INDEX

Anglican(ism) 62, 63 n17 Apocalypse 81 Argonauts 75 Aristotle 23 n16, 27, 41 Atman 51-52 Austria 60 n10

barakah 44 n7 & 8 Beatrice 77 n29 Benda, Julien 20 n8 Bhagavad Gītā 43 n5, 75 n24 bhakti 37 Brahma-Loka 72 n16 Brahmin(s) 9-10, 15, 18 n 6, 21-22, 30-43, 48, 50, 52, 66 n3, 71 Buddha 52 n7 Buddhi 71 n12 Buddhism 51-52 Buddhist(s) 19 n7, 51 n4

Catholic church 20 n8, 68 n7 Catholic esoterism 77 n29 Catholicism 20 n8, 68 n7, 75 Celestial Paradise 22 n13, 44 n 9, 65-78 Celts/Celtic 7 n 1, 10, 15, 58 n8 Center of the World 55, 76 n28 Charbonneau-Lassay, L. 66 n4 Charlemagne 65 n1 China 15 n1, 46 Christ 34, 35 n 4, 45 n 10, 51 n5, 66 n4, 69 n9 Christ-Janus figure 66 Christendom 44, 48, 60, 62, 64 n18, 65, 77

Christian 11, 47 n13, 66 Christianity 35 n 4, 66 n2, 71 n14 Chuang Tzu 8 n2 Church of England 63 Collegia Fabrorum 24 n17 Confucianism(ists) 15 n1, 46, 47 n15 Confucius 29, 47, 76 n 27

Dante 22 n13, 35 n 4, 44 n 9, 57-58, 67-71, 74-77, 80 n2, 81 n 4, 84 n 6 David-Neel, Alexandra 19 n7 de Maistre, Joseph 62 democratic 62, 83 De Monarchia 22 n13, 67-68, 74, 77 dharma 80 n2 Dharma-Shāstra 71 Divine Comedy 22 n13, 72 n16, 75 n22, 77 n29 Druidism 33 n1 Druid(s) 11 n6, 33, 58 n8

egalitarian(ism) 61 n13, 62, 83 Egypt(ians) 22 n 14, 33, 34 n 2, 35 n4 England 63 Europe(an) 15, 55-56, 60, 77

Far East 8 n2, 44 n8 Far-Eastern doctrine 80 Far-Eastern tradition 28, 47 n13 France 44, 56, 59-60, 63, 64 n18 Freemasonry 24 French nation 59 French Monarchy 63 French Revolution 30 n8, 59–61, 63–64

Gallicanism 62, 63 n17 Ganesha 42 n3 German princes 61 golden fleece 75 n22 Gospel(s) 39 n14, 60 n9, 72, 75 n21, 84 n6 greater mysteries 22–23, 44, 69, 72 Greece 51 n4 Greek(s) 10, 28 n5, 33 n1, 51, 53 n8 gunas 36

Hamsa 7 Harmakhis (Hormakhouti) 35 n4 Heavenly Jerusalem 81 n3 Henry VIII 62 Hermeticism 77 n29 Hindu doctrine 7, 19, 21 n10, 26 n1, 31 n11, 41, 43, 71, 80 n2 Holy Land 76 Holy Roman Empire 60 n10, 64 n18, 65 n1, 81 n4 Holy Spirit 67, 71 Hugo, Victor 66 Hyperborean 10

Imperator 66 India 8–10, 15, 20–23, 26 n2, 30–31, 35, 37, 41, 46 n12, 50, 55, 69, 75 Indian Buddhism 51 Initiation: Royal 22–23, 28, 38, 69, 74 Sacerdotal 22–23, 38, 69 Ishvara 46 n12

Islam 48, 58 n7, 69 n9, 71 n14 Islamic esoterism 8 n2, 44 n8 Islamic tradition 44 n8 _Itihasas_ 21 n10, 43 n5

Janus 24 n17, 44, 66, 72, 74, 75 n20 Jesus Christ 67 Jewish tradition 71 n14 Judah, royal tribe of 51 n5 Judeo-Christian tradition 34

_Kali-Yuga_ 10–11, 21 n11, 27, 48, 81 Knights 11 n6 Kshatriya(s) 9–10, 15, 17–18, 21–22, 30–31, 33–43, 48–53, 56, 58–59, 66 n3, 69, 71–2, 74

Lamaism 15 n1 Lao Tzu 8 n2, 47 Latin 28 n5, 33 n1, 75 Leibnitz 54 n1 lesser mysteries 22 n13, 23 n15, 44, 69, 72 Levi 51 n5 Louis XI 59 Louis XIV 59, 62 Lucifer(ianism) 30 n9 Luther 61

