Sacred Web 9
Editorial: Understanding “Tradition”
by M. Ali Lakhani
The terms “Tradition” and “Modernity” as used by traditionalists can be confusing to the general reader. This editorial explains the particular sense in which these terms are understood by traditionalists, and the underlying metaphysical dialectic from which their meanings derive. Read more ...
Notes on the Mystery of the Coincidentia Oppositorium
by Timothy Scott
All knowledge is ultimately an attempt at integration. This article, which deals with a topic that lies at the heart of traditional metaphysics, explores an understanding of the source of the polarities within the structure of reality, and the essential complementarity that is experienced in the mystery of union.
The Status of Geocentrism
by Wolfgang Smith
Arguing that Tychonian geocentrism and Einsteinian acentrism are reconciled based on their different darshanas, Dr. Smith surveys the empirical evidence in favor of geocentrism and of heliocentrism, and makes out the case for geocentrism based on a science of relativistic physics that accords with traditional doctrine.
René Guénon and the Crisis of the Modern World
by Jean Borella
Borella, admirer and critic of the important traditionalist author, Guénon, offers a brief survey of the major themes of the Guénonian critique of modernity, and an interpretation of this critique as more than an ideology of rejection.
Inter-religious Conflict or “Communalism” in the light of the Writings of the Traditionalist or Perennialist School
by William Stoddart
This lecture, delivered by William Stoddart in 1993, is, alas, all-too relevant nearly a decade later. Contrasting the “current world-wide epidemic of ethnic and religious strife known as communalism” with the traditionalist view of the transcendent unity of religions, the author emphasizes the indispensable role of the latter in countering the former.
The Multiple Facets of Isma’ilism
by Diana Steigerwald
The article provides a general overview of Isma’ili history, and of three principal influences on the development of its theosophy: Neoplatonism, Sufism and Vaishnavism, with the common underlying theme of Sophia Perennis manifesting in the Isma'ili doctrine of the distinction between the zahir (external forms) and the batin (underlying truth).
The Esoteric World Vision of Nasir Khusraw
by Alice Hunsberger
Nasir Khusraw was a major intellectual figure in the 11th century in Iran. His book, Kitab Jami al-Hikmatain was an attempt to reconcile Greek philosophy with esoteric Muslim theology. This article explores the Nasirian world view that emerges from the Kitab Jami al-Hikmatain, in particular the cosmic correspondences between the different levels of the physical and spiritual world, a vision in which, as the author comments “nothing was left untouched by the sacred.” Read more ...
The Problems that result from locating Spirituality in the Psyche
by Rama P. Coomaraswamy
One of the great modern misconceptions is to mistake the merely psychic or occult as the genuinely spiritual. This article surveys the influence of Spiritism as a phenomenon of modernity, cautioning against its influence. Read more ...
The Secular: Hidden and Express Meanings
by Iain T. Benson
Drawing from Owen Barfield’s view that one may unearth important fundamental assumptions by examining those moments in time when shifts in language occur and meaning changes, the author argues that hidden meanings and uses of the term “secular” are driven by an insidious secularistic agenda that would drive religion from the public sphere. Read more ...
The Saving Word: A Selection of Poems
by Barry McDonald
A Tribute to James R. Wetmore
by William W. Quinn
Letters to the Editor
Notes on Contributors
