The Perennial Philosophy

I had to stop reading this text 70 pages in due to how dissatisfied I was with the experience of reading it. The presentation of the author's thoughts was so poorly organized and the writing suffered from a serious lack of flow & cohesion. I do in fact possess an awareness of the conceptualizations the author was writing about - but again the execution and presentation of the material made it an uncomfortable and unsatisfying reading experience. I found myself reading 5-10 page at a time and then being left wondering what the author's intention was with the particular grouping of thoughts he delivered in any given section.

I gave the book 2 stars because I can sense that the author knows what he is speaking about and possesses the awareness to do so authoritatively - however the writing suffers from the issues I described above and for that reason I would not recommend this book to others. I will most likely end up donating mine to the local library.

This is a good anthology of the perennial philosophy. The design is easy to follow and too interesting to put aside. The excerpts from many sources are organized in such subjects as "Good and Evil" and "Time and Eternity." He specifically chose people that experienced what they are talking about as apposed to philosophers that take educated guesses at Reality. Some individual reader may come to different conclusions. But at least what is presented here is a concept not to be missed.

This book makes a great stepping stone to all the other writings and a good starting place for ones personal quest. There is a pretty comprehensive list of recommended books.

The excerpts are encapsulated with a clear definition and other examples of what is being expressed. It is always better to have someone tell you what you already know but in a different way. This allows for different insights. More then that it lets us know that "We are not alone."

Out of all the books on the market that explore the perennial wisdom found within all spiritual and philosophical traditions, Aldous Huxley's The Perennial Philosophy is hard to top. Huxley proves in this book that he is one of the great polymaths of our time, with such company as Watts and Campbell.
He dissects not only the philosophy underpinning all spiritual traditions, but he also explores the moral and charitable attributes to one who lives within the perennial wisdom being exposed within this book. This book tackles life from every angle, and is essential reading for every human seeking to become truly human. The profundity of this book stands head and shoulders above any spiritual scripture or philosophical treatise. Yet, this book is open to many different interpretations and a beginner on the path will find it difficult to read, but an advanced student of spirituality will be nourished deeply. Recommended for all.

About twenty or so years ago, I had an awakening of sorts. Strange how life can be. One minute you're slicing a banana atop your corn flakes, and the next minute you're looking straight into the Light that all things are created in and out of. And after I had that experience of "knowing" that life was something more than this external form, I went on a rather mad search to see if I could find anything that would back up my experience and one of the first books I bumped into was the Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley.

After reading this book, I was angry. Not at dear Mr. Huxley who beautifully pointed out why all religions and traditions have strands of the same Truth and Wisdom flowing through them, but I was angry that I belonged to a species that was so obviously stupid.

I frequently sat outside at the local coffee shop in my black beret, my black sunglasses, and black overcoat on chilly 90 degree days looking at the people walking to and fro with complete disdain. I often grumnbled, "Don't these people realize how beautiful and wondrous life truly is? The poor slobs."

And what I was doing was in complete opposition to the Perennial Philosophy. I was no better than the overexcited religionist who wants to "prove" that his religion is better than yours/that her God is the "True God" and I one day I took my blinders off and looked in the mirror. I looked in the mirror until the form before me dissolved and the Light that I was created in and out of came forth.

And I found myself rejoicing at the happy fact that all of us live in such a state of amazing grace. That this is the beauty of life; that it waits and it waits and it waits for us to notice it and when we turn to it, it races with joy and with love and with beauty to give us everything that it has and the Truth is, it NEVER withheld anything from us in the first place.

Does that kind of sound like the parable of the Prodigal Son? Well it should. Jesus knew that God was not withholding; that God is Love and is Love all the time.

Religions stress sin, evil, repentance, and separation but the revealer behind the religion knows in a beautifully innocent way that the One Life of God...of Spirit...of whatever you want to call it, is in and through everything seen as well as all that is unseen and this is the common thread that runs through every mystical experience and every individual who was daring enough to have one. It is the knowledge that is within you right now and is waiting for you to simply "wake up". You are the prophet you've been wating for. You're already "saved" why are you resisting the procedure? The Kingdom of God is now at hand within you and around you now.

My cynicism has softened over the years and even though there are times where I can easily (too easily) see things as black or white, I know that there is a stretch of gray that is as big as eternity itself, where beauty and grace reside waiting for me to rememember over and over and over again, that all there really is, is Life Itself and Life needs no one to defend it or protect it or be saved for it. It stands on Its own Formless, Real, and Perfect moving into and through all, as all.

Buy this book. Buy a cup of coffee. Have an experience. Read, assimilate, drink, enjoy. Here's hoping your intellectual experiences transcend themselves into something much, much more.

Peace & Blessings

This is a book that will delight anybody with a pandeistic streak. Though Huxley does not mention Pandeism by name in this book (it was still an obscure philosophical proposition in the 1940s, its key discussions from the previous century having been written chiefly in German and Italian), he does invoke both Deism and Pantheism, and any Pandeist will recognize the pandeistic direction towards which his thought points. The single truly unknown underlying truth, the force from which all things flow and towards which all things bend, what Aristotle labelled the Prime Mover and what in Pandeism might be called the Deus or the Motive Force, lives and flows through this work as readily, if not more readily, than through and Scripture cloistered in human biases and geographic constraints.

