Unity and Source | Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Omnia in uno sunt, et in omnibus unum.
All things are in one, and in all one.
Athanasius Kircher (1663)

 

» Ultimate Reality is at once Absolute and Infinite, the source of all being, of all consciousness and of all life. Itself beyond form, it speaks to mankind through revealed forms which, while externally bound and limited, open up inwardly towards the Boundless. Through revelations of this Word or Logos come into being the sacred traditions which although outwardly different are inwardly united into a Center which transcends all forms. They are, however, the bridge from the periphery to the Center, from the relative to the Absolute, from the finite to the Infinite, from multiplicity to Unity. «

Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Quoted from:
Seyyed Hossein Nasr (1976) - Ultimate Reality. 

Foreword to Keith Critchlow - Islamic Patterns. An Analytical and Cosmological Approach.

Philosophia Perennis: Uncreated Wisdom and the Subtle Contours of Truth

One cannot meaningfully or effectively practice a craft without understanding its foundation. Above all, one cannot practice a spiritual method except on the basis of a previously comprehended doctrine, which provides both the motivation and the paradigm for the work. Doctrine without method is hypocrisy, while method without doctrine leads to error. This underscores why doctrine must be "orthodox"—that is, in essential conformity with the subtle contours of truth. A doctrine born of mere human invention is one of the most potent catalysts for going astray.

 

Philosophia perennis refers to the uncreated wisdom taught by Platonism, Vedanta, Sufism, Taoism, and other authentic sapiential traditions. Meister Eckhart articulates the perennialist understanding of the "Intellect" (intellectus) in the sense of spiritus when he writes: "There is something in the soul which is uncreated and uncreatable; if the whole soul were such, it would be uncreated and uncreatable; and this is the Intellect." 

Intellectus is derived from the Latin verb intelligere, meaning "to recognize" or "to understand." Mysticism is the pursuit of communion with an ultimate reality, divinity, or spiritual truth through direct experience, intuition, or insight. It encompasses both mystical doctrine and mystical experience; the latter being the inward and unitive "realization" of the former. This realization is the domain of spiritual method. In Hinduism, spiritual method is represented by raja-yoga, the "royal art" of contemplation and union. Here, the Veda—or wisdom—constitutes the scientia sacra (sacred science): ars sine scientia nihil est—art without science is nothing.