¶6 Mr. Massis attacks what he calls ‘Oriental propagandists’, an expression that contains a contradiction in itself, for the spirit of propaganda, as we have already said very often, is a wholly Western thing;1 and this alone already indicates clearly that there is some misunderstanding here. In fact, among the propagandists in question, we can distinguish two groups, the first of which is constituted by pure Westerners; it would be truly comical, if it were not the sign of the most deplorable ignorance of things Oriental, to see Germans and Russians included among the representatives of the Oriental spirit;2 the author makes observations with regard to them, some of which are very just, but why does he not clearly show them for what they really are? To this first group we will also add the Anglo-Saxon ‘theosophists’3 and all the inventors of other sects of the same kind, whose Oriental terminology is only a mask intended to impose upon the naïve and the ill-informed, and which covers only ideas as foreign to the East as they are dear to the modern West;4 these, moreover, are more dangerous than mere philosophers, because of their pretensions to an ‘esotericism’ which they do not possess any more, but which they fraudulently simulate in order to attract to themselves those minds that seek something other than ‘profane’ speculations and who, in the midst of the present chaos, do not know where to turn;5 we are somewhat surprised that Mr. Massis says practically nothing about them. As for the second group, we find there some of those Westernised Easterners of whom we spoke earlier, and who, just as ignorant as the former of true Oriental ideas, would be quite incapable of spreading them in the West, even supposing they had the intention;6 moreover, the goal they really set for themselves is quite contrary to that, since it is to destroy these same ideas in the East, and at the same time to present to Westerners their modernised East, accommodated to the theories that have been taught to them in Europe or America;7 true agents of the most nefarious of all Western propagandas, that which attacks intelligence directly, it is for the East that they are a danger, and not for the West of which they are only the reflection.8 As for the true Easterners, Mr. Massis does not mention a single one, and he would have been at a great loss to do so, for he certainly knows none; the impossibility in which he found himself of citing the name of an Easterner who was not Westernised should have given him food for thought and made him understand that ‘Oriental propagandists’ are perfectly non-existent.9
←
→

Summary

Guénon criticises Massis’s use of the term ‘Oriental propagandists’, noting that the spirit of propaganda is entirely Western, so the expression contains a contradiction. He distinguishes two groups among those targeted: first, pure Westerners (Germans, Russians, Anglo-Saxon theosophists, and similar sectarians) who use Oriental terminology as a mask for ideas foreign to the East but dear to the modern West; these are more dangerous than mere philosophers due to their fraudulent claims to esotericism, yet Massis says almost nothing about them. Second, there are Westernised Easterners who, ignorant of true Oriental ideas, aim to destroy those ideas in the East and present a modernised East to the West; they are agents of the most nefarious Western propaganda, a danger to the East, not to the West. As for true Easterners, Massis mentions none, and his inability to name a single non-Westernised Easterner should have shown him that ‘Oriental propagandists’ are perfectly non-existent.

General notes

  1. « propagandistes orientaux » — contradiction dans les termes — Rendered as ‘“Oriental propagandists” — contradiction in terms’. Guénon emphasises that propaganda (the organised will to spread ideas in order to convince or convert) is a typically Western phenomenon, linked to modern proselytism. The traditional East does not engage in propaganda; it transmits, it does not convert. The expression ‘Oriental propagandist’ is therefore contradictory. ↩︎
  2. Allemands et Russes présentés comme des représentants de l’esprit oriental — Rendered as ‘Germans and Russians presented as representatives of the Oriental spirit’. Guénon mocks Massis for, in his ignorance, classifying German and Russian thinkers (probably Orientalists or philosophers influenced by India, such as Schopenhauer or theosophists) as ‘Oriental propagandists’. For Guénon, these Europeans do not represent the authentic Orient. ↩︎
  3. « théosophistes » anglo-saxons — Rendered as ‘Anglo-Saxon “theosophists”’. Guénon refers to members of the Theosophical Society founded by Helena Blavatsky (1831-1891) and developed by Annie Besant and Charles Leadbeater. This society mixed elements of Hinduism, Buddhism and Western esotericism. Guénon severely criticises theosophy as a Western counterfeit of authentic Oriental doctrines. ↩︎
  4. contrefaçons occidentales de l’Orient — Rendered as ‘Western counterfeits of the East’. Guénon denounces all Western sects and movements that borrow Oriental terms (karma, yoga, nirvana, etc.) but give them a completely Western and distorted meaning. These groups are more dangerous than academic philosophers because they claim to possess an ‘esotericism’ that they do not have. ↩︎
  5. prétention frauduleuse à l’ésotérisme — Rendered as ‘fraudulent claim to esotericism’. Guénon accuses these sects of simulating an esotericism (a secret doctrine reserved for initiates) to attract sincere seekers who are disappointed by exoteric religion and profane philosophy. Their ‘esotericism’ is false, but it seduces because it responds to a real need. ↩︎
  6. Orientaux occidentalisés incapables de répandre la vraie doctrine orientale — Rendered as ‘Westernised Easterners incapable of spreading true Oriental doctrine’. Guénon affirms that Westernised Eastern elites do not know their own tradition. They could not therefore transmit it authentically to the West, even if they wanted to (which they do not). ↩︎
  7. le vrai but des Orientaux occidentalisés : détruire la tradition en Orient et montrer un Orient modernisé à l’Occident — Rendered as ‘the true goal of Westernised Easterners: to destroy tradition in the East and show a modernised East to the West’. Guénon describes the role of Westernised elites: on the one hand, they fight tradition in their own country (through nationalism, secularism, reforms); on the other hand, they present to the West a distorted and modernised image of the East, which corresponds to Western expectations rather than to reality. They are agents of Western propaganda, not Oriental propagandists. ↩︎
  8. les Orientaux occidentalisés sont un danger pour l’Orient, non pour l’Occident — Rendered as ‘Westernised Easterners are a danger for the East, not for the West’. Guénon reverses Massis’s argument: it is not the Easterners who threaten the West, but the Westerners (through their materialist propaganda) who threaten the East. The Westernised Easterners are only instruments of this threat, and they do not constitute a danger for the West because they are its reflection, not its otherness. ↩︎
  9. les vrais Orientaux ne font pas de propagande — Rendered as ‘true Easterners do not engage in propaganda’. Guénon concludes that authentic Easterners (those who have remained faithful to their tradition) do not engage in propaganda. They do not seek to convert the West. If there are ‘propagandists’ who use Oriental ideas, they are either Westerners or Westernised Easterners. The true Easterners are invisible in this debate. Massis’s inability to cite a single authentic Easterner proves that his accusation is unfounded. ↩︎