A selection of letters written to disciples, seekers and spiritual authorities from all over the world and various religious paths. Each letter addresses the individual needs of one human microcosm, and so each letter touches on one or other aspect of the inner life, evoking and delineating a profound dialogue which will resonate with readers of all persuasions. This collection gives many rare examples of a psychology of the initiatic progress in its deepest reaches, those of metaphysics and the alchemy of contemplative life.

Notes, an index and a glossary have been added. This collection does not require continuous reading from beginning to end, for each letter forms a whole, allowing both those readers unfamiliar with the author's thought and those interested in a particular topic to opt for a selective reading by referring to the table of contents or the index. Towards the Essential is a concrete illustration of Schuon's thought and also, due to its relative ease of access, a helpful introduction to a message which, in his books, sometimes approaches the limits of the expressible.