Huxley has produced a study in the history and philosophy of religion that focuses upon 'religious experience'.
Like Leibnitz, William James, and C J Jung, Huxley begins with the personal mystical experience, then delves into how this personal, individual experience has been expressed in different faiths and re-interpreted in different historical periods. Yet the essential aspects of the mystical experience remain -- as THE 'perennial philosophy'. Huxley is famously known for his drug-induced 'mystical' states but the isolation which mystics often self-impose upon themselves is the more traditional form of 'outsider experience'.

Because of his psychological approach to religion, Huxley distills an essential ' perennial philosophy' in writings as diverse as Plato, Christian mystics, Eastern mystics & poets, and, even his contemporary scientists (Heisenberg) & social scientists (Jung). In reading Huxley, one thing must be kept in mind: if you as the reader accept Huxley's premise that mysticism is at the core of all religious belief, then, like Huxley, you as reader will devalue much of what you read in the classical texts until you get to 'perennial philosophical passages'. These will be what you looked for and found. This kind of 'pre-selection' eventually results in reading as self-validation so the significant differences between mathematically exact scientific mystics and literary or theological mystics may be ignored. Basho's mysticism produced haiku; Kepler's contributed to his 3 laws of planetary motion. Tesla's contributed to his ingenious AC motor.

In terms of modern personality theory (Jung's analytic personality index), the Briggs-Myer, personalities which prefer perception to judgement, i.e., ENTP vs ENTJ or ISFP vs ISFJ, are more inclined toward mystical behavior.
But social context can significantly affect personality -- we all behave according to social environment. The social ends can be scary. Charley Manson was a powerful charismatic, persuading his naive 'family' by psychic manipulation with ideas not so different from those described by Huxley. His end was mass-murder.

For those interested in the relationship between exact sciences & religion, the Western mystical tradition of Neo-Pythagoreanism is a distinctive mix of mathematics and elements of perennial philosophy. Plato, Aristotle, Kepler, Leibnitz, Kekule, and Einstein each drew from this tradtion, (to name a few of the many famous scientists who took mysticism seriously).

Nevertheless, a first-rate primer in philosophy of religion

FYI from wikipedia -- definition of perennial philosophy

"Not only have mystics been found in all ages, in all parts of the world and in all religious systems, but also mysticism has manifested itself in similar or identical forms wherever the mystical consciousness has been present. Because of this it has sometimes been called the Perennial Philosophy. Out of their experience and their reflection on it have come the following assertions:

1. This phenomenal world of matter and individual consciousness is only a partial reality and is the manifestation of a Divine Ground in which all partial realities have their being.

2. It is of the nature of man that not only can he have knowledge of this Divine Ground by inference, but also he can realize it by direct intuition, superior to discursive reason, in which the knower is in some way united with the known.

3. The nature of man is not a single but a dual one. He has not one but two selves, the phenomenal ego, of which he is chiefly conscious and which he tends to regard as his true self, and a non-phenomenal, eternal self, an inner man, the spirit, the spark of divinity within him, which is his true self. It is possible for a man, if he so desires and is prepared to make the necessary effort, to identify himself with his true self and so with the Divine Ground, which is of the same or like nature.

4. It is the chief end of man's earthly existence to discover and identify himself with his true self. By doing so, he will come to an intuitive knowledge of the Divine Ground and so apprehend Truth as it really is, and not as to our limited human perceptions it appears to be. Not only that, he will enter into a state of being which has been given different names, eternal life, salvation, enlightenment, etc.

Further, the Perennial Philosophy rests on two fundamental convictions:

1. Though it may be to a great extent atrophied and exist only potentially in most men, men possess an organ or faculty which is capable of discerning spiritual truth, and, in its own spheres, this faculty is as much to be relied on as are other organs of sensation in theirs.

2. In order to be able to discern spiritual truth men must in their essential nature be spiritual; in order to know That which they call God, they must be, in some way, partakers of the divine nature; potentially at least there must be some kinship between God and the human soul. Man is not a creature set over against God. He participates in the divine life; he is, in a real sense, 'united' with God in his essential nature"

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We live in the age of information, but information without purpose to us individually, while perhaps interesting, is also useless. Information takes on real value only when it answers a question or solves a problem. Uncertainty about our place in the universe clearly qualifies as a problem, arguably mankind's most significant and persistent problem. Solving it provides us with both a foundation and a purpose. "The Perennial Philosophy" answers the extremely pertinent questions, "Can man know God, and if so, how?" Not only does Huxley's classic work answer these questions, it does so from the perspective of experiential "knowing" that cuts across all imagined boundaries of time and space. Since humans have historically agreed on so very little, it is of no minor importance that the same basic ideas can be found in spiritual thought gathered from all cultures and times. While we believe that each of us must follow our own path, all serious seekers can benefit from the collected wisdom contained it this volume.

