Man and His Becoming According to the Vedanta

By René Guénon

Book Overview

Ren Gu non (1886-1951) was one of the great luminaries of the twentieth century, whose critique of the modern world has stood fast against the shifting sands of intellectual fashion. His extensive writings, now finally available in English, are a providential treasure-trove for the modern seeker: while 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, they direct the reader also to the deepest level of religious praxis, emphasizing the need for affiliation with a revealed tradition even while acknowledging the final identity of all spiritual paths as they approach the summit of spiritual realization.

Gu non published his fundamental doctrinal work, Man and His Becoming according to the Vedanta, in 1925. After asserting that the Vedanta represents the purest metaphysics in Hindu doctrine, he acknowledges the impossibility of ever expounding it exhaustively and states that the specific object of his study will be the nature and constitution of the human being. Nonetheless, taking the human being as point of departure, he goes on to outline the fundamental principles of all traditional metaphysics, leading the reader gradually to the doctrine of the Supreme Identity and its logical corollary, the possibility that the being in the human state might in this very life attain liberation-the unconditioned state where all separateness and risk of reversion to manifested existence ceases. Although Gu non chose the doctrine of the Advaita school (and in particular that of Shankara) as his basis, Man and His Becoming should not be considered exclusively an exposition of this school and of this master. It is, rather, a synthetic account drawing not only upon other orthodox branches of Hinduism, but not infrequently also upon the teachings of other traditional forms. Neither is it a work of erudition in the sense of the orientalists and historians of religion, who study doctrines from the "outside," but represents knowledge of the traditionally transmitted and effective "sacred science." Gu non treats other aspects of Hinduism in his Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines and Studies in Hinduism.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0900588616
• ISBN13: 9780900588617
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Sophia Perennis et Universalis
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The closest a book will ever get you

René Guénon's exposition of the Vedanta - along with its companions "The Symbolism of the Cross" and "The Multiple States of the Being - is the only complete work that translates the theory of oriental metaphysics into a language apropriate for westerners, while still remaining faithful to its spirit. There are thousands of books written to attract "spiritual seekers", but at the most, they are merely a glimpse - one might even say a temptation to oversimplify - of what one actually can attain through spriritual realization. No book can ever replace spiritual practice, but this collection is the only one that can convey its true implications.

The Goal is Union with the Ultimate

Coomaraswamy called this work the best account of the Vedanta in any European language. Coomaraswamy would have known. Guenon points out that the Vedanta is neither religion, nor is it a philosophy, in the Western sense. What is it then? It is a complete way of life. More than this, it is in and of itself, the totality of existence. It is the true Metaphysic. You see, Western thinking always categorizes and systematizes. It views what it studies from outside- and manages to sterilize and kill it. This is why the western man finds it so easy to put aside his "religion" and "philosophy" when comes the opportunity for exploitation and war. You cannot put aside the Vedanta, for it is the totality of existence- including you. It is Reality. And the farther you separate yourself from it, the less "real" you become. The end result of a profane society is a world of shadow with no real substance at all. The goal of the Vedanta is unity with the Universal. You seek alignment with that which was before all else. More specifically you seek to realize this union consciously, for you, and everything and every being, emanated from this Source. You still contain a Divine spark or seed at the core of your being. You realize this with your heart through Intuition and not through your brain and its lesser form of knowing. The more you rely on the brain and its elaborate ego constructs the farther you stray from the Ultimate Source and Goal. There are many subtle variations on finding the path back- many schools of Yoga. Just remember, in all of them Yoga still means "Union"- the goal is the same. To reach it is to rise above caste through transcendence. If you are already familiar with the teachings of Taoism, Neo-Platonism, or Hermetism then you will digest this study more readily. This is because these other branches of tradition drew from the original Tradition expressed first by the Vedanta. Anyone that attempts to use the Tradition for profane and veiled ends that ignore the inherent divinity within all beings will no doubt deserve what they will inevitably get.

Shatters all Illusions!

This will be the most important book you will ever read. If you want to know the real TRUTH of the 'meaning' of Life and what actually happens when you die, read this book. Not for beginners, dabblers or dilettantes. I also recommend Guenon's "The Reign of Quantity" as crucial in unveiling our current miasma of amnesia of this Cycle of Time.