Yoga, Zen, Tantra, and Transcendental Meditation, as well as the metaphysical presuppositions of apparently non-spiritual movements such as Ufology. Not all Monotheisms, he argues, are the same, most of them being representatives of pure Monism, while monotheistic Christianity rejects The One in favor of a transcendent One/Many non-dialectical God.
This is the transcript of Fr. Rose‘s historical lectures, focusing on key spiritually significant events and how they are interpreted by the Church, providing a clear and direct exposition of the general Orthodox Christian mindset (Phronema).
Rose focuses on cultural deviations and their consequences, as well as what we can expect in the future. Spanning from the Middle Ages to the modern world, he offers an unconventional account difficult to find elsewhere, emphasizing the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the French Revolution.
In fact, the predominant and recurring theme that Rose wants us to be aware of is clear: Revolution.
This book is a good source of information on how different revolutions have been dialectically used to manipulate societies, reminding us that the First (Biblical) Rebel is the spirit usually behind them.
Blessed Augustine of Hippo, as the Orthodox Church knows him, is a complex figure who can sometimes be excessively criticized for his theological innovations, becoming an easy scapegoat for more complex historical problems.
Fr. Rose wrote this little book to refute these extreme opinions, discussing both the positive and negative aspects of Augustineยดs theology and the rest of his works, highlighting his exemplary faith and piety, which remains an example for any Christian to this day.
In this book, Fr. Seraphim faithfully re-presents the beliefs of the early Christian Church Fathers, but he also uses his deep knowledge of Dharmic religions and Esotericism to compare the Orthodox views with those of other worldviews such as Tibetan Buddhism (based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead), the visions of Emmanuel Swedenborg, the Astral plane of Theosophy, and the out-of-body experiences of Robert Monroe, to name the most popular alternative visions of the afterlife.
Rose also discusses relevant aspects of angelology, eschatology, the stages traversed by the soul at the moment of death and, as could not be otherwise, the famous and sometimes polemic Toll-Houses, providing original patristic sources on the topic.
21. Larchet, Jean-Claude. Life after Death According to the Orthodox Tradition
A book that presents the original beliefs on the afterlife of Orthodox Christianity, focusing on some of the aspects that are significantly different from Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, including the Catholic โinventionโ of Purgatory.
It provides a comprehensive discussion on the different stages of the soulยดs ascent, the famous Toll-Houses, the Particular and Last Judgement, the Resurrection, the relationship between the living and the dead (e.g. Saints), and the orthodox understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven and Hell.
An easy-to-follow text that clears many of the misconceptions that Western Christians may have regarding the original patristic Christian beliefs around the ultimate state of mankind.
22. Nellas, Panayiotis. Deification in Christ: Orthodox Perspectives on the Nature of the Human Person (Contemporary Greek Theologians, Vol. V) [!!]
Patristic thought emphasized that man was “called to be a god”, becoming realized in the same measure to which he is raised up to his God-willed godlike status.
This work, an influential monographic study on the subject, focuses on the Orthodox Christian understanding of mankindยดs nature and ultimate destiny by studying Patristic Anthropology as a whole, adding scholarly notes to clarify and provide context, as well as by analyzing the relevant aspects on this subject as mentioned in the Liturgy.
A useful specialist work that also serves as a commonly recommended introduction to Orthodox Christian theology.
23. Bradshaw, David. Aristotle East and West: Metaphysics and the Division
of Christendom [!!]
A comparative historical investigation into the theological thought of both Eastern and Western Christianity, it traces the development of the notion of who God is, following key figures such as Aristotle, Augustine, Boethius, Aquinas, Dionysius the Areopagite, Maximus the Confessor, and Gregory Palamas.
It shows, especially, how the notion of God changed in the West through the influence of external philosophical movements, thus paving the way for the schism between the Eastern and Western Churches.
An important and scholarly work on how Western Christian theology changed over time and its historical consequences, a fact little known by most contemporary non-Orthodox Christians.
The Essence-Energies distinction is an absolutely central theological doctrine for Orthodox Christianity, key in the whole understanding of the faith and in its ability to provide a non-dialectical solution to the problem of the One and the Many.
It is, however, a distinction many times is not well understood. To solve this issue and to provide a common ground where dialogue can take place, Bradshaw offers this historical, Biblical, and patristic study, discussing in depth the Orthodox doctrine of the Dinive Energies, including their presence in the New Testament as well as more specialist topics such as their relationship with the Logoi (the Divine โideasโ of the Logos, as discussed by St. Maximus the Confessor).
24. St. Maximus the Confessor. Selected Writings [!!]
St. Maximus is one of the most important figures of Orthodox Christianity, being one of the most widely read and appreciated theological writers even today. Highly educated, he studied the philosophy of its time, including Neo-Platonism, and was able to preserve orthodox Christology against the heterodox doctrine of Monotheletism.
A deep thinker, his insightful texts were able to clarify complex issues that acted as frequent roadblocks in theological understanding. This compilation, a good starting point for the new Maximus reader, includes some of his most influential texts, such as The Four Hundred Chapters on Love, Commentary on the Our Father, Chapters on Knowledge, and On the Churchยดs Mystagogy.
A popular introduction to the whole thought of St. Maximus, this book includes texts from his two main compilations of theological writings (the Ambigua and the Questions to Thalassius) plus a Christological opusculum, organized around the central theme of the cosmic dimension and consequences of the Incarnation of the Logos. Part of the value of the book lies, however, in the clarification and synthesis provided by its numerous notes and the long introduction, respectively.
The Ambigua (โBook of Difficultiesโ) may be Maximusยด most profound text, putting to work his almost unparalleled command of Greek metaphysics in order to analyze, compare, and discuss some of the most difficult aspects of the faith, including cosmological, anthropological, allegorical, philosophical, and metaphysical discussions.
Christian theology, Aristotelian logic, Platonic metaphysics, Stoic psychology, and the arithmetical considerations of Neo-Pythagoreanism, among others, all find their place in a comprehensive and tightly interwoven debate that, although challenging at times, has proven to be illuminating since the times of the Byzantine Empire.
This work is a compilation of Maximusยด responses to the questions of his friend and monk Thalassius on sixty-five complicated or unclear scriptural passages. It also includes an analysis on Maximusยด hermeneutical and exegetical methods.
Conceptually difficult, it is nevertheless an important text on Biblical interpretation, combining symbolic theology with ascetical considerations due to the author being at the same time a great thinker and theologian as well as an experienced spiritual father and monk.
In this Christological book, St. Maximus explains the two natures and wills of the Incarnate Logos as believed and taught by the Apostles. The text combats important Christological heresies of the time, making explicit the consequences they would have for salvation if they were true.
Including discussion on man as microcosm and mediator, the Fall understood as the bonding of mankind to a dialectical way of thinking based on oppositions, and the notion of universal recapitulation, this short book becomes especially interesting for those who want a deeper knowledge of the Christian view of the salvation of both mankind and the cosmos.
25. Damascene, Hieromonk. Christ the Eternal Tao
This popular book studies the correspondence between the Christian Logos and the Tao, creating a parallel version of the Tao Te Ching that substitutes the impersonal term Tao for the personal Christian term Logos, and discusses how the result is compatible with Christian theology.
The second part of the book shows how this understanding can also be applied to the Taoist methods of union with the Tao, this time compared with Hesychasm, Orthodox Christian Mysticism.
4.5. Roman Catholicism
26. Carlton, Clark. The Truth:ย What Every Roman Catholic Should Know about the Orthodox Church
This book is the sequel to The Faith: An Orthodox Catechism and The Way: What Every Protestant Should Know About The Orthodox Church. It is designed as an introduction to Orthodox Christianity and has been specifically tailored to Roman Catholics.
The Truth is not only focused on the historico-theological reasons that separated Eastern and Western Churches, but discusses both their similarities and dissimilarities. It can be an insightful short read for Roman Catholics and Old Catholics alike, as well as for Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans.
27. Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica
The most famous work of Thomas Aquinas, the Summa Theologica was, however, never finished (apparently due to a direct vision from God).
Conceived as a manual for beginners, it reads as a compilation of all the theological teachings of medieval Roman Catholicism, discussing them through a rationalistic and philosophical (mainly Aristotelian) point of view.
Its sections discuss theology, creation, mankind and its purpose, the Christ, and the Sacraments. It also provides five famous (and immanent) arguments for the existence of God that are somewhat lacking, especially when compared with the gold standard represented by the Transcendental Argument for the existence of God (TAG) and later pre-suppositional apologetics.
An extremely structured and comprehensive but purely rationalistic work that was instrumental in the mixing of philosophy with the original Christian faith. It had an incomparable influence in the subsequent development of Roman Catholicism, steering it in a novel direction implicitly not always in accord with the spirit of Tri-Une revealed theology (e.g., the monistic Absolute Divine Simplicity, exemplified by the Beatific Vision of the essence of God).
28. Heers, Fr. Peter Alban. The Ecclesiological Renovation of Vatican II: An Orthodox Examination of Rome’s Ecumenical Theology Regarding Baptism and the Church
The Catholic Second Vatican Council introduced numerous theological and ecclesiological innovations that remain controversial to this day, with part of the Catholic world rejecting the current Church hierarchy unless they revoke what they perceive to be heretical modifications of the faith (Sedevacantism and Sedeprivationism).
Fr. Heers examines the discontinuity of Vatican II with the whole Western Christian tradition, comparing it with the patristic vision of the Church as the Body of Christ. He also offers a detailed analysis of the alterations introduced under an Orthodox prism, highlighting the dangers of pushing a form of Ecumenism that could ultimately be misused to include Christianity into a perennialist template.
Even though some of Fr. Heersยด opinions can be controversial (please, do your own research), this book is a detailed and interesting specialist analysis of the topic at hand.
4.6. Protestantism
29. Carlton, Clark. The Way:ย What Every Protestant Should Know about the Orthodox Church
The sequel to The Faith: Understanding Orthodox Christianity, The Way is a concise but insightful discussion on the similarities and differences between Orthodox and Protestant Christianity, allowing believers to better understand how the different denominations view the key aspects of the faith.
30. Trenham, Fr. Josiah. Rock and Sand: An Orthodox Appraisal of the Protestant Reformers and Their Teachings
This book tries to provide an unbiased overview of the history of Protestantism and its major sub-denominations, majorly relying on the Reformersยด own words and the various creeds that defined their beliefs to do so.
The book also compares Protestant doctrines with those of Orthodox Christianity, discussing the differences that separate them and the problems derived from Protestant positions, but also highlighting and recognizing their strengths and virtues when they are found.
Written by a former Reformed Episcopal priest, it is a popular book used to understand the points of meeting and disagreement between these two major Christian denominations, as well as the differences between Protestantism and the apostolic and patristic Christianity of the first centuries.
While Fr. Trenham’s views are sometimes controversial and not always representative of an ecclesiastical consensus (please, do your own research), this book has become an influential first step for many of those transitioning from Protestantism towards Orthodoxy.
4.7. Orthodox Practical, Ascetical and Mystical Works
31. Larchet, Jean-Claude. Therapy of Spiritual Illness: An Introduction to the Ascetic Tradition of the Orthodox Church (Vol. I-III) [!!]
A one-of-a-kind, long but deep and clarifying, manual regarding the practical side of the spiritual Orthodox Christian life.
Therapy of Spiritual Illness is a very comprehensive three-volume set providing working instructions for those Christians who want to engage in the โspiritual warfareโ necessary to vanquish our most pressing passions and advance in the first step of the mystical life: Purification.
Based on a wide synthesis of patristic and ascetical teachings, it also offers an in-depth discussion of the opposite virtues and the last stages of the mystical path: Illumination and Union.
By using analogies with modern medicine and psychology, Larchet emphasizes Orthodoxyยดs view of sin as illness, instead of the more legalistic Catholic views.
Thus, the book begins by discussing mankindยดs three-fold nature (Spirit, Soul, and body; Anthropology) and the origins (symptomatology and pathogenesis) of its current state of illness (the passions): Ancestral Sin.
It continues by analyzing the general conditions needed for a successful therapy (e.g., Christ, Sacraments, inner and outer work) and how to implement them (e.g., working with our thoughts, light asceticism), giving particular patristic advice against each of the passions.
Larchet ends the text by discussing the fruits of the path, including its most advanced aspects of impassibility, universal charity, and illuminated knowledge. He mentions the last stage of Union with God as a possibility, instead of as a given certainty, since obviously the Christian God is a personal one that cannot be coerced by a mere spiritual methodology aiming at Self-deification.
Therapy of Spiritual Illness is the most comprehensive and exhaustive manual on the Orthodox spiritual life, a veritable tour-de-force that, even if it is a long read, is nonetheless written in a clear style and provides equally great rewards.
32. Staniloae, Dumitru. Orthodox Spirituality: A Practical Guide for the Faithful and a Definitive Manual for the Scholar [!!]
Orthodox Tri-Une (One/Many) spirituality has as its goal the deification (Theosis) of man and his union with a personal God. Its vision is that of communion in love, assimilating His Uncreated Energies, but not fusing with Godยดs Essence. A God of love rising His creatures to His level.
This is contrary to the vision of Monism (usually Panentheism), in which an impersonal Essence or Monad is attained by a Self-deifying man through a process of spiritual evolution. This process ends with man discovering that he always was this Monad to begin with, his unique personality disappearing in a process described as a fusion with this impersonal Ocean or Source of Being.
This book is a thorough examination and practical guide regarding the first of these views.
The three main sections of the book are devoted to the three classical stages of the path: Purification (e.g., the natural and unnatural passions and their relation with the faculties of the soul; obtaining dispassion), Illumination (e.g., the contemplation of God in creation; the dynamic relationship between negative and positive theology) and Perfection or Union (e.g., love, knowledge, and the Divine Light; Union and the Vision of God). Orthodox Spirituality is a compact โmanualโ full of condensed ascetical and mystical knowledge, a very interesting read in its own right and also a good alternative to Larchetยดs longer but equally profound three-volume set.
33. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain; Markarios of Corinth.The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. I-V)
A collection of texts providing spiritual instruction, mostly aimed at monastic life but also useful for the discerning layman, the Philokalia is the second most influential text after the Holy Bible.
The texts compiled were written between the fourth and the fifteenth centuries by some of the most renowned spiritual guides of the whole Orthodox tradition, including Maximus the Confessor, John of Damascus, John Cassian, Mark the Ascetic, Gregory Palamas, and Symeon the New Theologian, among many others.
They revolve around the central themes of ascetical purification (Catharsis), the first stage of the Orthodox mystical path, and of illumination through prayer and contemplative stillness (Hesychia), the second stage that aims at union with God, the third and last stage.
Providing instruction on the Orthodox method of meditative prayer, the Jesus prayer, the Philokalia is the primary โmanualโ regarding the most mystical part of Eastern Christianity.
A well-structured compilation, even if the subjects discussed are deep beyond what mere words can convey, the majority of the texts included are written in simple language that is easy to follow.
34. De Catanzaro, C. J. Symeon the New Theologian: The Discourses
St. Symeon, abbot, spiritual director, and theologian (meaning those who have seen God), was the foremost mystical writer of Eastern Christianity. The Discourses are his main work, preached to his monks during their morning Matins. These sermons discuss the preliminary ascetical aspects of the practice such as impassibility and renunciation, as well as works such as charity and the end goal of achieving mystical union with the indwelling Trinity.
The focus of the text is on how God is seen, experienced, and received as (non-physical) Light, explaining the meaning of the Biblical dictum “I will live in them and move among them” (2 Corinthians 6:16).
It is also a manifesto of what the spiritual Christian life can be like, supposed to be a mystical and inner apophatic endeavor, in contrast to the merely mental scholastic theology of the official theologian of Constantinopleยดs court at that time, Archbishop Stephen of Nicomedia.
35. Ward, Benedicta. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection
The classic compilation of early monastic and ascetical sayings and anecdotes, spoken by the pioneers of the Christian monastic movement.
Arranged alphabetically, they have been read by generations of Christians seeking inspiration and advice on the path of purification.
36. Palamas, St. Gregory. Gregory Palamas: The Triads
Gregory Palamas was the most eloquent expositor (and defender) of the Divine Energies doctrine, so crucial in the dialogue between the Eastern and Western Churches and in the possibility of offering a non-dialectical solution to the problem of the One and the Many. A hesychast monk, archbishop, and theologian, Palamas speaks not only from a theoretical point of view but from first-hand experience.
In the Triads, one of his most influential texts on the subject, Palamas explores the Essence-Energies distinction, emphasizing that philosophy does not save and that apophatic theology can be lived as a positive experience, explaining the ultimate destiny of man as his Deification (Theosis) in Christ.
A very short book containing the polemical dialogue between Orthodox Theologian Gregory Palamas and Roman Catholic philosopher Barlaam, both also monks.
Its historical importance lies in Palamasยด defense of the Essence-Energies distinction, this text being a clear and concise explanation of how Christianity changes once this essential distinction is negated.
4.8. Other Mystical Works, including those showing Panentheistic Tendencies
37. McGinn, Bernard. The Presence of God: A History of Western Christian Mysticism
(Vol. I-V) [!]
A highly-acclaimed series presenting the most comprehensive historical account of Christian Mysticism.
The first volume includes an analysis of early Jewish apocalyptic writings and a comparison with pre-Christian Greek contemplative thought, as well as accounts from witnesses of the New Testament period, and early Greek patristic and monastic writings.
The following texts, in turn, discuss the mysticism found in Augustine of Hippo, John Scotus Eriugena, Bernard of Clairvaux, the Spanish Catholic mystics, Julian of Norwich, Thomas Aquinas and his master Albert the Great, Nicholas of Cusa, Johannes Eckhart and his follower Jan van Ruusbroec, and John Tauler, among others.
Of historical interest, it will also be useful for those looking for similarities and differences between the mysticism found in the different Christian denominations and even in different religions, with Catholic mysticism tending towards more monistic types (Essence of God) and Orthodox Hesychasm deeply rooted in the vision of the Divine Light (Energies of God).
38. St. John of the Cross. Dark Night of the Soul
Considered one of the most important Western Christian poems ever written, Dark Night of the Soul can be understood as a guide to making it through the dark times when faith wanes and we feel spiritually dead.
John of the Cross understood this phase as a state of passive purification of the spirit in its mystical path towards God, with the following stage of illumination involving the still unsteady sense of God’s presence.
