New Releases by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

With this volume of poetry, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, whose name the reader usually associates with the philosopher, the historian and the scientist, firmly establishes his role as a spiritual mentor of the highest rank. In Poems of the Way, the poet describes the spiritual path and invites us to realize what our true transcendent destination really is. Nasr''s poetical rendering of the Way uncovers increasingly deeper spiritual secrets of the mystical path. In English and Persian.

This is a spiritual tour de force which explores the relationship between Man and Nature as found in Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, particularly its Sufi dimension.

The current ecological crisis is a matter of urgent global concern, with solutions being sought on many fronts. In this book, Seyyed Hossein Nasr argues that the devastation of our world has been exacerbated, if not actually caused, by the reductionist view of nature that has been advanced by modern secular science. What is needed, he believes, is the recovery of the truth to which the great, enduring religions all attest; namely that nature is sacred. Nasr traces the historical process through which Western civilization moved away from the idea of nature as sacred and embraced a world view which sees humans as alienated from nature and nature itself as a machine to be dominated and manipulated by humans. His goal is to negate the totalitarian claims of modern science and to re-open the way to the religious view of the order of nature, developed over centuries in the cosmologies and sacred sciences of the great traditions. Each tradition, Nasr shows, has a wealth of knowledge and experience concerning the order of nature. The resuscitation of this knowledge, he argues, would allow religions all over the globe to enrich each other and cooperate to heal the wounds inflicted upon the Earth.

This volume brings together essays spanning four decades of Nasr''s prolific and learned scholarship.

Includes material on Islamic responses to modern Western religion, philosophy, science, technology, politics, economics, education, art, and lifestyles.

The meaning of a science rooted in the sacred, its contrast to modern science and its pertinence to us today.

Distinction entre l''islam traditionnel et les diverses formes de fondamentalisme. Présentation de trois grands interprètes occidentaux de la pensée et de la civilisation islamiques : Louis Massignon, Henri Corbin et Titus Burckhardt. En troisième partie, les divers courants de pensée qui traversent actuellement le monde islamique.

With remarkable breadth of vision, Seyyed Hossein Nasr reveals for both Western and Muslim readers how each art form in the islamic tradition is based upon a science of nature concerned, not with the outer appearance of things, but with their inner reality. Ranging across calligraphy, painting, architecture, literature, music, and the plastic arts, Nasr penetrates to the inner dimension of Islam and shows the role art plays in the life of individual Muslims and the community as a whole—the role of inspiring the remembrance and contemplation of God. Once the author establishes art as an aid and support to the spiritual life, he traces the creative act to its ultimate source: inner knowledge and barakah, or grace, which make the crystallization of inner realities in form and space and time possible. Through this knowledge and grace, the author asserts, unity manifests upon the plane of multiplicity, making archetypal realities perceivable by the senses. Through this knowledge and grace, art functions as a ladder for the journey of the soul from the visible to the invisible. How Islamic art leads man to the inner chamber of divine revelation forms the substance of much of this important work. An especially close look is given to the Sufi tradition within Islam, for its mystical teachers have often clearly demonstrated in their works the spiritual significance of beauty and served as the source of inspiration for art. By rediscovering the root of art in the Islamic tradition, Seyyed Hossein Nasr opens doors to new dimensions of unity which have seemingly been obscured in recent Western art. In so doing, he extends the significance of this book beyond the Islamic belief system to touch the hearts and creative impulses of readers from all traditions.