Frithjof Schuon (/ ̍ ʃ uː ɒ n /; German: [ f i t jo f u . n]ˈ ʀ ː ˌ ː ˈʃ ː ɔ ; June 18, 1907 – May 5, 1998) was born to

German parents in Basel, Switzerland. He is known as a philosopher, metaphysicist and author of

numerous books on religion and spirituality.

Schuon is recognized as an authority on philosophy, spirituality and religion, an exponent of

the Religio Perennis, and one of the chief representatives of thePerennialist School. Though he was

not officially affiliated with the academic world, his writings have been noticed in scholarly and

philosophical journals, and by scholars of comparative religion and spirituality. Criticism of

the relativism of the modern academic world is one of the main aspects of Schuon's teachings. In his

teachings, Schuon expresses his faith in an absolute principle, God, who governs the universe and

to whom our souls would return after death. For Schuon the great revelations are the link between

this absolute principle—God—and mankind. He wrote the main bulk of his metaphysical teachings in

French. In the later years of his life Schuon composed some volumes of poetry in his mother tongue,

German. His articles in French were collected in about twenty titles in French which were later

translated into English as well as many other languages. The main subjects of his prose as well as

his poetic compositions are spirituality and various essential realms of man's life journey from his

Creator back to Him

Michel Valsan (1911–1974) was a Muslim scholar and master of the Shadhiliyya tariqah in Paris

under the name of Shaykh Mustafa 'Abd al-'Aziz. As well, he was a Romanian diplomat and a prolific

translator who specialized in translating and interpreting the works of the Sufi theoretician Ibn Arabi.

A follower of Rene Guenon, Valsan considered Hinduism, Taoism and Islam as “the three main forms

of the present traditional world, representing the Middle-East, the Far-East, and the Near-East, as

reflections of the three aspects of the Lord of the World.”[1]

“ The Islamic doctrine is formal on the point that all the Divine Messengers have brought essentially the same message and that all the traditions are in essence one...As regards the Islamic form of the tradition this is in any case originally and essentially based on the doctrine of Supreme Identity...

Valsan introduced the study of Islamic esoteric doctrine, in particular that of Ibn Arabi and his school,

into the context of the "traditional studies" based around the work of René Guénon (Shaykh 'Abd al-

Wahid Yahya), of which he was a constant and effective defender. Although initially a disciple

of Frithjof Schuon, he later distanced himself from Schuon and theTraditionalist School, declaring his

independence in 1950.[citation needed]

Valsan served as the director and editor of, and regular contributor to, the journal Etudes

Traditionnelles from 1948 until his death in 1974. Valsan died in Paris, France at the age of 63. A

collection of his articles was republished in a posthumous compendium entitled L'Islam et la

Fonction de René Guénon (Editions de l'Oeuvre, Paris).

Barone Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola (Italian: [ vola]ˈɛː ;[1] May 19, 1898 – June 11, 1974) also known

as Julius Evola, was an Italian philosopher andesotericist. Evola regarded his perspectives and

spiritual values as aristocratic,masculine, traditionalist, heroic and defiantly reactionary.

Evola believed that mankind is living in the Kali Yuga, a Dark Age of unleashed materialistic

appetites, spiritual oblivion and organised deviancy. To counter this and call in a primordial rebirth,

Evola presented his world of Tradition. The core trilogy of Evola's works are generally regarded

as Revolt Against the Modern World, Men Among the Ruins and Ride the Tiger. According to one

scholar, "Evola’s thought can be considered one of the most radically and consistently

antiegalitarian, antiliberal, antidemocratic, and antipopular systems in the twentieth century."[2] Much

of Evola's theories and writings is centred on Evola's own idiosyncratic spiritualism and mysticism;

the inner life. He authored books covering themes such as Hermeticism, the metaphysics of war and

ofsex, Tantra, Buddhism, Taoism, mountaineering, the Holy Grail, the essence and history

of civilisations, decadence and various philosophic and religious Traditions dealing with both

the Classics and the Orient.