An influential work by one of the most renowned Spanish mystics of Catholicism, whose title has entered general mainstream consciousness as a synonym for a period of crisis. It can be understood as a legitimate expression of the first step of orthodox Christian spirituality, but it has also been used to force an analogy with the ego-death of Panentheism, which is not a Christian doctrine.
Christians may โdieโ to selfishness, but they do not believe in extinguishing their personality in order to go back to a pre-differentiated homogeneous oneness.
39. Acevedo, Carmen. The Cloud of Unknowing
A compilation of letters written by a monk to his disciple instructing him in the experiential way of Divine union (Contemplative prayer), this classic of Western mysticism suggests an apophatic way to know the Essence of God, not focusing on any of His particular attributes and surrendering one’s mind/ego to the “unknown”.
This way of meditating, however, even if done with a Christian mentality, is more like Eastern Dharmic Monism than Eastern Christian Mysticism (Hesychasm), which seems to always include the Jesus prayer or a wordless concentration on His name or presence, so as not to leave the mind blank but to call upon God. Hesychasm, moreover, does not believe in directly knowing the unknowable Essence of God, but in perceiving Him through His Energies (Divine Light).
40. St. Teresa of Avila. Interior Castle
A cornerstone of Catholic Mysticism, the Interior Castle describes seven stages of union with God, using the analogy of a castle with seven chambers that the soul must traverse.
Being similar to some mystical treatises of other panentheistic traditions (e.g., the Sufist โSeven Valleysโ, the Kabbalistic โPalacesโ literature, or the Hindu Chakras), it is at the same time one of the most influential works of medieval mysticism and viewed with suspicion by Orthodox Christianity.
Teresa states that the treasure of Heaven is buried within our hearts, emphasizing its inner part and center of our soul (analogous to the Orthodox Nous).
The entrance into the first mansion is accomplished through prayer and meditation, while the next stages are attained through sequential steps of Purgation (asceticism), Illumination (contemplation), and Union, ending in the soulยดs marriage with God.
41. Eckhart, Meister. Selected Writings
The works of Johannes Eckhart are the most influential (e.g. Hegel) โChristianโ expression of mystical syncretism, combining a fundamentally panentheistic notion of the Divine (the impersonal Ground of Existence as the neo-platonic The One), with Christian terminology.
His theology is usually summoned when trying to make Christianity conform to the perennialist โecumenistโ template, in the process stripping it of anything particularly Christian, including its Tri-Une Personal God and the deity of Jesus Christ. As such, it is a dangerous precedent that has already been used to suggest the unity behind all religions (see D.T. Suzukiยดs Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist).
In Eckhartยดs view, God creates out of his overabundance (the Neo-Platonic notion of “ebullience ” of The One), at the same time distinguishing the Godhead (unmanifest Absolute) from the Trinitarian God (manifest Absolute), suggesting also Universal Salvation (Apokatastasis).
He also proposes a method of โreturnโ, characterized by stages that have been described as states of dissimilarity, similarity, identity, and breakthrough, holding also a predominantly Greek esoteric worldview in regards to the practical aspects.
All the above, as is easy to see, are doctrines characteristic of The One of Plotinus, not of the Tri-Une (One/Many) God of Christianity.
42. Boehme, Jacob. The Signature of All Things
Jacob Boehme was a metaphysician, Lutheran Protestant theologian, and mystic. His works are a clear example of how some apparently Christian mystics and authors of the post-Renaissance West abandoned orthodox Tri-Une theology seduced by the doctrines of The One.
Influenced by Neo-Platonism, Alchemy (e.g. Paracelsus), Kabbalah (through his mentor Balthasar Walther), Radical Pietism, Rosicrucianism, and Martinism, among others, he developed a system that though apparently Christian on the surface, instead followed closely the main doctrines of Panentheism, more characteristic of Indian religions.
For Boehme, it was necessary for humanity to return to God, while the Fall caused by Satan was a necessary conflict where all โunitiesโ (monads) underwent differentiation in order to gain a knowledge of duality (good and evil; Unity of Opposites) and evolve into a new superior state at the same time equal and different from that of God (Monism), allowing Him to achieve a higher Self-awareness.
His works became influential in German Romanticism (e.g. Schelling) and Theosophy (H.P. Blavatsky and W.Q. Judge).
The present work, focused on showing the symbolism (โthe Sign and Significationโ) of all forms and shapes in Creation, is one of his most popular works and a good representative of his Impersonal Monism, masked as Christian Theology.
43. Silesius, Angelus.ย The Cherubinic Wanderer
44. Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy, considered one of the greatest works of Western literature, narrates in verse the afterlife seen from a medieval Catholic point of view. In addition, it represents the ascent of the soul in its path toward God, traversing Hell (sin) and Purgatory (penitence) until reaching Paradise (salvation).
Superficially representing Divine Justice as punishment and reward by analyzing the destiny of many historical figures according to the authorยดs criteria, the deeper meaning of the work was interpreted by Renรฉ Guรฉnon as pertaining to an almost extinct mystical side of Christianity in accordance with Perennialism.
If one would like to make a perennialist and monist interpretation of the poem, one could interpret it in Jungian terms by stating that Beatrice is the spiritual counterpart and Anima of Dante, Virgil fulfilling the role of the archetypal wise old man who guides the pilgrim through the different emanations or divine realities until reaching final deification. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the guide of the pilgrim, would in turn represent contemplative mysticism as the last step of the journey towards union with God.
Other mainstream interpretations turn Virgil into a symbol of reason, with Beatrice being the representative of Divine revelation and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux maintaining his significance as an exponent of contemplative mysticism. This Catholic view, in turn, sees the poem as Thomas Aquinasยดs Summa Theologica in verse.
5.1. Historical and Doctrinal Works
1. Schaya, Leo. The Universal Meaning of The Kabbalah [!]
Following the perennialist tradition spearheaded by Renรฉ Guรฉnon in modern times, Leo Schaya includes the mystical tradition of Judaism, the Kabbalah, in the basket of worldviews that are mere alternative representations of the doctrines of The One, or Impersonal Monism.
This text is illuminating in that, contrary to most Kabbalistic introductory texts, it focuses on the deepest metaphysical and esoteric aspects of Jewish mysticism, instead of its historical contingencies.
In The Universal Meaning of The Kabbalah, the author asserts the essential unity of God, Man, and Creation. Creation, in addition, is understood as a series of emanations, thus invalidating the Genesis account of the Jewish Bible (Torah).
Schaya, himself well versed in other panentheistic worldviews (Neo-Platonism, Sufism, and Advaita Vedanta) describes the ten Sefirot as the principal aspects of God, archetypes of all successive emanations. Furthermore, drawing from the Zohar, he defines the Kabbalistic highest reality as the Absolute, an all-embracing totality whose indefinite degrees of manifestation are analogous to manยดs multiple states of being. Man, being emanated from All-Reality, is thus able to return to the One by his own efforts.
Those interested in comparative religion will find proof of the surprising parallels between the Hindu Vedantic doctrines and those of Talmudic Judaism, irreversibly modified by Kabbalistic thought.
In the follow-up book to the acclaimed The Universal Meaning of the Kabbalah, Schaya continues his explanations about the aspects of the Kabbalah and Talmudic Judaism that make it worship the same Ultimate Reality revered by all the doctrines of The One (Panentheism).
One of these aspects is the doctrine of Emanationism, or how the God of Rabbinic Judaism manifests His goodness, power, and mercy through multiple levels of emanations, which he asserts are the main focus of Kabbalistic teachings. Following the fixation on Muslim mysticism of early Perennialism, it includes a chapter comparing contemplation and action in Judaism and Islam.
2. Scholem, Gershom. Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism [!]
A very popular introductory book on all the historical aspects of the Kabbalah. It includes a collection of lectures on the general characteristics of Jewish Mysticism as well as on the different schools that were developed over time, such as: Merkabah (Chariot) Mysticism, Jewish Gnosticism, Abraham Abulafia and prophetic Kabbalism, the Zohar, Lurianic Kabbalah, and Hasidism. It also includes a chapter on Sabbatianism and the deep crisis it caused.
Scholemยดs style is clear and academic, providing great amounts of historical context that complement well more mystical treatises.
โ Kabbalah
Written by one of the worldยดs leading authorities on Kabbalah of the last century, part one focuses on a survey of its historical development and core doctrinal ideas. Part two is dedicated to particular topics, including the classical texts (e.g. Bahir, the Zohar), methods and practices (e.g., Chiromancy, Gematria, meditation), and “theoretical” beliefs (e.g., demonology, eschatology, the Golem, Lilith, Metatron, providence, Samael). Finally, part three focuses on personalities of historical relevance.
Like all Scholem‘s books, Kabbalah is an easy-to-read, historically focused text written in a scholarly style, especially useful for its encyclopedic knowledge on a variety of both major and minor subjects not easily found elsewhere.
3. Hoffman, Michael. Judaism’s Strange Gods: Revised and Expanded [!]
Talmudic Rabbinic Judaism is very different from the one in the Old Testament. In Judaism’s Strange Gods, Michael Hoffman painstakingly documents this thesis by showing it to be a new belief system created by the Pharisees once the Babylonian oral traditions of the elders were put into writing after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the prophesied destruction of the Second Temple took place.
Hoffman demonstrates his arguments by pointing to the original and authoritative Jewish sources, which are difficult to refute. In many of the innovations coming out of this period, Talmudic Judaism amounts to an institutionalized nullification of Biblical Law and doctrine, becoming something close to a theological inversion that worships the new panentheistic god of the Kabbalah while indulging in racial self-adoration.
Its racism, based on contempt for all non-Jews (Goyim) and its permissiveness with deception and abuse towards them, makes this new tradition difficult to digest not only for the non-Jew but for any Jew with discernment, common sense, and just plain common human empathy.
Given the difficulty in finding accurate information on this heavily censored topic, as well as the misinformation and propaganda that is difficult to avoid when looking for it, this book is a unique resource that explains in a clear and understandable way the deviations that made modern Judaism what it is today. In addition, it does so elegantly and charitably, without showing the same contempt that the Talmudic tradition shows in some of its passages against non-Jews and Jesus Christ.
Two Powers in Heaven demonstrates the early relationship between Gnosticism and Merkabah Mysticism, as well as the widespread belief in the “two powers in Heaven” in first-century Judaism, this belief being the possible catalyst of the Jewish rejection of early Christianity, considered as a representative of the “two powers” heresy.
5.2. Jewish Meditation
5. Kaplan, Aryeh. Meditation and the Kabbalah [!]
When it comes to English introductory texts to the Kabbalah, much is said about its beliefs but little about its practices. This book supposes a good remedy to compensate for this deficiency, being a clear and in-depth presentation of the meditative techniques and practices used by the different Kabbalistic schools.
The methods include the use of pictures or letter designs as objects of meditation, magic squares, the repetition of specific words or phrases (“mantras”; e.g., the Divine Names), the methods of Abraham Abulafia and Isaac Luria, as well as the meditation on Nothingness of the Hasidim. Some of these methods will obviously strike the discerning reader as being very similar to Eastern forms of meditation.
The icing on the cake is that this book also contains relevant sections of classic texts which are nowadays not always easy to find, such as: the Greater Hekhalot, Abraham Abulafiaยดs works, Joseph Gikatalia’s Gates of Light, The Gates of Holiness, Gate of The Holy Spirit, and other Hasidic classics.
5.3. Original Texts and Primary Sources
6. Kaplan, Aryeh. Sefer Yetzira: The Book of Creation: In Theory and Practice
The Sefer Yetzirah is the oldest and most mysterious of all the Kabbalistic texts, with a mystical and magical component that is usually only superficially discussed in the introductory texts to the Kabbalah. The present translation of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan makes these aspects evident. It is also the most complete work on the Sefer Yetzirah in English.
Properly understood, it is a meditation manual intended to develop the psychic and spiritual capacities of the initiate, through which they became able to influence the physical world. The book discusses the meditation in five dimensions, the transition of consciousness from the Sefira Binah to that of Chokhmah, the Point of Infinity, Kabbalistic astrology, the vision of Ezekiel, and the mystery of the 231 doors that give the book its subtitle.
The latter refers to all possible permutations of the twenty-two foundational letters of the Hebrew alphabet arranged in two-letter units, which are believed to be the source of creation and which grant this same power (e.g. the creation of a Golem) to those capable of mastering them.
The Sefer Ha Bahir (Book of Clarity or Illumination) is one of the oldest and most influential of all classical Kabbalistic texts, being the most widely quoted primary source in this type of literature until the advent of the Zohar (which also quotes the Bahir many times).
A very small book, it is however not necessarily an easy read, as was famously acknowledged by Rabbi Moshe Cordevero (head of the Safed school of Kabbalah): “The words of this text are bright (Bahir) and sparkling, but their brilliance can blind the eye.”
One of its key contributions is the revelation of the ten Sefirot, with its discussion being a prelude to much of what was written in later works. Other doctrines taught include the anthropomorphic dimension of the Sefirot, the reason for the commandments, reincarnation (Gilgul), an interpretation of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, the Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom of the Tree of Life, and the concept of Tzimtzum.
7. Matt, Daniel C. The Zohar: Pritzker Edition (Vol. I-XII)
The Zohar (Book of Splendor or Radiance) has become the most important Kabbalistic text since its appearance in medieval Spain, surpassing the Sefer Ha Bahir (Book of Clarity) and the Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation). It is also an extremely long and overwhelming text whose dense layers of symbolism can be difficult to penetrate. Thus, Daniel Mattยดs translation is a welcome addition that includes extensive commentary on symbolism, terminology, original sources, and parallelisms with other texts.
More than a book, the Zohar can be defined as a complete body of literature in itself, with the translations included here projected to be twelve volumes long. The basis of the Zohar consists of an extremely imaginative commentary on the Torah (from Genesis through Deuteronomy). This is expressed in the form of a mystical novel that unveils its esoteric mysteries through the dialogues of Rabbi Shim’on bar Yohai and his companions.
The most important themes of the Zohar are, ultimately, the Tree of Life and its ten Sefirot. They are depicted as Godยดs attributes or aspects, as well as the various stages of His inner life. They are conceived as being both feminine and masculine, as in all panetheistic systems of thought that believe in the Absolute, the All.
This narrative transforms everything written in the Torah into a continuous symbolic revelation of God. To achieve that, its original meaning, instead of being clarified, is obliterated.
Thus, the Zohar reinvents Judaism and its God, who becomes an Impersonal Monad, emanates rather than creates, and includes within itself all opposites, including the darkest aspects of existence previously attributed to sin and a will in rebellion towards that of a personal God.
As a clear example of the above that will surely make the reader remember many other Eastern and Western esotericist schools, the Zohar interprets the meaning of Godยดs command to Abraham “Go forth… to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1) as “Go to yourself! Search deep within to discover your true self.” This inversion of the meaning of the original, therefore, transforms man into God, just as the author of the Zohar becomes “self-deified” by considering himself worthy of changing the meaning of the Word of God.
8. Von Rosenroth, Knorr; MacGregor Mathers, Samuel Liddell. Kabbala Denudata: the Kabbalah Unveiled. Containing the Following Books of the Zohar: the Book of Concealed Mystery, the Greater and Lesser Holy Assemblies.
Written by freemason and occultist S. L. MacGregor Mathers, this book was influential during a time when the Zohar had not yet been fully translated and Kabbalistic thought was being integrated into Western Esotericism, over which it came to predominate.
It aims to unveil the relationship between the Kabbalistic god, Ein Sof (the Infinite or Absolute), and the rest of existence. It does so by including three of the books of the Zohar: The Book of Concealed Mystery; The Greater Holy Assembly; and The Lesser Holy Assembly which, among other topics, discuss in symbolic language the Divine emanations, countenances, or “faces” of the Absolute.
6.1. Historical and Doctrinal Works
1. Chittick, William. The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-Arabi’s Metaphysics
of Imagination [!]
Among Sufi orders, Ibn al-Arabi is still known as “the Great Sheik“, being the most influential Islamic mystic and one of the most prolific. William Chittick, in turn, dedicated much of his work to an in-depth exploration of his teachings, creating condensed, deep, and also long but understandable summaries of every important aspect of al-Arabiยดs teachings, including: theology, ontology, epistemology, hermeneutics, and soteriology.
The book can be dense, but it is also illuminating, written with both clear language and a scholarly precision that will attract those who aim to attain specialist knowledge on the subject.
Al-Arabiยดs teachings are exemplified by many translated passages coming directly from the original sources, including more than 600 passages from his major work, the Meccan Revelations (al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya), of which it is difficult to find full English translations due to its size.
The Self-Disclosure of God is the most detailed exposition to date of the doctrines of Islam’s greatest mystic, philosopher, and theologian. Following the steps of Chittickยดs previous book, The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s Metaphysics of Imagination, here the author continues exploring every facet of Al-Arabiยดs worldview.
The book is divided into three parts: the relationship between God and the cosmos (including chapters on causality and the Universe as Godยดs perpetual Self-disclosure); the order of the worlds (including discussion on the Unity found in Manyness), and the Structure of the Microcosm (including the nature of the Self and the Soul).
A long introduction guides the readers and teaches them how to avoid common pitfalls encountered by Ibn al-Arabi’s interpreters, while more than one hundred complete chapters and subsections of the Meccan Revelations (al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya), Al-Arabiยดs Magnum Opus, are translated. An index of technical terminology is the icing on the cake of this comprehensive package of Islamic mysticism.
Rumi was the greatest mystical poet of Sufism, being acclaimed even outside the Islamic world. The metaphysical ideas underlying his poetry include: doctrines regarding the relationship between God and the world, the role of man in the Universe, man’s ultimate becoming, the different states and stations attained through the mystical ascent towards God, and how symbols allow us to partially speak of unseen realities.
Chittickยดs book, as always, is both scholarly and understandable, providing context and guiding the reader gradually toward deep understanding. His books take time to read, but the ones who do will undoubtedly obtain expert knowledge on the subject.
2. Burckhardt, Titus. An Introduction to Sufi Doctrine
An Introduction to Sufi Doctrine is one of the most popular introductions to Islamic mysticism intended for Western audiences. It is a short, highly readable book, that delves into both Sufi doctrine and practice. Burckhardt’s first-hand knowledge, having himself been initiated and speaking Arabic, makes him especially qualified for this task. His overall worldview, however, was Perennialism.
3. Corbin, Henry. The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism
Henry Corbin was an influential academic figure who initiated the trend of European universities seriously studying and publishing material about the mystical side of Islam. His overall worldview, however, was mostly a perennialist one: “Through my meeting with Suhrawardi, my spiritual destiny … was sealed. Platonism, expressed in terms of the Zoroastrian angelology of ancient Persia, illuminated the path that I was seeking.”9Evans-Cockle, Matthew. “Biographical post-scriptum to a philosophical interview”. L’Association des Amis de Stella et Henry Corbin.
