Our next series will be an exegesis of Julius Evola’s masterful work on Early Buddhism: The Doctrine of Awakening. Of special interest for Lankavatarians is his treatment of the Ariyan Spirit, one that is reinforced through a proper understanding of ascesis, one that is totally divorced from standard westernized notions of extreme mortification of the senses. For Evola, the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold path (ariyamagga) is also far and away from corrupted western misconceptions, in particular the shallow notion of “universal compassion” which indeed continues to be a lingering bastardization of the Buddha’s original intent. Indeed, what Evola emphasizes is to completely and unequivocally “cut oneself off” from such notions, or in his words, “to stop taking part in the game.”
Evola’s thought can be considered as a wider part of a Gnosis for the Kali Yuga. As most of our posts here emphasize, what is needed more than anything else in this age is to work towards authentic awakening, which in light of Unborn Mind Zen is intimate growth in the Spirit of Bodhi. See you again soon…
Dude, Evola was a racist… why give him air time?
I see that our friendly “dude” from Slovenia has made another major generalization mistake. Not surprised. The following article helps to give a more well-informed perspective on what truly interested Evola in terms of race:
http://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/authors/Sunic-Evola.html
While not wanting to dwell on the “race-card” factor, suffice to say that Evola wrote about race in a region that was heavily influenced by the question, in particular the political havoc of the time. He added spiritual components that went far and beyond the biological, social and materialistic factors.
Yes, it’s me. I’m not hiding… I just assumed you blocked my other identity so I tried to input different random info.
The problem with your link is that it’s a racist website: “The Occidental Observer is an online publication whose mission statement is to “present original content touching on the themes of white identity, white interests, and the culture of the West. The publication claims that there is great need for efforts such as its own because, “overt expressions of white identity and white interests (or European-American identity and interests) are rarely found among the peoples who founded these societies and who continue to make up the majority.”
Do you see the problem of a journal that claims to serve “White interests” and promote pride in “White identity” might raise a little suspicion as to how reliable their defense of Evola might be?
Vajragoni, I know for a fact (from our talks) that your heart is in the right place when it comes to this, because I remember you talked about an interracial friendship you have.
So I’m not doubting your stance here, or accusing you of anything. However, I’m afraid you might have been deceived – like so many people before – when it comes to Evola.
There is an extreme right-wing fringe among the esoteric/spiritual scene you know, in the line of the Nazi Hindu Savatiri Devi, or some person we both know of who is very proud of his Apple products and his white skin, who calls himself “Aryan Buddhist” (also a fan of Evola incidentally…)
This is from Wikipedia – you can go to Evola’s Wiki and read under the “Fascism” and “Race” topics… you can check in the footnotes if they cite reliable sources or not. It’s all verifiable. It’s not a matter of opinion, it’s his actions and his statements.
Of course this doesn’t mean everything he wrote in his life is automatically worthless. That would be a “Reductio ad Hitlerum”: however, it’s a good idea to at least write a blog post in which you distance yourself from his racial views?
“But in spite of all these negative aspects, there was something in National Socialism that attracted Evola: the concept of a state ruled by an Order, which he felt was embodied by the SS. ‘We are inclined to the opinion that we can see the nucleus of an Order in the higher sense of tradition in the ‘Black Corps,’ he wrote in Vita Italiana (August 15, 1938). Again in Vita Italiana (August 1941), ‘Per una profonda alleanza italo-germanica'[11] he writes: ‘Beyond the confines of the party and of any political-administrative structure, an elite in the form of a new ‘Order’—that is, a kind of ascetic-military organization that is held together by the principles of ‘loyalty’ and ‘honor,’ must form the basis of the new state.’ As mentioned, Evola held the SS, which Himmler strove to design according to the model of the Teutonic Order, to be this elite.
A.J. Gregor comments: “In the [German translation of Imperialismo pagano], Evola considered principled anti-Semitism one of the essentials of a salvific ‘racial rebirth’ in the modern world. Not only did Evola make a point of identifying Karl Marx, one of the architects of the modern world of materialism, inferiority, pretended equality, and cultural decay, as a Jew–but he spoke of a Jewish capitalistic yoke that obstructed every effort at racial regeneration”[
In Revolt Against the Modern World, he said that he considered himself to be a critic of the “racist worldview” by which he meant the theories of mainstream Nazis and others of his contemporaries. However, he wrote an introduction to an Italian language version of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, that alleges a Jewish conspiracy to run the world through control of the media and finance, and replace the traditional social order with one based on mass manipulation.
Evola, a somewhat eccentric intellectual, accused Jews, as well as what he termed the “semitic spirit,”[52] of having a corrosive effect on the “Nordic” race (a race that was, in Evola’s mythology, analogous to the Nazi’s “Aryans”). Evola argued that not only Jews, but even non-Jews “Judaicized in their souls” must be combated by a “coherent, complete, impartial” anti-Semitism given the means to “identify and combat the Jewish mentality.”[53] Evola supported the Nazi anti-Semitic view that there was a hidden form of Jewish power and influence in the modern world; he thought this Jewish power was a symptom of the “modern” world’s lack of true aristocratic leadership. To some Evola was “to the right of Fascism”, although he remained a non-combatant theorist, he was identified with “Mediterranean nationalist” scholars who believed Jewishness and Italians were incompatible.
