Kurt Almqvist (1912–2001) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

poet, intellectual and spiritual figure, representative of the

Traditionalist School Traditionalism, also known as the Traditionalist School, is a school of thought within perennial philosophy. Originating in the thought of René Guénon in the 20th century, it proposes that a single primordial, metaphysical truth forms the so ...

and the

Perennial philosophy The perennial philosophy (), also referred to as perennialism and perennial wisdom, is a school of thought in philosophy and spirituality that posits that the recurrence of common themes across world religions illuminates universal truths about ...

. Almqvist was a lifelong disciple of the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

metaphysician and spiritual guide

Frithjof Schuon Frithjof Schuon ( ; ; 18 June 1907 – 5 May 1998) was a Swiss philosopher and spiritual leader, belonging to the Traditionalist School of Perennial philosophy, Perennialism. He was the author of more than twenty works in French on metaphys ...

. He came into close contact with the spiritual representatives of the

Shadhiliyya The Shadhili Order () is a tariqah or Sufi order. The Shadhili order was founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili in the 13th century and is followed by millions of people around the world. Many followers (Arabic '' murids'', "seekers") of the Shadhi ...

order in the beginning of the 1940s. He introduced Schuon's teachings on spirituality and transcendent unity of religions in a number of publications. He also introduced the works of

René Guénon René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as Abdalwahid Yahia (; ), was a French intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from esoterici ...

in his writings. He was a frequent contributor to the quarterly journal,

Studies in Comparative Religion ''Studies in Comparative Religion'' was a quarterly academic journal published from 1963 to 1987 that contained essays on the spiritual practices and religious symbolism of the world's religions. The journal was notable for the number of prominent ...

, which dealt with

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

and the Traditionalist perspective. Almqvist received his doctorate in 1951 from

Uppsala university Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

on a dissertation concerning

Guilhem Ademar Guilhem Ademar (; also spelled Guillem, Adamar, or Azemar; fl. 1190/1195–1217) was a troubadour from the Gévaudan in France. He travelled between the courts of Albi, Toulouse, Narbonne, and Spain. He achieved fame enough during his life to b ...

, ''Poésies du troubadour Guilhem Adémar''. He is the author of several essays and books in

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

and

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

, including four collections of poetry.

Articles in English

* Temple of the Heart, Temple of the Body, ''Tomorrow'', Summer 1964 * The Hidden Hierarchy of Existence, ''Sunrise'', Vol. 22, Feb. 1973. * Aspects of Teilhardian Idolatry, ''Studies in Comparative Religion'', Vol. 12, No. 3 & 4, 1978. * Reflexes in the Language of the Notion of the "Self", ''Studies in Comparative Religion'', Vol. 13, No. 1 & 2, 1979. * Every Branch in Me, ''Sunrise'' August / September 1982 & ''Studies in Comparative Religion'', Vol. 15, No. 3 & 4, Middlesex, 1983. Also published in the anthology ''Every Branch in Me: Essays on the Meaning of Man'', ed. Barry McDonald, Bloomington, 2002. * The Three Circles of Existence, ''Studies in Comparative Religion'', Vol. 17, No. 1 & 2, Middlesex, 1985. * The Sun in the Tree, with Some Reflections on "Faith and Works", ''Religion of the Heart: Essays Presented to

on His Eightieth Birthday'', eds.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr Seyyed Hossein Nasr (born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian Americans, Iranian-American academic, philosophy, philosopher, theology, theologian, and Ulama, Islamic scholar. He is University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. ...

and

William Stoddart William Smith Stoddart (25 June 1925 – 9 November 2023) was a Scottish-Canadian physician, author and spiritual traveller, who wrote several books on the Perennial Philosophy and on comparative religion. Biography William Smith Stoddart was b ...

, Washington D.C., 1991.

Works in French

* ''Poésies du troubadour Guilhem Adémar / publiées avec introduction, notes et glossaires par Kurt Almqvist'' (dissertation), Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1951 * La Fontaine de la Croix; Le Nénuphar Blanc (poems), ''Soleils'' No. 4 / 1963 * Temple du coeur, Temple du corps, ''Études Traditionnelles'', No. 378-379, 1963. * Les trois cercles de l'existence, ''Études Traditionnelles'', No. 393, 1966. * Aspects de l'idolâtrie teilhardienne, ''Études Traditionnelles'', No. 409-410, 1968. * Etre Soi-même, ''Études Traditionnelles'', No. 470, 1980.

Works in Hungarian

* Az ember – Az elfelejtett templom: A láthatatlan piramis. (Extract from ''Människan: det glömda templet''.) Ford. Szelényi Lajos. ''Tradíció évkönyv'', (Debrecen) 2003, 9–21. * A dolgok kapuin át. Öt meditáció. (Poems from ''Genom tingens portar: meditationer'') Ford. Szelényi Szentjóbi Annamária. ''Tradíció évkönyv'', (Debrecen) 2003, 211–212. * Az ember két énje. The Two Selves of Man".Ford. Szelényi Lajos. ''Tradíció évkönyv'', (Debrecen) 2005, 75-90.

Books in Swedish

* ''Vallfärd till mitten: dikter'', Stockholm, 1945. * ''Den glömda dimensionen'', Stockholm, 1959. * ''Gryningen är pärlemor: dikter'', Stockholm, 1959. * ''Ögonblick : en lyrisk årsrunda'', Stockholm, 1964. * ''Livklädnaden som revs sönder'', Stockholm, 1967. * ''Tidlös besinning i besinningslös tid, Ur Frithjof Schuons verk'', Stockholm, 1973. * ''I tjänst hos det Enda: ur

s verk'', Stockholm, 1977. * ''Människan: det glömda templet'', Hudiksvall, 1984. * ''Himmelsstegen: om människans möjlighet att finna en väg till Gud'', Delsbo, 1986. * ''Genom tingens portar: meditationer'', Delsbo, 1989. * ''Ordet är dig nära: om uppenbarelsen i hjärtat och i religionerna'', Delsbo, 1994.Books in Swedish
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References

External links

Kurt Almqvist
On World Wisdom Books
The Hidden Hierarchy of Existence by Kurt Almqvist
Article on

's participation in the

United Nations Conference on the Human Environment The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, Sweden, during June 5–16, 1972. When the United Nations General Assembly decided to convene the 1972 Stockholm Conference, taking up the offer of the Government of S ...

in Stockholm 1972. This article originally appeared in Swedish in the August 25, 1972 issue of

Svenska Dagbladet (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily List of Swedish newspapers, newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the 1900s the pap ...