By focusing on Iranian Islam (itself influenced by Zoroastrianism and Platonism), Corbin believed to be in contact with older esoteric atemporal insights regarding the true primordial religion.
The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism is a popular analysis of the writings of the great Persian mystics along these panentheistic lines, explaining how this mystical tradition believes that the “I” of every self-aware being is a pure, immaterial light. The list of mystics discussed includes: Suhrawradi, Semnani, and Najm al-Din Kubra, among others.
4. The Qur’an
The Qur’an is the Holy Book of the Muslims, who believe it to be the word of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. Together with the oral tradition recorded in the Hadฤซth (reports of Muhammadยดs words and deeds), it is the source of all Islamic teaching and law.
One aspect that may surprise many, given the always present religious and geopolitical tensions between Islam and other religions, is how even if it does not agree completely with them on many points, the Qurยดan defends Judaism and Christianity as previous valid revelations from the same God.
6.2. Works of Ibn Al-Arabi, the Most Renowned Sufi Mystic
5. Al Arabi, Ibn. The Bezels of Wisdom (Fusus al-Hikam)
The Fusus al-Hikam is one of the most important texts of Islamic mysticism, written by its most influential figure. Ibn al-Arabiยดs Panentheism is made evident through his belief that the Universe is the self-manifestation of God, while his crypto-Perennialism was made explicit when he claimed that all religions are equal and that the perfect human being is he who knows all the religious phenomena in the world.
The present book constitutes the best summary of the authorยดs whole worldview, in which he discusses the singular characteristics of twenty-seven Islamic prophets. The text includes an introduction that explains Ibn al-Arabiยดs main doctrines, as well as many necessary notes that clarify and provide context.
โ Journey to the Lord of Power: A Sufi Manual on Retreat (Risฤlat al-Anwฤr)
Ibn al-Arabi was the most important Sufi mystic. Journey to the Lord of Power is his short manual regarding the spiritual preparations necessary for the mystic to elevate himself towards the divine. As with all mystical paths, the practice of spiritual retreat or complete abandonment of the world was intended to be followed only by advanced practitioners or by Sufis under a Sheikยดs supervision, as the path could be potentially dangerous.
Ibn Arabi describes how each step towards self-perfection and self-knowledge involves a particular temptation to be overcome, focusing on the need for a clean heart. During their ascent, adepts are believed to encounter all the realms of creation (e.g., mineral, vegetable, animal) in a sequential elevation that ends when the very Throne of Mercy is reached, on which sits the Lord of Power.
Journey to the Lord of Power is a brief reading that shows the reader that all mystical paths begin with the same process of purification or catharsis, as well as to realize the underlying Panentheism of Islamic esoteric mysticism, far removed from the more personal Monotheism of mainstream exoteric Islam. Many similarities could be drawn with, for example, Jewish Merkabah Mysticism and with Teresa of Avilaยดs visions.
โ The Meccan Revelations (Al-Futลซแธฅฤt al-Makkiyya)
The Meccan Revelations (Kitรขb Al-Futลซแธฅฤt al-Makkiyya) is the Magnum Opus of the most influential Islamic mystic, Ibn al-Arabi. Its importance comes from it representing the most complete and final rendering of his whole teaching.
Discussing theology, metaphysics, and mysticism, this gigantic work comprises 37 volumes and 560 chapters full of autobiographical elements and spiritual experiences, expressed in both poetry and prose.
The Illuminations include Ibn al-Arabiยดs famous doctrine of the imaginary world, which can also be found in abridged form in both Henry Corbinยดs and William Chittickยดs works. An interesting account of the psychological and religious effects of Allah‘s Love in both the subjective and objective spheres is also provided.
Some sectors of Islam have considered al-Arabi’s works controversial, seeing no way to avoid the conflict between his apparently panentheistic system of thought and the strict Monotheism of Islam. His enormous influence both within and outside the Islamic world, however, is undisputed.
โ The Four Pillars of Spiritual Transformation (Hilyat al-Abdฤl)
This short text is an analysis of the basic pillars of Islamic mysticism, which are: silence, seclusion, hunger, and vigilance. Its aim is to demonstrate that these activities are both physical and spiritual, becoming the necessary means towards enlightenment.
This translation also includes chapter fifty-three of the Meccan Revelations (Futuhat al-Makkiyya), one of the most important Sufi texts, as well as an explanatory introduction especially useful for those unfamiliar with Ibn al-Arabi or Sufism.
6.3. Other Important Specialist Sufi Texts
6. Attar, Farid ud-Din. The Conference of the Birds [!]
The Conference of the Birds is a famous and metaphysically rich mystical Persian poem by Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar. The title is derived from the Qurโan (27:16), where Sulayman (Solomon) and Dฤwลซd (David) are said to have been taught the language of the birds, the latter being a common Islamic symbol representing angelic beings.
The poem narrates how the birds of the world, representing particular human faults, gather to decide who is to be their sovereign. The Hoopoe, the wisest of them all, suggests that they should find the legendary Simorgh. Following his advice, the birds embark on a path towards enlightenment.
On their quest, the birds have to cross Seven Valleys. Especially interesting is the description given to the last one, revealing the panentheistic nature of the whole underlying worldview. It is the Valley of Poverty and Annihilation, where the self disappears into the Universe and the Wayfarer becomes timeless, existing in both the past and the future.
In the end, only thirty birds make it to the abode of Simorgh and are able to learn the Upanishadic conclusion that they themselves are Simorgh.
7. Al-Jilani, Abd al-Qadir. The Secret of Secrets
This book was written by the founder of the Qadiriyya Sufi order, considered by many to be one of the greatest Islamic saints. It explains the inner meaning of the outward practices of Islam, such as prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage. These inner meanings, Al-Jilani states, must be discovered and enjoyed if their external symbolic manifestations are to be performed in a correct and God-pleasing way leading to peace and spiritual fulfillment.
8. The Kashf al-Mahjรบb: The Oldest Persian Treatise on Sufism
Meaning Revelation of the Hidden, the Kashf al-Mahjub was the first formal treatise on Sufism, showing a complete doctrinal and practical system that the author claimed to be completely consistent with Islamic principles, which historically has not always been the case.
Regarding the tension present in many panentheistic esoteric systems between the left-hand path (path of excess) and the right-hand one (path of asceticism), Al-Hujwiri positioned himself on the side of “sobriety” over “intoxication”, emphasizing that no one is exempted from following the religious law.
The Kashf al-Mahjub was prescribed for those who did not yet have a Murshid (spiritual master) as a temporary spiritual guide in their quest to attain, not mere knowledge (Ilm), but experiential spiritual gnosis (Marifat). It is, thus, a good introduction to Sufism coming from a historically important primary source.
7.1. Original Primary Sources
1. Prabhavananda, Swami. The Upanishads: Breath of the Eternal [!]
The Upanishads are undoubtedly the most important texts of all Hinduism, as they define its transition from Vedic ritualism to the emergence of philosophical and metaphysical movements that gave increasing importance to introspection and meditation.
The early parts of the Vedas consisted of poetry and myths, mantras, blessings, rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices. The Upanishads, on the other hand, provided the metaphysical background from which all the fundamental religious concepts of the different Hindu schools emerged. The Upanishads are, therefore, both the most recent section and the consummation of the Vedas, setting forth clearly the main ideas of all Panentheism: “You are That“, or the individual is already the Absolute.
As the Chandogya Upanishad unambiguously states:
“[6.2.1] In the beginning, son, this world was simply what is existent – one only, without a second. [6.2.3] And it thought to itself: “Let me become many. Let me propagate myself.
[…] The existent, my son, is the root of all these creatures – the existent is their resting place, the existent is their foundation. The finest essence hereโthat constitutes the self of this whole world; that is the truth; that is the self (ฤtman). And that’s how you are, ลvetaketu.”10Olivelle, Patrick (2008) [1996], Upanisads. A new translation by Patrick Olivelle, Oxford University Press.
2. Shankara, Adi. Brahma Sutra Bhasya
The Brahma Sutras or Vedanta-Sutra is the third of the canonical texts of Hinduism, after the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. Among the three, it is the most systematic and logical one. Its major concern is how to attain knowledge of Brahman, the Absolute.
The text tries to harmonize different views of Brahman which seem to be sometimes in conflict, its main metaphysical position being that of unity in difference (Bhedabheda), which states that particular selves are both different and not different from Brahman Itself.
The first chapter unifies the different views of Ultimate Reality that can be found in the Upanishads. The second evaluates the objections raised by the competing orthodox philosophical schools (e.g., Nyaya, Yoga, Vaisheshika, and Mimamsa), as well as by some of the heterodox ones, such as Buddhism and Jainism. The third chapter compares the philosophies found in the Upanishads in order to discern which are compatible with each other and which are not. Finally, the last chapter explains why we should follow this path and attain this knowledge.
3. Doniger, Wendy. The Rig Veda
The Rig Veda (c. 1200-900 BC) is the earliest of the four foundational Hindu scriptures known as the Vedas. It is also one of the oldest texts in mankindยดs possession, being the first surviving text in any Indo-European language.
Structurally, it is a collection of over one thousand individual Sanskrit hymns covering early Indian mythology, religion, and ritual.
This book offers a selection of the most eloquent and philosophical 108 hymns, thematically focusing on their understanding of metaphysical aspects such as creation, sacrifice, the sacred plant Soma, and the different deities11All of them being, however, mere aspects of the One Brahman. See Henotheism. of the Hindu pantheon.
7.2. Advaita Vedanta
4. Shankara, Adi. Atmabodha
Adi Shankara was the synthesizer of Advaita Vedanta, which in the West has mostly become synonymous with Hinduism itself.
Atmabodha is one of Shankara’s introductory texts, which explains and defines the key concepts and subtleties found in Advaita. Through multiple examples, it builds in the reader a solid understanding of the entire system.
The book also contains additional commentary by Swami Chinmayananda, aimed at further clarifying both the terminology used and the underlying meaning. Atmabodha is thus a good introduction to Advaita Vedanta through the words of its founder himself.
โ Upadesa Sahasri
Upadesa Sahasri is one of Shankaraยดs major works, giving a concise survey of the whole metaphysical background of Vedanta. It focuses especially on the distinction between the senses, mind, body, intellect, and the true Self (Atman). This translation follows the authoritative commentary of Ramatirtha.
7.3. Yoga
5. Satchidananda, Sri Swami. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali [!]
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is the most important classic text on Yoga, synthesizing and ordering all previous Yogic knowledge. It can be used not only as a source of understanding but also as a complete practical manual on Raja Yoga, the royal path of concentration and meditation.
This text is known for its complete exposition of the eight steps (Ashtanga) of the Yogic practice, the aim of which is the attainment of Samadhi. Those are:
Yama (abstinences), Niyama (observances), Asana (yoga posture), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi itself (absorption or stillness).
Philosophically, the main objective is the detachment (Kaivalya) of the spirit from the influence of matter and the senses (Prakriti), which leads to the discernment of the true Self (Purusha, Witness-Consciousness) within. The text is based on Samkhya dualist philosophy, but it is also related to Buddhism through its terminological use. It is an important part of the Indian ascetical tradition, in contrast with the most ritualistic aspects (Bhakti) predominating at the time.
This edition includes commentary and practical advice by the respected Yogic master Sri Swami Satchidananda, making it an ideal introduction to the subject.
6. Vivekananda, Swami. The Complete Book Of Yoga: Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga [!]
Swami Vivekananda was the greatest popularizer of Hindu thought in the West. His work shaped the general mental image that entire generations of Westerners had of Hinduism and its deities. However, this image was not always the same as that held by the Hindus themselves, since the notion of a personal God was more popular in India than the impersonal monism of Advaita Vedanta that Vivekananda promoted.
This book combines the four works of Vivekananda regarding the Yogic path, each one showing a different way to reach the Absolute according to each disciple’s inclination. They include the three Yogas mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita (Raja yoga, Jnana yoga, and Karma yoga) plus Bhakti yoga, derived from Patanjaliโs Yoga sutras. These are paths based on prioritizing the meditative, intellectual, physical, or emotional aspects of the human experience, respectively. Together, they show the full picture of the path towards the One as understood by Hinduism.
7. Venkatesananda, Swami. Vasiแนฃแนญha’s Yoga
Yoga Vasistha is a very popular and influential syncretic philosophical Hindu text. It is composed of six books conveying their metaphysical doctrines through colorful stories.
The first book shows Rama‘s frustration with the nature of life, suffering, and a general disdain for the world. In the second, Rama manifests his desire for liberation and describes the nature of those who seek such a goal. The third and fourth books state that liberation is attainable through self-effort and leading a spiritual life. The underlying metaphysical and cosmological views of the whole system are here expressed, emphasizing free will and human creative power. The fifth book is concerned with the method to achieve such liberation: meditation and Yoga. The last book is a description of the liberated state, shown through the figure of an enlightened Rama.
The metaphysical background is similar to that of Advaita Vedanta (e.g., Maya, Brahman, Non-Duality) asserting that the whole world of things is the object of mind.
8. Muktibodhananda, Swami. Hatha Yoga Pradipika
A classic fifteenth-century manual on physical Yoga (Haแนญha Yoga), the Hatha Yoga Pradipika is the most influential surviving text on the topic, alongside the Shiva Samhita and the Gheranda Samhita.
It is divided into different sections, each of which explains a certain category of methods aimed at achieving different things. Some are aimed at the purification of the body (e.g. enemas); others are for energy/Chakra work and Kundalini awakening; the last is concerned, however, with attaining Samadhi, the final stage of absorption in which the initiates feel that they have become one with the Universe.
Therefore, as can be easily seen, not even the physical Yoga so widespread in the West is exempt from metaphysical doctrines and presuppositions, being a clear exponent of Panentheism.
9. Mallinson, James. The Shiva Samhita
The Shiva Samhita is one of the foundational texts of Hatha Yoga, the physical Yoga created as a preliminary to deeper forms of meditation and the most widespread yogic practice in the West, practiced by people who mostly have no idea of the metaphysics behind it. Focused not only on meditation and spirituality but, above all, on body control as a precursor to mind control, this edition also includes photographs that explain and clarify both the postures Asanas) and the ritual symbolism (Mudras) used.
10. Ayyangar, T.R. Srinivasa. The Yoga Upanisads
The Yoga Upanishads are those more recent Vedic texts (Vedanta) concerned with the different practices of Yoga (e.g., Ashtanga, Raja, Laya, Hatha, Mantra, Karma Yoga).
They have the aim of helping the adepts control their mind so that they can realize the absolute identity of the individual Self (Atman) with the Supreme Self (Brahman), thus becoming Self-Liberated.
As such, they are some of the most important primary sources from which a huge body of later literature emerged.
This edition was published by the Theosophical Society, extremely interested in Eastern metaphysics, which they subsequently modified to suit their own worldview.
7.4. Tantric Hinduism, including Kashmir Shaivism
11. Woodroffe, Sir John. Introduction to Tantra Sastra
Conceived as an introduction for beginners unfamiliar with Tantrism and its practices, Woodroffe‘s books have become classics on the theory and history of Tantra.
A brief but serious book that provides accurate knowledge, written through the lens of a Westerner who immersed himself in the tantric world as no other had ever done before.
12. Einoo, Shingo. Genesis and Development of Tantrism
A scholarly and insightful historical account of the development of Tantrism, nowadays an influential worldview that originally aimed at making realization possible in an age of decay, fighting “fire with fire” or using the passions in order to overcome them, contrary to the more classical ascetical paths.
It was always considered a risky method that needed to be tightly supervised by a guru, contrary to most Western pseudo-tantric practices, which can lead to self-indulgence and spiritual death.
13. Singh, Jaideva. Vedanta And Advaita Saivagama Of Kashmir: A Comparative Study [!]
A very short and discerning study regarding the differences between two of the most popular powerhouses of Hindu mysticism: Advaita Vedanta and the tantric school of Kashmir Shaivism.
Especially important are their different views on the nature of reality, viewed as illusory or as the real energies of the Absolute, respectively, which in certain interpretations transforms Advaita into a potential form of Dualism while it emphasizes the Panentheistic nature of Trika Shaivism.
The Shiva Sutras are considered to be a revealed book. The author studied them together with his guru, Swami Lakshman Joo, the only surviving exponent of this worldview in Kashmir. Following the commentary of Ksemaraja contained within, this book teaches the ultimate identity of the individual self with Shiva or Universal Consciousness.
The text does not pretend to be a mere intellectual exposition of this doctrine, however, but a teaching containing rules for discipline (Sastra) pointing to a path of Self-Liberation or Self-Deification.
A short book (twenty sutras) summarizing the Pratyabhijna (recognition) system of Kashmir Shaiva philosophy. Written by Ksemaraja, a famous disciple of Abhinavagupta, it is probably the best introduction to this system of thought.
In it, we find the Indian version of the myth of Narcissus, with Jiva (the Self, but also Shiva) identifying himself erroneously with his body and forgetting his real nature. It is believed that this teaching is capable of enabling each individual Jiva (us) to awaken to this insight and attain โat-one-mentโ or union with Shiva, our true Self.
The Spandakarikas are verses serving as a commentary on the Shiva Sutras. They are also complementary. While the sutras emphasize the passive intellective aspect (Prakasa) of Divine Consciousness, the Spandakarikas focus on its active, dynamic, creative manifestation (Vimarsa). Together, they describe the “male” and “female” halves of the Absolute.
This book also includes Ksemarajaยดs difficult but important commentary, known as Spandanirnaya. Each verse is followed by Ksemarajaยดs commentary and extensive notes providing clarity and definition of technical terms. Finally, a summary of each verse in the authorยดs own words is provided.
This book is a long commentary on one of the most authoritative and venerated texts in Trika Shaivism. It aims to explain the nature of Ultimate Reality and how to attain it through oneยดs own efforts. The methods discussed are focused on the practice of Mantra Yoga.
In addition, Abhinavagupta presents his metaphysics of language and its relation to consciousness, naming it โthe teaching of the secret of the Trika doctrine.โ
14. Lakshman Joo, Swami. Vijnana Bhairava – The Practice of Centering Awareness [!]
This book contains one of the most important practical Tantras of Trika Shaivism, teaching 112 methods (Dharanas) for centering awareness and achieving enlightenment. The methods discussed include practices based on Kundalini energy, Mantra (esoteric sounds) and Mudra (esoteric signs).
