One night towards the end of 1936, after a spiritual experience, Schuon sensed, without a shadow of a doubt, that he had been invested with the function of spiritual master, of sheikh. This was confirmed, he later related, by visionary dreams that several of his disciples reported having had the same night.[note 1] The differences of perspective between Schuon and the Mostaganem zāwiya gradually led to Schuon's assuming independence,[note 2] supported by Guénon.[1]
In 1938, Schuon traveled to Egypt, where he met Guénon, with whom he had been in correspondence for 7 years.[2] In 1939, he embarked for India with two disciples, making a long stopover in Cairo, where he saw Guénon again. Shortly after his arrival in Bombay, World War II broke out, forcing him to return to Europe. Serving in the French army, he was interned by the Nazis, who were planning to incorporate all soldiers of Alsatian origin into the German army to fight on the Russian front. Schuon escaped to Switzerland, which was to be his home for forty years.[3][4]
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Jean-Baptiste Aymard, Frithjof Schuon: Life and Teachings, SUNY, 2002, pp. 23–24
- ^ Michael Fitzgerald, Frithjof Schuon Messenger of the Perennial Philosophy, World Wisdom, 2010, p. 42
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
BPxivwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Jennifer Casey (ed.), DVD Frithjof Schuon Messenger of the Perennial Philosophy, World Wisdom, 2012, 43'10"