Huxley's purposeful quotations make it clear that intellectual gymnastics, rituals, systems, good works, or even faith cannot replace experiential knowing. Throughout the book, he emphasizes that those who have found God have done so "one on one." They have approached God with a "pure heart" and a "poor spirit." These terms are often misunderstood and have led many seekers to become distracted by the means and miss the goal of Oneness. A pure heart does not petition, it seeks God for no other reason than the pure joy of knowing God. It knows that in seeking God it will find the Self. Huxley points out that the poor in spirit are not those who deprive themselves of material possessions and pleasures, but their "poverty" is that of non-attachment and selflessness. The seeker first releases all preconceived notions and personal perceptions and then allows God to tell them who God is. Such surrender terrifies the ego/self and will be resisted until we understand that our will and God's will are one. In this knowledge lies the end of all suffering.

The path outlined in "The Perennial Philosophy" is not popular, but as Huxley states, "All are called, but in any given generation few are chosen, because few choose themselves." Never the less, as Huxley emphasizes, God wants to be found. The only thing necessary to our success is our willingness. Huxley's masterwork can certainly help us to make that choice and avoid many of the pitfalls the ego finds so attractive. Lee & Steven Hager are the authors of Quantum Prodigal Son: Revisiting Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son from the Perspective of Quantum Mechanics

"The Perennial Philosophy" is the common factor of all the central philosophies and writings of the great saints, mystics and prophets who have experienced a "direct spiritual knowledge" of the "Divine". The author quotes the great Taost Philosophers, the followers of Buddha, Mohammad, the Brahman Scriptures and Christian Mystics. "The Perennial Philosophy is the philosophy of the "One". Man's final end or purpose is to know, love and be united with this "One", "Godhead" or "Ground. This is a very challenging book but one that can be referred to and studied over and over again. I would recommend this book.

I am ordering this book again after losing my first copy on the bus. Whoever picked it up is welcome to it; I'm happy for anyone whose life this book is lucky enough to enrich. One reviewer picked on the fact that Eastern & Western religions are totally incompatible & have nothing in common. This misses the point of the book; the DOGMA of Eastern & Western religion are indeed incompatible, which (as Huxley aptly demonstrates) is exactly the problem with organized religion. In fact, the dogma of nearly all religions tend to exclude each other, making religion just another worldly argument. Worldly arguments are not supposed to be the point of religion; the point of religion is to enlighten (or "save") the faithful. No dogma or beliefs can do this; however, all religions have an element that touches on how it may be done. Huxley ties these common threads together into an elegant tapestry for the dogma-weary seeker after truth to contemplate. To use myself as an example, I am not interested in achieving full enlightenment just yet; there are many worldly things I wish to do yet. One can become as balanced as one wishes to be. For those interested in such things, I recommend this book very highly. Also, I recommend "Island", a Huxley novel I regularly buy used copies of & give away for free!

The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley, Harper & Brothers, 1945; HarperCollins 2009, 324 ff.

The perennial philosophy refers to the spiritual truths that underlie human existence in all cultures through all time, transmitted through Jungian archetypes, Sheldrake's `morphic field' and the wisdom philosophies. The term `perennial philosophy' seems to have been used first as long ago as 1540 by the Italian humanist Agostino Steuco, and then by German mathematician and philosopher G.W. Leibniz in the 18th century.

Aldous Huxley is perhaps best known for his novels, Brave New World and The Devils of Loudun, but this work is a non-fictional survey of aspects of spirituality. I cannot do better than to reproduce the author's own definition of his subject matter: `the metaphysic that recognizes a divine Reality that is substantial to the world of things and lives and minds; the psychology that finds in the soul something similar to, or even identical with, divine Reality; the ethic that places man's final end in the knowledge of the immanent and transcendent Ground of all being - the thing is immemorial and universal'.

This book is a collection of writings on this enduring mystical theme, joined together by a commentary from Huxley. He compares the extracts he has chosen with the Shruti and Smriti of the Hindu religion: the Shruti depend upon direct perception of these universal truths accessed transcendentally by the sages or rishis while the Shriti are myths and tales that illustrate the moral teachings of the Shruti. The whole book is much more oriented towards the spiritual Hinduism and Buddhism of the East than the doctrinal religion of the West.

In Chapter IV, God in the World, Huxley specifically berates humankind for its lack of respect for, and its exploitation of, the natural world and endorses communing with God through Nature. Respect for the trees, rocks and streams around us that has long since disappeared from western capitalism, at least until quite recently, has remained very much alive in Chinese and Japanese society: where western religious art depicts characters from scripture, Eastern art is full of reverent nature-painting. Huxley was always a keen supporter of environmental preservation and deplored the Brave New World we were creating.

Chapter VI is about Non-Attachment and Right-Livelihood - about not letting the quest for material acquisitions and comforts and the turbulence of our daily lives disturb our equilibrium: certainly a message for our times. Huxley maintains however that the worship of Culture, for its own sake, is overblown. Novelty in the arts has become almost a god in its own right. Having said that, many writers of plays and novels indicated that they understood human psychology long before Freud.