This translation contains the teachings of Swami Lakshman Joo, the last great master of this tradition, making it more accessible to the modern reader.
15. Chakravarty, H.N. Tantrasรขra of Abhinavagupta
Given the length of the Tantraloka (thirty-three volumes), Abhinavaguptaยดs Magnum Opus, the author himself found it necessary to write a brief prose guide to it. The Tantrasara is that guide.
In it, we can find a clear and concise summary of the metaphysical beliefs behind one of the most influential schools of Indian esoteric Tantrism, both in its philosophy and its practical methods, including ritualistic endeavors.
16. Satyananda Saraswati, Swami. Kundalini Tantra
One of the most detailed guides to Kundalini energy and subtle esoteric tantric physiology.
The first section deals with the theory behind Kundalini awakening. The second is a comprehensive analysis of the Chakras, the subtle energy centers that act as milestones and obstacles to overcome on the path to awakening. The third section covers the practical aspect of working with the Chakras, including methods derived from Kriya Yoga, while the fourth section attempts to provide scientific evidence of the efficacy of the practice.
All in all, a solid introduction to the most important energetic aspects of Yoga, which has garnered a massive following in the West through the New Age movement.
7.5. Neo-Vedanta and Modern Hinduism
17. Aurobindo, Sri. The Secret of the Veda: with Selected Hymns [!]
Sri Aurobindo was one of the most popular exponents of Neo-Vedanta and a powerhouse of twentieth-century spirituality. Having been educated in the West, his worldview was a combination of classical Vedanta and a spiritualized version of Western views on evolution. He was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize.
In The Secret of the Vedas, he offers a clear metaphysical interpretation of this often inscrutable and most ancient of spiritual texts. In the Vedas, Aurobindo found deep allegories and symbols conveying multiple meanings related to the inner dimensions of Yogic practice and psychological Self-realization.
The often misunderstood nature of the Vedic narrative is here presented as a coherent mythos in line with a panentheistic conception of the Ultimate, where Order (Indra) conquers Chaos (Vritra) and the different deities are personifications of partial aspects inside each of us, the overall narrative being a mythological allegory of the personal internal work needed to achieve Self-deification and reach the Absolute.
This book is, therefore, a clear explanation of the more psychological and spiritual aspects of the Vedas, which makes understandable one of the most ancient and important texts of world spirituality.
โ The Life Divine and The Synthesis of Yoga
Sri Aurobindo developed his own variety of Yoga, which he named Integral Yoga or the Yoga of Self-Perfection, aiming at uniting the classical Yogic varieties under a more purely psychological program.
One of his core ideas was that Spirit is currently manifesting itself in all that exists in what can be conceived as a process of involution and Self-forgetfulness. Mankind is, in this view, the intermediate state of Spiritยดs evolution towards Self-recognition, the reverse process of evolution or return to the One.
For Aurobindo, the aim was to achieve the evolution of human life into divine life, contained in a divine body. Not only the liberation but also the transformation of human nature, manifesting or “bringing down” the divine into our plane of existence (immanentizing the transcendent). Overall, a very Hegelian notion of the Absolute, even if the language used was a purely Hindu one.
If in The Life Divine Aurobindo tackles the philosophical and metaphysical aspects of his worldview and system of Yoga, in The Synthesis of Yoga he explains all the aspects of the method itself.
8.1. Theravada Buddhism
1. Bodhi, Bhikkhu. In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon[!]
This book is the most frequently recommended first introduction to Theravadaยดs doctrines and the teachings of the historical Buddha.
It consists of a well-structured selection of discourses from the Pali Canon, the earliest record of Gautama Buddhaยดs direct lessons, covering all the aspects he taught about.
In the Buddhaโs Words contains introductory texts explaining and giving context to the teachings, making it a comprehensive and easily understandable doctrinal repository which, however, does not sacrifice the depth of the message for increased accessibility.
The main topics discussed include: the human condition, the Bringer of Light, how to approach the Dhamma, the unreal happiness of this life, the way to a fortunate rebirth, the path towards Liberation, and mastering the mind as the way to attain the different Planes of Realization.
The Abhidhammattha Sangaha (Manual of Abhidhamma) is the historical abridged key to understanding the important body of Buddhist literature known as the Abhidhamma, a detailed scholastic rendering of the knowledge and doctrines contained in the more poetic and story-based sutras.
The Abhidhamma is especially interested in: philosophical psychology; the different states of consciousness, mental factors, functions, and processes of the mind; the phenomenal world and the doctrine of dependent origination; and the different meditational techniques and mental states they bring forth.
This text provides many tables and charts schematizing the key aspects of Buddhist thought, making it a good scholarly โtextbookโ that makes complex Buddhist concepts easy to remember.
2. Bhikkhu, Thanissaro. Into the Stream: A Study Guide on the First Stage of Awakening
A short study of the first stage attainable on the path to Enlightenment, as understood by the Theravada tradition and explained by an American monk of the Thai Forest tradition, also abbot of a monastery and thus experienced in the methods leading to these states of meditational absorption and to the โarising of the Dhamma Eyeโ.
An interesting read to understand the nature of Emptiness, given the scarcity of specific and in-depth information on these experiential and difficult-to-communicate states of re-absorption into oneness.
3. Easwaran, Eknath. The Dhammapada
The Dhammapada (The Path of Dharma) is an early Classic Buddhist text probably written by direct disciples of the historical Buddha. The text discusses, in verse, the path of righteousness which all are called to follow.
A classic of Theravada Buddhism, this version includes an outline of Sakyamuni Buddhaยดs teachings, and makes for a good introductory read for those interested in the earliest surviving school of Buddhism.
8.2. Mahayana Buddhism
4. Williams, Paul. Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations [!]
Paul Williamsโ โtextbookโ is a common introductory text used to teach Mahayana Buddhism. Including both history and doctrine, it is a good starting place for those looking for a well-organized and very comprehensive introduction that ,however, does not stay at surface level. A solid, easy-to-read foundational text that prepares the reader to tackle the more complex and, sometimes, even perplexing primary sources.
5. Red Pine. The Diamond Sutra
The Diamond Sutra is one of the most important foundational Buddhist texts, recited by monks all over the world. It is one of the clearest embodiments of the Perfection of Wisdom literature.
As the translator explains, its essential nature and teaching can be described as: โThe Diamond Sutra may look like a book, but it’s really the body of the Buddha. It’s also your body, my body, all possible bodies. But it’s a body with nothing inside and nothing outside. It doesn’t exist in space or time. Nor is it a construct of the mind. It’s no mind. And yet because it’s no mind, it has room for compassion.โ
Its major doctrinal themes are Non-Self (Anatman; including erasing any notion of self and other), the Emptiness of all phenomena, liberation, and non-attachment.
โ The Heart Sutra
Reading the Heart Sutra is like taking a pill containing the condensed essence of Buddhism. A very short text pertaining to the Perfection of Wisdom literature, it contains Buddhismยดs core metaphysical beliefs, having become one of the historically most influential sutras and the source of Buddhismยดs most famous statement 12Alongside Mahayanaยดs equation of Samsara with Nirvana: “form is Emptiness, Emptiness is form.”
6. Kubo, Tsugunari; Yuyama, Akira. The Lotus Sutra
One of the most important Mahayana sutras, especially for its doctrine of the โOne Vehicleโ, or how the three provisional โvehiclesโ or three main Buddhist traditions (Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana) are mere expedient and equally valid temporary paths used by the Buddha to achieve the same goal, with the Lotus Sutra self-defining itself as the culmination of all previous teachings.
Divided into twenty-eight chapters containing numerous parables, the Lotus sutra is important in that it redefined the historical Shakyamuni Buddha as an embodiment of Eternal Life and transferred his enlightenment to the remotest past, thus offering a revisionist account of the original historical Buddhist teachings.
Also important for its introduction of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara and the chant (Daimoku) that the Japanese Nichiren School uses as an invocation and its main practice (Na-mu-myou-hou-ren-ge-kyou).
Being the fundamental philosophical and metaphysical text of Nฤgฤrjuna and of much of Buddhism (especially of the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions), this work may be Buddhismยดs most important doctrinal source, surpassing by far the influence of Gautama Buddhaยดs teachings.
The Mลซlamadhyamakakฤrikฤ is studied in all major schools in Tibet, China, Japan, and Korea. In it, Nฤgฤrjuna develops his tenet regarding the inherent Emptiness of all phenomena, devoid of any essence and being able to exist only in their interconnectedness. There is no substance nor independence, instead, everything is empty and interdependent.
Despite their lack of essence, however, conventional phenomena nonetheless exist. In fact, Nฤgฤrjuna asserts that they are one and the same. Emptiness and our conventional reality are equivalent, or two sides of the same coin. Samsara is Nirvana, the Two Levels (or truths) of reality being ultimately only One.
The current translation offers a verse-by-verse commentary, a welcome addition to this difficult metaphysical and epistemological work, while connecting it with modern philosophical positions (e.g. Hume, Wittgenstein). As a consequence, The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way is a good way to tackle this extremely important but demanding text.
Nagarjuna is undoubtedly the most important philosopher and metaphysician of the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions. One simply cannot understand these worldviews without a deep grasp of his teachings.
The Seventy Stanzas is one of Nagarjuna’s key works in which he explains his metaphysical system of the Middle Way (Madhyamika). Difficult to read because of the paradoxical or non-dual logic employed, the summaries and commentary offered in this edition greatly help in understanding his epistemological and psychological doctrines, which focus on explaining how we misperceive and misunderstand the true nature of reality.
8.2.1. Chan/Zen Buddhism
8. Kapleau, Roshi Philip. The Three Pillars of Zen [!]
A very popular introduction to Zen Buddhism designed for the Western mind, Kapleau (an American Zen spiritual director) explores the three main pillars of this worldview: its metaphysical doctrines13Including a discussion on Oneness and Manyness and how Zen believes cause and effect to be one reality, both crucial topics for the readers of The Metaphysical Compass, its practical methods (e.g. Zazen), and its focus on enlightenment or the Kensho experience.
Including a historical overview, many case studies analyzing the path of many Western and Japanese disciples, and important supplements such as the classic Ten Oxherding Pictures symbolizing the whole gradual path of enlightenment, this easy-to-read and very comprehensive book has been the first step towards understanding Zen for generations of Westerners.
9. Yen, Sheng. Hoofprint of the Ox: Principles of the Chan Buddhist Path as Taught by a Modern Chinese Master [!]
Sometimes it can be difficult to connect with older spiritual texts, given not only the different languages of the source materials but also the distance between old and current paradigms and ways of living. The works of Master Sheng-Yen avoid these problems, being a contemporary teacher renowned in both the USA and China.
Hoofprint of the Ox provides the metaphysical background (e.g. an explanation of Emptiness) and precepts needed for the practice, as well as clear instructions on both the gradual and the sudden paths towards enlightenment.
The Method of No-Method is the clear explanation of a contemporary master of the foundational Chan practice called Silent Illumination, also called “Just Sitting” due to its simplicity. A method that can be learned easily by anyone, it contains however subtleties deep enough to take a lifetime to master.
Based on the emptying of the mind, this practice tries to mirror in the studentยดs mind the Buddhist vision of Emptiness, a reality that is everything and nothing at the same time, a pure expansion of clear undifferentiated consciousness.
An almost opposite form of deification than the Christian concept of Theosis, where individuality is not extinguished but elevated, this text provides a clear image of the mental state that Buddhism (and by extension also all Panentheistic/Non-Dual doctrines) aims to achieve, as well as the way of getting there.
10. Chung-Yuan, Chang. Original Teachings Of Ch’an Buddhism [!]
A collection of the oldest original teachings of Chโan Buddhism, the teachings here presented were extracted from The Transmission of the Lamp, the oldest and one of the most authoritative texts of this tradition. They include multiple Kung-ans (Koans), external expressions of the inner awakening of past adepts and masters.
Interesting doctrinal and practical book for those interested in going directly to the source of one of the most important Buddhist schools, widely represented in the West.
11. Bodhidharma. The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma was the founder of Chan Buddhism in China, the precursor to the Japanese Zen. He equated achieving illumination with Buddhahood and believed that spiritual practice could be compatible with everyday life, using examples from the natural world to train the mind.
This volume includes his “Outline of Practice”, describing the four habits leading to Enlightenment; the “Bloodstream Sermon”, telling students to seek their own true nature in order to find the Buddha; the “Wake-up Sermon” teaching that the mind is empty and the goal is to become detached; and the โBreakthrough sermonโ, emphasizing looking at oneยดs own empty mind as the foremost method to awakening.
Overall, the texts contained within this book are some of Chan/Zenยดs doctrinal pillars and a good introduction to their overall worldview.
12. Teitaro Suzuki, Daisetz. An Introduction to Zen Buddhism
D.T. Suzuki was the principal popularizer of Zen Buddhism in the West. This book is his classical and well-known introduction geared towards Western minds.
It contains a discussion of the aspects of Zen that have most often been criticized, such as its apparent Nihilism and its lack of logic (or paradoxical logic).
A comprehensive resource on all the different aspects of Zen practice designed to instruct the Western novice, it includes doctrinal sources (Sutras), Gathas (hymns) and prayers, Koans to โbreakโ the logical mind and achieve a โbreakthroughโ experience, and Dharanis (invocations) to expel evil spirits.
Also contained within are teachings and admonitions from Chinese and Japanese masters discussing all the key aspects of this tradition, from the Threefold Refuge and the Four Great Vows, to the Ten Oxherding Pictures that show the stages of the gradual path towards Enlightenment.
A basic Mahayana sutra that contains the most famous exposition of the psychologically-focused โMind-Onlyโ doctrine of the Yogachara philosophical school (โEverything is Mind or Consciousnessโ). It holds a particularly strong influence on Zen Buddhism.
The Yogachara tradition contrasts with the other dominant Mahayana philosophical school, Nagarjunaยดs Madhyamika (Middle Way), more focused on logical analysis and dialectics. The former is predominantly interpreted as a form of Idealism (Impersonal Monism), whereas the latter gives more room for a truly Non-Dualist interpretation (โSamsara equals Nirvanaโ), albeit an immanent one that needs an indefinite number of worlds (All-Actuality) as the source of multiplicity of AllโPotentiality (Emptiness).
13. Dogen, Eihei. Dogen’s Manuals of Zen Meditation
Japanese master Dogen was the founder of the Soto school of Zen Buddhism, introducing the method of sitting meditation (Zazen; โJust Sittingโ) which in modern times also became a staple of Western spirituality.
This book is a historical and religious examination of this practice of โnon-thinkingโ, aiming at bringing the mind of the aspirant closer to its potential Buddha-Mind state, inherent to all beings.
โ Gudo Nishijima, Chodo Cross. Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo (Vol. I-IV)
Shobogenzo is the most important Buddhist work of Dogen and, by extension, of Japanese Buddhism. By studying its doctrinal teachings we can get a clear taste of its vision of Ultimate Reality. As an example, chapter sixยดs (Vol. I) title is a clear declaration of Dogenยดs Impersonal Monism: โMind Here and Now is Buddhaโ (Soku-shin-ze-butsu).
14. Enji, Torei. The Undying Lamp of Zen: The Testament of Zen Master Torei
A comprehensive exposition of Zen practice as a whole, written by one of its most popular Rinzai School masters. It serves as an adequate introductory level text for the newcomer, but also as a useful intermediate level text, discussing many practical topics such as visionary states, the barriers in the path towards true realization, progressive transcendence, and the maturation of the practice.
15. Po, Huang. The Zen Teaching of Huang Po: On the Transmission of Mind
A collection of sermons, dialogues, and anecdotes belonging to the renowned Zen master Huang Po, especially known for being one of the best users of paradox to break down the rational mind and foster intuitive insight.
A true exponent of the teachings and idiosyncratic style of Japanese Buddhism straight from one of its primary sources.
16. Yampolsky, Philip B. The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch
The “Platform Sutra” is a recording of the teachings of the Sixth Patriarch Hui-Neng, one of the two great founding figures of Chinese Ch’an Buddhism. This translation includes an introduction with the necessary historical context, while the main sermon focuses on explaining our inherent Buddha-Nature, emphasizing the notion that it can only be made invisible to us due to our delusions. Our purpose, then, is to remove the layers of ignorance covering it.
17. Aitken, Robert. The Gateless Barrier: The Wu-Men Kuan (Mumonkan)
The Koans or paradoxical sayings of Zen Buddhism are one of its most well-known tools. They are not designed to be understood, but to confound and exhaust the mind in order to go beyond mere rationality. As such, they tend to involve narratives that unify opposite notions or dualistic categories.
The Mumonkan is one of the most fundamental and popular collections of Koans, containing forty-eight โcasesโ compiled by a Rinzai master who provides additional commentary and a poem for each one of them. It is not designed to be read back-to-back but to meditate on the selected/assigned Koan until a breakthrough experience is attained, the ego is โdeadโ and Satori is experienced.
18. Cleary, Thomas. The Blue Cliff Record
Another classic compilation of (one hundred) famous Zen Koans, including commentary and verses from renowned Chinese masters. This collection is used as a practical manual for students in their mission to achieve Satori, the breakthrough experience that provides an insight into the nature of reality, understood by all Buddhist traditions to be Emptiness itself (Impersonal Monism, All-Potentiality).
The Avatamsaka Sutra (or Flower Ornament Scripture) is one of the longest and most influential Buddhist sutras, especially for the Chan and Huayan Chinese schools.
Having been described as the most grandiose of all Buddhist scriptures, it describes the infinite realms of Buddhist cosmology and an immeasurable number of Buddhas, at the same time teaching through concise principles and symbolism a wide range of Buddhist doctrines.
Especially important is its philosophy of interpenetration, which states that all phenomena (Dharmas) of our world of duality exist as part of the totality of reality, each part depending on the Whole but also containing each other, in a Pantheist/Panentheist conception of reality.
Compared to the Christian notion of interpenetration (Perichoresis), where God becomes โAll in allโ after deification (Theosis), Christians believe that deified beings become both part and whole (particular modes of existence of the Whole) due to being elevated to the stature of the Logos, the Reason behind all phenomena, at the same time retaining their individual intrinsic quality. Buddhists, on the contrary, believe that any phenomenon is devoid of any such inherent essence. An important and rewarding text for those willing to put in the effort to better understand the metaphysical pre-suppositions of Buddhism.
