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stood it, and even ordinarily its strictly eso- and which may be described as manûs ca-
[6]
teric and initiatic aspect, that is, what is most pacity for art in all its formé . This ùknowledgeû
ùinwardû and elevated in that tradition and and ùactionû, cited by Sherrard, can be under-
thus what constitutes its very spirit as it stood as ùtheoryû (assuming as the initiatic
[4]
wereé . The first aspect mentioned by aspect) and ùpracticeû (assuming as the eso-
Guénon, the ùesotericû, means something teric aspect).
wholly interior, a knowledge derived from the Analyzing ùtheoryû through the perspec-

pure intellect - a faculty of thought that each tive of Guénon, çtheory should normally be
person conceives by himself, penetrating into looked upon as nothing more than a
[2]
the very nature of things. Guénon explains preparationé . In a more developed explana-
ùpure intellectû as a kind of ùintuitionû, çpure tion, ùtheoryû is the transmission of knowl-
[2]
intellect may be called ùintuitiveé ; not as a edge, where çon the one hand, transmission
ùhunchû, but as an intellect, which is more of a spiritual influence, and on the other, trans-
[4]
immediate than sensory intuition. On account mission of a traditional teachingé . Both trans-
of this perspective, Frithjof Schuon explains missions begin with an initiation, which is
that Guénonûs thought is intellectual, because the ùopening doorsû for the ùchainû, from where
çit concerns knowledge and because it en- the traditional knowledge comes through.

visages this in conformity with its nature, çThe word ùchainû translated the Hebrew
namely in the light of the intellect, which is shelsheleth, and the Arabic silsilah, and the
[5]
essential supra-rationalé . Sanskrit parampara, all of which express es-
The second aspect that makes a civili- sentially the notion of a regular and uninter-
[4]
zation traditional, the ùinitiaticû aspect, stands rupted transmissioné . The researcher pre-
for the preparation of the individual to re- fers to call ùchainû as the ùfamily of traditional

ceive the transmission of the knowledge, wisdomû, that is to say the lineage tree of
which is going to be explained on subhead- which the traditional knowledge is continu-

ing 3 Transmission of Traditional Knowledge. ously transmitted.
For a better understanding of Guénonûs The transmission of spiritual influence
thought on tradition, Philip Sherrard adds, begins with initiation, which must be given

çfor Guénon tradition must cater for the two by a master or a teacher, who works as a
main aspects of human life, the first being ùtransmitterû or ùsupporterû for the traditional

intellectual - knowledge, and the second be- knowledge. According to Guénon, çinitiation
ing the active aspect - action or practice, must have a ùnon-humanû origin, for without