Chapter VII deals with the issue of truth. Whatever we say of the material world can only be an approximation of truth because its essence we can never truly know. And the same is true of statements about God: Huxley records the sayings of many sages endorsing the via negativa - that nothing we say of God can begin to describe the qualities of the divine.

Chapter IX on self-knowledge opens with a quote from Boethius: `In other living creatures ignorance of self is nature; in man it is vice'. This echoes Socrates' maxim: `the unexamined life is not worth living'. Many sages have told us that the greatest challenge of human life is to understand oneself.

Chapter XII is on Time and Eternity and opens with the statement: `The universe is an everlasting succession of events; but its ground . . . is the timeless now of the divine Spirit'. The extracts and commentary then elaborate on this theme.

Space prevents my summarising the themes of all 27 chapters, but I hope this review will give readers a good feel for the content and spirit of the book.

The Phenomenon of Man by Teilhard de Chardin
Destination of the Species: The Riddle of Human Existence by Michael Meacher

Howard Jones is the author of The Tao of Holism

It was reassuring to find 99% of the reviews here, praising Huxley's 'Perennial Philosophy.' It is a remarkably thoughtful and constructive endeavour to explore the essential spirit behind all true religious experience(as against 'religion' as a set of wooden beliefs and self- enclosing, self-serving systems). The minority voice in the reviews, discrediting Huxley's work, reflects the narrower definition which says "I-am-very-much-other-than-you/my faith -sets-me-apart " . . .

This is the creed of the bigoted mind, and 'religious' bigotry is probably the most dangerous and hypocritical of all. It is this tendency which has made 'modern-man' sceptical of faith and claims made in in the name of 'religion.' It looks like a formula to go through life - with a permanent squint, as if all religious propositions were saying: Well, make your choice; which door-crack do you wish to view the world and your fellow men through? Ostensibly then, the world of 'creeds' and the 'open mind' represent antithetical poles of existence and thus, the sceptical cast of mind.

The refreshing thing about Huxley's 'Perrenial Philosophy' is that it highlights the great-heartedness which lies at the root of all genuine religious insight and feeling, which almost invariably involves self-emptying and poverty of spirit. This is the central theme of Huxley's book, which he fleshes out with abundant quotations and anecdotes drawn from a diversity of religious traditions and backgrounds - a case of 'behold the spirit' - rather than 'behold the institution.'

It is one of those ironies of life that while the World's greatest 'mystics' have tended to speak a shared language, their parent institutions have defined themselves - against each other, by invoking cardinal differences. Huxley was all too aware of this, and wasn't making the naive claim that 'all religions are the same' - when it comes to narrow, doctrinal definitions. But the deepest riches of the spirit are not caste in stone - and can never be written down (yes, even Jesus warns us about 'the letter that killeth the spirit). For Huxley, all true religion - all true religious experience, is essentially 'mystical' - the 'living Word,' as against its pallid substitute in paper scriptures. In this respect, Holy Writ resembles a minefield, rather than a garden. The worst kind of 'fundamentalist' tends to believe that even the positioning of the stops, colons and semi-colons of scripture, have been ordained from on high. Divergence of opinion over the semantic function of a single Greek 'iota' - in a religious text, once led a whole Christian community to split into two, separate halves.

Huxley makes an excellent job of showing us the other side of the picture - restating the perennial philosophy through the eyes of the Vedanta, Buddhism, St. John of the Cross, Eckhart, William Law, Madame Guyon, Islamic mystics like Rumi - and numerous others, delving deeply into the underlying psychology and living spirit which made these people SEE the truth of THAT which they spake, rather than just preaching or writing about it. For reasons best known to themselves - chiefly, insecurity, I suspect, this 'perennial' vision is the last thing many of the 'orthodox' like to see or hear discussed. Disturbingly, one sort of 'religious revival' taking place in our midst, seems to involve retreating into ultra-conservative, dogmatic stances. It is worth remembering that the original and highest meaning of the term 'Dogma' - used by the Church, signified "THAT which can neither be proven nor refuted by human reason (or logic). " Hence, it once signified the very opposite of what it is now assumed to mean, namely, that certain words, concepts and pronouncements per se - are absolutely true, in the literal sense. In short, in its wisdom, the Church was saying that its highest truth embodies a divine mystery. And THAT is what we find celebrated in this book. 'Tat Tvam Asi' (Thou art That).

Some readers may find 'The Perennial Philosophy' easier to handle, after digesting Huxley's 'The Doors of Perception.' Misquoting Tim Leary, one might say that the theme of the latter is 'Turn On, Tune in - and Drop Completely In'! Huxley was acutely aware of the ambivalent nature of consciousness - in one sense, enslaving us, in another, potentially liberating. He was conscious of the paradoxical fact that human beings crave fulfilment by getting out of themselves, seeking release into the 'blessedly other-than-self,'a search for self-transcendence. Huxley recognised a two-fold possibility here, horizontal 'transcendence' achieved through things like sexual gratification, immersion in collective and public spectacles, political movements etc. - and 'vertical' transcendence i.e. mystical transcendence or quasi-religious transcendence, which differs from the former type, in that it brings the individual to a higher, supra-personal awareness, touching on the totality of life, eternal verities. Conversely, by its very nature, the quest for 'horizontal' transcendence brings but short lived rewards. As Huxley saw it, we are driven - either way, by 'divine discontent' - the itch of which ultimately makes us ask the sort of questions underlying the perennial philosophy.

