/lit/ - Literature

What existing sacred doctrine is closest to Platonism, ala Plotinus, etc? Are the Traditionalists correct in assuming there is a unitary whole out of all the different 'religions', and you only need to get to the esoteric part and you'll find that singular metaphysical doctrine?

Cuz Al Ghazali in Mishkat al Anwar pretty much lays out an almost identical metaphysical conception as Plato and Plotinus. Advaita Vedanta as well but for some reason they go too far and accept nominalism (absurd).

Is there still such a thing as a Christian Neoplatonist who seeks his soul's return to God's unity via theosis (henosis)?

... And have realized I can't realize Plotinus' doctrine in myself independently because it's a dead Tradition.

What would the Traditionalist school recommend for someone who has grasped theoretically the concepts of these Western "pagan" metaphysicians of the late Platonic era? Which living Tradition exists that is most alike to that, and how would you join it? I'm guessing Sanathana Dharma is the most similar?

Can I get a reading list for fully understand Vedic/"Hindu" Tradition? Like a full and authentic (non-orientalist) rundown on its expression through the myriad deities, their metaphysical representation, the Dharmic society's structure and organization (or lack of), the dichotomy between the Aryan and Dravidian cults, relation to other Indic Traditions like Jainism, Buddhism, and so on? Also the philosophical differences and how they play a role in actual """"religious"""" worship, the rites etc. For example, the Advaitins I'd guess would separate themselves utterly from all worship of individualized 'refractions' of the One, and just be ascetic hermits cultivating God within (or am I wrong?)

I've read Guenon's first book but I also want a comprehensive assessment of the wider picture. I've read Plato, Plotinus, and am interested in the parallels between ancient pre-Christian Europe and Vedic India.

>>16695504
This is the parent of Modernity. At least under Abrahamism, you can have ways of living that "skim" the surface of the land. In Modernity, you can't even have a way of living, you're just an economic unit. This fundamental disconnect between man and land is part of the whole "Is a myth a holy text?" problem. The entire dichotomy between sacred and profane that Abrahamic religion posits is totally alien to European polytheism. The Gods were, they had certain properties, certain personalities, and they could be interacted with. A story telling you how to interact with such-and-such God was historical fact, a holy poem, a technical manual, and a statement of cultural allegiance all in one. The entire conception of "holy vs non-holy text (or oral tradition)" just doesn't work. There's one world, and any description of it is going to touch on many things at once. It's an inherently and deeply authentic and sincere position to take.

Tolkien, then, is trying to craft for a sort of Anglo-Catholicism just that: a history that is also holy, a holiness that is also technical, and a technical history that is also cultural, for the Anglo(-Saxon) people. In that regard, I find him totally admirable. Varg has a series of tweets where he autistically rants about how Tolkien is actually pagan, and he's totally wrong (or at least his reasoning is). He is, however, close to the truth that Tolkien wanted to sidestep something in Abrahamic religion. He's also correct that when Tolkien's books came out, there were those who accused them of being Pagan. They were low-church Prots upset that the books were "too Catholic", however, not about polytheism and dwarves. Like Varg, these men too have sort of missed what Tolkien was really trying to, in my opinion, do: Make Christianity into a non-Abrahamic religion. Did he succeed? No. I don't think he could. But I think he appreciated the poetic struggle against impossible odds.

Why do materialists behave so emotionally and with such certainty over their worldviews that can be reduced to absurd nihilism/relativism? Why are theistbvlls so much superior to sissy hylics?

>read Plato, Plotinus and the Platonic school in general
>become a mystical pagan fascist
Anyone else know this feel?

>>13622333
I know that feel. But alas we swapped a lifestyle completely intertwined with the divine and the thousands years of culture stemming from that for going to church once a week.

>>12587748
Christianity isn't a European religion that's why. The moment people don't fully believe in it, they completely forsake it.

This won't happen to authentic religion traditions, Shintoism will continue even though most Japanese do not literally believe in it because it still speaks to them on a fundamental level, on a tribal and cultural level. The stories, myths and the geography of the religion is theirs.

The moment doubt sets in in the European Christian, Christianity just becomes the religion created by the guy from the foreign levant that supposedly walked on water.

It's a tough pill to swallow that your wonderful ancestors made a mistake, but at a certain point you just have to accept it and try your best to make sure your descendants won't have to swallow the same pill about YOU.