This is a transcript from a lecture given by Martin Lings at the Temenos Academy.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll just begin my talk by mentioning – and this refers to the talk is actually called: Metaphysics and the Perennial Philosophy, metaphysics coming first, that is, but that’s not an important detail, but it explains why I begin by mentioning – that René Guénon only once – as far as I know – entered into the academic world, which he did by answering an invitation from the Sorbonne University in Paris, to give a talk on metaphysics and in that talk, which was entitled: La Métaphysique Orientale, he began by saying that it would perhaps be better just to say metaphysics; la métaphysique, without any epithet, because, pure metaphysics; being beyond all form and all contingencies, is neither Eastern, nor Western, it is universal.”
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“Guénon would have accepted – as a partial synonym for metaphysical – the word suprarational, only on condition that suprarational means ‘beyond this world’, and microcosmical speaking beyond body and soul. Frithjof Schuon sometimes speaks of the metacosm, in the meaning ‘the next world’, rather than this world and metacosm – in this sense – is the lowest domain of metaphysics. The highest domain being at the divine level itself, and the summit being the absolute. Metaphysics comprises all these domains from the Absolute Infinite Perfection of the Divine Essence, to the lowest of the Paradises of the Next World. To go back to that summit, which is sometimes called the Divine Essence, Tradition is universal in this. In Hinduism: Brahman, the neuter form, or word and also: Ātmān, which means Self. They denote this absolute, infinite perfection and in Hinduism, both Brahman and Ātmān are expressed by the divine mono syllable: Om (AUM).”