8.3. Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism
Note: most Tibetan Buddhist texts require an empowerment before being allowed to be read
19. Asvaghosha. The Awakening of Faith: Attributed to Asvaghosha
The Awakening of Faith is one of the classic and most influential introductory treatises of Mahayana Buddhism. A text both metaphysical and philosophical, Asvaghosha explains the meditation methods leading to Enlightenment and wisdom, as well as the need to remain engaged in the world through compassion.
The text focuses on the oneness of mind, the relationship between Nirvana and Samsara (or the Absolute and the phenomenal), the practices that help in developing faith, and the importance of calmness/concentration and insight meditation, as well as the fruits that can be expected for those walking this path.
Overall, this text is a good starting point for understanding the Mahayana worldview.
20. Sonam Rinchen, Geshe. Atisha’s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment
Atisha, an Indian Buddhist scholar, came to Tibet after being invited by its Lama-King. His presence marked the start of the second transmission of Buddhism to Tibet, resulting in the creation of the Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug traditions.
Atisha’s best-known work, the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, is concerned with outlining the entire Buddhist path, making it dependent on three possible levels of motivation shown by its students. This treatise became the origin of the Lamrim teachings (graduated stages), a sequential approach towards awakening included in all Tibetan schools in addition to their more advanced methods of โsudden liberationโ, aimed at higher-level practitioners.
21. Gyatso, Kelsang. Tantric Grounds and Paths: How to Enter, Progress On, and Complete the Vajrayana Path
In this book, a popular introduction to the tantric Buddhism of Tibet, the author draws both from the greatest Tibetan yogis (e.g. Tsongkhapa) and from his own experience in order to paint a full picture of the whole path, including all the stages present in the four classes of Tantra.
A clear explanation of the (deity) Generation and Completion Stages is provided, focusing in the Highest Yoga Tantra tradition.
22. Evans-Wentz, Walter. Bardo Thodol: The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Existing between fact and myth, The Tibetan Book of the Dead is said to have been written by Padmasambhava, who hid the text for it to be found at the appropriate time.
Having become exceedingly popular in the West, it transmits the Tibetan Buddhist view of the afterlife, serving both as a funerary text and as a guide to traverse its phantasmagorical โastralโ or intermediate realms.
The text is used to facilitate the deceasedยดs recognition of the true nature of their own mind, thus propitiating their awakening and liberation from Samsara in the intermediate state (Bardo).
The Bardo, often a fearful experience, loses its power once the dead recognize that their own mind is the Source from where the realities perceived there were created, in the Buddhist version of Panentheismยดs โforgetful godโ.
An important text for all those interested not only in tantric Buddhism but also in Western New Age and syncretic Esotericism.
23. Padmasambhava. Natural Liberation: Padmasambhava’s Teachings on the Six Bardos [!]
Considered as a companion and complementary volume to the Bardo Thodol (Tibetan Book of the Dead), this bookยดs mythical origin is also attributed to Padmasambhava.
This text is concerned with the possibility of liberation found in the liminal or intermediate states (Bardos), such as the ones between life and in death, meditation, and sleep. This liberation is frequently defined as a natural one, emphasizing that our intrinsic nature is already liberated, our only remaining work being our spontaneous self-awakening to this fact. It contains instructions that enhance the adeptยดs understanding of the popular Bardo Thodol, a more ritualistic text.
24. Norsang Gyatso, Khedrup. Ornament of Stainless Light: An Exposition of the Kalachakra Tantra
The “Wheel of Time” (Kalachakra) Tantra is one of the most authoritative texts of tantric Buddhism. Apart from its doctrinal importance, it holds a special place due to its eschatological prophecies of the end of the cycle, where Buddhism and Islam are predicted to engage in a destructive war.
The publication of this volume was meant to coincide with the Dalai Lama’s Kalachakra initiation rite in Toronto (2004), which paints a clear picture of how influential Tibetan Buddhism has become in the West.
The present book, Ornament of Stainless Light, is a honored exposition of this key Tantra by the tutor of the second Dalai Lama himself.
Major topics discussed include: the microcosmic-macrocosmic correlation between the human body and the Universe (common to all panentheistic doctrines), the formation of the Universe (including a discussion on the contradictions between Kalachakra and Abhidharma cosmologies), subtle physiology (Channels, Winds, and Drops; similar to Hindu Chakras and Nadis), initiations, and meditation methods (Sadhana; e.g., Generation and Completion stages, the Two Accumulations of merit and wisdom, yogic methods).
25. Namkhai Norbu, Chogyal. The Crystal and the Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen
An autobiographical account of one of the most revered contemporary teachers of Dzogchen, it has become one of the most popular introductions to this worldview, illustrating its key concepts through the experiences of an accomplished master and one of the main exporters of tantric Buddhism to the West.
This book is a translation and commentary on the most important Tantra of Dzogchen, “The King Who Creates Everything” (Kunjed Gyalpo), with the titular king being a symbolic representation of our primordial pre-existent deified state.
Being the core scripture of the “Nature of Mind” (Semde) school, this tantra explains how Enlightenment is the already perfected and consubstantial natural state of all beings. Our aim, therefore, is to become experientially aware of this fact and stabilize this recognition in our daily lives.
In short, our essence is already divine, a pure empty awareness that acts as a blank canvas for all else that exists, a view that makes Non-Dualism sound almost identical to Panentheism (Impersonal Monism + Emanationism + Self-Deification (process of Return) + Cyclical Existence).
26. Rabjam, Longchen. The Precious Treasury of Philosophical Systems: A Treatise Elucidating the Meaning of the Entire Range of Buddhist Teachings
Longchenpa was the foremost Tibetan scholar/yogi of the Nyingma (“Old School”) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Being the scholastic systematizer of the Great Perfection school, his works are considered to be the ultimate expression of Dzogchen, providing precise terminological definitions and a successful integration of its teachings with the overall Buddhist textual corpus.
Some of his most famous texts include the extremely influential Seven Treasuries, which provide a scholastic explanation to both the exoteric and esoteric aspects of the tradition.
In The Precious Treasury of Philosophical Systems, Longchenpa discusses the metaphysical/philosophical tenets of the many Buddhist paths or vehicles, using the nine Yanas schema that further subdivides the classic Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana distinction into additional sub-schools (e.g. inner and outer Tantras). Obviously, he places his own Dzogchen tradition as the pinnacle of all Buddhist paths, considered the fastest road to the self-recognition of our intrinsic impersonal Buddha-Nature.
Consisting of a poem and a prose commentary, this is probably the most popular of the Seven Treasuries, mainly concerned with discussing the four Samayas or metaphysical commitments to which Dzogchen initiates vow to adhere, directly derived from their impersonal monistic view of Ultimate Reality: ineffability, openness, spontaneous presence, and oneness.
8.3.1. Tantric Practices, including Dzogchen and Mahamudra
27. Tashi Gyaltsen, Shardza. Heart Drops of Dharmakaya: Dzogchen Practice of the Bon Tradition [!]
Complete Dzogchen meditation manual coming, not from Tantric Buddhism, but from the native Tibetan Bรถn tradition, which also includes a version of Dzogchen very similar to that of its Buddhist equivalent.
This is a text well-known for โspilling the beansโ in regards to Dzogchenยดs secrets and the exact practice of its methods, being more explicit than Buddhist manuals, which are more reliant on oral tradition.
It contains chapters on preliminary practices, Trekcho, Togal, Phowa (transference of consciousness), and Bardo (intermediate state) practices, as well as discussing the attainment of the Rainbow Body.
Heart Drops of Dharmakaya is an ideal book for those who wish to know the exact methods of Liberation used by one of the main current worldviews that believe in an impersonal Ultimate Reality.
28. Lingpa, Jigme. Yeshe Lama: From the Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse of the Great Perfection, a Practice Manual for the Stages of the Path of the Original Protector Entitled Yeshe Lama
This text is the most important practice manual available to the Dzogchen school (Great Perfection), which no one is supposed to read until an empowerment to do so has been granted by a Lama.14Dzogchen initiations also include the ritualistic pointing out of oneยดs true nature: pure, clear, empty awareness. It is, in short, Nyingma traditionยดs manual on Self-Liberation.
The text focuses on the different techniques leading to the “realization of the pure awareness that transcends the mindโ. It outlines the complete path followed by the aspirant, from the preliminary pre-requisites, to the practices of Trekchรถ, (โcutting through to original purityโ) and Tรถgal (โcrossing over with spontaneous presenceโ), designed as swift methods to attain Buddahood and the creation of the Rainbow (or astral) Body in one lifetime.
29. Chagme, Karma. A Spacious Path to Freedom: Practical Instructions on the Union of Mahamudra and Atiyoga [!]
Together with Naked Awareness, this manual of Tibetan meditation presents in a relatively simple but comprehensive way both the Dzogchen and Mahamudra systems of tantric Tibetan Buddhism.
The author delineates the different meditative stages of these paths, including the Deity Generation Stage, the development of quiescence and insight, as well as the self-identification with empty awareness, leading to perfect Enlightenment in one lifetime, a characteristic aspect of Vajrayana Buddhism or โthe way of many methodsโ.
Much of the value of the book lies in how it shows that both paths of Tibetan Buddhism can be unified without incurring in a forced syncretism, both sharing the same metaphysical background.
Karma Chagme was a revered teacher of both the Mahamudra and Dzogchen lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. He is, then, a qualified voice to speak about the compatibility of both systems.
Part of the value of the book consists of his clear explanations on some of the most esoteric and unknown Tibetan practices, including Dzogchenยดs two most important (and pseudo-secret) methods, the “Breakthrough” and the “Leap-Over” techniques, the transference of consciousness at the time of death, and the four stages of Tibetan Yoga. Together with A Spacious Path to Freedom, this book paints a clear picture of the inherent unity of the two most important Vajrayana schools, at the same time providing a wealth of information on their most well-guarded secrets.
30. Duff, Tony. Flight of the Garuda [!]
Composed of twenty-three songs created by a Dzogchen master as a teaching aid, Flight of the Garuda explains the key method of Thorough Cut (Trekchรถ), one of the two most important core practices of the Great Completion school. Due to its clarity, the present composition became one of the most popular explanations of the method.
Included in this book is an explanation of the second method, Direct Crossing (Tรถgal), not discussed in the songs themselves. This text, therefore, provides a complete view of the ultimate methods of the self-defined highest and most definitive tantric Buddhist path, showing us a glimpse of its aims and expected fruits.
This treatise is a very rare, long, and extremely detailed word-by-word commentary on the text most used to teach Dzogchenยดs Thorough Cut technique, one of its most important methods to attain Buddhahood.
Given the recent massive popularity of Dzogchen in the West, understanding its Vision (the Base), its Path, and its Fruits becomes important not only for the Buddhist, but also for all those interested in understanding and establishing a dialogue with this popular worldview. This text is one of the classics that prepares us for doing so.
31. Chogyam, Ngakpa. Roaring Silence: Discovering the Mind of Dzogchen
A very hands-on approach to Dzogchen meditation, conceived as a direct path to Enlightenment without intermediate stages, as taught by two of its contemporary teachers.
The book is structured as a manual providing exercises designed to increase the sense of oneยดs pure empty awareness, different visualizations aiding in cultivating concentration, and for โstoppingโ mental activity for a period.
A useful book for comparing the almost identical practical aspects of non-dual Vajrayana with that of many other panentheistic worldviews and mystical schools representative of the doctrines of The One.
32. Yeshe, Lama Thubten. The Bliss of Inner Fire: Heart Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa
Also called the Six Dharmas of Nฤropa, these teachings are a set of advanced Tibetan tantric Buddhist practices compiled by Tilopa and Nฤropa. They pertain to the Completion Stage, the last and most advanced one in the Tibetan paths, intended for achieving Buddhahood in the least possible amount of time. Requiring initiation and preliminary practices, as well as the personal supervision of a Lama, they are the main practice of the Kagyu sect.
The Six Dharmas are based on energetic subtle body work, with a special focus on the generation of inner energy or heat Tummo). This inner fire, the first of the Six Dharmas, is the main focus of this book. Mastering this method is believed to lead the aspirant to a particularly clear and refined state of pure clear light, a direct glimpse into the impersonal Ultimate Reality of tantric Buddhism.
33. Rabjam, Longchen. The Precious Treasury of Pith Instructions
Of the Seven of Longchenpaยดs Treasuries, this short treatise concerns itself with practical advice for those engaging in meditative contemplation, being one of his most general and less Dzogchen-focused works, giving a taste of what the practice to attain absolute unity entails.
9.1. Doctrinal Works and Original Sources
1. Kohn, Livia. Introducing Daoism [!]
Introducing Daoism is the go-to textbook if you prefer a Western-style introductory text that takes into consideration the historical aspects of Taoism, instead of delving directly into the core metaphysical and practical works.
A profusely illustrated and very accessible introduction to Taoism that paints a comprehensive picture of this religion, including its origins and key concepts, major practices (rituals and doctrine, meditation, health and longevity practices), its development throughout the different dynasties and the present day, the organized aspects of the religion, and some of its associated philosophy (including Chinese cosmology). It has a modern, easy-to-read, format designed to improve assimilation and retention.
2. Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching [!]
Being the original source from where Taoism sprang forth, the Tao Te Ching is obviously this worldviewยดs most important book. It is an extremely short text, but its condensed meditations on the nature of the Tao (the Way, the Light, the Order and Source of it all) are deep and fraught with meaning.
Many of its paradoxical statements are best understood by grasping its underlying Non-Dualism, which believes in the Source as the integration of all opposites. According to Lao Tzu, the Tao is found where we would least expect it: not in the strong but in the weak; not in speech but in silence; not in doing but in not doing. Our aim should be not to strive to attain the Tao (which is already present everywhere) but not to resist it, to flow with it.
A very fast read that provides much understanding of the core concepts of Taoism as well as of many aspects of Western Esotericism influenced by it.
3. Cleary, Thomas. Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries: Further Teachings of Lao Tzu
The Wen-tzu is the second most important book of classical Taoism after Lao-tzuยดs Tao Te Ching. It contains Lao-tzu’s further teachings on the Tao (the Way). Its primary message is that cultivating simplicity and spontaneity is an essential trait to develop by both the common individual and by those who want to be wise leaders of men.
If we are able to attune ourselves to the Tao, life flows unimpeded. This attunement, however, is not attainable through endless strife but by internal simplicity.
4. I-Ming, Liu. The Taoist I Ching
The Book of Change or the I Ching is believed to be the oldest of the Chinese classics. Historically regarded with the utmost prestige in China, it was also widely adopted by Western Perennialism and New Age. It could be defined as a philosophical study of how the cosmic duality of Yin and Yang (symbolized by the hexagrams) interrelate with each other giving rise to all that exists, being analogous to the Hermetic Principle of Polarity.
Its text contains several layers of possible interpretations, and it can be interpreted and used both as a philosophical text regarding the first principles of reality and as a divining tool.
The first part of the book contains the text of the I Ching proper, the sixty-four hexagrams, plus additional sayings regarding them, the lines they contain, and the (necessary) clarifying commentary by alchemical master Liu I-Ming (Complete Reality School). The latter viewed the text as a self-realization manual useful for those living an ordinary life in the world, with his commentary using more modern terminology based on psychology, sociology, history, myth, and religion.
9.2. Taoist Meditation and Internal Alchemy (Neidan)
5. Pregadio, Fabrizio. Awakening to Reality: The “Regulated Verses” of the Wuzhen Pian, a Taoist Classic of Internal Alchemy [!]
Awakening to Reality (Wuzhen Pian, eleventh century) is one of the most important and best-known texts of Taoist Internal Alchemy. As is typical of alchemical texts, it describes the whole process in allegorical, poetical, and cryptical form. This book translates the first part of the classic Chinese text, which provides a concise but comprehensive overview of Neidan.
Obviously, Awakening to Reality contains numerous notes that enlighten the more difficult points, which is necessary in a book of this nature. It also includes selections from master Liu I-Ming‘s commentary (eighteenth century), characterized by its use of plain and understandable language.
The Seal of the Unity of the Three (Cantong Qi; Wei Boyang, about 150 CE), like all alchemical texts East and West, is not an easy read. It resorts to the use of thick layers of symbolic and allegorical language to transmit, as well as to conceal, its teachings. However, it is also one of the most important texts of Taoist Alchemy. Therefore, a lucid translation containing copious amounts of notes and explanations is needed. Fabrizio Pregadioยดs book (as all his translations on this topic) is able to provide the needed clarity.
The Cantong Qi has three major concerns: Taoism or the way of non-doing; Cosmology, as codified in the Book of Changes (I Ching); and Alchemy. This text is able to join them into a coherent doctrinal system that spawned much commentary from inside and outside Taoist circles, providing a comprehensive view of how the different parts of Taoism and Chinese philosophy are related to each other.
A popular and respected anthology of writings of the Complete Reality School, a movement that tried to go back to the purity of original Taoism. It is still used in China today, serving as both a theoretical treatise teaching the metaphysical principles underlying Taoism as well as a practical manual on how to develop the Three Treasures of later Taoism15It is interesting to note how the original term was used in the Tao Te Ching to mean, instead, compassion, frugality, and humility. Later Taoism, in contrast, seems to have focused on energy manipulation techniques rather than on these predominantly moral virtues.: Vitality, Energy, and Spirit.
The Book of Balance and Harmony is representative of the Three Teachings doctrine that sees Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism as being different expressions of the same underlying reality.
6. Mu, Wang. Foundations of Internal Alchemy: The Taoist Practice of Neidan [!]
Wang Mu (1908-92; Longmen ordination; board member of the China Taoist Association) intended this book as a clear description of the whole process of Internal Alchemy (Neidan). It is based on the Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Reality), one of the main classical texts of Internal Alchemy.
In Foundations of Internal Alchemy, the different stages of the alchemical practice are outlined and clarified, explaining the meaning behind both doctrine and abstruse terminology, including: Essence, Breath, and Spirit; the Cinnabar Fields; the “Fire Times”; and the Embryo.
7. I-Ming, Liu. Awakening to the Tao
Liu Yiming (ๅไธๆ, 1734โ1821; Longmen “Dragon Gate” lineage) was a Taoist master of Internal Alchemy (Neidan) and a prolific author.
In this short book, composed of 142 brief meditative essays, he condenses in simple and naturalistic contemporary language the core doctrines of his craft. This makes it a good introduction that provides deep knowledge for little time investment.
8. Po-Tuan, Chang. The Inner Teachings of Taoism
Written in the eleventh century by a founder of the Complete Reality School, The Inner Teachings of Taoism includes the classic of Internal Alchemy known as Four Hundred Words on the Gold Elixir. The commentaries of the respected master of Neidan Liu Yiming provide additional clarity in relatively modern terms to the challenging technical language used by the alchemical text.
