Hinduism: Comparing the approaches of A. Schopenhauer and R. Guenon

Abstract

The purpose of this small work is to compare the approaches to Hinduism of two very important personalities: A. Schopenhauer and R. Guenon. Accordingly, our work will consist of two parts: the first, on Schopenhauer’s reflections on Hinduism, and the second, on the approach of R. Guenon. The most important difference between these two approaches is that Schopenhauer treats Hinduism from a philosophical point of view, while Guenon treats it mystically and exoterically. Both of them think that humanity begins in India; however, unlike Schopenhauer, Guenon means that the history of mankind began (and could not have been otherwise) in India, since the Vedas formulate the following concepts: traditionalism, tradition, esotericism, mysticism, esoteric society. Schopenhauer, on the contrary, emphasizes the purely metaphysical and philosophical value of Hinduism “Vedas”.