The Perennial Philosophy: A Quick Overview

The Perennial Philosophy: A Quick Overview

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) was an English writer and philosopher, celebrated for his expansive intellect and incisive critiques of society, science, and human nature. While widely known for dystopian novels like Brave New World, Huxley's later life shifted towards exploring mysticism, psychedelic experiences, and the universal characteristics underlying diverse spiritual traditions. This culminated in one of his most influential works, The Perennial Philosophy, which carefully compiled and interpreted the shared wisdom of sages and mystics across different cultures and eras, arguing for a common, fundamental truth accessible through direct spiritual insight and divine Union.

Huxley predominantly drew from the spiritual traditions of Hinduism, Christian and Sufi mysticism, and Mahayana or Zen Buddhism. While each of these traditions stands alone as a distinct spiritual system, Huxley sought out core commonalities between them, suggesting that they ultimately pursued a similar goal. He emphasized the importance of direct experience as a means of spiritual development. Huxley’s approach is considered “syncretic,” which means that the core features of each respective tradition is harmonized to emphasize a higher spiritual principle or principles towards which all strive. Huxley was largely concerned with extracting the universal content of mystical experience itself, and less concerned with the forms of the specific traditions involved. Syncretism seeks to transcend the differences and harmonize common elements of similar spiritual traditions. The yogic saying, “many paths, one truth,” has relevance here.

To be clear, the syncretic approach is not without controversy. Some argue that syncretism fails to capture the important and nuanced differences between traditions which give them their uniqueness. Others, arguing from more orthodox positions, might hold that syncretism undermines the core belief structure of their respective religious system, and that such systems resist combination. For example, there are many common elements between Christian, Sufi, and Jewish mysticism, but Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox Islam, and Orthodox Judaism are hold different and often incompatible views on God. Similarly, there are many clear parallels between Hinduism and Buddhism, but their spiritual belief structures and practices are, in places, irreducibly distinct.

The syncretist, nevertheless, is more concerned with similarities, suggesting that certain traditions strive towards the same (or similar), supreme spiritual goal. Huxley, again, was most concerned with the common characteristics of mystical experience. I find Huxley’s Perennial Philosophy to be of great value in this regard, particularly in helping us understand the complex and often ineffable nature of unitive spiritual experiences shared by esotericists and mystics alike. Huxley’s meticulous synthesis of passages and quotations from influencers across diverse spiritual communities helps place the nature of the divine into clearer light. I’ll briefly speak to some of his overarching themes below.

I. The Divine Ground:

Most exponents of the Perennial Philosophy share in the belief of an ultimate divine “Ground” that underlays all existence. This divine Ground is transcendent, ineffable, and unknowable to human reason – but it exists within everything and can be accessed through sustained spiritual practice. The goal of spiritual practice is to achieve Union with this divine ground; that is, to merge the self (or limited ego) with the higher divine Self. In doing so, we become “one” with the divine. It is through this divine union that a special form of spiritual knowledge is received by the individual, often called “gnosis.”

Gnosis isn’t an instrumental form of knowledge (like 1+1=2), but an immediate, largely intuitive, apprehension or awareness of a higher spiritual truth. The aspirant, through the direct inner-experience of the divine Ground in a state of union, gains a sense of something more – something beyond self or deep within – that thereafter guides the individual into embracing a life of truth. Through union with the divine Ground, one’s true inner-nature is more fully realized and subsequently expressed in the world.

In short, in our present age, where truth is increasingly difficult to determine, the esotericist turns within. The ground of the divine is the ground of truth. Realizing this ground more fully is one of the core aspects of esoteric spiritual practice and mystical states. It’s worth noting that the goal of the Western mystics is “divine union,” and that, in the Eastern traditions, the Sanskrit word “yoga” literally means “union.” Hence, Yoga, when practiced as a spiritual discipline, is implicitly mystical. Both strive for the same, universal, ineffable source of divine knowledge, albeit through unique pathways and distinct practices.

II. The Tripartite Spiritual Process:

The process of esoteric spiritual development is spiral and cyclical. Divine illumination isn’t usually a “one-shot deal,” nor is attaining a state of Union, in itself, the end-goal of spiritual practice. Union, indeed, is considered by the Perennial Philosophy, as the highest source of truth – it is the ground that guides us and recalibrates us away from imperfections that we encounter in the world. But the larger aim of spiritual practice involves returning to the world, after experiencing union, and living out that truth in the world as a more-perfected divine instrument.