This classic compendium of cross-cultural mystical references, entertainingly and informatively fleshed out by the author of Brave New World and Doors of Perception, is a welcome reference for anyone curious about serious, accessible literature on the nature of the eternal, the timeless, and the one--mysticism in a positive sense. It is peculiar in some respects: Huxley believes in the efficacy of magic (~morphic resonance); he is convinced that Hinduism and Buddhism are intrinsically less violent world views than the great monotheisms (based on their history); and he uses some strange, and slightly fuddy-duddy phrases, such as "poverty of spirit" to designate a positive condition. He emphasizes the necessity of including spirit along with body and mind in any complete description of humanity. Some of the strangeness of this work to the modern reader owes to its datedness; it was written in 1944, and Huxley is clearly hugely disenchanted with the nationalistic politics that have been tearing the world apart. Some of the strangeness owes to Huxley's vocabulary which, like any mystical vocabulary, must be oblique. Nonetheless, it would be difficult to imagine a more useful, diverse, or erudite compendium of mysticism in a work of this size. I was delighted and surprised to see that he even referenced Alan Watts, who only came into his own as a writer decades later, but was already analyzing, in more technical works, eastern philosophy such as Zen. The basic idea of the philosophia perennis, or perennial philosophy, is that nirvana and samsara, time and eternity, the individual and the cosmos are one. This insight is described as advaita in Hinduism, annata in Buddhism, and (though perhaps less clearly) the union of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Christianity. Islamic mystic Jallaludin Rumi wrote poems about it, and Zen banned reading of sacred works to foment it. Huxley, like Watts, thinks Jesus was a misunderstood mystic; J.C.'s main difference seems to be that he staked his life on the essential nonduality of himself and the universe, barely flinching along the way. Huxley would no doubt be thrilled to see the veritable scientific proofs of the cross-cultural insights collectively termed the perennial philosophy in experiments such as those by Alain Aspect, explained by "ontological" quantum theories such as those of David Bohm. He would not, however, be happy to see the present slide back toward medieval-style religionizing in the name of partisan beliefs and blood politics.

Some time in the last century, Thoreau lamented that the "Bibles of mankind" were neglected even among those making a serious attempt to understand the Jewish and Christian ones. In the years since, many anthologies and expositions of sacred writings have endeavoured to repair the gap, few perhaps as successfully as this one. Like a Boethius for the modern age, Huxley delineates the universal and timeless truths enunciated by the sages of preceding centuries, interspersed with his own perceptive and serenely illuminating remarks. This is a book to be carefully pondered and studied with others. I can think of no other which so deserves to be the Vade Mecum of the spiritual journey -- the road map to guide you onward. Ultimately your conception of the "perennial philosophy" may differ from Huxley's, but I am sure you will value his contribution toward its elucidation, and may well agree that several of his original passages merit inclusion in its eternal canon.

Within the first few pages, I had a major epiphany, and I have been studying this kind of stuff for a number of years. There is a substantial reason this work is a classic. It is the type of book that should be required reading for anyone who has had at least college level general education. The world would be a different place. This is what should be in each home, outselling Harry Potter or Chicken Soup for the Impatient Soul. Here is the definitive anthology bringing together what all the major teachings and traditions of contemplatives, mystics, and philosophies have perceived in common, which Huxley calls, the perennial philosophy. Chapters include such themes as: That Art Thou, The Nature of the Ground, God in the World, Religion and Temperament, Self-Knowledge, Grace and Free Will, Good and Evil, Time and Eternity, Salvation/Deliverance/Enlightenment, Silence, Prayer, The Miraculous, and many other themes, all from the unitive approach of the wisdom traditions and the insight of "You are That."

Simply stated the Perennial Philosophy is "Thou Essence is That Essence". Each of us is a unique iteration of the Spiritual Source of the Universe. A microcosm of the macrocosm. Created by God as a godlike being for it takes a god to worship God fully. When I use the word God I could just as easily use any of the other names for the ineffable source of existence. The tao that can be named is not the eternal Tao. We are gods, but not the God, lest any man or woman should boast. To fail to see that we are a part of God is an illusion, to think that we are God is a delusion. The seer is intimate with a peace that passeth understanding. God is not only within ourselves, but within all other people as well, even the rest of Creation, God is omnipresent. Pride is a tricky devil. I am an aspect of God, therefore I must be God. Wrong dear solipsist. I am here too. And so are others. God is not One, God is a unitive One. "Totality is a unitive one." Hui-Neng. The Kingdom of God is a family. We are each a part of that which has no separate parts.

