Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines

REVIEW QUOTES:

“The main thrust of the book is on the nature of traditional principles and the metaphysical knowledge that is based on true universal principles. In the second part of the book termed `The General Character of Eastern Thought’, Guenon gives an extensive exposition on Tradition and Metaphysics and brings out the essential characteristics of Eastern philosophy and mentality and the ways in which it differs from the modern western outlook. Guenon has chosen the Hindu tradition in order to exemplify the fundamental principles of a spiritual tradition that embraces a complete and universal metaphysics.

Guenon devotes the third part of the book to the exposition of the Hindu doctrines, where some of the questions he addresses concern the nature and the role of the Veda, the laws of Manu, the principles of caste system, essential characteristics of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, and the six orthodox `schools’ (darshanas, that represent, as Guenon describes, the principal points of view within the Hindu doctrine). Guenon manifests great understanding of Hindu doctrines. I have grown up in India and have spent many years studying Hinduism, especially the Vedanta. It would be hard to find another writer who expounds, for example, the principles of dharma and the related concept of caste system in such perfection. Very often, with recent thinkers, both western and Indian, there is a confusion between what constitutes true principles and how those principles were practiced in society. For example, the caste system gradually came to be practiced as a hereditary system, and many fail to realize that this was not how it was originally conceived of and such a practice actually was a distortion of the original principle. It is very difficult to find holes in Guenon’s arguments and exposition. He writes with great care, taking into account all the subtleties and possibilities of a given idea or conception.

His style of exposition of Hindu doctrines is very different as compared to Hindu teachers like Sri Ramakrishna, for example, whose presentation is filled with parables to bring out the essential characteristics of human nature and its divine roots, and where the bhakti (devotional) aspect is strongly emphasized. That is, the exposition of Hindu teachers serves more as a teaching guide in terms of putting into practice the spiritual ideas on a day to day basis. While Guenon’s main focus is on the metaphysical perspective. A thing to note though is that the metaphysical perspective connected to spiritual traditions that Guenon expounds is intrinsically connected with the state of one’s being. This metaphysics, Guenon explains, constitutes an intuitive, or immediate knowledge (intellectual intuition), as opposed to the discursive and mediate knowledge that belongs to the rational order. Such metaphysics affirms the fundamental identity of knowing and being; the very nature of intellectual intuition is such that the knowledge of metaphysical principles go hand in hand with self-realization. In terms of expounding the metaphysical principles of spiritual traditions and their applications at different levels of human sphere, this book is unique in its scope and depth, for it brings out with great perspicuity the intellectual, universal basis of religio-spiritual outlook.

Guenon’s works present a conception of the cosmos and man that is based on a very deep and comprehensive understanding of the nature of Reality. It is his encompassing, multiply layered and highly subtle vision that allows him to make essential connections between various ideas of Hindu thought, and other spiritual traditions, into a complete whole reflecting the intrinsic nature of reality, from the most profound to the more grosser manifestations. I would also strongly recommend other works of Guenon. They are filled with extremely rich, extraordinary insights, which would greatly expand (both in breadth and depth) one’s outlook. His works are extremely valuable, for someone like me, who is attempting to understand what order of reality modern science describes and what aspects it leaves out. Guenon’s insights and analysis of traditional spiritualities have an immense potential to provide in modern times a wholesome and a complete conceptual framework to counter the profane, piecemeal theories of today that only give a very fragmented view of reality.” –Dr. Binita Mehta‘s Reviews – Amazon.com

“The title only partially details the whole of the book. It’s an introduction to the understanding of things like religion and metaphysics, preserved in the Hindu tradition, and explained for Westerners. The beginning steps for any person interested in overcoming our paradigm of the intellectual.” –Agustín De‘s Reviews – Goodreads