René Guénon

The truth is that there is really no "profane realm" that could in any way be opposed to a "sacred realm"; there is only a "profane point of view", which is really none other than the point of view of ignorance.

René Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as "Shaykh `Abd al-Wahid Yahya", was a French author and intellectual who wrote on topics ranging from metaphysics, "sacred science" and traditional studies to symbolism and initiation.

Quotes

• Metaphysics, because it opens out a limitless vista of possibilities, must take care never to lose sight of the inexpressible, which indeed constitutes its very essence.
  • Introduction générale à l'étude des doctrines hindoues (Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines) (1921)

• Have we not arrived at that terrible age, announced in the Sacred Books of India, "when the castes shall be mingled, when even the family shall no longer exist"?
  • La crise du monde moderne (The Crisis of the Modern World) (1927)

• The “end of a world” never is and never can be anything but the end of an illusion.
  • The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times (1945)

• The truth is that there is really no "profane realm" that could in any way be opposed to a "sacred realm"; there is only a "profane point of view", which is really none other than the point of view of ignorance.
  • Initiation et réalisation spirituelle (Initiation And Spiritual Realization) (1952)

Quotes about Guénon

• Si Guénon a raison, eh bien ! toute mon oeuvre tombe.
  • Translation: If Guénon is correct, then all my work is for naught.
    • André Gide in 1951, as quoted in "Pourquoi lire Guénon aujourdhui?"