"The Question of Protestantism" by Frithjof Schuon appears as chapter 3 of Christianity/Islam: Perspectives on Esoteric Ecumenism, A New Translation with Selected Letters edited by James S. Cutsinger, published by World Wisdom.

“ONE of the abuses indirectly bequeathed to us by the Renaissance is the confusion, in one and the same sentimental cult or in one and the same "humanism," of religion and fatherland: this amalgam is all the more deplorable in that it occurs in men who profess to represent traditional values and who thus compromise what by rights they should defend.” In this article, Frithjof Schuon goes on to examine all the different ways in which passionate, sentimental and ignorant man betrays the true sense of proportion in idolizing his country, his civilization and modern dogma, to the ruin of himself, his religion and other peoples, and in forgetting, all the while, that “my kingdom is not of this world.”

Using St. Francis of Assisi’s writings, particularly his Laudes, Frithjof Schuon emphasizes the necessary interdependence of such virtues as Simplicity, Wisdom, Charity and Purity. Focusing on the Virgin Mary, both St. Francis and Schuon illustrate the ways in which the collaboration of these virtues opens the soul as a “receptacle of the Divine Presence.” In teaching both submission to God and detachment from the world, they affirm a necessary presence in the world and connection with other people, but without dependence on temporal things and with indifference toward egoism and self-fulfillment. No one can neglect one virtue without tainting all of them, and if one finds complete acceptance of one virtue, then all others are contained within it.

"Dimension of Prayer" appears in Prayer Fashions Man: Frithjof Schuon on the Spiritual Life selected and edited by James S. Cutsinger, published by World Wisdom.

This is another of Schuon's informative essays about the nature and necessity of tradition and revelation. It includes numerous aspects of a spiritual tradition and contrasts it with the false promise of modern science and its version of truth.

Frithjof Schuon examines the criteria for changing the liturgy – by wishing to preserve its primitive simplicity or by ridding it of redundant accretions from past ages. Schuon explains the possible dangers of trying to return to the origin while ignoring the flowering of the sacred within the tradition over time for “it possesses the intrinsic value of a tangible crystallization of the supernatural.” He points out that the error of today is in seeing in the liturgy something that can be invented and that it must be conformed to “our times.” He also considers the importance of language in the liturgy and what makes one language more sacred than another as well of the error of vulgarization and pedantry.

By first observing the difference in critical faculty between Eastern and Western thought, Frithjof Schuon considers the use of truisms in religious literature as they affect religious thought and action. The hyperbolic nature of religious writings and truisms contain more than moral lessons particular to a certain faith, but also include implications that relate to a wider realm of faith and belief. The impracticalities of religious teachings, in such parables as the camel passing through the eye of a needle or the spiritual man who is perfect to the point of disappearance speak less about spiritual effort then about the Divine existence. The tendency in religious practice to interpret these sayings as literal is derived from a tendency toward intellections and therefore results in religious moralism. Schuon explores the balance between this intellectualism and more typically Eastern thought.

"Outline of the Christic Message" appears in The Fullness of God: Frithjof Schuon on Christianity Selected and Edited by James S. Cutsinger, published by World Wisdom.

"The Particular Nature and Universality of the Christian Tradition" appears in The Fullness of God: Frithjof Schuon on Christianity selected and edited by James S. Cutsinger, published by World Wisdom.

"The Quintessential Esoterism of Islam" appears in Sufism Veil and Quintessence: A New Translation with Selected Letters by Frithjof Schuon, published by World Wisdom.

"Diversity of Revelation" appears in Gnosis, Divine Wisdom: A New Translation with Selected Letters by Frithjof Schuon, published by World Wisdom.

"Modes of Prayer" appears in Prayer Fashions Man: Frithjof Schuon on the Spiritual Life selected and edited by James S. Cutsinger, published by World Wisdom.

"'Selections' from Songs for a Spiritual Traveler" is extracted from Songs for a Spiritual Traveler: Selected Poems by Frithjof Schuon published by World Wisdom. Note: This is a bilingual German/English Edition.

"The Spiritual Virtues" appears in Spiritual Perspectives and Human Facts: A New Translation with Selected Letters by Frithjof Schuon, published by World Wisdom.