(The Fascist leader) Mussolini read Evola’s Sintesi di Dottrina della Razza in August 1941, and met with Evola to offer him his praise. Evola later recounted that Mussolini had found in his work a uniquely Roman form of fascist racism distinct from that found in Nazi Germany. With Mussolini’s backing, Evola launched the minor-journal Sangue e Spirito (Blood and Spirit). While not always in agreement with German racial theorists, Evola traveled to Germany in February 1942 and obtained support for German collaboration on Sangue e Spirito from leading Nazi race theorists.”
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Etc. etc. there’s too much material to post here.
(I had a similar problem when I studied the philosopher Heidegger, who actually joined the Nazi Party… one has to ask then: was it just a mistaken judgement or is there something profoundly wrong with his worldview that it lead to such an action? Kind of like the Zen priests supporting Japan’s atrocities in WW2… my opinion is that it’s too easy to dismiss it just as a mistaken political opinion… there must be something more. But perhaps write a blog post about it and elaborate on this interesting topic?)
“Do you see the problem of a journal that claims to serve “White interests” and promote pride in “White identity” might raise a little suspicion as to how reliable their defense of Evola might be?”
I don’t see that journal vying for white supremacy; perhaps a more balanced picture given today’s en-culturation–wherein anything considered “white” is a misnomer and taboo. Interesting to see a counter-position to all that.
Evola’s past was intimate with fascism–such was the state of affairs in his Italy from the ’20’s till ’40s; indeed, there were many strange bedfellows at the time…perhaps in your own country as well with some racist neo-nazi ties. Even though, Evola’s link with fascism was not racist as in the Nazi sense, even though he liked the “structure” of the SS, NOT its ideology.
We will be covering his sense of “race” in this series. I for one, have no link with fascist or racist ideas–but on the other hand I will not drop Evola with his abundant realization of spirituality. Also, I’m not one to bend over and cave in to asinine “politically correct” persuasions–which indeed are oftentimes racist in themselves.
Also, you wrote:
“He added spiritual components that went far and beyond the biological, social and materialistic factors.”
This is true. However, we have to be careful about what that really means.
He – like Heidegger – was disappointed about Nazism’s crude biologism. What Evola wanted to see was a more spiritual Nazism. But isn’t giving “spiritual support” to a profoundly demonic and wicked ideology even worse than denying it any sort of spiritual dimension? Do you know what I’m aiming at?
Does Nazism needs “spiritual interpretation” to become acceptable?
Or is the proper response to Nazism – not sublimation, not spiritualization – but a simple “No!” … the No! of a Dietrich Bonhoeffer who had to suffer and die for it in prison…?
Thank you for the balanced response. I agree with you that the P.C. attacks can be very discriminatory in themselves.
“White” as a term makes sense only in America. In Europe, it could never make sense, because “Whites” are racists towards other “Whites”!
Are Greeks “white”? Are Slavic people “white”? The “White Nationalists” today disagree. Some say, yes, Greeks are whites; some disagree. They certainly don’t resemble the Nordic ideal.
Others disagree about the Slavic peoples. As for me, I agree with Nietzsche when he wrote that Jews have given us “the greatest book”, the noblest human (Christ), and one of the purest philosophers (Spinoza). How can we not have but the utmost respect for such a noble race?
Anyway, I look forward to your upcoming posts.
(Lately I’ve been quite fond of Wittgenstein, another Jew! A great philosopher with an affinity towards the mystical. I wonder if you ever studied him, and what was your impression.)
Evola penned a later essay on Buddhism, “Spiritual Virility in Buddhism”, which provides a useful summary of his “Doctrine of Awakening.” It may be read here: http://www.counter-currents.com/2013/06/spiritual-virility-in-buddhism/
(The blog you posted contains links to extremely racist texts all over, such as Savitri Devi’s works. She made pilgrimages to Adolf Hitler’s grave and claimed he was an avatar of Vishnu. I’m not accusing you of anything, it’s just to make you aware of the danger of right-wing mystic circles that do exist around Ebola’s work. Let’s be mindful lest we mix Buddha-Dharma with that sinister worldview. It is like mixing white rice with excrement, to borrow a simile from Nichiren.)
This article by J. Evola originally appeared in the academic journal “East and West”, founded and edited by Professor Giuseppe Tucci. The complete reference is: East and West, Vol. 7, No. 4 (JANUARY 1957), pp. 319-327.
Not everyone has access to academic databases such as Jstor, hence my posting the link to the site where it may be freely read. For those who do have access, it may be read here: http://www.jstor.org/stable/29753843
Morality on the path of LIBERATION is like dog poop on a ZEN rock. NO, no, no! Straightjackets. And keep’em tight for greater comfort.