Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines

Introduction to the Study of the Hindu doctrines was René Guénon's first major book. It was published by and endorsed by Catholic publishers and scholars, despite its sympathetic treatment of a non-Christian religion. The book is based on his Ph.D. thesis. His Ph.D. thesis was rejected by Indologist Sylvain Lévi because it didn't conform to the standard Indological scholarship of the time. The book, published in 1921, some topics of which will be included in the lecture he will give at the Sorbonne, December 17, 1925 ("Oriental Metaphysics"), consists of four parts. The first part ("preliminary questions") exposes the hurdles that prevented classical orientalism from a deep understanding of eastern doctrines (without forgetting that René Guénon had of course in view the orientalism of his time). The "general characters of eastern thought" part focuses on the principles of unity of the eastern civilizations, on the definition of the notions of "tradition" and "metaphysics". The third part: "the Hindu doctrines" introduces some of the most fundamental ideas in Hindu doctrines. The fourth and last part exposes what René Guénon calls the erroneous western interpretations.