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What can we learn from the perennial philosophy of Aldous Huxley? - Jules Evans | Aeon Essays
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The Universal God
Aldous Huxley's The Perennial Philosophy(1945) is an extraordinary work of synthesis, introducing global (particularly eastern) spirituality into mainstream western culture.
The Philosopher has translated some untranslatable insights from the Bhagwad Geeta, The Upanishads, the teachings of Buddha and associated Zen masters. The main aim of the book is to shed light on the stupidity and barbarism of various religions and try to make people see a Universal God.
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Fresh Take On Religion
- Modern society has been described as the Age of Noise, and an Organized Lovelessness.
- Advertising is revealed to be an organized effort to extend and intensify craving.
- People in the modern age worship progress, technology, and their nation-state, all of which can be described as a 'religion'.
- The dogma of such religions was profoundly criticized in the classic books, while paving the way towards newer ways to find God, like meditation.
The Author and Philosopher's fresh take on religion, shaping it as an 'empirical spirituality' was a huge influence in the 1960s and which has since then led to more people (now 27% in the US) being 'Spiritual but not Religious'
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Constructing One's Reality
Aldous Huxley was heavily criticized after his death by newer philosophers who didn't subscribe to the Perennial Philosophy.
While the author insisted that the ultimate mystical experience is the moment of pure oneness with God where the concepts of 'I', language, image and culture are dissolved, his critics argued that all religions are true and some of them are truer than the others.
One of the critics states that human beings construct reality using their bodies, rituals, words, actions and cultures.
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The Ultimate God
Perennialism is objectivist and essentialist, however, the individualism of defining God through self-experience (like meditation) make it subjective.
Bentley Hart, an orthodox theologian states that there can be many gods, but only one ultimate God. The spiritual multi-verse is filled with beings having assorted powers (Demi-Gods) that a human being can connect to and manifest in multiple ways.
The One God is the ultimate, unmanifested, and unconditioned eternal essence from which existence arises and on which all the Universes depend on.
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The Zen View Of Morals
Evil cannot be destroyed, any more than good can, because they are polar opposites of the same thing. Destruction and creation, chaos and order; opposite aspects of reality, in tension with one ano...
The Zen View Of Life
For Zen practitioners, life is transitory and insubstantial. There is no security and thinking otherwise is a waste of time.
They also don’t believe in an afterlife. Reincarnation can be more accurately thought of as a constant rebirth, of death throughout life, and the continual coming and going of universal energy before and after death.
The Zen View Of The World
The word 'Zen' means emptiness or void. This is the basis of Zen — that all that exists is based on a dynamic emptiness. Which is also what quantum science says.
In this view, there is no difference between matter and energy. Look at anything closely enough and you will see that it is an event, not a thing. Furthermore, there is not a ‘multiplicity of events’. There is just one event, with multiple aspects, unfolding.
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Spirituality
The term spirituality has one of two connotations: One is a classic religious one; the other is inspired by New Age Culture. Both categories embody spirituality better than cold, hard...
Reason is more of a guide
In a world where we can have complete information about everything, reason can give us certain answers. However, the world we are living in is not even close to having all the answers. In this world, words are fallible. So is perception and imagination.
Reason is then more of a guide than a symbol of truth.
The limits of understanding
There are limitations to what the human mind can understand. The mysteries of the Universe and our conscious experience are too complex to be restricted to words and formulas.
We mostly operate on faith and habit in ways that aren’t obvious.
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The Parable Of The Burning House
A fire broke out in the house of a wealthy man. He tried to warn the children inside the burning house but they were too absorbed in their games to pay attention to him or the flames....
The meaning behind the parable of the Burning House
The father is the Buddha and sentient beings are the children. The Burning House represents the world burning with the fires of old age, sickness and death. The teachings of the Buddha are like the father getting the kids to leave their pleasures for a greater pleasure, Nirvana.