The Lightning and the Sun

The Lightning and the Sun is a 1958 book by Savitri Devi Mukherji, in which the author outlines her philosophy of history along with her critique of the modern world. The book is known for the author's claim that Adolf Hitler was an avatar of the Hindu God Vishnu.[1][2] It was the first book to espouse esoteric Nazism.

The Lightning and the Sun
A lightning bolt and a Nazi swastika in front of the Sun. Book title at top, author name in middle
Cover of the 1979 edition
AuthorSavitri Devi Mukherji
CountryUnited Arab Republic
LanguageEnglish
SubjectPhilosophy of history
Esoteric Nazism
Published1958
Media typePrint
Pages432

According to Benjamin Teitelbaum, when he was in discussion with Steve Bannon, Bannon used the term that originates in this book "Man in Time" to describe Donald Trump.[3]

Summary

In The Lightning and the Sun, Savitri Devi Mukherji attempts to weave Nazism with a cyclic view of history,[2] arguing that time begins with a Golden Age and gradually decays through a Silver Age and Bronze Age into a final Kali Yuga, or Dark Age. She elucidates her concept of "Men in Time," "Men above Time," and "Men against Time" using the lives of Genghis Khan, Akhnaton, and Adolf Hitler respectively. Genghis Khan is used as an example of a "Man in Time" who exhibits Lightning (destructive) qualities and furthers historical decay. Akhnaton is used to illustrate a "Man above Time" who exhibits Sun (creative/life-affirming) qualities and seeks to transcend the process of historical decay.[4] Hitler is used to illustrate a "Man against Time" who exhibits both Lightning and Sun qualities (destructive power harnessed for a life-affirming purpose) and seek to fight historical decay by using violence, Dark-Age methods to achieve a Golden Age state of existence.[5] In the final chapter of the book, Savitri Devi expands further upon her cyclic view of history and argues that at the end of the Dark Age, Kalki will appear and usher in a new Golden Age.

Begun in 1948, completed in 1956, and first published in 1958 in Calcutta, she said it "could be described as a personal answer to the events of 1945 and of the following years." It is dedicated "To the godlike Individual of our times; the Man against Time; the greatest European of all times; both Sun and Lightning: Adolf Hitler, as a tribute of unfailing love and loyalty, for ever and ever."[4][6] It opens with quotations from The Bhagavad Gita and Rudolf Hess.[7]

Publication

Originally published in 1958 as a self-published samisdat, an abridged version was published by the far-right National Vanguard Books. Resistance Records, a neo-Nazi and white separatist record label, released an audio recording of readings from the book. An unabridged version was also made available online by the Savitri Devi archive. Most recently, an unabridged version was published by the white nationalist Counter-Currents Publishing.[8]

Ernst Zündel wrote, under his middle name, Christof Friedrich, the preface to the first English language book edition.

References
  1. "Savitri Devi: The mystical fascist being resurrected by the alt-right". www.bbc.com. 29 October 2017. It isn't hard these days to find discussions of Savitri Devi's books on neo-Nazi web forums, especially The Lightning and the Sun, which expounds the theory that Hitler was an avatar - an incarnation - of the Hindu god Vishnu
  2. "Why Hitler's 'priestess' Savitri Devi said he might be an avatar of Vishnu". www.indiatoday.in. October 22, 2018. 'The Lightning and the Sun' (1958) synthesizes National Socialism and the Aryan cyclical theory of history and claims that Adolf Hitler was an avatar -- a human incarnation -- of the Hindu god Vishnu
  3. Benjamin Teitelbaum (2020). War for Eternity: Inside Bannon s Far-Right Circle of Global Power Brokers. Hackett Publishing Company. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-06-297845-5.
  4. Tom Porter (March 3, 2017). "Savitri Devi: The strange story of how a Hindu Hitler worshipper became an alt-right icon". www.ibtimes.co.uk. At an event in Washington, DC, in November held following the election of Donald Trump, alt-right ideologue Richard Spencer exhorted followers to "Hail Trump" and proclaimed white people the "children of the sun." Some believe that the phrase is a reference to Devi's 1958 work the Lightning and the Sun, in which she describes people with "sun" qualities who transcend the process of historical decay.
  5. Aaron Bandler (January 29, 2018). "News Reports Link Suspected Bernstein Killer to Neo-Nazi Groups". "The Lightning and the Sun," which argues that Hitler's genocidal and tyrannical actions were necessary to bring forth a new "golden age."
  6. "The Nazis And The Occult". remus.rutgers.edu. Archived from the original on 1996-12-05.
  7. "The Lightning and the Sun" (PDF). www.savitridevi.org. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  8. "US white supremacist arrested in Norway | DW | 02.11.2019". DW.COM. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
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