glossary of terms used by frithjof schuon - Sophia Perennis

arguments. First, no evil can take anything away from the Sovereign Good or ought to
disturb our relationship with God; we must never lose sight of absolute values when in
contact with the absurd. Second, we must be conscious of the metaphysical necessity of
evil; “it must needs be that offences come.” Third, let us not lose sight of the limits or the
relativity of evil; for God shall have the last word. Fourthly, it is clearly necessary to be
resigned to God’s will, that is, to our destiny; destiny, by definition, is what we cannot
but encounter; and thus it is an aspect of ourselves. Fifth – and this follows from the
preceding argument – God wishes to try our faith, hence also our sincerity and our
patience, not to mention our gratitude; this is why one speaks of the “trials of life.” Sixth,
God will not ask us to account for what others do, nor for what happens to us without our
being directly responsible for it; He will only ask us to account for what we are directly
responsible for; He will only ask us to account for what we ourselves do. Seventh and
last, pure happiness is not for this life, it is for the next; perfection is not of this world, but
this world is not everything, and the last word belongs to Beatitude. [RHC, Cosmic
Shadows and Serenity]
Serenity is Beauty of the True. [RH, Peace]
Shahadatan: The doctrine of Islam consists of two statements: first “There is no divinity
(or reality, or absolute) save the sole Divinity (or Reality, or Absolute)” (La ilaha illa
’Llah), and “Muhammad (the Glorified, the Perfect) is the Messenger (the spokesman,
the intermediary, the manifestation, the symbol) of the Divinity” (Muhammadun Rasulu
’Llah); these are the first and the second Testimonies (Shahadatan) of the faith. [UI,
Islam]
Shakti: The term shakti means fundamentally the efficient energy of the Supreme
Principle envisaged in itself or at a given ontological degree. For the Principle, or let us
say the metacosmic Order, comprises degrees and modes in virtue of Universal
Relativity, Maya, in which it reverberates.
In the domain of the spiritual life, the same term shakti signifies the celestial energy that
allows man to enter into contact with the Divinity, by means of the appropriate rites and
on the basis of a traditional system. Essentially, this divine Shakti aids and attracts: She
aids as “Mother,” and attracts as “Virgin”; Her aid descends upon us from Heaven,
whereas Her attraction raises us towards Heaven. This is to say that the Shakti, as
pontifex, on the one hand confers a second birth, and on the other offers liberating graces.
In the Absolute, the Shakti is the aspect of Infinitude that coincides with All-Possibility
and gives rise to Maya, the universal and efficient Shakti. [RHC, Mahashakti]
Shamanism: The word “Shamanism” is used here to mean the traditions of prehistoric
origin that are associated with Mongoloid peoples, including the American Indians. [FS,
The Shamanism of the Red Indians]
Sign: The word “sign” when it does not relate to phenomena of this world, is applied to
the verses of the Quran, and this clearly shows the analogy between Nature and
Revelation. [UI, The Prophet]
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