God is a synergetic whole, more than one but less than two. An irrational, beyond rational, whole between one and two, a paradoxical number, a numberless number. God is ineffable. This reality we find ourselves in isn't your dream or mine, we are however links in the great dream chain of existence. Our material Universe is a simulation, a learning tool for spiritual beings. An illusion conceals, a simulation prepares. The glass is half full, or half empty, you decide. Are you an optimist or a pessimist? As Teilhard de Chardin once noted, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience". Essence is prior to existence. Spirit is prior to matter. Wu is prior to the body/mind complex. Though it is true that there are no lines of demarcation in Nature, our Universe is interconnected, there are areas of confluence, fields of concentrated energy, such as you and I. All created things are such. That part of us that has not been created, that part of our essence that is divine, is found within the holy of holies, our heart, our soul. We are spirit. An awareness of our true selves is essential for the full expression of our potential to be godlike beings, to be childlike beings. To return to innocence is to let go of our conditioned egos and be our original selves. Life is a test in which we either grade ourselves fairly or we are held back. We get to do it over and over again until we get it right. We graduate from one level of understanding to the next without necessarily leaving this relative reality. Our world changes as we change. Made in the image of God we are co-creators with God. Meditation is about coming to this enlightened realization through direct experience rather than the result of a rational conclusion. We are spirit. Nonduality, God, cannot be described in dualistic terms, rather merely suggested. God is like... Thus the use of Parables and Myths and other such forms of metaphorical expression where God and eternal truths are concerned. We cannot say what God is, only what God is like. I AM THAT I AM. Certainty is the product of pride.

The essential part of us, our spirit, was never born and will never die. The purpose of life here in the realm of duality is not to play a game of Solitaire with ourselves, but to play a game of Hearts with each other. This is the message of all the great Mystics from all the great spiritual traditions of our world, past and present. Our material but insubstantial reality comes from an immaterial but substantial source. God is eternal, and so are we.

This book by Aldous Huxley is one of the greatest books ever written about the Perennial Philosophy. It is must reading if you want to know more about the truth of the universality of truth. No religion has a patent on God. As that great Christian Mystic Meister Eckhart once said, "God is like a great underground river". Meditation is the technique nearly all great mystics have used to dig sacred wells into the great underground river of spirit that flows through and beyond every manifested thing. I say nearly because there are exceptions to every rule but this rule. Grace is the final arbiter. With that said, take personal responsibility and dig your own well my friend. Just don't get to thinking your well is the only well. This is the Philosophia Perennis in a nutshell. Now Go.

For futher reading on the Perennial Philosophy may I suggest some of the following authors. Karen Armstrong, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Joseph Campbell, Meister Eckhart, Rene Guenon, Thomas Merton, Rumi, Frithjof Schuon, and Huston Smith, among others.

The biographers say that Aldous Huxley was no saint. But this is no reflection on his work and vision. Clearly, Huxley was one of the greatest intellects who ever lived, and he understood the meaning of life on a level with any of the greatest philosophers of posterity, even if he, as his own writings noted, found it difficult as an individual of surpassing vision and gifts, to live up to what he knew.

To put it simply, there is no greater or more comprehensive description or vision of the essence of the spritual life ever recorded than this one. It is challenging to read, and the reward and inspiration that can be found in this work makes it worth the challenge a thousand times over.

Jesus and the Buddha undoubtedly had personal qualities that gave their teachings a quality of profound persuasion. And yet, it is likely that neither was as gifted a communicator as Aldous Huxley, and the Gospels and the Dhammapadda do not have any greater a quality of profound expression of the eternal truth than this book. It is that effective in getting across, without confusion, the final essence of the spiritual life, and the final meaning of existence itself.

I am an avid reader of philosophy and philosophical fiction, and not one inclined to gush over a particular work. That being said, I feel if every CEO, politician, pastor, and parent were to read and truly ingest the ideas laid out so brilliantly through excerpt and example by Huxley in this book, the world could not help but be better off for it. This is the sort of book you have to move through slowly and carefully to enjoy, and the sort of book that would offer new insights with repeated readings. Amazing that scarcely 300 pages of text could, if read well, give one a sound general idea about the basic ideas behind virtually every significant school of religious thought.

The author's breadth and scope of knowledge is astounding, he has managed to harness the most simple and profound insights from both Eastern and Western religious thought over the course of the last two millenia. Huxley shows us that theologians of all faiths have struggled and continue to struggle with the same fundamental problems, that of maintaining what is traditionally thought to be the Oriental idea of a focussed detachment from all worldly things and desires. The author challenges us to a attempt a difficult, if not impossible, task - to seek out God without desiring him, to focus on neither ends nor means, to act with righteousness but keep a complete disregard for the reward it may bring.

At the beginning of the book Huxley says that the heart of the actual world is Absolute Mind. To integrate your own mind with that of the Absolute Mind, you have to give up your own self, and hence your own mind. Therefore, you wil never objectively be able to describe the Absolute Mind, because, once you have given up your own mind, you no longer have any distance toward the Absolute: you just become it. You cannot speak about 'our world' as the absolute mind because when you have become the servant of the Absolute your world has been transfigured, and you do not share it with 'us' any longer.

Throughout, Huxley insists that 'this world' is the Real world, and that we must not think of despising it, or rereating.