9. Cleary, Thomas. Practical Taoism
A useful collection of the more accessible texts and commentaries on Taoist Internal Alchemy (Neidan). Compiled by a seventh-generation master of the Northern Branch of the Complete Reality School, they are useful both to understand the meditation practices and the aims involved in the practical side of Taoism, as well as an introduction to the more complex classical texts and primary sources.
Taoist meditation techniques have different aims. Some of them involve attuning oneself to the Tao, while others aim merely at physical longevity and psychological clarity and well-being.
This book offers a selection of classic texts pertaining to each of the above categories, giving an overview of Taoism in all its practical aspects. It includes:
โข Anthology on Cultivation of Realization (1739) aiming at the development of the natural, social, and spiritual elements of life.
โข Treatise on Sitting Forgetting: meditation manual that speaks in terms shared with both Confucianism and Buddhism.
โข Sayings of Taoist Master Danyang: representing the Complete Reality School.
โข Secret Writings on the Mechanism of Nature: an anthology of texts taken from multiple classic sources and Taoist masters on meditation and Internal Alchemy.
โข Zhang Sanfeng’s Taiji Alchemy Secrets: text regarding the inner mediation practices at the core of the popular Taiji (Tai Chi) martial art.
โข Secret Records of Understanding the Way: a collection of talks by an anonymous Taoist master (1644โ1911). The teachings are traditional, but the language is more modern and accessible.
9.3. Confucianism
10. Nicholas Tamblyn. The Complete Confucius: The Analects, The Doctrine Of The Mean, and The Great Learning
Compilation of the most important texts of Confucianism, one of the Three Teachings (Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism) considered to be equivalent paths towards the same destination in Chinese thought.16Statement not universally accepted.. A common theme is how the superior person seeks and loves learning and righteousness for their own sake. It includes:
The Analects: a compilation of speeches and dialogues between Confucius and his disciples.
The Doctrine of the Mean: attributed to Confucius‘ grandson Zisi. It focuses on showing the superiority of the Golden Way as the means to attain perfect virtue, a concept first mentioned but not developed in Chapter 6 of The Analects.
The Great Learning: attributed to Confucius, it discusses self-cultivation, enquiry, and examination, how they are related to each other, and their impact on leadership and government.
Together with Mencius, a collection of conversations of a Confucian scholar with different kings, they comprise the classical Four Books of Confucianism (ๅๆธ; Sรฌshลซ) explaining its core values.
10.1. Historical and Doctrinal Works
1. Lรฉvi, Eliphas. The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic [!]
One of the most popular books on Occultism ever written, The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic reignited the interest of the Western world in esoteric and occult themes. This renewed interest proved fruitful, in that it was the birth of important historical figures such as Madame Blavatsky and Manly P. Hall, which eventually led to the creation of the New Age movement, a powerful cultural force still felt in our world today.
Divided into two halves, a theoretical and practical one, it analyzes subjects such as initiation, realization, the esoteric version of the figure of Solomon, Kabbalah, Astrology, Alchemy, and aspects little discussed elsewhere because of their dark nature, such as black magic and Necromancy. The ritual part of the book focuses on conjuration, enchantments, spells, and the different preparations needed to succeed, including a warning to those foolish enough to practice these things.
โ The History of Magic [!]
In this volume, Levi traces the complete historical development of magic, from the magicians of the Bible (re-interpreted to fit his general monist scheme) and the traditions of ancient India and Greece, to the French Revolution and German Illuminism, among many others.
Understanding magic as the ability to employ correct metaphysical knowledge to cause certain effects that to the uninitiated may mistakenly appear to be causeless, Eliphas Levy takes us on a tour of hidden history that helps us understand little-known but important aspects of history and current events.
Written in the dense and convoluted style typical of occult writings of the time, it is however an enjoyable read due to the interesting nature of its narrative and the wealth of information it contains.
2. Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas. The Western Esoteric Traditions: A Historical Introduction
An enjoyable and easy-to-follow introductory overview of the Western esoteric traditions and their historical development, including modern relevant figures and movements such as Emmanuel Swedenborg, Franz Anton Mesmer, Helena Blavatsky, Spiritism, a summary of ritual magic from 1850 to the present, and modern esoteric paradigms.
The esoteric roots (predominantly Hermeticism, Neo-Platonism, and Gnosticism) of all these worldviews are discussed, in addition to their echoes in contemporary scientific paradigms.
In an interesting historical explanation, the author observes how the emergence of the first esoteric movements and their spread owe much to globalization. He exemplifies this by showing the syncretic nature of Hellenistic beliefs, themselves influenced by the Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Persian, and Indian beliefs that could be found in the unified empire of Alexander the Great.
Goodrick-Clarke also discusses the influence of esoteric ideas in modern scientific paradigms and the psychoanalytical psychology of Carl Jung, giving a very comprehensive account of all the aspects of Western Esotericism.
3. Michael Hoffman. The Occult Renaissance Church of Rome [!]
A very unique book that presents a revisionist history of the Renaissance emphasizing the, always omitted but enormously influential, hidden side of that time period that laid the foundations for so many things that came after.
In it, Hoffman shows how the Roman Church abandoned its own orthodoxy to syncretize itself with the Neo-Platonism, Hermeticism, and Kabbalah so popular at the time. The author, providing a large amount of information, maintains that Rome became the repository of forces outside Christianity that would only emerge gradually until reaching their apogee in the deviations that occurred in the twentieth century (e.g. Vatican II).
The present book does not avoid controversy, giving names of those whom Hoffman conceives as willing conspirators against Christian doctrine, including various Popes (e.g., Alexander VI, Leo X, Clement VII, Sixtus V), in a time of widespread conspiracy, deception, and occult practices.
The names of some of the chapters included, which define well the general message of the book, are: The Serpent in the Garden of the Quattrocento; Renaissance High Art: An Initiation; The Grand Egyptian Lodge of Vatican City; The Hermetic Prince of the Second Vatican Council; Neoplatonic-Hermetic Kabbalism in the Modern Era; The Breeders of Money Gain Dominion over the Church of Rome; Neoplatonic Philosophy and Freemasonry.
4. Alexander Magee, Glenn. Hegel and the Hermetic Tradition [!]
In this book, the author documents how Hermeticism influenced Hegelยดs thought through figures such as Baader, Bรถhme, Bruno, and Paracelsus, as well as his relationship with Freemasonry. Magee shows how this influence, far from being confined only to his youthful years, intensified during his old age.
To reconsider Hegel as a hermetic thinker implies re-evaluating an important part of modern philosophy, especially of German idealism, understood as a variation of the ancient metaphysics of Greco-Roman Egypt.
It is also a confirmation that an important part of philosophy, apparently so independent, often draws from ancient metaphysical sources. These sources are, as in the present case, usually exponents of panentheistic mysticism.
5. Godwin, Joscelyn. The Golden Thread: The Ageless Wisdom of the Western Mystery Traditions
This text aims to trace the interconnectedness of esoteric doctrine in the West. Following a historical point of view, Godwin looks at the origins of the Prisca Theologia (Perennialism) in Hermeticism and Orphism, following its development over time. Some of the topics analyzed include: egregores, negative (apophatic) theology, the pagan Renaissance, and inner Alchemy.
Overall, a quick and easy introductory read that provides not only historical context, but also insights into the connection between the panentheistic traditions of the One, and how many of them are mostly re-formulations or expansions of earlier ones.
6. Walker, D.P. Spiritual and Demonic Magic: From Ficino to Campanella
In this book, originally published by the Warburg Institute, Walker demonstrates that magic, instead of being a marginally important aspect of the culture of the Renaissance, was instead one of its most characteristic aspects.
This prevalence could be found in all cultural aspects, including music, medicine, and religion, with the central notion that linked all of them being that of Spirit. From the well-known Marsilio Ficino, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, or Francis Bacon, to lesser-known figures such as Tommaso Campanella, this book provides a clear portrait of magic in the Renaissance, a key historical period from where many later occult developments emerged.
10.2. Neo-Platonism
7. D’Hoine, Pieter; Martijn, Marije. All From One: A Guide to Proclus [!]
Proclus was one of the last and most important successors of Plato at the head of the Athens Academy. He is known as the great systematizer of Platoยดs works, making explicit and more understandable what in Plato was not always so. His worldview, however, was mostly a Neo-Platonic one. In fact, it is the most well-developed and structured one available to us.
This book includes a biography of Proclus. However, it is also much more. It discusses in detail his whole metaphysical system, with explicit emphasis on the One, the Forms, and the Soul. In doing so, he illuminates not only his own work and beliefs but also those of Plato and Plotinus.
Also addressed are his doctrines on the Demiurge, the Plotinian Intellect (Nous) and World Soul, the triadic structure of being, theology and religious practice (Theurgy), evil, providence, neo-platonic virtue ethics, and the Telos (finality) of human life: becoming like God.
8. Plotinus. Plotinus: The Enneads [!]
The Enneads are undoubtedly the most important text of Neo-Platonism and the source of “the One” as a description of the Absolute. It could be considered the equivalent of Advaita Vedanta in the West, both being exponents of a panentheistic Impersonal Monism.
Plotinusยด Magnum Opus contains discussion on such metaphysical subjects as: virtue, beauty, dialectics, and the nature of evil (First Ennead); the causal power of the stars, matter, against the Gnostic conception of the Demiurge and the cosmos as evil (Second Ennead); providence, tutelary spirits, contemplation, and the nature of The One (Third Ennead); the soul and its descent into the body (Fourth Ennead); the three initial hypostases (The One, Nous, and the World Soul) and the Archetypes or Ideas (Fifth Ennead); the Omnipresence of The One, how multiplicity came to be, and free will and the Will of The One (Sixth Ennead).
Neo-Platonism took root in successive waves of philosophical and religious intellectuals, especially from the Renaissance onwards, becoming one of the most influential Western worldviews. Since then, its more or less veiled presence can be felt even in a multitude of contemporary audiovisual productions, making it almost mandatory to have a working knowledge of its main doctrines. The Enneads is the best book to accomplish this task.
9. Iamblichus. The Theology of Arithmetic
The Theology of Arithmetic studies Neo-Pythagorean and Platonist number symbolism, arguing that they later influenced the Valentinian Gnostics to develop their own theology of arithmetic. The book discusses the meaning behind the numbers one to ten, with the first four being important and very prevalent symbols traditionally used to describe God and creation (Monad, Dyad, Triad, and Tetrad). A useful title to obtain a greater understanding of the arithmetical notions so important in the conceptions of the divine, written by one of the most important Neo-Platonists.
10.3. Ancient and Classic Esoteric Worldviews, including Hermeticism, Alchemy, Rosicrucianism and Magic
10. Copenhaver, Brian P. Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius[!]
The Hermetica is a body of literature attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, containing texts initially believed to be some of the oldest documents available to mankind (contemporary to Old Testament Judaism). It was later proved that they were written in late antiquity instead.
Regardless of its dating, its metaphysical and theological influence over the ages has been enormous, being one of the pillars of Western thought in a more or less veiled way. Especially important was its re-discovery and assimilation during the Renaissance.
This edition includes an explanatory introduction useful for newcomers to Hermeticism, the Corpus Hermeticum, and the Asclepius. They are the most important Hermetic works, together with the Poimandres and the Emerald Tablet.
11. Trismegistus, Hermes. The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus [!]
The Emerald Tablet of Hermes, also known as the Smaragdine Tablet or the Tabula Smaragdina, is probably the most important alchemical foundational text. Attributed to the legendary figure of Hermes Trismegistus, it contains only a few verses that are, however, pregnant with metaphysical meaning.
These verses condense the core principles of Alchemy, codifying its panentheistic doctrines in a way easy to remember. Some translations are more explicit than others in their metaphysical focus, however, with Trithemiusยด one being the most direct by stating the equivalence between Hermes’ notion of the One thing with the Monad of Pythagoreanism.
12. Roob, Alexander. The Hermetic Museum. Alchemy and Mysticism
A compendium of alchemical and mystical drawings, paintings, and engravings, The Hermetic Museum is an extremely visual journey through esoteric and mystical history (e.g. Hermeticism, Alchemy, Kabbalah).
The book is divided into chapters dealing with themes common to all esoteric traditions, which consist of short texts accompanying the illustrations, the true protagonists of the work.
Short introductions are also included, although the book functions primarily as a visual history of the life of the doctrines it deals with.
A unique and very entertaining work, recommended for those who wish to learn traditional metaphysics in a more visual and symbolic way.
John Dee was the court astronomer and advisor of Elizabeth I. He was also a mathematician, astrologist, and alchemist engaged in acts of divination and a scholar of Hermetic philosophy. This text, the legend tells, was discovered in a hidden compartment of an old chest long after Deeยดs death, comprising his secret investigations into the occult.
In these five books, Enochian magic is defined. It was developed in conjunction with Edward Kelley, consisting of revealed sigils and invocations used to summon and communicate with what Dee believed to be angelic entities.
Apparently, these beings were interested in the exploration and colonization of the New World, as well as in the establishment of the New Age or new world order that this discovery would entail.
One of the most important occult books of Western history and a testament to the interest of the royal bloodlines in these topics, it also became one of the pillars of modern schools of Occultism, such as Aleister Crowleyยดs Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
The Monas Hieroglyphica (The Hieroglyphic Monad) is Deeยดs extremely short and esoteric treatise describing the revealed symbol that he thought contained all the metaphysical secrets of reality.
This symbol, intended to be used not only for speculation purposes but also for meditation, represents the underlying unity of it all. It uses astrological (Mars, Venus, Mercurius, Jupiter, and Saturn) and alchemical (the union of the Sun and the Moon) concepts. As such, the symbol, which at first looks like a horned man, can be understood as representing the Unity of Opposites (male/female, Jupiter/Saturn, Sun/Moon) in human form, hinting at the possibility of man becoming the Absolute, the One, as all panentheistic doctrines teach.
14. Agrippa, Henry Cornelius. Three Books of Occult Philosophy
A classic Renaissance philosophical book regarding ritual magic and its possible relationship (e.g. synthesis) with religion. It is composed of three books on Elemental, Celestial, and Intellectual Magic.
Unlike the more arcane grimoires of the past, this worldview was characterized by its erudition, focusing on philosophical and metaphysical discussion.
The topics discussed are derived from Hebrew, Greek, and Chaldean sources. They include, among others: the four classical elements, Astrology, Kabbalah, Numerology, angelic beings, the names of God, Scrying, Alchemy, and Ceremonial Magic. This book is also one of the primary sources that propagated the notion that the Knights Templars engaged in witchcraft.
15. Valentin Andreae, Johann. The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz
A symbolic little book now attributed to Johann Valentin Andreae, who for a long time lived between fiction and reality, shrouded in rumors and mystery. The text is interesting both because of its historical value and for its clear allegorical symbolism.
The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz is an alchemical romance that, like much of mystical literature (e.g., Teresa of Avila), is divided into seven stages, here called Seven Days or Journeys (representing the entirety of Man’s work, in contrast to the work of God in the Genesis narrative).
It tells the story of how the protagonist, Christian Rosenkreuz (meaning Rose-Cross), is invited to attend the wedding of the King and Queen, those being common alchemical symbols for the opposite but complementary aspects of the human Self. He is invited to help them consummate their Sacred Marriage, being a symbolic representation of the ego in its journey towards finishing the Magnum Opus of the philosophers and achieving immortality and transcendence by becoming Whole.
The wedding invitation, in a totally coherent way, includes the symbol invented by John Dee representing the Monad, the One (Monas Hieroglyphica).
16. Bacon, Francis. The New Atlantis: Or, Voyage to the Land of the Rosicrucians
Bacon‘s scientific utopia, it focuses on the role of knowledge (Gnosis) and its transmission through the University (Solomon’s House or House of Wisdom) of a fictional technological paradise (Bensalem) discovered on the high seas. Here, the sciences are studied and developed with religious reverence, human reason having become deified.
The importance of The New Atlantis lies in the clarity with which it shows the values of the Enlightenment, in which Francis Bacon was one of its key thinkers. It is also important to note the hierarchy and stratification that the architects of these movements conceive as necessary in a utopian society of this style, where the degree of knowledge attained represents the social stratum of each individual. In the end, the overall order is a pyramidal one. This, far from being strange, is the norm in the utopias conceived by the religions of the One (e.g., Plato’s Republic), where the different strata are just manifestations of the the succesive emanations of the Absolute.
10.4. Modern Esoteric Worldviews, including Occultism, Theosophy, Freemasonry, Thelema and Chaos Magick
17. Lรฉvi, Eliphas. The Key of the Mysteries [!]
Eliphas Levi, after abandoning his priestly vocation, became considered the greatest occultist of the nineteenth century.
In this book, he tries to justify his perennialist position which affirms that all the revelations received by humanity, whether from Enoch, Abraham, Hermes Trismegistus, or Solomon point to the same truth and the same God, the impersonal Absolute of the Philosophers.
As it could not be otherwise, the “Key” of all the mysteries of the Absolute is revealed to be the doctrine of the Unity of all Opposites (Complementary Dualism), or God and the Devil being different sides of the same coin.
Analogously, man can integrate the different aspects of his Self, achieve the knowledge of both good and evil, and become whole, just as the serpent in the Biblical Genesis narrative taught.
The Key of the Mysteries is a short and very explicit book that makes obvious the implications of the doctrine of the Absolute or how, if God is The One, both good and evil are just mere aspects of It.
18. Hall, Manly Palmer. The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy [!]
This is Manly P. Hall‘s masterpiece and the work that made him famous. Conceived as a key to unlocking the meaning behind the doctrines and symbols of any religious, esoteric, or mythological worldview, it aims to provide definitive answers to the most fundamental metaphysical questions of all.
An almost encyclopedic volume of esoteric knowledge, it covers from the Mistery Traditions and secret societies of antiquity (e.g., Eleusinian Mysteries, Mithraism, Orphism, Bacchus and Dionysus, Gnosticism), to the more recent mysticism of pseudo-secret societies such as the Rosicrucians or the mystical meaning behind the works of Shakespeare. Other major topics discussed include the Sumerio-Babylonian myths (e.g., the Solar dying God), the Egyptian religion and its initiations (e.g., Isis and Osiris myth), Qabbalah, Hermeticism, and Alchemy.
