¶1 Modern disorder, as we have said, originated in the West, and, until recent years, it had always remained strictly localised there;1 but now a fact is occurring whose gravity must not be concealed: this disorder is spreading everywhere and seems to be reaching even the East.2 Certainly, Western encroachment3 is not a very recent thing, but until now it was limited to a more or less brutal domination exercised over other peoples, the effects of which were limited to the political and economic domain; in spite of all the efforts of a propaganda assuming multiple forms, the Eastern spirit was impenetrable to all deviations, and the ancient traditional civilisations subsisted intact.4 Today, on the contrary, there are Easterners who have more or less completely ‘Westernised’ themselves,5 who have abandoned their tradition to adopt all the aberrations of the modern spirit, and these misguided elements, thanks to the teaching of European and American universities, become in their own country a cause of trouble and agitation.6 Moreover, it is not appropriate to exaggerate its importance, at least for the moment: in the West, one readily imagines that these noisy but few individuals represent the present-day East, whereas, in reality, their action is neither very extensive nor very profound; this illusion is easily explained, for one does not know the true Easterners, who moreover do not seek at all to make themselves known, and the ‘modernists’, if one may call them that, are the only ones who show themselves abroad, speak, write and agitate in every way.7 Nevertheless, it remains true that this anti-traditional movement may gain ground, and one must envisage all eventualities, even the most unfavourable; already, the traditional spirit is, as it were, withdrawing into itself, the centres where it is integrally preserved become more and more closed and difficult to access;8 and this generalisation of disorder corresponds exactly to what must occur in the final phase of the Kali Yuga.9
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Summary

Guénon observes that modern disorder, which originated and long remained localised in the West, is now spreading everywhere and reaching even the East. While earlier Western encroachment was limited to political and economic domination, leaving Eastern spirit intact, some Easterners have now become ‘Westernised’, abandoning their own traditions. He cautions against exaggerating the importance of these few noisy individuals, who are mistaken for the true East only because the authentic Easterners do not seek publicity. Nevertheless, this anti-traditional movement may gain ground, and the traditional spirit is already withdrawing into itself, with its integral centres becoming more closed and inaccessible. He concludes that this generalisation of disorder corresponds to what must occur in the final phase of the Kali Yuga.

General notes

  1. désordre moderne — Rendered as ‘modern disorder’. Guénon recalls that disorder (the rupture with traditional order) is a properly Western phenomenon, born in Europe. Until a recent period (the first decades of the 20th century), this disorder remained confined to the West and had not yet contaminated the traditional civilisations of the East. ↩︎
  2. le désordre gagne l’Orient — Rendered as ‘disorder reaches the East’. Guénon observes with concern that modernity (materialism, individualism, secularisation) is beginning to penetrate the traditional Eastern civilisations (India, China, Japan, the Islamic world). This is a major historical turning point for him. ↩︎
  3. envahissement occidental — Rendered as ‘Western encroachment’. Guénon means by this term the colonial and imperialist expansion of the West (European then American) across the world. It is not only military conquest, but also economic and cultural. In this context, the term implies a forced and destructive penetration. ‘Encroachment’ captures the gradual, invasive, and unwelcome character of this expansion. ↩︎
  4. l’esprit oriental impénétrable aux déviations modernes — Rendered as ‘the Eastern spirit impenetrable to modern deviations’. Guénon affirms that Eastern civilisations, despite colonial domination, had succeeded in preserving their traditional soul. The ‘Eastern spirit’ (the traditional mentality, attached to spiritual principles) naturally resisted Western materialism and individualism. ↩︎
  5. Orientaux « occidentalisés » — Rendered as ‘“Westernised” Easterners’. Guénon means by this term the Eastern elites trained in European and American universities, who have abandoned their own tradition to adopt the values, modes of thought and ideologies of the modern West (nationalism, socialism, liberalism, materialism). He also calls them ‘modernists’. ↩︎
  6. éléments dévoyés formés par les Universités occidentales — Rendered as ‘misguided elements formed by Western universities’. Guénon criticises the role of Western educational institutions (schools, universities, missions) which train uprooted Eastern elites, cut off from their tradition and become agents of the modernisation (and therefore the destruction) of their own societies. ↩︎
  7. les « modernistes » seuls visibles, les vrais Orientaux restent cachés — Rendered as ‘the “modernists” alone visible, the true Easterners remain hidden’. Guénon explains why the West believes that the East has modernised: Westerners encounter only the Westernised elites (who speak English, write books, travel). The authentic Easterners, attached to their tradition, do not seek to make themselves known to foreigners and live in seclusion. The West therefore takes the noisy but tiny part for the whole. ↩︎
  8. repli de l’esprit traditionnel et fermeture des centres spirituels — Rendered as ‘withdrawal of the traditional spirit and closing of spiritual centres’. Guénon observes that faced with the advance of modern disorder, the depositaries of authentic tradition (the initiates, the guardians of sacred knowledge) are retreating from the external world and closing access to spiritual centres (monasteries, brotherhoods, esoteric schools). This is a phenomenon of preservation through isolation. ↩︎
  9. phase finale du Kali Yuga — Rendered as ‘final phase of the Kali Yuga’. Guénon refers to the Hindu doctrine of the four ages (yugas). The Kali Yuga is the dark age, the last of the cycle, characterised by spiritual decadence, the inversion of values and the collapse of traditional order. Guénon identifies the modern world with this terminal phase. The ‘generalisation of disorder’ is a sign that the end of the Kali Yuga is approaching. ↩︎