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Adastra and Stella Maris
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Adastra and Stella Maris: Poems by Frithjof Schuon
Adastra and Stella Maris: Poems by Frithjof Schuon
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Author(s): 
Subjects(s): 
Inspirational
Metaphysics
Poetry

Price:  $19.95

ISBN:  0-941532-56-9
Book Size:  6"× 9"
# of Pages:  288
Language:  English and German



Description

During the last three years of his life Frithjof Schuon wrote approximately 3,500 short poems in his mother tongue German. These poems, which have been called “metaphysical music,” cover every possible aspect of spiritual doctrine, practice and virtue, as well as the role and function of beauty. They express every conceivable subtlety of spiritual and moral counsel – and this is not merely in general terms, but with uncanny intimacy, detail and precision. They express the same unerring sharpness of intellect, profundity, comprehensiveness and compassion which one finds in the range of Schuon’s better-known dialectical writings. Adastra and Stella Maris: Poems by Frithjof Schuon also contains an insightful foreword by Dr. William Stoddart .

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Detailed Description of Adastra and Stella Maris

During the last three years of his life Frithjof Schuon wrote approximately 3,500 short poems in his mother tongue German. These poems, which have been called “metaphysical music,” cover every possible aspect of spiritual doctrine, practice and virtue, as well as the role and function of beauty. They express every conceivable subtlety of spiritual and moral counsel – and this is not merely in general terms, but with uncanny intimacy, detail and precision. They express the same unerring sharpness of intellect, profundity, comprehensiveness and compassion which one finds in the range of Schuon’s better-known dialectical writings.

Some of the poems are autobiographical, with reminiscences of places experienced: Basle and Paris, the fairy-tale streets of old German towns, Morocco and Andalusia, Turkey and Greece, the American West. Others evoke the genius of certain peoples, such as the Hindus, the Japanese, the Arabs, the American Indians, and also the Cossacks and the Gypsies. Yet other poems elucidate the role of music, dance, and poetry itself. Occasionally, the superficiality of the modern world comes in for biting, and sometimes fiercely humorous, comment:

A worldly banquet: chandeliers glitter
In the large hall –
And brilliant society, ladies and gentlemen,
Sit down for the meal.
They talk of everything and they talk of nothing –
The wine is red,
And so are the flowers. But no one, no one
Thinks of death.

Adastra and Stella Maris: Poems by Frithjof Schuon represent the heart of Schuon’s German poems. These two books, combined in one volume, express, in the words of Annemarie Schimmel, “a mystery that lies beyond the normal human expression…Here we listen to the thinker who, far from the complicated scholarly sentences of his learned prose works, sings the simple prayers of the longing soul…” The German, which perfectly reflects the most ancient canons of the prosodic norm, carries the echo of a nightingale in the gardens of Paradise. Each poem is a diamond – sparkling and clear, an architectural masterpiece full of light. The beauty of this poetry, which irresistibly combines profundity and simplicity, touches upon that luminous center where the way of knowledge and the path of love converge. Readers familiar with Schuon’s many books and articles will find here the same elements that characterize the rest of his vast corpus: universality, essentiality, primordiality; yet in a form that makes his message more accessible. These lyrics speak to the heart, the mind and the soul with compelling immediacy. The spiritual traveler may carry this book for a lifetime and not exhaust its content, because its content is the inexhaustibly beautiful life of the spirit.

Adastra and Stella Maris: Poems by Frithjof Schuon also contains an insightful foreword by Dr. William Stoddart .


About the Author(s)

William Stoddart

William Stoddart (June 25, 1925–November 9, 2023) was a Perennialist author, editor, and translator who was active in advancing the understanding of the writings of Frithjof Schuon, Titus Burckhardt, and others, for over 50 years. Dr. Stoddart's most recent publications with World Wisdom are An Illustrated Outline of Buddhism: The Essentials of Buddhist Spirituality, What Does Islam Mean in Today’s World?, and Outline of Sufism: The Essentials of Islamic Spirituality. A compilation of his writings, Remembering in a World of Forgetting, was edited by M. Soares de Azevedo and A. Vasconcellos Queiroz. Stoddart also edited The Essential Titus Burckhardt, and was perhaps the greatest authority on the work of this great Swiss traditionalist. Dr. Stoddart's other contributions in World Wisdom books include:
 

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Frithjof Schuon

Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998) is best known as the foremost spokesman of the “Traditionalist” or “Perennialist” school and as a philosopher in the metaphysical current of Shankara and Plato. He wrote more than two dozen books on metaphysical, spiritual, artistic, and ethnic themes and was a regular contributor to journals on comparative religion in both Europe and America. Schuon’s writings have been consistently featured and reviewed in a wide range of scholarly and philosophical publications around the world, respected by both scholars and spiritual authorities. Besides his prose writings, Schuon was also a prolific poet (see a listing of Schuon's poetry books) and a gifted painter of images that always portrayed the beauty and power of the divine, and the nobility and virtue of primordial humanity.

World Wisdom features a series titled "The Writings of Frithjof Schuon", which includes many new editions of classic books by Schuon in new translations and with additional materials. Our online Library contains many articles and poems written by Frithjof Schuon, allowing readers to see a representative sample of his remarkable body of work.

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Reviews of Adastra and Stella Maris

"..here we listen to the thinker who, far from the intricate and complex sentences of his learned prose works, sings the simple prayers of the longing soul: God is the center, the primordial ground which comprehends everything, manifesting Himself through the colorful play of His creations.”
Annemarie Schimmel; author of Mystical Dimensions of Islam and I Am Wind, You Are Fire: The Life and Work of Rumi



"The beauty of Schuon's poetry touches upon that luminous center where the way of knowledge and the path of love converge."
Patrick Laude, Georgetown University.