In between, Hall finds enough space to interpret all kinds of symbolism (e.g. man as a symbol, different aspects of the natural world), which makes it a very complete book that, however, is very clear in its vision that every worldview discussed is reducible to a general perennialist template. This is easily seen especially in the case of Christianity, where Hall equates the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ with that of any other solar mythological deity, ignoring the underlying metaphysics and the unique non-dialectical answer that Christianity provides to the problem of the One and the Many.
For Hall, the answer to this unacknowledged problem cannot be any other than The One, each one of us ultimately our own savior.
โ Lectures on Ancient Philosophy [!]
In Lectures on Ancient Philosophy, Manly P. Hall expands on the themes already covered in his best-known work, The Secret Teachings of All Ages. In fact, this book was conceived as a complement to the latter, stopping to explore in greater depth the deeper, philosophical, and metaphysical aspects treated there in a more superficial way due to its pseudo-encyclopedic nature.
Lectures on Ancient Philosophy pays special attention to certain worldviews, which indicates the weight given to them as pillars of all later Esotericism and, especially, of modern Freemasonry. Among them, Hall focuses on Neo-Platonism and its vision of the Absolute as Ultimate Reality, the Gnostic heresy, the Mystery Religions, Pythagorean mathematics, and, obviously, its more modern derivatives such as Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry.
In contrast to the myriad of colorful symbols and esoteric terminology found in his magnum opus, this book takes the time to delve into the foundations of these traditions and makes clear the Impersonal Monism behind Hall and his Freemasonic brethren. To paraphrase the revealing title of chapter three: there is no savior but our own enlightened mind.
Manly P. Hall, himself an honorary 33rd-degree Freemason, explains here the meaning behind the foundational myth of this esoteric school, linking its origins to Hermeticism and the Mystery Religions and initiatory ordeals of the ancient Graeco-Egyptian world.
Leaving behind more complex initiatory schemes such as that of the Scottish Rite (thirty-three degrees in total), Hall discusses the symbolism behind the three degrees of the Blue Lodge: Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason, as well as the qualifications that the adept must have in order to be successfully initiated.
Overall, this short book is an adequate, if pompous, introduction to the more visible aspects of the Craft.
In this book, the author interprets the teachings of the ancient Egyptian religion as being of a Freemasonic nature, as expounded in the teachings of the State Mysteries. The topics addressed include: Egyptian magic, the Osirian cycle, the secret doctrine of Egypt, and Plato‘s Egyptian initiation.
Especially interesting, moreover, is the inclusion of the Crata Repoa in the appendixes, which is a reconstruction of ancient Egyptian Mysteries and the corresponding initiatory ceremonies that took place in their temples.
In short, this book is an interesting short read on the origins of Freemasonic principles, linking them also to the whole Platonic tradition that shaped to a large extent all later Western thought.
Initiates of the Flame is a short, introductory book that explores a wide range of occult and religious themes, reinterpreting them in an esoteric and panentheistic way. It includes everything from Egyptian rites, which Hall and Freemasonry held in high esteem, to Alchemy and Arthurian myths such as the Holy Grail.
The main focus, however, is on describing and revealing the meaning of ancient Mystery Religions and their ritual practices.
An essay that distinguishes between black and white magic, promoting the latter and rejecting the former. The general vision of the world that is promoted is that of an impersonal Source from which energies can be extracted through mere esoteric knowledge (Gnosis) alone, which allows the illegitimate selfish use of these energies.
The underlying message, which is again current, is that certain people in our world are using such knowledge to do evil, so we must also learn to use it to defend ourselves. This dialectic, in turn, could be used as the potential precursor to a Manichean revolution which may, or may not, be engineered.
19. Bailey, Alice. A Treatise on White Magic or The Way of the Disciple
Behind Alice Bailey‘s books lies a core message that is incessantly repeated: there is a Plan for humanity, of divine origin and supervised by a Hierarchy that is increasingly present in the destiny of man. This Plan is based on mankind recovering its divine status through evolution.
To achieve this, the adept’s Souls, believed to be the link between their divine Self and deficient matter, must psycho-spiritually self-develop until they attain the former and redeem the latter.
The present volume contains fifteen magical rules intended to facilitate the control of the Soul, based on a predominantly Hindu worldview (Advaita Vedanta). In fact, in order to illustrate the ancient idea that each of us is a mere mask of the Absolute, Bailey quotes the Bhagavad Gita: “Though I am Unborn, the Soul that does not pass away, though I am the Lord of Being, yet, as Lord of My nature, I manifest myself through the magical power of the Soul.”
Behind all this paraphernalia and verbiage is the very simple and ancient metaphysical notion that sees Ultimate Reality not as a caring personal God but as a source of energy, an ocean of undifferentiated consciousness, each of us a mere spark of a fire to which we must return.
The importance of this book is twofold. On the one hand, Baileyยดs worldview is intertwined with certain socio-political high spheres (United Nations). On the other, its central message that the Astral plane is a battleground from which we will eventually have to defend ourselves by being necessarily initiated into “white” magic is a convenient dialectical paradigm that may be abused in order to make us eventually accept certain worldviews in a time of crisis.
This Theosophist channeled book discusses how the different states of consciousness are related to the various planes of existence, including the interaction between humanity, the Hierarchy (higher spiritual entities), and Shamballa (the divine realm).
After outlining the Plan and Purpose that these Hierarchies have for humanity, Bailey details their process of externalization and what that would entail in practical terms.
Given Bailey’s association with the United Nations, and the shadow of doubt that hangs over the motives behind their actions (especially after the COVID-19 event), the question of who these Hierarchies are becomes even more relevant.
20. Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna. Isis Unveiled (Vol. I-II): A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology
The founder of the Theosophical Society, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was a medium who claimed to have spent seven years studying Tibetan esotericism. She was mainly influenced by Eastern philosophy, but also by the Knights Templar, Freemasonry, and Rosicrucianism, popular at the time. She was a skilled writer who nevertheless wrote overly long, pompous texts.
This book describes the metaphysical foundations behind Theosophy, being a syncretic mixture of Hermeticism, Eastern metaphysics, and Christian inversion. The knowledge presented here was supposedly astrally revealed by the Ascended Masters17Sanat Kumara was a name mentioned by Blavatsky. She claimed that he belonged to a group of beings, the “Lords of the Flame”, whom Christians misunderstood as Lucifer and the fallen angels. and by figures of historical relevance (e.g. Plato, Solomon, Roger Bacon).
A character of dubious credibility (see Renรฉ Guรฉnonยดs criticism), she nevertheless had a great influence at the time and even in our days, Theosophy being the precursor of the modern New Age movement.
The Secret Doctrine is one of the most popular occult books ever written. It achieved mainstream popularity and acted as a kind of counterbalance to the opposite tendency of crude Materialism at the height of the Age of Science.
In it, Blavatsky18And the channeled beings who she affirmed spoke with her explores the origin and evolution of both the Universe and of mankind itself in her own characteristic, excessively long (over 1400 pages) and convoluted, way.
This edition is an abridged and annotated version that makes the reading shorter and easier, thus making accessible one of the key foundational texts of modern New Age and occult thought.
Written by one of the most famous (and controversial) public masonic figures, Morals and Dogma is the fundamental sourcebook of the Scottish Rite branch of Freemasonry, written in the pompous and convoluted style characteristic of the esoteric writings of the time.
It comprises a collection of thirty-two essays that explain the basis of all the degrees of the Scottish Rite, except the 33rd, which remains secret. The book analyzes their metaphysical views, philosophy, mythology, symbolism, and rituals, as well as any associated religious views.
However, in its characteristic masonic and esoteric style, Morals and Dogma aims to both reveal and conceal its mysteries, avoiding explaining the secret interpretations behind the rituals whose physical aspects it describes in detail.
Pikeยดs Panentheism is not difficult to find, however, through his actions rather than his words, himself being the creator of a ritual following the general plot of the Heroยดs Journey. In the masonic worldview, Man is the Hero, not God.
22. Carroll, Peter J. Liber Null & Psychonaut: The Practice of Chaos Magic (Revised and Expanded Edition)
A classic and very influential book in the sphere of Western magic, as well as the main text on Chaos Magick.
Carrollยดs worldview is based on Animism and Shamanism, as well as in the Greek Magical Papyri, the modern Esotericism of Eliphas Levi and Aleister Crowley, and the mystical meditation techniques of Indo-Chinese Dharmic traditions. He also incorporates the scientific theories that he found compatible with the former, such as certain interpretations of Quantum Physics and the mathematical Chaos Theory.
As a result, Carroll proposes a syncretic mish-mash based on an ultimately impersonal Source of all power that can be harnessed through adequate knowledge (Gnosis) until reaching the goal of Self-deification. A Self-transcendence that Carroll himself defined as19Bracketed terms added. “the elevation of the complete individual [Apotheosis] in perfect balance [Unity of Opposites] towards the power of the infinite [Impersonal Monism]”.
23. Crowley, Aleister. The Book of the Law
Aleister Crowley‘s most famous book, the author claimed that it was revealed to him through channeling an entity called Aiwass, whom he identified as his own personal “Holy Guardian Angel” and “The Devil Satan.”
Initially repelled by his teachings, Crowley later embraced them, creating the “Gospel of Thelema” (meaning Will) and disseminating its popular central message: “Do what you will shall be the whole of the Law.” Crowley saw this revelation as the basis of the New Aeon of the Crowned and Conquering Child, in which โevery man and woman is a star.โ
Crowley was obviously a provocateur and a troubled individual, which can be easily seen by looking at his personal life and his dark ultimate fate. His view of the world, however, is not very different from many other versions of Panentheism or Impersonal Monism. Even if it dabbled in demonic communications, something anathema to most other forms of Panentheism that sincerely attempt to achieve the Good or the One, the fact remains that the main doctrines of Thelema are basically the same as the ones that can be found in them.
The path of Thelema avows for the Self-deification of man and a worldview where impersonal Chaos (the Night of Ancient Egyptian religion) is the ultimate reality. The method to achieve this is through ego-death (Choronzon or the “dweller in the Abyss“) and a return to the Absolute. The Age of the Child (Horus), in turn, is a clear reference to the Solar mythos of the triadic Osiris-Isis-Horus, with the latter being the third term that integrates and transcends the former two in an Egyptian “Filioquist” formula representing the Unity of Opposites.
In summary, Crowley is simply re-packaging the old metaphysics of the One in a less rigorous and serious way, offering a deliberately controversial and provocative product that plays with the demonic, designed for the consumption of a generation that found its identity in going against what was perceived to be the status quo of the time.
24. Blake, William. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is William Blake‘s first attempt to reveal his whole metaphysical and philosophical message. In it, Blake expresses his humanistic and esoteric tendencies by spinning a story where Angels and Demons exchange positions, Good becomes Evil, and Heaven is Hell.
Being one of the most prominent exponents of Esotericism in the world of art, the message put forth by Blake is not trying to arouse puerile animosity in order to command attention. What he is doing, instead, is affirming the ancestral metaphysical doctrine of the complementarity and the underlying Union of all Opposites, a vital belief for the doctrines of The One (Panentheism).
11.1. Historical and Doctrinal Works
1. Jonas, Hans. The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity
Hans Jonasยด book was the first introduction to Gnosticism for the modern Western world. Numerous other texts have been published since then due to Gnosticismยดs explosion in popularity (spearheaded by the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library) and its promotion in mass media (e.g. The Da Vinci Code, Persona, The Matrix). However, The Gnostic Religion remains a valuable read with a unique perspective.
It includes both heresiological and original texts, including a section on Simon Magus, Marcionism, the Valentinians, Mandaeans, Manichaeans, and the famous “Hymn of the Pearl”, an allegory for manยดs Holy Spark trapped in matter. Interestingly, it also includes the Hermetic Poimandres, which Jonas saw as equally Gnostic in character.
Being a philosopher and a student of the existentialist Martin Heidegger, this book has a more philosophical bent, leaving behind the mere factual accounts provided by generalist introductory books and providing a deeper vision. It contains, for example, chapters on Gnostic symbolic language and its relation with Nihilism and Existentialism.
2. Pagels, Elaine. The Gnostic Gospels
Written by an ex-Christian and Professor of Religion, The Gnostic Gospels is the most popular introduction to Gnosticism and the Nag Hammadi Library, having become a best seller and being heavily promoted by the media (e.g. National Book Award in Religion/Inspiration, National Book Critics Circle Award; National Humanities Medal; named one of the 100 best books of the twentieth century by Modern Library).
It is an easy and short read with a clear bias against organized religion designed as a first contact with this worldview. It conveys well enough the principal tenets of Gnosticism, such as their Father/Mother version of God (the Absolute) or Self-Knowledge as Self-Liberation, while being especially focused on the historical aspects of the movement.
3. Voegelin, Eric. Science, Politics and Gnosticism: Two Essays
Eric Voegelin was one of the leading political theorists of modern times. In Politics and Gnosticism, instead of looking at Gnosticismยดs past like the rest of the books in this list, he analyzes its present and future, ingrained in many aspects of modern culture.
Voegelin asserts that Gnostic thought is present in numerous modern movements, including Positivism, Hegelianism, Marxism, the “God is Dead” movement, and contemporary politics.
A short and very unique read that focuses not on the Gnostic mythos, as most other books on the subject do, but on how the Gnostic way of thinking can be present as an underlying assumption of seemingly unrelated systems of thought.
11.2. Main Sources and Primary Texts
4. Meyer, Marvin. The Nag Hammadi Scriptures
The discovery of the Nag Hammadi Scriptures marked an important event in the history of modern religious and esoteric worldviews. They were pivotal in the resurrection of Gnosticism, a long-dead esoteric movement that has, since then, achieved a prominent representation in contemporary culture.
This revised version of the Nag Hammadi Scriptures is the most complete edition in the English language. Among other texts, it includes the Gospels of Thomas, Mary, and the recently discovered one of Judas. Interestingly, it also includes three works belonging to the Corpus Hermeticum and a partially altered translation of Plato‘s Republic, which underscores how the Gnostics perceived Platonism and Hermeticism as compatible with their own system. This is not necessarily surprising, given that all of them share many of the main metaphysical core doctrines (e.g., the Absolute as an Impersonal Monad, Emanationism).
This volume also includes numerous introductory notes, tables, and essays to clarify the context and facilitate reading for non-experts.
5. Barnstone, Willis; Meyer, Marvin. The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition
Gnosticism was not a unitary phenomenon but a group of loosely related belief systems with some key commonalities between them. Among these, they believed that attaining personal spiritual knowledge (Gnosis) was key to oneยดs liberation from this fallen material world created by a secondary ignorant (or evil) deity. This deity, the Demiurge, was sometimes identified with the God of the Old Testament.
They viewed matter as inherently flawed, aiming at self-liberating the “hidden divinity” within through mystical insight and esoteric knowledge. Given that matter and multiplicity were viewed as the source of evil and the return to the simplicity of the Monad through self-effort was considered possible, they rejected the Christian doctrines of sin and salvation and mostly spoke of illusion and enlightenment, like other Panentheist worldviews. In fact, Gnosticism was the most serious early Christian heresy and constituted almost an inversion of all core tenets of the latter (e.g., God as the androgynous Father-Mother Absolute that contains it All).
Gnosticism, after being almost forgotten, has seen a revival in recent times. Thanks to Jungian Psychoanalysis, Western Esotericism and, especially, in popular culture (e.g. movies, video games).
The Gnostic Bible is a comprehensive resource of Gnostic texts derived from Mandaeism, Manichaeism, Catharism, Hermeticism, and also from heterodox and heretic forms of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It includes not only important Valentinian texts but also Sethian ones.
6. Mead , G. R. S. Pistis Sophia: A Gnostic Gospel
Translated by an influential member of the Theosophical Society, the Pistis Sophia is the allegorical narration of the Gnostic version of the Fall. Instead of being the consequence of sin, matter and the last of the divinityยดs emanations (Sophia), take the blame. It is also the narration of how souls became trapped in the physical realm, needing a re-awakening in order to escape.
The book uses different cosmologies, not always coherent with the general Gnostic view of Sophia, here representing the inferior principle of materiality instead of the principle of Wisdom.
Cosmological and astrological speculations are some of the main focuses of the Pistis Sophia. The intention is to teach the adept the knowledge and ritualistic endeavors necessary to navigate the different realms, ruled by the Archons and represented by the stars and the Zodiac.
This knowledge is transmitted by the Gnostic version of Jesus Christ, here a mere representative of the true deity. After having taught mankind only the Lesser Mysteries, the Gnostic Jesus now decides to teach the full picture to the “Ones who Know” (Gnostics), the esoteric elite considered capable of achieving Self-liberation.
Overall, Pistis Sophia is an extremely repetitive book that dedicates an enormous amount of pages to the allegorical “passion” of Sophia. However, it is also a historically important text that contains meaningful cosmological knowledge and a good overall vision of the Gnostic worldview.
12.1. Historical and Doctrinal Generalist Works
1. Copleston, Frederick Charles. History of Philosophy [!]
One of the classic university texts on the History of Philosophy. Using an erudite but accessible style, the Jesuit priest presents a comprehensive history of Philosophy that even includes a volume on Russian philosophy, seldom seen in other Western texts on the same subject.
2. Frazer, Sir James George. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion
An influential and wide-ranging comparative study of ancient mythological and religious beliefs. In it, the anthropologist Sir James George Frazer proposes that mankind’s understanding of the natural world progresses linearly from magical thought through religious beliefs to science.
He discussed the similar themes behind many ancient cults, including fertility rites, sacrifice, the dying god, and the scapegoat. Frazer advanced the thesis that most ancient religions were ultimately fertility cults that revolved around the worship and periodic sacrifice of a Sacred King (e.g. Sun worship), following the seasonal cycle. It scandalized its first readers by including the resurrection of Jesus among those, even when Frazer himself admitted that his work was speculative.
12.2. Platonism
3. Taylor, Thomas. Proclus: On the Theology of Plato, with The Elements of Theology [!]
On the Theology of Plato is by far the most comprehensive text discussing the theological elements of Plato‘s writings. However, it may not be the easiest read. Because of this, Taylor also translated and included the Elements of Theology together in this single volume.