"Selections from Songs without Names Vol VI" has been extracts from Songs without Names: Poems by Frithjof Schuon Volumes I-VI by Frithjof Schuon, published by World Wisdom

"Selections from Songs without Names Vol. VII" is extracted from Songs without Names: Poems by Frithjof Schuon Volumes VII-XII by Frithjof Schuon, published by World Wisdom.

“Selections from World Wheel Vol. IV” is extracted from World Wheel: Poems by Frithjof Schuon Volumes IV-VII by Frithjof Schuon, published by World Wisdom.

"Selections from World Wheel Vol. I" is extracted from World Wheel: Poems by Frithjof Schuon Volumes I-III by Frithjof Schuon, published by World Wisdom.

Given the fundamental importance of art both in the life of a collectivity and in the contemplative life, Schuon reveals the fundamental distinctions between sacred and profane art. This important article opens new vistas in the understanding of the relationship between art, symbolism, and the spirit.

From Schuon's book Light on the Ancient Worlds, this essay defines the central traditionalist concept of the religio perennis and then explains how this universal concept fits with the existence of the separate religions.

From Schuon's book "Form and Substance in the Religions," this essay explores how Muslims view sacred history, and Muhammad's place in it, as well as how the Prophet can be both humble human and exalted manifestation of the Logos at the same time.

In this short piece, Frithjof Schuon relates the mutual respect shown between a Cheyenne holy man and the Jagadguru, who, though they never met, were able to perceive the holiness of the other through photos. In addition, Schuon makes some comments on the "unity of the primordial Sanatana Dharma, and notes that "in prayer all earthly differences such as space and time are transcended," as evidenced by the incidents he shares with us.

In this excerpt from a longer chapter, Schuon begins his examination of the place of the Quran in Islam by providing insights on, first, its form, and then on the principles determining that form. He summarizes general principles regarding all sacred scriptures and how these are manifested in the religion of Islam. Schuon then turns to three aspects of the Quran: its doctrinal content, its narrative content, and its “divine magic or its mysterious and in a sense miraculous power.”

Frithjof Schuon states that "in order to understand the nature of the Bible and its meaning, it is essential to have recourse to the ideas of both symbolism and revelation. Without an exact and, in the measure necessary, sufficiently profound understanding of these key ideas, the approach to the Bible remains hazardous and risks engendering grave doctrinal, psychological, and historical errors." So that the scripture might retain "all its vitality and all its liberating power," Schuon's essay explains the critical points of the Bible's use of symbolism and its sacred origin.

In this article Schuon discusses the role of the spiritual master by drawing from various religions including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity. He uses these traditions to examine the role and authority of the spiritual master in regard to the disciple. The symbolism of the spiritual master is also discussed here using the Hindu terms of Being, Consciousness and Bliss. According to Schuon the master provides the disciple with a “spiritual existence” and a doctrine that he would not otherwise have. Schuon also makes the point that a spiritual master may not “unveil totally” or make completely clear the truth that he understands. Finally, the author points out that the term “spiritual master” is a broad one, and includes a range of people who are not necessarily equal to each other.

In this article, which never appeared in any of his books during his lifetime, Schuon examines at multiple levels the traditional Sufi ternary of Fear-Love-Knowledge as the three dimensions or stations of the Sufi path. They are viewed in universal terms, applicable to the human being in general, and as "vocational" tendencies for various spiritual temperments, and then as successive degrees in a seeker's spiritual development.

These remarkable meditations were recorded by Frithjof Schuon during a trip to North Africa in 1963. The thoughts are aphoristic and in a voice not frequently found in his metaphysical writings.

Coming from the same source as this Archive’s editor Thierry Béguelin’s Preface to “Towards the Essential: Letters of a Spiritual Master” (i.e. a pdf of front matter, the Preface, and some excerpts of letters), clicking this pdf link will take readers to the first nine pages of the section “Letters to Christian Correspondents.” These letters are a small but representative sample of Frithjof Schuon’s tone, as well as the the vast range of topics he addressed, in his correspondences to people from all over the world.