Language of the Self

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Summary: Schuon describes the operative "sap" of Hindu spirituality
Review: Schuon often expressed a deep appreciation for Advaita-Vedanta and characterized his perspective as that of the Sanatana Dharma, the "eternal religion." The articles here all have a connection with Hinduism, but they are not concerned with the historical unfolding of this universe. What interests Schuon is the operative "sap" of Hindu spirituality.

The chapters on the Vedanta and on yoga are to a great extent the keystones in this book. The first answers the question of what spiritual life is in its essence. The second describes the aspects of a spiritual practice that can unite man with divine Reality. What makes Schuon unique is first his ability to describe what yoga is in itself and in principle, which provides a context for distinguishing among its many different forms and their use. Second--but no less important--is his insight into what the potential obstacles are for different human temperaments as they come into contact with a yogic discipline.

Schuon considers yoga as a spiritual exercise which results "not from a human willing, but from the nature of things," thus applying to the substance of the soul principles that are quasi-geometrical in their objectivity. For most Westerners, this tends to lead to a polemic between a "technique" that is impersonal in contrast to the "individual effort" of virtue that in the West has become almost synonymous with sanctity. The chapter is full of examples of how the human faculties of knowledge, will and sentiment are found in varying combinations in East and West, in the different denominational worlds and within each soul.

There is a very intriguing feature of Schuon that one encounters repeatedly throughout his books. It is his gift for showing how many seeming impasses or difficulties dissolve when we are able to pose questions in a way that allows for answers which can satisfy our need to know on the deepest level. When, with an attitude uncolored by any reflex of self-interest, we are receptive to the language of the Self.