Prayer Fashions Man: Frithjof Schuon on the Spiritual Life

Prayer Fashions Man is the second in a new series of titles from World Wisdom featuring the essential writings of Frithjof Schuon. The series begun by The Fullness of God : Frithjof Schuon on Christianity (World Wisdom, 2004) continues, with a collection of Schuon’s chapters on the deep seated human need for prayer — our primary way of communing with the Divine. The book is edited by James Cutsinger, who also edited Paths to the Heart: Sufism and the Christian East (World Wisdom, 2002) and Not of This World: A Treasury of Christian Mysticism (World Wisdom, 2003).

Frithjof Schuon was widely acknowledged by many scholars of mysticism and comparative religion as the twentieth century’s foremost metaphysician and exponent of the Perennial Philosophy. More than a scholar, however, he was above all a man of prayer, whose fundamental message was always linked to the importance of our consciousness of God. This anthology selects chapters from Schuon’s published twenty-three books as well as previously unpublished writings; its content ranges across the enormous spectrum of his writings on prayer and spiritual life. Presented in a fully revised English translation from the original French, this is a compelling portrait of one of the great Masters of our time.

The volume concludes with a short appendix of previously unpublished material, including samples from Schuon’s correspondence with various seekers. Editor’s notes, a glossary of foreign terms, and a comprehensive index are also included to make this volume a very useful tool for students, as well as a rich mine for seekers after the sacred.