Table of Contents for Adastra and Stella Maris

Contents

Foreword
by William Stoddart

Preface

Part I: Adastra

Poems in English and German

Part II: Stella Maris

Poems in English and German

Index of First Lines


Excerpts from Adastra and Stella Maris


 
The following selections are some poems in their original German, immediately followed by their English translations.
Individual poems are divided by darker, full-width lines.
 




Zum Eingang


Es floss aus meinem Herzen mancher Sang;
Ich sucht ihn nicht, er ward mir eingegeben.
O mög der gottgeschenkten Harfe Klang
Die Seele läutern, uns zum Himmel heben —

Möge das Licht der Wahrheit sich verbinden
Mit Liebe, unsrem Streben zum Geleit;
Und mögen unsre Seelen Gnade finden —

Den Weg von Gott zu Gott — in Ewigkeit.



As an Entry


Out of my heart flowed many songs;
I sought them not, they were inspired in me.
O may the sound of the God-given harp
Purify the soul and raise us to Heaven —

May the light of Truth unite
With love to accompany our striving,
And may our souls find grace —

The path from God to God — in eternity.
 




Adastra


Ad astra — zu den Sternen — strebt die Seele,
Die eine ungestillte Sehnsucht drängt.
O Weg der Wahrheit, Schönheit, den ich wähle —
Des Gottgedenkens, das die Seele tränkt.

Du bist das Lied, das alles Sehnen stillt —
Das Gnadenlicht; schein in das Herz hinein!
Der Herr ist unsre Zuflucht, unser Schild —

Sei du mit Ihm, und Er wird mit dir sein.



Adastra


Ad astra — to the stars — the soul is striving,
Called by an unstilled longing.
O path of Truth and Beauty that I choose —
Of God-remembrance that pervades the soul!

Thou art the song that stills all longing —
The Light of Grace; shine into my heart!
The Lord is our Refuge, our Shield —

Be thou with Him, and He will be with thee.
 




Memento


Wenn du auf Gottes Boden stehst,
Wenn du auf Gottes Wege gehst,
Bedaure niemals, was vergeht —
Die Träume, die der Wind verweht.

Der Wahrheit Boden schwanket nicht;
Der Weg des Heils ist Trost und Licht.
Vor Falschem mach die Augen zu;
Im Wahren ist der Seele Ruh.

Wohl dem, der sich nicht täuschen lässt;
Auf einem Felsen steht er fest.
Auf deinem Weg schau nicht zurück;
Denn zeitlos ist des Herzens Glück.

Es kann nicht anders sein: es muss
Auch Arges geben und Verdruss.
Der Allerhöchste sei dein Hort;
Der Liebe ist das letzte Wort.

Wahrheit und Treue sind die Kraft
Die alles Gute wirkt und schafft.
Kampf ist wohl das Gesetz der Zeit;
Von Frieden singt die Ewigkeit.

Wahrheit und Treu sind eine Macht,
Daraus ist unser Herz gemacht.
Und Licht und Liebe sind ein Sang
Der vor der Zeit in Gott erklang.



Memento


When thou art standing on God’s ground,
When thou art walking on God’s path,
Never regret what is fleeting —
Dreams the wind sweeps away.

The ground of Truth can never falter,
The path of salvation is solace and light.
Before falsehood close thine eyes;
The soul’s repose lies in the True.

Blest is he who is not deceived;
He stands fast upon a rock.
On thy way do not look back;
For timeless is the heart’s happiness.

It cannot be otherwise:
Wrongs and vexations must exist.
Let the Most High be thy Refuge;
The final word belongs to Love.

Truth and faithfulness are the force
That begets all good and makes it prosper.
Struggle is indeed the law of time;
Eternity sings of Peace.

Truth and faithfulness are a power
Of which our heart is made.
And Light and Love are a song
That resounded in God, before time began.
 




Serenitas


Bei Gott, dem Höchsten Gut, bist du geborgen.
Des Bösen Werk ist eitel Trug und Schein.
So lass den Kummer, mach dir keine Sorgen.
Sei du bei Gott, und Er wird bei dir sein.

Nie sollst du deinen Blick vom Einen wenden;
Es ist des Lebens Zweck und Sinn.
Das Weltgetriebe ist in Gottes Händen
Und nicht in deiner Macht; schau du nicht hin.

Zuerst Ergebenheit, dann Gottvertrauen;
Der Weg zu Gott ist nicht so weit.
So magst du, Seele, in die Zukunft schauen —
Und in das Licht der Ewigkeit.



Serenitas


In God, the Sovereign Good, thou art secure;
The Enemy’s work is but a vain delusion.
So leave aside thy care, be not distressed;
Be thou with God, and He will be with thee.

Turn not thy gaze from Him who is the One;
He is the aim and meaning of thy life.
The turmoil of the world is in God’s Hands,
Not in thy power; pay no heed to it.

First resignation, and then trust in God;
The way to God is not so far.
May thou, O soul, look toward the future —
And toward the radiance of Eternity.
 




Veritas


Zuerst die Wahrheit, die uns alles klärt;
Dann unser Werden, was die Wahrheit kündet.
Und dann der Name, der mit Licht uns nährt —
Dann auch die Schönheit, die ins Eine mündet.

Sei du bei Gott, und Gott wird bei dir sein;
Nie sollst du deinen Blick vom Einen wenden.
Die Wahrheit wirkt in deines Herzens Schrein —

Und alles andre ist in Gottes Händen.



Veritas


First the Truth, that clarifies all things;
Then our becoming what the Truth proclaims.
And then the Name that nourishes with Light —
Then Beauty, flowing back into the One.

Be thou with God, and God will be with thee;
Turn not thy gaze from Him who is the One.
The living Truth will act in thy heart’s shrine —

All else lies in the Hands of God.

 



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