Rene Daumal Views
Daumal’s writings are both frustrating and fascinating to read because so much of his writing is so immensely suggestive of enriched sensations, feelings, and thoughts, as well as states of awareness. It is life itself, both inner and outer, that grants him both psychological highs and physiological lows. Here is what he wrote to Geneviève Lief, a pharmacist friend, in 1942:
When 36-year-old Rene Daumal died in Paris near the close of World War II, he left behind one blistering book of poetry, numerous essays on Hindu aesthetics and various Surrealist obsessions, and two weird and amazing allegories: the absurdist satire A Night of Serious Drinking, and the unfinished Mount Analogue, a masterwork of 20th-century spiritual literature. At their best, these writings crackle with an intense and empyrean glow, a hard glint of the Absolute that, coupled with their Pataphysical humor, has made Daumal something of a cult figure among Surrealist aficionados, literate seekers, and other post-Beat types. Nonetheless, he remains an undeservedly obscure figure, and Rosenblatt's is the first major Daumal study to appear in English.
As you might expect, the Grand Jeu carried on a lively dialogue with the older Surrealists. But Daumal's rigorous investigation of mysticism drew him beyond Breton's occult juvenilia. As Rosenblatt explains, Le Grand Jeu attempted to uncover the core of spiritual tradition without falling into a reactionary trap. Still, Daumal had no problem imbibing his deep and scholarly appreciation for classic Sanskrit texts from the profoundly conservative Traditionalist Rene Guenon. But Daumal did not really find his spiritual home until he joined the circle that surrounded the notorious master G.I. Gurdjieff. Gurdjieff's insistence that awakening arose only after merciless self-observation and intense psychological friction went over great with Daumal, who had already cultivated an almost frightening spirit of visionary de-personalization.
Rene Daumal Images