He was never a member of the Italian National Fascist Party (and thus rejected for not being a

member[3]), or the Italian Social Republic, and was furthermore engaged in constant criticism of

fascism and declaring he was an anti-fascist.[3]Evola regarded his position as that of a

sympathetic right-wing intellectual, saw potential in the movement and wished to reform its errors, to

a position in line with his own views. One of his successes was in regards to the racial laws; his

advocation of a spiritual consideration of race won out in the debate in Italy, rather than a

solely materialist reductionism concept popular in Germany. Since World War II many Radical

Traditionalist, New Right, Conservative Revolutionary, Fascist and Third Positionist groups have

taken inspiration from him, as well as several apolitical occultists, such as Thomas

Karlsson andMassimo Scaligero.

Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy (Tamil: ஆனந்த குமமாரசுவமாமம, Ānanda Kentiś Kumāraswāmī) (22

August 1877 − 9 September 1947) was a Ceylonesephilosopher and metaphysician, as well as a pioneering historian andphilosopher of Indian art, particularly art history and symbolism, and an earlyinterpreter of Indian culture to the West.[1] In particular, he is described as "the groundbreaking theorist who was largely responsible for introducing ancient Indian art to the West."[

René Guénon (November 15, 1886 – January 7, 1951), also known as Shaykh 'Abd al-Wahid

Yahya, was a French author and intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain

of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from metaphysics, "sacred science"[1] and traditional

studies[2]to symbolism and initiation.

In his writings, he proposes either "to expose directly some aspects of Eastern metaphysical

doctrines",[3] these doctrines being defined by him as of "universal character",[4] or "to adapt these

same doctrines for Western readers[5] while keeping strictly faithful to their spirit";[3] he only endorsed

the act of "handing down" these Eastern doctrines, while reiterating their "non-individual character".[6]

He wrote and published in French and his works have been translated into more than twenty

languages.

Mircea Eliade (Romanian: [ mirtˈ ͡ a eli ade]ʃee ˈ ; March 9 [O.S. February 24] 1907 – April 22, 1986) was

a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of

Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in

religious studies that persist to this day. His theory that hierophanies form the basis of religion,

splitting the human experience of reality into sacred and profane space and time, has proved

influential.[1] One of his most influential contributions to religious studies was his theory of Eternal

Return, which holds that myths and rituals do not simply commemorate hierophanies, but, at least to

the minds of the religious, actually participate in them.[1]

His literary works belong to the fantastic and autobiographical genres. The best known are the

novels Maitreyi ("La Nuit Bengali" or "Bengal Nights"),Noaptea de Sânziene ("The Forbidden

Forest"), Isabel și apele diavolului("Isabel and the Devil's Waters") and Romanul Adolescentului

Miop ("Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent"), the novellas Domnișoara Christina ("Miss Christina")

and Tinerețe fără tinerețe ("Youth Without Youth"), and the short stories Secretul doctorului

Honigberger ("The Secret of Dr. Honigberger") andLa Țigănci ("With the Gypsy Girls").

Early in his life, Eliade was a noted journalist and essayist, a disciple of Romanian far

right philosopher and journalist Nae Ionescu, and a member of the literary society Criterion. He also

served as cultural attaché to the United Kingdom and Portugal. Several times during the late 1930s,

Eliade publicly expressed his support for the Iron Guard, a fascist and antisemitic political

organization. His political involvement at the time, as well as his other far rightconnections, were

frequently criticised after World War II.

Noted for his vast erudition, Eliade had fluent command of five languages

(Romanian, French, German, Italian, and English) and a reading knowledge of three others

(Hebrew, Persian, and Sanskrit). He was elected a posthumous member of the Romanian Academy.

Marco Alexander Pallis (1895 – 5 June 1989) was a Greek-British author and mountaineer with close affiliations to the Traditionalist School. He wrote works on the religion and culture of Tibet.