Tag: hinduism

Lord Vishnu as Vishvarupa, illustrating the three realms: heaven (head to belly), earth (groin), and underworld (legs). Painting c. 1800-50, Jaipur.

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Part II here, Part III here, Part IV here

In this series of self-contained essays, I will offer an introduction to Vedanta, the philosophy of the Upanishads, through brief commentaries on individual Upanishads. These essays are geared toward individuals drawn to the path of Traditionalism – and especially the Left-Hand Path of Evolian Traditionalism.They place Vedanta in the context of Tradition. Further, they make clear the relevance of this path for those of us who are not just in revolt against the modern world, but who wish to live the ideal of “self-overcoming” –  an ideal for all ages. (more…)

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Part 3 of 3

“Out-Hitlering Hitler”: Allied-Axis Moral Equivalence & the Dialectics of Violence

In contrast with the literal demonization of Hitler in Allied propaganda and postwar culture, Gandhi constantly morally equated Hitler’s violence with that of Churchill, Stalin, or Roosevelt. (more…)

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“Dear Friend”: Gandhi’s Letters to Hitler

The most famous examples of Gandhi’s humanization of Hitler are two open letters he wrote to the German chancellor (more…)

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“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” – Mahatma Gandhi[1]

There are few world leaders in history who differ as starkly as Mohandas Gandhi and Adolf Hitler. The one is revered in his nation and throughout the world as the Mahatma, an apostle of nonviolence and non-discrimination. The Führer in contrast is officially and widely loathed both in his home country and across the West as a criminally insane warmonger pursuing of racial domination. (more…)

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Otra palabra para el Hinduismo, tal vez incluso más expresiva, podría ser la de “paganismo hindú”.

Los misioneros cristianos llaman “paganos” a todos aquellos que no son ni cristianos, ni musulmanes, ni judíos; es decir, todos aquellos cuya tradición religiosa nada tiene que ver con la Biblia ni la tradición judía. Aceptamos el término porque es apropiado; remarca algún tipo de similitud entre todas las religiones de credo del pasado y las del presente.  (more…)

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Koenraad Elst
Return of the Swastika: Hate and Hysteria versus Hindu Sanity
London: Arktos, 2015

Hindu nationalism is perhaps the largest and most successful nationalist movement in the world. They have steeled themselves over the past century fighting first the British, then the Muslims, then Nehruvian secularists. Along the way, they have endured incessant condemnation by Marxists and, later, postmodernists. (more…)

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Savitri Devi
The Lightning and the Sun
Third Edition, Complete and Unabridged
Ed. R. G. Fowler
San Francisco: Counter-Currents Publishing, 2015

If Savitri Devi’s The Lightning and the Sun isn’t the most controversial book of the twentieth century then it must surely come close. (more…)

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Friedrich Schelling, 1775–1854

Part 6 of 6

1. Schelling’s Influences: The Christian Trinity and Jacob Boehme

I turn, finally, to a different Indo-European tradition, that of German Idealism of the 19th century. I include this material so as to show the perennial character of Indo-European thought. One could argue that the entire history of Western (and Indian) philosophy is a long, unconscious attempt to recollect the wisdom known “directly” by our Indo-European ancestors.  (more…)

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Part 5 of 6

1. The Emergence of the Gunas from Brahman

We are obviously dealing with three principles which manifest themselves in different forms. These principles have the status of Platonic ideas: transcendent forms which we may approach through their various expressions in the world. But can we express the three principles in the abstract?  (more…)

Georges Dumézil

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Part 1 of 6

Author’s Note:

This essay was originally written almost exactly thirteen years ago. I have withheld it from publication for all these years, because I considered the ideas in it a bit too speculative and daring.  (more…)

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Alain Daniélou
The Myths and Gods of India
Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 1991.
(Originally published as Hindu Polytheism by Bollingen Foundation, New York, 1964.)

Typically, those who profess an interest in what might be called “Indo-European spirituality” gravitate toward either the Celtic or Germanic traditions. The Indian tradition tends to be ignored. In part, this is because present-day Indians seem so different from us. (more…)

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Alain Daniélou
Virtue, Success, Pleasure, and Liberation: The Four Aims of Life in the Tradition of Ancient India
Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 1993.

One hears a great deal today about “multiculturalism,” and the multicultural society. We (i.e., we Americans) are told that ours is a multicultural society. But, curiously, multiculturalism is also spoken of as a goal. (more…)

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Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Dance of Reality is an extraordinary film. Born in Chile in 1929 to a Jewish family originally from Ukraine, Jodorowsky began his career on the stage as an actor and director, then moved into film. His earlier films are Fando y Lis (1968), El Topo (The Mole, 1970), The Holy Mountain (1973), Tusk (1978), Santa Sangre (1989), and The Rainbow Thief (1990). In the mid-1970s he also worked on an abortive adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction classic Dune.

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