Truths of a certain order are by their very nature resistant to popularisation: however clearly they are expressed… they will only be understood by those who are qualified to understand them, and for anyone else they may as well not exist.
– René Guénon

René Guénon or ‘Abd al-Wahid Yahya (1886-1951) was one of the great luminaries of the 20th century who was thought to have single-handedly restored the true meaning of the primordial tradition – traditional metaphysics – also known as the philosophia perennis – the perennial philosophy.
     It was this underlying religion that was threatened to virtual disappearance in the Western world. If there is at all access to any such writings expounding the concepts related to the primordial tradition or perennial philosophy in the contemporary era, the credit goes first-and-foremost to René Guénon.
     This Companion to the works of René Guénon is important for several reasons:
To make the works of René Guénon more known and accessible to the general public and also to the academic world even though neither was Guénon’s original aim;
To reawaken the idea of tradition and metaphysics in a social milieu that is militantly anti-traditional and anti-metaphysical;
To provide spiritual seekers with a means to accurately understand the doctrines and methods of their own respective paths;
To provide an integral method of understanding cultural diversity and interfaith dialogue in an era that is fundamentally plagued with such dilemmas.
     With these initial points made, such a book warrants a certain amount of caution because for the serious reader of Guénon’s writings the initial thought conceivably exists: what is there to be added to the writings of this great intellect?
     This presents a sizeable question, for if the writings of Guénon were perceived to be complete what would be the need for such an auxiliary text? And yet any writer, of whatever stature, may be repudiated posthumously for whatever may have been omitted by him consciously or otherwise.
        Similarly one could argue that perhaps numerous, if not all of the alleged omissions, may appear to be otherwise should the transcendent meaning contained within be accurately understood.
       Another obstacle to be considered for the serious reader of Guénon is why not read directly from his corpus? This scenario is analogous to purchasing bottled water from an unknown vendor when freshwater direct from its source is available.
     This also brings up the question of intellectual aptitude and whether there would be someone qualified or eligible to engage in such an arduous and multifaceted undertaking.
     Regardless of how one may address the above issues, serious Guénon readers will appreciate that Dr. Graham Rooth, the compiler of this work, allows Guénon to have his own voice: “The objective is to allow Guénon to speak for himself rather than produce a critique of his ideas” (p.20). With the potential obstacles of this work examined, we will now proceed with the contents of the book.
     Rooth informs the reader that his initial intention was to complete a translation of the French work: Le Dictionnaire de René Guénon (Grenoble: Éditions Le Mercure Dauphinois, 2002) by Jean-Marc Vivenza but yet decided that for those unfamiliar with Guénon’s works such a format would not be sufficient.
     He then decided to organise a Companion arranged by topics and themes which also functions as a Dictionary for addressing specialised terms. Rooth acknowledges that he owes “everything” to the above title for this book’s selections.
     Dr. Mark Sedgwick, the author of the controversial book, Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004) provides the Foreword for this book leaving serious Guénon readers to perhaps consider this decision.
     The title of this work also elicits some query and clarification – Prophet for a Dark Age – for it should be emphasised that René Guénon described his function to be in effect theoretical, to recover what the Occident had fundamentally forgotten.
     Furthermore he did not consider himself as a “spiritual master” or “guru” as such nor was he interested in “individualist considerations” or biography. Rooth explains in more detail what the title of the book signifies:
     “He was a prophet in the sense that he was acutely aware of the spiritual failings of his society and ‘spoke forth’ about these issues with relentless passion in the hope that he might achieve a crucial shift in perception in a sufficient number of spiritually gifted individuals.” (pp.21-22)
     The book is condensed into four parts exploring the quintessence of Guénon’s providential oeuvre: Part One, ‘The Primordial Tradition and Religion’; Part Two, ‘The Spiritual Journey and the Integral Being’; Part Three, ‘Western Society and the Emergence of Modernity’; and Part Four, ‘Symbolism and Symbols’.
     Part One, ‘The Primordial Tradition and Religion’ explores the idea of the primordial tradition or traditional metaphysics in the context of Guénon’s work.
     It is from this timeless and universal perspective that Guénon presents the One-and-Only Truth at the core of the world’s spiritual traditions. Guénon demonstrates how religions differ only in their exotericisms or outer dimensions, articulating the heart of religion in its esotericism or inner dimension, and underscoring that there is no esotericism without exotericism.
      Part Two, ‘The Spiritual Journey and the Integral Being’ explores the nature of the spiritual path and what authentic spiritual integration is in the truest or most orthodox sense.
     This part examines the role of spiritual initiation and transmission, including the important distinction between that of spiritual realisation affirmed in esotericism and that of “salvation” often described in the exoteric dimensions of the Abrahamic monotheisms – Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
     Axial to the perennial philosophy is the idea that the human individual occupies only one state within innumerable different states simultaneously existing within the same human individual – known as the doctrine of multiple states of being.
     Part Three, ‘Western Society and the Emergence of Modernity’ demonstrates what could be acknowledged as the most radical critique of modernism ever to be put forward. The historical antecedents that contributed to the current spiritual eclipse of the modern era are elaborated.
     Guénon examined the dangers of progress, egalitarianism, scientism, psychologism, individualism, pseudo-religion, etc. that mark the utter bankruptcy of the West and its fatal course on this downward spiral.
     Guénon proposed that the only way out of this crisis, which now appears to be a global meltdown, was the creation of a spiritual/intellectual elite to restore traditional civilisation and facilitate the reconnection to the Absolute.
     Part Four, ‘Symbolism and Symbols’ explores the paramount function of symbols in the light of the perennial philosophy.
     This collection provides a broad and informative overview of many of the most noteworthy symbols that Guénon, an unsurpassed master of the science of symbolism, had written about throughout his life. For example, the Cross, Mountain, Pole, Cave, Omphalos, Light, Water, Zodiac, Serpent, Trees, Androgyny, Eye, Heart, Door, Wheel and Swastika.
     With the recent publication of this book we encourage readers to also consult the Collected Works of René Guénon which contains the illustrious corpus of his lifework.
     It would be unfortunate if this Companion, which is only a partial representation of Guénon’s work, and can only be such by definition, due to its sweeping topographic scope, were to be employed as the singular or standard resource to approach his writings.
     Guénon’s writings were assembled in accordance to the selections that he specifically believed needed to be addressed and in the order in which they needed to be conceived. With this said, we trust that this Companionwill further assist in making Guénon’s writings better understood, more approachable and more accessible to wider audiences, including first time readers.
     Readers should note that this Companion like other works by Guénon is not an easy read and analogously there is nothing easy about the spiritual path.
     We will conclude this review with a celebrated motto of René Guénon: Vincit omnia Veritas – Truth conquers all and yet the unspoken motto is: “Seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matthew 7:7).