Frithjof Schuon Archive
A Resource on Frithjof Schuon’s Life and Teachings
This site is the most comprehensive repository of information pertaining to the life and work of Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998); materials include published articles, personal correspondence, private papers, poems, photographs, and works of art.
Frithjof Schuon is the preeminent spokesman of a school of thought that focuses on the expression and explanation of the Perennial Philosophy. This philosophy expresses the timeless metaphysical truths underlying the diverse religions; its written sources include the revealed Scriptures as well as the writings of the great spiritual masters. Because these truths are permanent and universal, the point of view may thus be called “Perennialist.” The Perennial Philosophy is an important perspective that can inform the study of Comparative Religion, Anthropology, Art, Literature, and many related areas.
Schuon was a philosopher in the tradition of Plato, Shankara, and Eckhart, and he wrote over two dozen books on religion, metaphysics, sacred art, and the spiritual path. Describing Schuon’s first book, The Transcendent Unity of Religions, Nobel laureate T. S. Eliot wrote, “I have met with no more impressive work in the comparative study of Oriental and Occidental religion”, and world-renowned religion scholar Huston Smith said of Schuon, “The man is a living wonder; intellectually apropos religion, equally in depth and breadth, the paragon of our time”. Schuon’s books have been translated into over a dozen languages and are respected by academic and religious authorities alike. Schuon’s writings remain unequaled in setting forth the principles of perennialist thought as well as their applications on the spiritual, aesthetic, and other related levels.
Besides his accomplishments as an author, Frithjof Schuon was also a gifted artist and poet. His art and his poetry flowed naturally from his awareness of God’s Presence in creation. Catalogue notes from a museum display of Schuon’s art explain that “springing as they do from his rich and unique personality, Schuon’s paintings…have a rare value, not only as regards artistic merit but above all because of their gift for manifesting the human soul at its noblest and most beautiful—hence, as a vehicle for Truth.” The sense of the sacred figures as much in Schuon’s art and poetry as in his philosophical writings.
The story of Schuon’s life presented in these pages demonstrates how his own intellect, personality, and actions reflected the elevated metaphysics, spiritual insights, and artistic creations that comprised his body of work.
This online resource brings together, through a survey of his many-faceted dimensions, Frithjof Schuon’s important contributions to the manifestations of the timeless Truth.
Featured Books
Den Islam verstehen
This book by the great philosopher of religion Frithjof Schuon is considered worldwide as one of the best introductions to the true teachings of Islam.
Featured Poems
Adastra and Stella Maris: Poems by Frithjof Schuon-Opposition
One asks: is Mâyâ good or bad?The Universe’s dream-web can be both.Here darkness, aberration, din —There peace and love — the sunlight of Âtmâ.The divine ray must distance itself from the OneSo as to manifest Its thousand wondersAnd weave a world into the naught —For...
Adastra and Stella Maris: Poems by Frithjof Schuon-Centrum
Wisdom is not simply mental knowledge;It is also being. Discipline is not a burden;To the wise it is a deep-rooted way of life —He who lives in the Truth, loves dignity.The Divinity that moves the universe is ItselfMotionless Center. The sagePartakes in it: the...
Adastra and Stella Maris: Poems by Frithjof Schuon-Scripture
Holy Scripture is infallible. But beware —It is made, in part, of the same fabric as man:The Word of God willed to become human language —It became form so that it might be understood on earth.The wording, as it stands written, is not always true — True is what drives...
Adastra and Stella Maris: Poems by Frithjof Schuon-Panacea
Why has God given us the gift of speech? For prayer.Because God’s blessing enters the heart of himWho trusts in God.The very first cry in this lifeIs a prayer. And the last breath is a word of hope —Given by God.What is the substance of which man is made,His deepest...
Featured Articles
Book Review of “Logic and Transcendence”
Formal Diversity, Essential Unity: Frithjof Schuon on the Convergence of Religions
This is the text of a talk delivered at the Australasian Association for the Study of Religions Conference on the theme “The End of Religions? Religion in an Age of Globalization”, at Sydney University, in September 1999. The author discusses the traditional views of Schuon’s “transcendent unity of religions” in the context of the modern phenomenon of globalization.
The Foreword to “Frithjof Schuon and the Perennial Philosophy”
In this “Foreword” to author Harry Oldmeadow’s study of the intellectual and spiritual message of Frithjof Schuon, Dr. William Stoddart (a close associate of Schuon’s for many decades) situates Schuon’s writings in the history of human thought, gives suggestions to new readers on how to approach Schuon’s “difficult” expositions, and touches on the esoteric nature and intent of Schuon’s work. Stoddart praises Oldmeadow’s book for its clarity and comprehensiveness.
The Language and Style of Schuon’s Writings
These observations on the language and stle of Frithjof Schuon’s writing were excerpted from editor Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s “Introducing the Writings of Frithjof Schuon” (the ‘Introduction’) in The Essential Frithjof Schuon. In the piece, Dr. Nasr shares insights on some linguistic and literary aspects of Schuon’s writing, ending with how these aspects may contribute to the impact of Schuon’s prose upon many readers.