Revolt Against the Modern World (Julius Evola) - Episode 6: The Mystery of the Rite

[Jacques de Imbelloni]

In this episode in our series on Julius Evola 's "Revolt Against the Modern World", we cover Chapter 5: The Mystery of the Rite. This chapter explores the significance of ritual action, and in particular sacrificial rites, and how these rites generate a heroic quality in man and maintain the divine connection between men and gods. See below for links, lyrics, and additional info. Please like and share this video to help spread Tradition far and wide, for in the Golden Age, these perennial ideas were known by all and even taken for granted. It is only in the Dark Age that they fall into obscurity. Let us rebuild these ancient pathways, that we may find our way back to the light. We also welcome any user-contributed foreign language translations. One note I feel I must make mention of for those who are also reading along in the book is Evola’s mention of Brahman on page 30, which is a very brief reference but may lead the reader who is unfamiliar with Vedic theology to draw the wrong conclusion about the nature of God (Brahman). I have attempted to clarify this in the video in a way that accurately represents both Evola and the Vedic teachings. I think it is unlikely that Evola would have misunderstood this essential cornerstone of Vedic theology and that the perceived error may be due to a combination of translation issues and the fact that he does not delve into any explanation of this that might have shed more light on what he meant. In any case, I have done my best to remain true to both sources and explain it in a way that a layperson can hopefully understand. I must give special thanks and acknowledgement to Sri Dharma Pravartaka Archarya for his help in reconciling this.

[Ouistreham]

Oh please.
I've read most of Evola's essays (mostly in the original Italian versions but a few of them are available in French) and let me say that: that's just a heap of shit. The man was immensely intelligent and knowledgeable, but his books are a waste of time and oxygen.
His basic principle was that: the world is ruled by the low of involution, whereby, whatever we do and think and try, tomorrow will be worse than today.
I can't think of any more toxic and demobilizing thinking.

[Jacques de Imbelloni]

Oh please.
I've read most of Evola's essays (mostly in the original Italian versions but a few of them are available in French) and let me say that: that's just a heap of shit. The man was immensely intelligent and knowledgeable, but his books are a waste of time and oxygen.
His basic principle was that: the world is ruled by the low of involution, whereby, whatever we do and think and try, tomorrow will be worse than today.
I can't think of any more toxic and demobilizing thinking.

His works seems to be a mish mash of Comparative religion, anthropology, linguistics, oriental studies with theosophy and Ariosophy. The most academic part of his works makes it readable, but I have my doubts on how well versed was he in oriental philosophies.

[sean]

Julius Evola wanted a return of the pre-WW1 monarchies (he actually criticised Mussolini's regime from the right, as not "fascist enough"). He saw the forces of progressivism winning over tradition because they were ineffective at maintaining traditions or were controlled opposition at worst. Evola hated the modern world because it's soul-less, and the same forces that control capitalism also controlled communism.

But he uses the word "tradition" in a specific, esoteric sense. It has nothing to do with God and guns, wearing a tie to work, nuclear families or whatever you may associate with "tradition". But it was based on an occult perspective that the West had to reorient itself to an intense primordial tradition similar to that imagined by the Nazis (his main point was that if the laws and rulers were chosen by "above", that being from the ethereal realm and quite literally blessed by the gods to rule, then those at the bottom of the caste would be doing the most they could to contribute to an orderly society by obeying), in order to avoid the degradation of the Kali Yuga (although Kali Yuga has been going on for a while, it began 5,123 years ago, the catholic monarchy losing their transcendent authority led to the French Revolution. The loss of initiation rites which established a connection to the divine led to the Age of Enlightenment), a Hindu concept of sequential periods of time, with the Kali Yuga centered in human degradation and near total destruction.

Evola is a spiritual-oriented type of person, in his book Revolt Against the Modern World he puts forth the idea of spiritual races whose incarnations are determined by their spiritual worthiness, divided racially and culturally, and even provides different sources from different civilisations' accounts that the so-called Aryan beings from the North have clearly distinct physical characteristics that the rest of the upcoming populations don't share (in some civilisations they are described as beings created from pure light, whereas the lesser ones are made of water).



Toward the end of his life, Evola toned down his attacks on Christianity and on the Catholic Church in particular (his primary gripe against Christianity is that it was imported into the West at the time Rome was collapsing). While maintaining that Christianity was "incompatible" with his worldview, he claimed that, in an increasingly materialistic world, a "sincere conversion to Catholicism could be an advancement" for those incapable of embracing a more authentic spirituality. He has stated the Church served an important role in the West. His book Mysteries of the Grail is probably the best to reference on this.

[Laly]

I find interesting his indictment of the idea of progress, as well as the fact that for him, a just society is compulsorily ordered from metaphysical principles.

But I’m really not a fan of him and his clique of Islamophiles. I find, for ex., what he says on Islam totally ridiculous. His thought leader, René Guénon, even converted to Islam. And Louis Massignon, the Catholic Islamophile Islamologist – more syncretist than anything else, is certainly one of the most noxious individuals of the XXth century, for being the great initiator of the so-called “Muslim-Christian dialogue” and for having had such a huge influence on Vatican II Council, for example on Lumen Gentium and Nostra aetate.

[Laly]

Oh please.
I've read most of Evola's essays (mostly in the original Italian versions but a few of them are available in French) and let me say that: that's just a heap of shit. The man was immensely intelligent and knowledgeable, but his books are a waste of time and oxygen.
His basic principle was that: the world is ruled by the low of involution, whereby, whatever we do and think and try, tomorrow will be worse than today.
I can't think of any more toxic and demobilizing thinking.

Actually, I don’t think it’s fair to absolutize the idea of involution in Evola’s thought, because he doesn’t see time as being linear, but cyclic. According to him, things are always getting worse until a new cycle begins, with a new golden age.

[Adamm]

Never read Evola, I have read some of Rene Guenon's works which Evola took inspiration from.

[Colonel Frank Grimes]

I've never wasted my time with Evola. I have an aversion to mysticism. But I'll educate myself on the man by reading Reddit and give you an opinion in twenty minutes.

[Anglo-Celtic]

I've never wasted my time with Evola. I have an aversion to mysticism. But I'll educate myself on the man by reading Reddit and give you an opinion in twenty minutes.

I'm familiar with that. It's called the Sean Strategy in academe.

[Laly]

I've never wasted my time with Evola. I have an aversion to mysticism. But I'll educate myself on the man by reading Reddit and give you an opinion in twenty minutes.

Actually, Julius Evola was, like his thought leader René Guénon, rather opposed to mysticism, because he said it falls under the feminine dimension of the soul, which he denigrated for being passive and limiting access to transcendence. He explains that in Metaphysics of Sex.