Shiva and the Primordial Tradition

This book reveals the influence of Shaivism on the Western world, discusses Shaivism's understanding of sacred sexuality and presents the connections between Vedic poetry and metaphysics. In "Shive and the Primordial Tradition", Alain Danielou explores the relationship between Shaivism and the Western world. Shaivite philosophy does not oppose theology, cosmology and science because it recognises that their common aim is to seek to understand and explain the nature of the world. In the Western world, the idea of bridging the divide between science and religion is just beginning to touch the edges of mainstream thought. This rare collection of the late author's writings contains several never-before-published articles and offers an in-depth look at the many facets of the Samkhya, the cosmologic doctrines of the Shaivite tradition. Danielou provides important revelations on subjects such as the science of dreams, the role of poetry and sexuality in the sacred, the personality of the great Shankara and the Shaivite influence on the Scythians and the Parthians (and by extension, the Hellenic world in general). Providing a convincing argument in favour of the polytheistic approach, he explains that monotheism is merely the deification of individualism - the separation of humanity from nature - and that, by acknowledging the sacred in everything, we can recognise the imprint of the primordial tradition.