Traditional Quotes and Symbols
The universal Veil comprises a play of contrasts and shocks, and also (and even more profoundly and more really) a play of harmony and love.
THE MYSTERY OF THE VEIL
The Veil can be thick or transparent, unique or multiple; it veils or it unveils, violently or gently, suddenly or progressively; it includes or it excludes, and it separates thus two regions, one inward and one outward. All these modes are manifested in the microcosm as well as in the macrocosm, or in the spiritual life as well as in the cosmic cycles.
The impenetrable Veil covers from sight something that is too sacred or too intimate; the veil of Isis suggests the two relationships, since the body of the Goddess coincides with the Holy-of-Holies.
The "sacred" refers to the divine aspect of "Majesty"; the "intimate" for its part refers to "Beauty"; blinding Majesty and intoxicating Beauty.
The transparent Veil, on the contrary, communicates both the sacred and the intimate, like a sanctuary that opens its door, or a bride who gives herself, or a bridegroom who welcomes and takes possession.
When the Veil is thick, it hides the Divinity: it is made of the forms that constitute the world, but these are also the passions within the soul; the thick Veil is woven out of sensorial phenomena around us and passional phenomena within us; and be it noted that an error is a passional element to the extent that it is serious and that man is attached to it.
The thickness of the Veil is both objective and subjective, in the world and in the soul: it is subjective in the world in so far as our minds fail to penetrate to the essence of forms, and it is objective in the soul in the sense that passions and thoughts are phenomena.
When the Veil is transparent, it reveals the Divinity: it is made of forms in so far as these communicate their spiritual contents, whether we understand them or not; in an analogous fashion, the virtues allow the Divine Qualities to shine through, while the vices indicate their absence, or their opposites, which comes to the same thing. The transparency of the Veil is both objective and subjective, which can be understood without difficulty after what has just been said; for if on the one hand forms are transparent (not in respect
of their existence but in respect of their messages), on the other hand it is our mind which makes them transparent by its penetration.
Transcendence thickens the Veil; immanence renders it transparent, either in the objective world or in ourselves, through our awareness of the underlying Spirit. From quite a different standpoint, however, the understanding of transcendence is a phenomenon of transparency, while on the contrary the brutish enjoyment of what is offered to us by virtue of immanence, is obviously a phenomenon of thickening.
There are iridescent silks in which two opposed colours appear alternately on the same surface, depending on the position of the material; this play of colours evokes cosmic ambiguity, namely the mixture of"nearness" and "distance" (we might also say of greatness and smallness) that characterizes the fabric of which the world is made and of which we ourselves are made. This brings us to the question of the subjective attitude of man before the objective ambiguity of the world.
The noble man, and consequently the spiritual man, sees in positive phenomena the substantial greatness and not the accidental smallness, but he is indeed obliged to discern smallness when it is substantial and when, in consequence, it determines the nature of the phenomenon.
The base man, on the contrary, and sometimes the simply worldly man, sees the accidental before the essential and gives himself over to the consideration of the aspects of smallness which enter into the constitution of greatness, but which cannot detract from its greatness in the least degree, except in the eyes of the man who is himself made of smallness.
The two iridescent colours, it goes without saying, can have an exclusively positive meaning: activity and passivity, rigour and gentleness, strength and beauty, and other complementarities.
The universal Veil comprises a play of contrasts and shocks, and also and even more profoundly and more really, a play of harmony and love.
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Frithjof Schuon: Esoterism as Principle and as Way - The Mystery of the Veil
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Quoted in: The Essential Frithjof Schuon (edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr)
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Image: Chakrasamvara and consort Vajravarahi
This powerful depiction of Chakrasamvara embracing his yogini consort Vajravarahi is a highly energized visualization, such as would have been experienced by an advanced tantric master. These are key deities in the Vajrayana system, uniting two of the most powerful ideas in esoteric Buddhism, wisdom, embodied in Vajravarahi, and compassion, the essence of Chakrasamvara. His name, which translates as Circle of Bliss, embodies the powerful union of these two fundamentals tenets of Buddhism.