At the end, Huxley, with the paternal care typical of writers from a distant era, and with the disdain for our modern age typical of such relics as he (and I), says that when somebody can give up their self or personality, they become a saint. The saintly mystic alone keeps the decadent West going, and has made himself a conduit for Godhead to come on to earth.

What an inconceivably great task, and yet here and so simple: to give up being yourself so that you can become what you really are, what you were really made for. So few have and will ever achieve it. This book makes you think that it is possible, and that the Absolute Mind within our paltry world is really there. So sweet a book. A masterpiece.

I would like to challenge anybody to say that this is not the meaning of life. But laying down such a challenge would constitute an affirmation of my own personality, and would not be right.

This is the book that set me on the path of study that not only landed me an Undergraduate degree in Religious Studies with Advanced and Research Honors, an "Outstanding Philosophy Major of the Year" award, and the writing of an Honors thesis called "The Sphere of Mystical Paradox: The Problem of Paradox in Mystical Truth-Claims," (consisting of 50 pages concluding that there WAS no problem). Huxley's outstanding anthology of quotations from mystics (practitioners of the "inner traditions" who sought an unmediated experience of the divine through various practices that had proved to be effective for mystics who preceded them, rather than relying on faith in the words in sacred texts or appointed representatives of their "outer" tradition (i.e. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and so on), landed me on the same unmediated path of the mystic. I've been graced with a number of numinous experiences which serve to confirm Huxley's thesis: that there is a common thread running through the mystical core of all of the various religions. "Even though you tie a string in a thousand knots, the string remains one," -13th Century Sufi Poet Jelalluddin Rumi

Culled from Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist sources, Huxley makes the case for the universality of certain religious doctrines grounded in a common mystical experience. This work by Huxley established him as one of the greatest lay theologians. It is a work of syncretism of the highest order. Huxley was raised as a Christian, yet was a mystical seeker across religious traditions. His quest included experiments with psychedelics, studying vedanta and other religious traditions.

This book is a must read for the mystical seeker, who wants confirmation that the mystical experience is real. This text was also highly influential within the academic study of religion. Huston Smith, who has written the most widely used textbook on the world's religions, has cited it numerous times in his writings as shaping his own views on the commonality of all religious traditions.

I was given this book by my grandmother, who had purchased it in to 50's. At first I found the content and the author's writing style frustrating, but I found that as I let the words drift by, I was left with pure ideas, pure content. With this book, Huxley acheives a subtlety of presentation that many authors will never achieve. He concisely summarises and presents the theological and spiritual fundaments of the major religions in a way that is accessible to the devoted reader. It has a very different feel to some of his other works like Brave New World and The Doors of Perception. I liked it, but I think that you need to approach the book with a little patience.

This is my most essential book. I have so many underlined passages, dog-eared pages, high-lights, and scribbled writing in my copy of this book that I wouldn't get $2 for it at the Wee Book Inn. But it is an absolutely indespensible part of my library. Actually, because I truly subscribe to the Perennial Philosophy, this book is the capstone of my library. This is the book I recommend more than any other.

This book is a perennial gem. Let he who has ears hear it.

I owned a copy of this before my wife committed the worst crime of our married life and threw out... (aarrghhhh!) a huge chunk of my book collection to make space in the 'spare room', which now has a bright, clean look but is utterly devoid of character.

I must have it again (as I rebuild)for it truly is indispensable for those who truly seek truth and identity and God. Huxley's intellect and character is what brought a sense of dignity to 'psychedelic' research back in the 60's. He was almost a lone voice elevating the discussion beyond the sideshow antics of Timothy Leary or any of the west coast crazies.

You understand why when you consider the earnest searching that went into The Perennial Philosophy.

Certainly this work is representative of a stage in Huxley's spiritual career. At the time both he and Gerald Manley Hall were in a very "Manichean" phase and, as the above New Yorker blurb suggests Huxley was at this time very "otherworldly".
After his experiences with LSD and his encounters with Krishnamurti, Huxley returned to life. Read this book as a precursor to Huxley's mature statements, but
do follow up with a read of his post-psychedelic writings, such as "Doors of Perception", etc to be found in "Moksha".

Why is there not a religion based upon this beautiful peace of literature, It challenges the way we think everyday, it challenges the differences between the major religions that have cause so many problems throughout history, it's true they are all leading towards the same thing! Huxley's knowledge of every major school of philosophical thought as he brings them together in one great collection.

I found this book quite accidentally as the last thing on the floor of an aquantances apartment as I was helping him move, and it has totally changed my life. Never before have I come across anything that so eloquently brought together the pure essences of the worlds major religions in their pure and simple truth.This book is bound to upset any adherents to one certain religion, as it uncovers the binding truths of them all. It is no Bible, no Koran, no Torah, no Bhagavad Gita, and yet it is all of them and more. It makes no steadfast claims or demands as many religious/spiritual books tend to do. It gently unfolds its spiritual message in a simple and awe inspiring way. I could not recommend this book highly enough to anyone seeking a spiritual truth. I myself did not know I was, and it showed me more than I could have ever hoped to have seen.

