The Perennial Philosophy

 A little Huxley

The Perennial Philosophy isn't one of Aldous Huxley's best known works. And, for those thinking of trying others of his titles because they liked Brave New World might be a little disappointed by this book.

In this exploration of all the great world religions - and the scriptures, teachers, and teachings of said religions - Huxley looks at the basic unifying beliefs that lie beneath. It does become apparent, as the book takes in different aspects of religious belief and practice, that the major religions have unifying beliefs in the human attempt to find Truth and ultimate Reality. Reality with a capital R. Truth with a capital T.

In The Perennial Philosophy Huxley's observations are supported by quotes from great and notable mystics and theologians, and religious works and scriptures. 

Huxley himself was personally interested in mysticism and universalism, or the perennial philosophy. When analysing others of his works, there are traces of these philosophies in his writing. 

Huxley invested time and effort into learning about, and later teaching on, eastern religions and philosophies, particularly the Vedanta. He learned meditation and spiritual practice from a swami. He later took mescaline, and believed the experience to be one of clarifying and profound insight into the truth of reality (see The Doors of Perception).

However, Huxley was an intellectual and much more agnostic than a mystic. Because of this, he wasn't fully able to embrace the life of a man immersed into an institutional religion. 

When reading The Perennial Philosophy, I came away, as I have when I have read other of Huxley's books, that this is the work of someone trying to seek out the right way, or the best way. That this is a work interested in trying to discover what it is, not just to be human, but what it is to be good, to be fulfilled. I also come away with the feeling that this is the work of a man seeking something deeper than what lay on the surface of things, and for that I have a lot of time indeed.

I am a big fan of Huxley's writing. I have a lot of time for them and recommend them to you.