Symbol and Archetype: A Study in the Meaning of Existence (1) (Quinta Essentia series) - Softcover

Lings, Martin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1870196058 ISBN 13: 9781870196055

Publisher: Fons Vitae, 1991

Synopsis

Were one to truly understand the levels of significance provided by such symbols as are presented in this work, one would indeed be well on the way to grasping the nature and purpose of human life and the meaning of existence as understood by the great esoteric systems of spirituality. We are shown in this volume certain aspects of symbolism as they relate to the Divine, the hierarchy of this universe, the function of man, his faculties and qualities. Symbolism is defined in a renewed consciousness that everything—numbers, elements, senses, and colors—has a vertical dimension that gives it a divine significance. This book does not claim to be exhaustive. Its purpose is to enable the reader to dwell on certain basic aspects of symbolism in relation to the Divinity. With references to all the world’s great faith traditions, both ancient and current (with special attention devoted to Christianity and Islam), Lings demonstrates how the science of symbols is inextricably linked with the path of Return.

About this title

About the Author

Martin Lings is the former Keeper of Oriental Manuscripts in the British Museum and the British Library, and the author of works on Islamic mysticism, spirituality, and symbolism.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Were one to truly understand the levels of significance provided by such symbols as are presented in this work, one would indeed be well on the way to grasping the nature and purpose of human life and the meaning of existence as understood by the great esoteric systems of spirituality. We are shown in this volume certain aspects of symbolism as they relate to the Divine, the hierarchy of this universe, the function of man, his faculties and qualities. Symbolism is defined in a renewed consciousness that everything—numbers, elements, senses, and colors—has a vertical dimension that gives it a divine significance. What is Symbolism? The answer to this question has been known to challenge altogether man’s life; and ignorance of it can reasonably be said to have produced all the gravest problems of our time. Martin Lings here gives us the answer in the clearest terms, with an unusually wide scope of illustration, a versatility to which the list of the chapters headings bear some witness. “The answer to the question ‘What is Symbolism?’, if deeply understood, has been known to change altogether a man’s life; and it could indeed be said that most of the problems of the modern world result from ignorance of that answer. As to the past however, there is no traditional doctrine which does not teach that this world is the world of symbols, inasmuch as it contains nothing which is not a symbol. A man should therefore understand at least what that means, not only because he has to live in the herebelow but also and above all because without such understanding he would fail to understand himself, he being the supreme and central symbol in the terrestrial state. Needless to say, this little book does not claim to be exhaustive. Its purpose is to enable the reader to dwell on certain basic aspects of symbolism in relation to the Divinity, the hierarchy of the universe, the function of man, his faculties and his qualities, the conditions to which he is subject, the natural objects which surround him, his works of art, and his final ends, all with reference to the great living religions of the world, and in particular to Christianity and Islam.” -from the Preface

Edition details

• Publisher: Fons Vitae
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1870196058
• ISBN 13: 9781870196055
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 141