The Perennial Philosophy: An Interpretation of the Great Mystics, East and West (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) Paperback – 1 Jan. 2009

The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley, Harper & Brothers, 1945; HarperCollins 2009, 324 ff.The perennial philosophy refers to the spiritual truths that underlie human existence in all cultures through all time, transmitted through Jungian archetypes, the `morphic field' and the wisdom philosophies. The term `perennial philosophy' seems to have been used first as long ago as 1540 by the Italian humanist Agostino Steuco, and then by German mathematician and philosopher G.W. Leibniz in the 18th century.Aldous Huxley is perhaps best known for his novels, Brave New World and The Devils of Loudun, but this work is a non-fictional survey of aspects of spirituality. I cannot do better than to reproduce the author's own definition of his subject matter: `the metaphysic that recognizes a divine Reality that is substantial to the world of things and lives and minds; the psychology that finds in the soul something similar to, or even identical with, divine Reality; the ethic that places man's final end in the knowledge of the immanent and transcendent Ground of all being - the thing is immemorial and universal'.This book is a collection of writings on this enduring mystical theme, joined together by a commentary from Huxley. He compares the extracts he has chosen with the Shruti and Smriti of the Hindu religion: the Shruti depend upon direct perception of these universal truths accessed transcendentally by the sages or rishis while the Shriti are myths and tales that illustrate the moral teachings of the Shruti. The whole book is much more oriented towards the spiritual Hinduism and Buddhism of the East than the doctrinal religion of the West.In Chapter IV, God in the World, Huxley specifically berates humankind for its lack of respect for, and its exploitation of, the natural world and endorses communing with God through Nature. Respect for the trees, rocks and streams around us that has long since disappeared from western capitalism, at least until quite recently, has remained very much alive in Chinese and Japanese society: where western religious art depicts characters from scripture, Eastern art is full of reverent nature-painting. Huxley was always a keen supporter of environmental preservation and deplored the Brave New World we were creating.Chapter VI is about Non-Attachment and Right-Livelihood - about not letting the quest for material acquisitions and comforts and the turbulence of our daily lives disturb our equilibrium: certainly a message for our times. Huxley maintains however that the worship of Culture, for its own sake, is overblown. Novelty in the arts has become almost a god in its own right. Having said that, many writers of plays and novels indicated that they understood human psychology long before Freud.Chapter VII deals with the issue of truth. Whatever we say of the material world can only be an approximation of truth because its essence we can never truly know. And the same is true of statements about God: Huxley records the sayings of many sages endorsing the via negative - that nothing we say of God can begin to describe the qualities of the divine.Chapter IX on self-knowledge opens with a quote from Boethius: `In other living creatures ignorance of self is nature; in man it is vice'. This echoes Socrates' maxim: `the unexamined life is not worth living'. Many sages have told us that the greatest challenge of human life is to understand oneself.Chapter XII is on Time and Eternity and opens with the statement: `The universe is an everlasting succession of events; but its ground . . .is the timeless now of the divine Spirit'. The extracts and commentary then elaborate on this theme.Space prevents my summarising the themes of all 27 chapters, but this will give readers a good feel for the content and spirit of the book. One critic says the book is not about philosophy - but it is precisely that - religious philosophy. It is also criticised for not being a 'self-help' book. If after reading this you do not think about the meaning of life in general, and your own in particular, you must have read it with eyes open and mind closed.The Phenomenon of Man by Teilhard de ChardinDr Howard A. Jones is the author of The Thoughtful Guide to God (2006) and The Tao of Holism (2008), both published by O Books of Winchester, U.K.; and The World as Spirit published by Fairhill Publishing, Whitland, West Wales, 2011.

ESSENTIAL HUXLEY WORK on the religious, aesthetic, and mystical aspect of reality. Perennial Philosophy is a term coined by Leibniz meaning eternal DIVINE REALITY. Huxley brings together selections from world theologies and spiritually enlightened men and saints, mystics, and poets to illustrate aspects of this reality. Huxley structures his commentary on the basis of his selections of hundreds of examples from the world's Perennial Philosophies. This edition also includes an excellent essay by Huxley on the evolution of his religious thinking, where he discusses among other things why within the modern day paradigm, modern science ignores this reality - the religious and aesthetic part of reality - because it cannot use its partial mathematical concept of reality to anaylse this aspect of reality which cannot be quantified. Today's philosophical thinking of reality is overwhelmed by the partial competencies of science, which moreover presumes to offer a complete view of reality, yet which is severely partial and lopsided.This is an essential work, which gives a profound and well reasoned view into an invisible and omnipotent world which is actually the goal of every human life.When first published the New York Times said, "this is the most needed book in the world."

This book should be required reading in schools and colleges everywhere. Huxley has managed to collate and distil the common spiritual wisdom of the world into one magnificent volume. If only people would listen...

To early to say

The foremost of the medieval Christian mystics Meister Eckhart is very well researched and put into context with other mystics from Buddhist, Hindu (Vedantist) Sufi traditions. Will appeal to the thinker seeking to make out the depths of and different levels of religion. All that is required is an open mind.

Very enjoyable book, and interesting how he makes comparisons on philosophical teachings between the west and east. The western culture is very much about repeating bad memories and the eastern mind set is to move on in life.

An excellent book - this brings together some of the most potent verses from various spiritual texts and shows without a shadow of a doubt the similarities in all of them. This book is highly recommend for anyone on the spiritual path.

One of the best ‘anthologies’ of spiritual and philosophic thought. Unique and valuable in its breadth and depth. Highly recommended.