Rene Guenon (1886-1951) is undoubtedly one of the luminaries of the twentieth century, whose critique of the modern world has stood fast against the shifting sands of recent philosophies. His oeuvre of 26 volumes is providential for the modern seeker: pointing ceaselessly to the perennial wisdom found in past cultures ranging from the Shamanistic to the Indian and Chinese, the Hellenic and Judaic, the Christian and Islamic, and including also Alchemy, Hermeticism, and other esoteric currents, at the same time it directs the reader to the deepest level of religious praxis, emphasizing the need...

The present volume discusses Christian initiation and various esoteric organizations, with special reference to Dante, as well as a study of St Bernard.

The present volume is a companion volume to Guenon Perspectives on Initiation, in which Guenon carefully defined the nature of initiation and of the organizations qualified to transmit it. In Initiation and Spiritual Realization he adds many details on related subjects, including various inner and outer obstacles the aspirant may face, the need for attachment to a traditional exoterism, the role of the spiritual master, and a closer examination of the degrees of spiritual realization.

Deals with the normal relationship between the spiritual and the temporal powers implied in a healthy traditional civilization, that is, the supremacy of knowledge over action, of the sacerdotal over the royal caste. Touching first on India and the medieval West, Guenon then illustrates his point by citing quarrels over investiture and disputes of certain French kingswith the papacy as evidence of a deviation in Christianity.