Magi-Kings 34, 45 n10 _Mahābhārata_ 43 n5 Mary and Martha 84 n6 Melchizedek 34, 76 n28, 84 n6 Middle Ages 24, 27, 31, 42, 55–56, 58 n8, 59–60, 62, 66, 75 n22, 77 n29 Mount of Salvation 76 _mufti_ 58 n7 Muslims 43 n5, 75 n24 Napoleonic 'Concordat' 61 Order of the Temple 56 n4, 58 n8 Ovid 75 Papacy 56, 60 n10, 65–66, 68, 71–72, 74–76 Papal Infallibility 58 n7 Parasurāma 10 n5 Philip the Fair 56, 58–59 Plutarch 22 n14, 34 n2 Pontifex Maximus 66 n2, 72 Pontiff 35, 67, 69, 72 Pontificate 35, 70 Pope 44, 58 n7, 65 n1, 66–67, 69, 73, 76 n28, 77 n29 Prakriti 46 n12, 50 n3 primordial state 69 n8, 82 n5 Protestants/ism 61–63, 64 n18 Purānas 21 n10 Purgatory 72 n16 Purusha 18 n6, 46 n12 Pythagoreans 70 Rāmāyana 43 n5 Reformation 62 Reghini, Arturo 74 n19 Renaissance 24, 56, 62 Richelieu 64 n18 Rig-Veda 18 n6 Roman(s) 10, 24 n17, 44, 75 n21 Roman Catholic Church 62 Roman emperor 66 n3 Roman Prince 68, 76 Rome 61–66, 72, 75 n21, 76 n28 Russia 62 n16 Saint Augustine 84 n6 Saint Bernard 35, 56 n4, 77 n29 Saint Paul 69 n9 Saint Peter 44, 74, 75 n21, 76 Saint Thomas Aquinas 42, 76 n27, 84 n6 Salem of Melchizedek 76 n28 Sangha 19 n7 Sankhya 46 n12 Sanskrit 8 n2, 33 n1, 35 n6 Satan(ism) 30 n9 Shakyamuni 51 n5 Shankarāchārya 75 shari'a 58 n7 Shekinah 76 n25 Shiva 42 n3 shruti and smriti 21 n10, 71–72 Shūdras 31, 52, 63, 74 Skanda 42 Sphinx 33–34, 35 n4 Ssu-Ma-Ch'ien 47 svadharma 80 n2 svaychāchari 8 n2 Ta-Hio 29 n7 Tao/Tao Te Ching 8 n2 Taoism 46, 47 n15 Taoist(s) 15 n1, 47 Terrestrial Paradise 22 n13, 44 n9, 65–78, 81 ns3&4 Tibet 15 n1, 19 n7 Torah 71 n14 Ulysses 75 Universal Man 18 n6, 69 n9 Vaishya(s) 23 n15, 30 n8, 31, 58–59, 63, 74 Valli, Luigi 68 n6 Veda 21 n10, 71 Virgil 75, 77 n29 Western Middle Ages 42, 55 world axis 73 n17 Made in the USA San Bernardino, CA 04 June 2016 René Guénon (1886-1951) was one of the great luminaries of the twentieth century, whose critique of the modern world has stood fast against the shifting sands of intellectual fashion. His extensive writings, now finally available in English, are a providential treasure-trove for the modern seeker: while pointing ceaselessly to the perennial wisdom found in past cultures ranging from the Shamanistic to the Indian and Chinese, the Hellenic and Judaic, the Christian and Islamic, and including also Alchemy, Hermeticism, and other esoteric currents, they direct the reader also to the deepest level of religious praxis, emphasizing the need for affiliation with a revealed tradition even while acknowledging the final identity of all spiritual paths as they approach the summit of spiritual realization.

Spiritual Authority and Temporal Power is an analysis of cyclical manifestation, and more specifically of the relationship between royal and sacerdotal power. In accord with the Hindu doctrine of _manvantaras_ and Plato's depiction of historical degeneration in the _Republic_, Guénon views history here as a series of 'revolts' of lower castes against the higher. The _kshatriyas_ (warriors) revolt against the _brahmins_ (priests), thus setting the stage for a revolt of the _vaishyas_ (loosely, the bourgeoisie), as in the French revolution—and, finally, the _shudras_ (the proletariat), as in the Russian revolution (which Guénon does not touch upon in this work). From one point of view, this is a progressive degeneration; from another it is entirely lawful, given the 'entropic' nature of manifestation itself. External, historical descent reflects an inner degeneration: knowledge (the celestial paradise) is eclipsed by heroic action (the terrestrial paradise), which is in turn overrun by the inertia and agitation of the passions. Yet the nadir of degeneration is also the point of renewal: the dawning of the Heavenly Jerusalem—spiritual Knowledge—which begins a new cycle of manifestation.

The Collected Works of René Guénon brings together the writings of one of the greatest prophets of our time, whose voice is even more important today than when he was alive.

Huston Smith, _The World's Religions_