Abstract:  
This article explores the metaphysical and ontological topic of René Guénon’s discourse, gnoseological levels of cognition in his system, as well as his categorical apparatus: transcendentalities, universalities and categories. System-structural analysis of metaphysical, ontological and anthropological levels demonstrated that the metaphysical and ontological levels are characterized by the particular gnoseological levels of cognition; at the level of taxonometry they correlate with transcendentalities, in Guénon’s system pertain to the universal; their interrelation with the anthropological levels reveals such states as “universal” and “transcendent” human. Using the system-structural and hermeneutic methods, the author describes the concept of initiation, mechanism of its translation, such its criteria as “potentiality”, “virtuality” and “actualization”, as well as the concepts of “pseudo-initiation” and “counter-initiation”. The system-structural and comparative analysis illustrate the correlation between the initiations of “Lesser Mysteries” and unformed manifestation, gnoseological status “Ishwara-Vidya”, ontological level and “universal human”. It also demonstrated the correlation between initiations of “Great Mysteries” and Universal Opportunity, gnoseological status “Brahma-Vidya”, metaphysical level and “transcendent human”. System-structural analysis emphasized the difference of teleological approaches in initiatic and mystical paths: initiatic path is aimed at ultimate universalization of subject – liberation, while mystical always remains within the boundaries of the individual. Metaphysical and hermeneutic methods allowed determining universal nature of a symbol, its primacy with regards to the discourse. Comparative analysis reveals the identical symbolic structures in various traditions associated with initiation. The author compares the approach to initiation of René Guénon with the approach of Carl Jung, Mircea Eliade, Evgeny Torchinov and Stanislav Grof.