Sacred Web 13
Editorial: On Translation
by M. Ali Lakhani
This meditation on translation is premised on the view that a translation presupposes an original, and in metaphysics, the original refers to the Origin, or Absolute reality.
A Sense of the Sacred: Building Bridges Between Islam and the West
by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales
This is a specially revised text of the speech made by the author in December 1996. The Prince of Wales' impassioned plea for a holistic view of life, founded on a sense of the sacred and on principles of timeless vision, remains a relevant and compelling message for readers today. In a post-9/11 world, it is also a timely reminder of the disastrous consequences of separating science from faith, and the material world from the spiritual, and of the basis on which to construct a much-needed bridge between Islam and the West. Read more ...
Towards the Musica Perennis
by Sir John Tavener
Sir John Tavener is renowned for his compositions of sacred music (a form of "liquid metaphysics"). Here, he reflects on his vocation, and on the role of the sacred in creating a link between earth and heaven. He writes about the process of composition, his musical and metaphysical influences, in particular, Frithjof Schuon, to whom the essay is dedicated, and about the foundations and functions of the Musica Perennis.
Ibn 'Arabi and Rumi
by William C. Chittick
This article is the text of a talk given by Professor Chittick, a well-known exponent of the works of the Murcian sage, Ibn Arabi, and the Mevlevi dervish, Rumi, in which he examines the main thrust of their teachings and how their approaches to Reality (Haqq) are complementary.
“Multi-tasking” and Christian Teaching
by Mark Bonadio
The modern world makes ever-increasing demands on us to multi-task, but is this activity in conformity with tradition? If God, in His Omnipotence, is an archetype of multi-tasking, does multi-tasking conform to Christian teaching? The author takes multi-tasking to task.
The Man-Plant: Central Themes in the Alchemy of Farming
by Rodney Blackhirst
The ancient craft of farming relates to the Attic myth of primordial nativity in which autochthonous man is born like a plant from the soil. The farmer, the cultivator of the man-plant, re-enacts this nativity by participating in the cosmogonic marriage of heaven and earth.
The Only Creature: Reflections on Sacrifice and Evolution
by James Larking
This critique of transformist evolution, contrasts the modernist theory of evolution and its implications of self-survival and exploitation of the environment, with the devolutionary and traditional view of cyclical time and its implications of the significance of sacrifice as a mode of transcendence.
Singing the Sacred Way: Poetry and Shamanism
by Patrick Laude
This is the text of a chapter to be included in Patrick Laude's book, Singing the Way (forthcoming from World Wisdom Books in 2005). It outlines the distinguishing features of shamanism and the cosmogonic nature and function of shamanic poetry.
The Importance of a Basic Presumption of Respect for the Natural
by Margaret Somerville
Can morality be premised on a presumption of respect for the natural? Professor Somerville's attempt to create a bridge between the secular and the sacred is explored in the context of Jurgen Habermas' recent proposals to outline the basis for a shared morality to govern reprogenetic technologies.
Book Review:
Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century (Oxford University Press, 2004) by Mark Sedgwick
reviewed by Michael Fitzgerald
Against the Modern World purports to be the first history of traditionalism. This review exposes the biases and some of the flaws in its thinly disguised critique of traditionalism. Read more ...
Book Review:
The Future of Human Nature by Jurgen Habermas
reviewed by Ibrahim Kalin
This review of Jurgen Habermas' book, The Future of Human Nature, in which the German modernist philosopher attempts to define the basis for a secular humanist ethics to place limits on the aims of techno-science, is written from a traditionalist perspective and is offered as a counterpoint to the article by Professor Sommerville in this issue of the journal.
Book Review:
The Order of the Ages: World History in the Light of a Universal Cosmogony by Rober Bolton
reviewed by Stratford Caldecott
Robert Bolton draws on traditional sources to outline a cyclic theory of history and its implications for modernity. This reviewer regards it as "perhaps one of the truly great books to emerge from the 20th century".
Book Review:
Music of the Sky, An Anthology of Spiritual Poetry, edited by Patrick Laude and Barry McDonald
reviewed by Virginia Gray Henry
This anthology of traditional poetry is the latest offering from World Wisdom Books, which is gaining much-deserved recognition as one of the best publishers of sacred literature. The review is by the founder of another fine publishing house, Fons Vitae.
Letters to the Editor
Notes on Contributors
