Ep327: Neoplatonic Mystic - Dr Francisco José Luis
Dr Francisco José Luis is a scholar of Indo-Iranian Studies and Comparative Religion trained at the Sorbonne, Paris and SOAS, London.
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
Francisco recalls his upbringing and education in Luxembourg; details his rigorous academic training in classical languages such as Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit; and laments what he sees as the rise of idealogical indoctrination in modern education
Francisco discusses his PhD in pre-reformist Sikhism, his years of field work living in the Punjab, and expresses his love of the German intellectual tradition.
Francisco reveals the influence of Neoplatonism in Islamic theology and mysticism, describes his own turn to Shiʿi Islam, and explains why he believes that even today there is a living lineage of Neoplatonism that stretches directly back to Plotinus.
00:00 - Intro
01:01 - Upbringing in Luxembourg
02:56 - Classical education
04:28 - Learning Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit
08:03 - Germanic intellectual tradition and WW2
12:37 - Advantages of an anti-American education
15:06 - Critical thinking and intellectual independence
17:04 - Boomer educators and idealogical indoctrination
20:59 - German literature
22:56 - Post WW2 culture shock and the boomer revolution
27:20 - Vatican II and loss of trust
30:35 - Filling education gaps
32:06 - A deeply pagan Catholic
35:21 - Meditation practice and interest in Neo-Vedanta
37:52 - Studying two masters degrees simultaneously at the Sorbonne
39:57 - Rigorous training in Sanskrit
43:56 - MA theses in French literature and pre-reform Sikhism
45:20 - PhD at SOAS in pre-reformist Sikh monastic orders
46:48 - Living among the Sikh community and learning Punjabi
49:54 - Young Sikh’s interest in pre-reformist religion
50:54 - Death threats from Sikhs
53:00 - Changes in Sikhism
55:20 - Tradition religious music of Sikhism and other pre-reformist features
01:00:18 - Neo-traditionalist Sikh movements in the UK and India
01:03:59 - Falling in love with Shiʿi Islam
01:10:16 - Conversion to Islam?
01:11:45 - Shi’ism as a personal practice
01:13:23 - Cultural barriers against European converts
01:16:12 - Neo-Platonic Vajrayanism
01:17:43 - Mysticism perceived as a threat
01:21:48 - Neoplatonic influence on Islam
01:27:28 - Surprising Neo-Platonic features of Islamic mysticism
01:33:30 - Metempsychosis in Islam
01:37:16 - Francisco is a Neoplatonist
01:43:08 - Vajrayana and Shiʿi inner alchemy and dream yoga
01:50:43 - Islamic tummo
To find our more about Dr Francisco José Luis, visit:
• https://www.instagram.com/hludvig_tradicionalista
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James