The universal Veil comprises a play of contrasts and shocks, and also (and even more profoundly and more really) a play of harmony and love.
THE MYSTERY OF THE VEIL
The Veil can be thick or transparent, unique or multiple; it veils or it unveils, violently or gently, suddenly or progressively; it includes or it excludes, and it separates thus two regions, one inward and one outward. All these modes are manifested in the microcosm as well as in the macrocosm, or in the spiritual life as well as in the cosmic cycles.
The impenetrable Veil covers from sight something that is too sacred or too intimate; the veil of Isis suggests the two relationships, since the body of the Goddess coincides with the Holy-of-Holies.
The "sacred" refers to the divine aspect of "Majesty"; the "intimate" for its part refers to "Beauty"; blinding Majesty and intoxicating Beauty.
The transparent Veil, on the contrary, communicates both the sacred and the intimate, like a sanctuary that opens its door, or a bride who gives herself, or a bridegroom who welcomes and takes possession.
When the Veil is thick, it hides the Divinity: it is made of the forms that constitute the world, but these are also the passions within the soul; the thick Veil is woven out of sensorial phenomena around us and passional phenomena within us; and be it noted that an error is a passional element to the extent that it is serious and that man is attached to it.
The thickness of the Veil is both objective and subjective, in the world and in the soul: it is subjective in the world in so far as our minds fail to penetrate to the essence of forms, and it is objective in the soul in the sense that passions and thoughts are phenomena.
When the Veil is transparent, it reveals the Divinity: it is made of forms in so far as these communicate their spiritual contents, whether we understand them or not; in an analogous fashion, the virtues allow the Divine Qualities to shine through, while the vices indicate their absence, or their opposites, which comes to the same thing. The transparency of the Veil is both objective and subjective, which can be understood without difficulty after what has just been said; for if on the one hand forms are transparent (not in respect
of their existence but in respect of their messages), on the other hand it is our mind which makes them transparent by its penetration.
Transcendence thickens the Veil; immanence renders it transparent, either in the objective world or in ourselves, through our awareness of the underlying Spirit. From quite a different standpoint, however, the understanding of transcendence is a phenomenon of transparency, while on the contrary the brutish enjoyment of what is offered to us by virtue of immanence, is obviously a phenomenon of thickening.
There are iridescent silks in which two opposed colours appear alternately on the same surface, depending on the position of the material; this play of colours evokes cosmic ambiguity, namely the mixture of"nearness" and "distance" (we might also say of greatness and smallness) that characterizes the fabric of which the world is made and of which we ourselves are made. This brings us to the question of the subjective attitude of man before the objective ambiguity of the world.
The noble man, and consequently the spiritual man, sees in positive phenomena the substantial greatness and not the accidental smallness, but he is indeed obliged to discern smallness when it is substantial and when, in consequence, it determines the nature of the phenomenon.
The base man, on the contrary, and sometimes the simply worldly man, sees the accidental before the essential and gives himself over to the consideration of the aspects of smallness which enter into the constitution of greatness, but which cannot detract from its greatness in the least degree, except in the eyes of the man who is himself made of smallness.
The two iridescent colours, it goes without saying, can have an exclusively positive meaning: activity and passivity, rigour and gentleness, strength and beauty, and other complementarities.
The universal Veil comprises a play of contrasts and shocks, and also and even more profoundly and more really, a play of harmony and love.
----
Frithjof Schuon: Esoterism as Principle and as Way - The Mystery of the Veil
----
Quoted in: The Essential Frithjof Schuon (edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr)
----
Image: Chakrasamvara and consort Vajravarahi
This powerful depiction of Chakrasamvara embracing his yogini consort Vajravarahi is a highly energized visualization, such as would have been experienced by an advanced tantric master. These are key deities in the Vajrayana system, uniting two of the most powerful ideas in esoteric Buddhism, wisdom, embodied in Vajravarahi, and compassion, the essence of Chakrasamvara. His name, which translates as Circle of Bliss, embodies the powerful union of these two fundamentals tenets of Buddhism.