The spiritual process is therefore tripartite. It involves an “ascent” to the divine, in which the aspirant, through sustained spiritual practice, prepares themselves for divine union through various practices of purgation and purification. The aspirant strives to mirror the divine condition, seeking a “likeness” to the divine state. Once Union is experienced, the idea isn’t just to stay there and hang out – but to come back to the world. It can be very tempting, following profound states of mystical union, which are often marked by feelings of bliss and ecstasy, to reject the world in order to pursue further spiritual experiences. But this risks spiritual materialism (e.g. chasing the “high” of a spiritual experience for the sake of the experience; viewing the experience as an end-in-itself, as opposed to viewing it as a means for further spiritual development). For Perennialists, the “descent” then begins. The aspirant returns to the world and serves the creation as an instrument of divine truth.

For Huxley, the Nirvana-Samsara dichotomy must be transcended to attain the highest form of spiritual development. Nirvana, being an experience of divine perfection, and Samsara, being the worldly and illusory cycle of perpetual suffering, must both eventually be realized as aspect of the divine condition. The yogic concept of Equanimity and the Christian concept of Charity (both very similar) are among the most difficult concepts to genuinely understand and embrace – the spiritual aspirant must develop the capacity to see God in everything; to perform good works without judgment, attachment, and free from personal desire and ego. The ascent, the descent, and transcendence of both therefore broadly mark the three phases of spiritual development.

III. The Challenges of the Spiritual Path:

I’ve stated in other posts, and will continue to emphasize, that esoteric spiritual practice is very difficult. If one chooses to approach it, it should ideally be approached from a position of strength. This is because a core tenant of most esoteric traditions, and certainly exponents of the Perennial Philosophy, is the call for self-negation; that is, “dying to the self (or ego)” in order to make room for the divine. At its furthest points, this means that there comes a time when the notion of an “I” is, in theory, completely obliterated. This concept is difficult to comprehend. Ego-death is progressive – it is a process that involves prolonged, dedicated spiritual practice. It entails the progressive elimination of worldly attachments and desires and is marked by the purest form of selflessness. When (or if) there is truly no-self, then the aspirant serves as a perfected instrument of divine Will.

In order to transcend the self, we must first go through the self. This is the paradox of esotericism. This form of spiritual practice is inwardly-directed and is oriented towards unification with the divine ground. The spiritual aspirant must prepare to receive gnosis by means of purgation and purification of self. This means cleansing the self of sensations, emotions, thoughts, and feelings – coming to view them as limited aspects of an illusory existence that are ultimately incompatible with divine perfection. This doesn’t happen overnight. It typically involves a long, strenuous journey that takes place over many years and/or across many lifetimes. The self (or ego) is directly encountered. Any impurities, imperfections, or modulations are “rooted out” and resolved.

These esoteric practices take many forms, including asceticism and celibacy, meditation and breathing exercises, mantra and methodical prayer. For the Perennial Philosophy, all of these practices are designed to cultivate a passivity of the self (or ego) to make it receptive to the divine. This occurs through the progressive modification and purification of character. Spiritual practice reaches its culmination through a perpetual state of “infused” contemplation; that is, one exists in a continuous state of divine knowledge, without the interference of the ego, and serving the creation as an instrument of divine Will.

In Summary, Huxley’s Perennial Philosophy opens up a gateway into understanding some of the most difficult concepts of esoteric and mystical spiritual systems and practices. He draws from numerous inspirational mystics, sages, and yogis whose wisdom continues to shape the esoteric landscape. We’ve noted that there are some limitations of the syncretic approach, and even within the Perennial traditions themselves, not everyone will agree with or embrace Huxley’s conclusions, as there are different ways to interpret each concept. Despite these limitations, in visiting Huxley’s work, readers may discover the eloquence with which the influencers among these traditions attempted to convey metaphysically difficult concepts. Moreover, they may find that these same people were, as practitioners of their own disciplines, perpetually striving and struggling towards a similar spiritual goal.

Bibliography:

Huxley, Aldous (2009; 1945). The Perennial Philosophy. New York, NY: Harper Perennial Modern Classics.