Not every person can enjoy this book at any time in their life, but when one is ready for the most comprehensive, deep, and detailed spiritual exposure, this is it. If you can buy multiple copies, they will make great loving gifts to those you sense are ready. Consider this book an act of love and sharing of divine light.

One of the most comprehensive books I've read, and I've read thousands. So much is compacted into this one book, that it's one you would want on a deserted island. Its definitely one that will be referred to over and over. It has the wisdom of the world and the keys to higher consciousness. If you read only one book on spirituality, make it this one. It shows the common core among all religions , it may be slightly slanted towards the authors religion, but its easy to overlook that. I FOUND IT TO BE GREAT!!

I've never met this book's equal. It left me awestruck not only by the content but by its style. Every sentence is a jewel that could be studied over for years. While reading this book, I wondered at Huxley's genius. Possibly the best book I've ever read

This is NOT a review of the content of the book but, rather, a warning about the Important Books / David Rehak printing. My copy of this had several passages missing. It is difficult to even find a website for this publisher. Several pages have printed emblems of some sort obscuring the pages. Even the cover is shoddy: if you look close, you can see what appears to be a tear in the upper left corner. This is a scanned image of an original dust jacket! This printing should be pulled from circulation. Do yourself a favor and make sure to purchase the Harper Perennial Modern Classics printing instead.

Huxley was clearly a man with great vision, undoubtedly ahead of his time. This book notes the crucial points of world religion/philosophy in terms understandable to both Eastern and Western minds. It will become essential reading to the student of philosophy/world religion and a work valued for centuries to come. The author points out the key elements of the human condition and the proper path to follow for ultimate salvation. Huxley shows us the way, the burden is now ours to understand. I highly recommend this book as a must reading for anyone.

I have read this book many times and find it more and more profound, interesting and challenging. It is an overview of the world's mystics experiences and their points of agreement. Huxley specifically chose people that experienced the Reality they are talking about as apposed to those who simply comment intellectually and write upon this Reality.
If I had one book to take on a desert island, I will choose this one.

I first read this book 43 years ago. It impressed me because in those years, for me, everything was separate. Since I first read this book, (at least six times since then) I am now convinced that the mystical experience is identical, no matter which particular way you choose. I highly recommend this book to every soul who is uncertain about which way to go to find IT. You will learn that IT is everywhere no matter the path YOU choose. All religious and transcendental experience point the same way and Huxley proves it in his work; a transcendental and enlightening insight on this subject. This book is a must for the seeker, as well as for the enlightened, as a documented proof of the oneness of the Universal Truth.

Nice of Aldous Huxley to do his bit to get people to realise that the different wisdom traditions do have something to talk about. And contrary to what some reviewers have said his idea of a unity of religions is not the grossest kind imaginable. He does mentions that some concepts (like truth) can be understood in different ways and are actually understood differently by various traditions. However, says Hux, these differences are trivial and are merely superficial levels of paths that all lead to the same ineffable truth. Can we find fault with that? We had better. Because in making the differences between religions out to be trivial we would be robbing them of much that is essential to them and what is most beautiful about them. Spirituality is not just about the mystical experience. There is also ethics, there is also faith and shelter and community and many things that can be of value and that gives each spirituality its unique beauty.
So if you never have a mystical experience with blinking lights and a direct view of God and a melting into the oneness of al being - would that mean that all of your spiritual life has been a waste? The perennial philosophy would say yes. That is why Huxley subtly slags of Protestantism and Therevada Buddhism a number of times - both argue that religion can have value aside from mysticism through a slow process of spiritual growth and humility and sometimes an appreciation of God which is dreadfully ordinary and everyday and simple. Actually, the same argument is found in the Catholic Church, Mahayana, Daoism, Judaism . . . But to take that seriously you would have to accept the different traditions in there entirety. And they would have to have dialogue on how there differences can enrich each other, not just on how they are all actually the same old thing.

I first got this book some 20-odd years ago on a recommendation, and read some of the essays. A few of them were far too "thick" for me to follow, it's the kind of reading you keep a dictionary next to you. Eventually managed to get through most of it (still a couple I have not read). It's a must-have for the Huxley fan (at least for fans of his non-fiction), and on it's own is a great work.

I truly love Aldous Huxley's work~! However this particular book I found extremely hard to read. The Perennial Philosophy is really just a cluttered mess or a disorganized compilation of the greatest thinkers,religious scholars and scriptures weaved together by Huxley's analytical interpretations of them. It doesn't serve the heart, instead it complicates the already convoluted mind into more analytical thinking.

This writing is rife with theological and spiritual references which such a skilled aphorism should not really make use of. It gives the book a diluted, almost delusional quality which I found thoroughly disappointing given Huxley's reputation as a writer and especially aphorist. While well-written, this book was hardly worth my time. Perhaps useful for someone on the far branch of some domain like a city judge or preacher dwelling on their own unadmittedly twisted thoughts!

Knowing that Huxley was a Humanist and that the Humanist Manifesto II and III are full Anti-Christ in their agendas , I can see how slow thinking, self-described elitists would LOVE this type of book.

Why not call it intellectual suicide?

Or " Precursor to Joseph Campbell"?