As Taylor stated in his Introduction, โthe Elements of Theology . . . render[s] the treatise On the Theology of Plato more complete, and . . . assist[s] the reader who wishes to penetrate the depths of that most abstruse and sublime work; for the former elucidates, and is elucidated by the latter.โ
As a fact that is not commonly known, it is interesting to note that Taylor traces back the real origins of this highly influential metaphysical system to previous esoteric and mystical ones: โ[…][A philosophy] which was first mystically and symbolically promulgated by Orpheus, afterwards disseminated enigmatically through images by Pythagoras [itself partly derived from Egyptian religion], and in the last place scientifically unfolded by Plato and his genuine disciples. […] It develops all the deified progressions [Emanationism] from the ineffable principle of things [Monism], and accurately exhibits to our view all the links of that golden chain of which deity is the one extreme, and body the other [Panentheism].โ20Bracketed terms added.
Highly recommended book for those wanting to understand Platoยดs metaphysics, so influential in shaping Western culture.
4. Plato. Complete Works
A convenient compilation of all the dialogues of Plato, one of the most influential philosophers of all time and the backbone of much of Western civilization.
The dialogues are variable in their complexity, but they can usually be read without much difficulty. Their main teachings include those of Platonic Realism (the existence of Abstract Universals), the Theory of Forms, the Form of the Good (Platoยดs Ultimate Reality before Plotinus renamed it as “The One“), Metempsychosis (reincarnation), as well as a positive depiction of the Demiurge (contrary to Gnosticism).
Plato uses numerous analogies as an important didactic instrument, with the most famous being the Allegory of the Cave in The Republic, the latter being an important work of political philosophy that clearly shows the consequences of organizing society based on the metaphysical view of Ultimate Reality as a simple Monad or Essence.
12.3. Nihilism
5. Nietzsche, Friedrich. Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future [!]
Beyond Good and Evil insists on ideas previously shown in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. However, here Nietzsche leaves behind allegory to express his intended message more directly and clearly, at the same time using a more polemical tone.
The title, Beyond Good and Evil, refers to Nietzscheยดs opinion that moral philosophy needs to go beyond simplistic black-and-white moralizing, attacking the very idea of using strict dichotomies such as “Good against Evil”.
The accusatory tone of the book focuses on criticizing the grand metaphysical systems that believe that the good man is the opposite of the evil man, rather than just a different expression of the same basic impulses. Here we can find the esoteric concept of the Unity of Opposites in mainstream non-theistic philosophy.
The aim of Nietzsche is to leave behind the traditional morality that he believes is based on fear, weakness, and a life-negating attitude.
In The Twilight of the Idols, Nietzsche criticizes most European cultures of his day as decadent and nihilistic, while applauding the likes of Caesar, Napoleon, Goethe, and the Sophists as healthier and stronger representatives of the will to power and a life well lived. In addition, the most important project of Nietzcheยดs work is explicitly referred to be the Transvaluation of all Values.
In The Anti-Christ, Nietzsche again expresses his contempt for modernity and its weakness-promoting values (e.g., “lazy peace”, “cowardly compromise”, “tolerance” and “resignation”).
He then goes on to re-define the notions of good, bad, and happiness according exclusively to its promotion or hampering of the Will to Power.
In his reactionary and intentionally polemical style, he charges against Schopenhauerยดs compassion-based morality: “What is good?โWhatever augments the feeling of power, the will to power, power itself, in man. What is evil?โWhatever springs from weakness. What is happiness?โThe feeling that power increasesโthat resistance is overcome.”
“The weak and the botched shall perish: first principle of our charity. And one should help them to it. What is more harmful than any vice?โPractical sympathy for the botched and the weakโChristianityโฆ.”
“Where the will to power is lacking there is decline.”
Nietzsche blames Christianity for demonizing stronger, “better” humans, while his notion of the Will to Power leads him to favor a worldview based on pure individuality (the Many).
One of the most famous works of Nietzsche but not one of his clearest ones. The text is mainly allegorical, using numerous analogies that lend themselves to multiple interpretations, not always compatible between them.
The author uses the historical Zoroaster as his mouthpiece, dealing with the most important ideas of the whole Nietzschean worldview, such as: the Overman (รbermensch), the Death of God, the Will to Power, and Eternal Recurrence.
As it is easy to see, even if he rejected the theistic conception of a personal God, Nietzsche nevertheless adhered to such esoteric ideas as cyclical existence and the spiritual evolution of man towards a higher state that goes beyond polar opposites (e.g., good and evil). His accurate prediction of the advent of Nihilism was always seen by him as an intermediate step towards the Overman: โMan is a rope stretched between the animal and the Superman–a rope over an abyss”.
An intriguing book for those with an appetite for philosophy dressed in prophetic language.
12.4. Jungian Psychoanalysis
6. Jung, Carl Gustav. Mysterium Coniunctionis: An Inquiry into the Separation and Synthesis of Psychic Opposites (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.14) [!]
Mysterium Coniunctionis is Jung‘s last major work on the relationship between Psychology and Alchemy and, especially, on the doctrine of the synthesis of opposites of the latter and how it applies to the former.
Long and dense, but rewarding, book. It contains many alchemical illustrations that clarify the concepts discussed. It is the clearest account of how Jung viewed his school of Analytical Psychology as a reformulation in modern language of classical alchemical and hermetic teachings.
โ Psychology and Alchemy (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.12) [!]
Jungยดs initial study of the analogies between Alchemy and psychological symbolism, with the former being a mystical process of self-integration and self-elevation cloaked in difficult allegorical and esoteric symbolism.
This book outlines the full process, as well as the aims, of Analytical Psychotherapy. In it, Jung affirms that the Philosopher’s Stone of the Alchemists is a potential state of being that we all can attain, analogous to the Self.
What is original about this book is how Jung extensively analyzes the dream symbolism of a patient and interprets it as a symbolic conversation between the various components of the human psyche throughout its process of individuation. We, like the Absolute that underlies the metaphysical axioms of this worldview, are a conglomerate of broken psychological fragments in search of becoming whole.
This book is shorter and lighter than most of Jungยดs other works and contains numerous alchemical illustrations, which make it a fun read.
โ Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.9, Part 2)
A major work of Jung‘s later years. Following The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, it focuses on the symbolism associated with the Self, the psychic totality which he equates with the figure of Christ. By using Gnostic and Alchemical symbolism he misrepresents the Christian faith as another exponent of traditions that focus on the “God within”, such as Panentheism or Non-Dualism.
He also discusses the problem of opposites as part of this totality (the Absolute), especially of good and evil, as well as other crucial Jungian archetypes such as the ego, the Shadow, and the Anima/Animus.
All the above paints a clear picture of the metaphysical background behind Jungian psychology and, therefore, of much of modern popular culture.
โ The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.9,
Part 1) [!]
Fundamental work that explains the basic components of Jungยดs system, such as the Collective Unconscious, the Archetypes (especially the Anima and Animus; the trickster), and the individuation process understood as one of rebirth (symbolized by the child, the Self). It also discusses the analogous symbolism present in fairy tales and the use of Mandalas as a vehicle to represent this process of Self-transformation.
โ Psychology and Religion: West and East (Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Volume 11)
A collection of Jungโs shorter writings on religion and psychology, including several majorly important ones that show the general presuppositions behind the Jungian worldview.
The writings focusing on Christianity transform it into a religion that can fit the mold of Perennialism, something that it can not really do without losing its most central beliefs. Among them are: A Psychological Approach to the Dogma of the Trinity, Transformation Symbolism in the Mass, Foreword to Werblowskyโs Lucifer and Prometheus, and especially, Answer to Job.
In the latter, Jungยดs conception of Ultimate Reality as the Absolute that contains all possibility within itself shows in his belief that God, as well as having a good side, also has an evil or problematic one. The Trinity, in Jungยดs view, has a fourth Person (hypostasis): Godยดs Shadow or the Devil.
The writings based on Eastern worldviews, seen as compatible with the above, are: The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Yoga, a foreword to D.T. Suzukiโs Introduction to Zen Buddhism, Eastern Meditation, The Holy Men of India, and a Foreword to the Taoist I Ching.
12.5. Stoicism
7. Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations
Influential book within modern Neo-Stoicism.
The emperor Marcus Aurelius speaks of the importance of avoiding sensory overindulgence in order to develop the capacity to free ourselves from the pleasures and pains of the material world. He stresses the futility of focusing on aspects over which we have no control. Instead, he proposes living in harmony with the principle of Order of the Universe, the Logos.
The above is similar to the non-theistic Buddhist concepts of non-attachment and following the Dharma.
Everything comes from nature and everything will return to nature. In the meantime, we should realize the power of our thoughts to gain a cosmic perspective above temporal contingencies.
8. Seneca, Lucius Annaeus. Letters from a Stoic
Also known as the Moral Letters to Lucilius, the Moral Epistles, or Letters from a Stoic, this book is a compilation of 124 letters that Seneca the Younger wrote at the end of his life, having seen a recent revival thanks to the popularity of Neo-Stoicism.
By starting with an observation from daily life in ancient Rome and then proceeding to abstract the concept that this observation represents, this compilation reads like a diary of Stoic philosophical meditations.
The themes discussed include the contempt of death, the stout-heartedness of the wise man, and virtue as the ultimate good, focusing on the inner life and the joy that attaining wisdom brings while acknowledging the fleeting nature of time and the brevity of life.
Many of the maxims included in the early letters come from Epicurus.
12.6. Objectivism
9. Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged
Ayn Randยดs longest and final novel, it is also the one she considered her Magnum Opus. It explores the key ideas from which Rand would later develop her worldview, Objectivism (e.g., reason, property rights, Individualism, Libertarianism and Capitalism).
Atlas Shrugged shows an idealized version of how these ideas would play out in reality. Furthermore, among Rand’s fictional works, here we can find Randยดs most extensive statement of her whole philosophical system.
โ The Fountainhead
Ayn Randยดs first major literary success. The novel’s protagonist embodies Randยดs conception of the ideal man, showing through his actions how Rational Selfishness, enlightened self-interest, or more bluntly stated, just mere old Individualism, is superior to Collectivism. Rand opposes those who value conformity over independence and integrity (called “second-handers” in the novel).
One of the classics of Laissez-faire Capitalism, this novel is a mere vehicle to transmit its authorยดs Objectivist philosophy, favoring always the individual (the Many) and, therefore, offering a dialectical either/or solution.
12.7. Other Influential Works
10. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited [!]
A classic dystopia that is becoming less and less likely to be described as fiction. Huxleyยดs work predicted several developments that look dangerously similar to current trends that can be seen in most developed countries. Along with Orwellยดs 1984, which complements it, it is the quintessential cautionary tale of a possible future where freedom is conspicuous by its absence, nullified by the state and a ruling oligarchy that prefers conditioning and manipulation to brute force.
11. Orwell, George. 1984 [!]
The complementary to Aldous Huxleyยดs Brave New World, showing the contrary way of establishing a dictatorship where personal freedom is abolished. While Huxleyยดs novel focuses on how the population can be manipulated to love working against their own best interests, Orwellยดs focuses predominantly on the coercive power of a totalitarian state. One of the most popular dystopian novels and cautionary tales, it shares with Huxley’s novel the dubious honor of having become an increasingly plausible description of our future.
Thematically, it focuses on totalitarianism, mass surveillance, and the manipulation of truth through state-sanctioned brainwashing. Modeled after Stalinยดs Communism and Nazi Germany, many of the terms it uses have become assimilated by popular culture (e.g., Big Brother, Doublethink, Thought Police, Thoughtcrime, Newspeak, and “2 + 2 = 5“).
13.1. Transhumanism
1. Kurzweil, Ray. The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology [!]
One of the pioneering books in making the global vision of Transhumanism known to the world, it is full of exaggerated optimism achieved through downplaying the merely observational nature of Moore’s “Law” (exponential technological growth). Its spectacularly failed timeframes for the pseudo-eschatological predictions provided give it the tone of a modern apocalyptic and prophetic text.
An enjoyable introduction to the basic concepts of Transhumanism, focusing on artificial intelligence and its future fusion with mankind21The subtitle of the follow-up book, The Singularity Is Nearer, is even more explicit: “When We Merge with AI”..
Regarding the ultimate metaphysical and ontological aspirations of this techno-philosophical movement, Kurzweil is clear: the aim is to transcend biology and human nature.
Given his close connections to the money masters who steer the world in certain directions, it is wise to at least tangentially keep an eye on Kurzweil’s predictions. Mark the year 2045 on your calendars.
One of Kurzweil‘s first books, where it is made clear that behind the development of artificial intelligence is the will to improve human nature itself (e.g., neural enhancement via implants) on its path towards immortality, where intelligence “will be freed from the concept of having a lifespan”. Evolution, then, is transformed into a self-directed process towards techno-deification. In this view, the transhumanist is like an alchemist spiritualizing its prima materia or as a modern-day Gilgamesh.
An easy read to grasp the bigger ambitions of Transhumanism and what they believe can be eventually attained.
2. Harari, Yuval Noah. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow [!]
Harari, Ray Kurzweil’s successor as the primary popularizer of transhumanist concepts, leaves behind the former’s mundane technicalities and embraces the more historical and eschatological aspects of Transhumanism as he charts humanity’s quest toward Self-deification.
Harari, an atheist himself, surprisingly names the chapters of this book after common mystical and religious concepts: The New Covenant (referencing Judaism and Christianity); The Human Spark (Kabbalah and Gnosticism); The Humanist Revolution (Gnostic rebellion against an absent false god); The Ocean of Consciousness (Pantheism/Panentheism, the One); The Religion of Data (Impersonal Monism).
The general narrative is that of a humanist rebellion against the idea of a personal God and the emancipation of the human species, finally taking the reins of its future. However, it implicitly embraces a type of non-physical Monism: all is data, with humans possibly being algorithms.
Beyond his hard atheistic shell, one glimpses a metaphysical background that promises to “bring down” into this world classic religious eschatological promises such as immortality.
Given his status as a spokesperson for the economic elites (he was a speaker at Davos in 2018 and 2020), Homo Deus can serve as a window into their minds or as a dialectical warning against the eliteยดs Transhumanism, thus preparing the ground for a future solution based on a non-technological version of Humanism.
3. Schwab, Klaus. COVID-19: The Great Reset. World Economic Forum [!]
COVID-19: The Great Reset is a bold statement by the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, one of the unelected leaders of the modern world, on how the COVID-19 event indelibly altered society and how this crisis is the ideal opportunity for its necessary reset. The reset proposed includes the economic, societal, geopolitical, technological, environmental, and even personal spheres.
Book conceived and released to the market a few months after the start of the 2020 global crisis, it would seem that the entire narrative was prepared in advance, which gives arguments to those that affirm that crises are intentionally provoked in order to dialectically steer societies in previously designed directions.
Easy but bitter reading where the political caste from rich multigenerational families explains to us why, for our good, they must overthrow the old order of things and create a new world with, presumably, less freedom.
โ The Fourth Industrial Revolution [!]
In the midst of the crisis, the solution. After the chaos of Covid-19 and the resulting socio-economic consequences, the world is ready to embrace a global reset that will bring order: the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
If the book Covid-19: The Great Reset diagnosed the “problem”, this one outlines what the solutions provided will look like. In the end, Schwab sounds like Kurzweil, with the Fourth+ Industrial Revolution looking like Transhumanism, finally freed from the academic environment and launched into the world.
The changes “prophesied” affect all spheres of life: the physical, the digital, and even the biological, with the author stating that we may even question our ideas about what it means to be human (e.g., Neurotechnologies).
13.2. Critiques of Some Aspects of Current
Scientific Reductionism
4. Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions [!]
Revolutionary book in the history, philosophy, and sociology of science. Kuhn dared to question the then-predominant view of science as a process of continuous progress in constant accumulation of new facts and accepted theories.
Instead, he argued that science develops through specific revolutionary episodes. Those, in turn, create new paradigms that “change the rules of the game”, followed by periods of “normal science” that solidify the former.
Kuhn managed to emphasize the usually forgotten human side of science, contrary to its hegemonic image as a purely objective human endeavor.
5. Feyerabend, Paul. Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge
Work that focuses on explaining how a dogmatic scientific methodology is capable of unnecessarily limiting scientific progress. Using historical examples (e.g. Galileo), Feyerabend advocates for an “epistemological anarchism” that frees scientists from being constricted by a misunderstood rationalism. A common study book in university classes on the Philosophy of Science.
- 1This is why the Filioque clause introduced by Roman Catholicism is so problematic, because it transforms the non-dialectical theology of Orthodox Christianity into a version closer to panentheist and perennialist metaphysics.
- 2Such as Elizabeth Clare Prophetโs Summit Lighthouse, and Benjamin Crรจmeโs insistence that the โsecond comingโ of Maitreya as World Teacher was imminent, reminding us of the previous efforts of the Society with Jiddu Krishnamurti.
- 3For example, it plays a part in todayโs global interfaith movement.
- 4Guรฉnon ultimately abandoned Freemasonry
- 5From C.G. Jung to Thomas Merton, many popular spiritual figures recognized their sympathy for his teachings.
- 6As exemplified,for example, by this book and the fact that he married a theosophist.
- 7We may ask ourselves why only the purely monistic version of Hinduism (Advaita Vedanta) has been imported into the West, forgetting the theistic schools (e.g., Vaishnavism; Ramanujaยดs Vishishtadvaita Vedanta) much more prevalent in India.
- 8Throughout the book, Rose discusses a wide variety of spiritual movements, such as Yoga, Zen, Tantra, and Transcendental Meditation, as well as the metaphysical presuppositions of apparently non-spiritual movements such as Ufology.
- 9Evans-Cockle, Matthew. “Biographical post-scriptum to a philosophical interview”. L’Association des Amis de Stella et Henry Corbin.
- 10Olivelle, Patrick (2008) [1996], Upanisads. A new translation by Patrick Olivelle, Oxford University Press.
- 11All of them being, however, mere aspects of the One Brahman. See Henotheism.
- 12
- 13Including a discussion on Oneness and Manyness and how Zen believes cause and effect to be one reality, both crucial topics for the readers of The Metaphysical Compass
- 14Dzogchen initiations also include the ritualistic pointing out of oneยดs true nature: pure, clear, empty awareness.
- 15It is interesting to note how the original term was used in the Tao Te Ching to mean, instead, compassion, frugality, and humility. Later Taoism, in contrast, seems to have focused on energy manipulation techniques rather than on these predominantly moral virtues.
- 16Statement not universally accepted.
- 17Sanat Kumara was a name mentioned by Blavatsky. She claimed that he belonged to a group of beings, the “Lords of the Flame”, whom Christians misunderstood as Lucifer and the fallen angels.
- 18And the channeled beings who she affirmed spoke with her
- 19Bracketed terms added.
- 20Bracketed terms added.
- 21The subtitle of the follow-up book, The Singularity Is Nearer, is even more explicit: “When We Merge with AI”.
