Mytho-Mystic Literature
Year:2014 | Volume:10 | Issue:35|Papers Count:11

In the present article, based on Masnavi Manavi and Divan Shams, “the phenomenon of night” will be looked at in four parts. In the first part, which is called “nights and its appurtenances” the relationship of night and day, the crack of dawn, sleeping, calamity occurring in the night, keeping nightly vigil are studied. Jalal al-Din Rumi believes Eternal beloved manifests himself in the night and at dawn and the calamities occurring in the night prevents the manifestation of the beloved. In the second part, “the features of night”, the following themes are considered: superiority of night over day, purity of night, and night as the place of manifestation of God. Rumi believes, by contemplating and staying away from hypocrisy, man can understand the Divine Oneness at night. In the third part, we consider the mystical meanings of “night” from Rumi's point of view. And finally, in the fourth part, the Blessed Night (Shabe Qadr), night of Ascension (Shabe Meraj), as the special nights that the mystic can reach union with the Beloved, is considered.

In Avestan, Kay Kavus or Kauui Us an is introduced as great and the most glorious king of Kayanian dynasty. He has divine royal glory (khvarenah or farre izadi) which gives him special features. One of these features is “flying to heaven” and companionship with Ahura Mazda. But in the passage of time, the myth of Kay Kavus has changed. He has fallen from his high state and has turned into an idiot king that kills his son, Seyavash; His flying to heaven is interpreted as invading the divine territory and wishing to conquer heavens. The present article, after presenting the myth of Kay Kavus, tries to consider the reasons of his “flight to heaven” and change in the myth. Then, the original structure of the story will be revealed by displacing some of couplets of the story in Shanameh.

From the biological point of view, all human beings possess both male and female traits. Yet, it is the social norms that define gender differences, emphasizing femininity and masculinity. As a result, every individual strengthens the characteristics of their normal gender whereas the aspects of the other gender lose prominence and fade away. However, anima, i.e. the feminine inner personality, and animus, i.e. the masculine inner personality, tend to appear in dreams, imaginations, myths, literature and the like. In the present article, two manifestations of animus, i.e. 'the beloved man (the ideal man)' and 'the inner companion' in Persian literature and culture are studied. Using an analytic and descriptive method, it will be shown that one of the manifestations of animus in the unconscious of Iranian woman is rooted in a prototype; it most probably is Mithra.

In the present article the story of pir-e changi (the old Harper) in Masnavi Manavi of Jalal al-Din Rumi is to be studied in the light of Jungian psychoanalysis theory. First the archetypes of ego, self, dream, shadow, persona, collective unconscious and personal unconscious are presented, then it will be shown that the old Harper (pir-e changi), with the help of the wise old man (pir-e dana), can gain consciousness, be reborn and his individuality be achieved.

The myth of maiden-mother, as a universal myth, refers to the birth of a hero from a virgin mother. The mother becomes pregnant in an unusual way and with the will of gods. Both the maiden-mother and her son have a direct relationship with nature and its manifestations, namely water, and plants. It seems that this relationship is reminder of the age of matriarchy and belief in genesis of woman-and-land. It is at the same time is a reminder of a correspondence of genesis and fertility. Also, the role of gods in giving birth to hero and death to the mother at the moment of birth refers to the ending of matriarchal system and give rise to feeling of having kinship with gods. The present article, by studying the mythology of nations, tries to show that the myth of maiden-mother is a narrator of passing from matriarchy to patriarchy and orientation to gods.

In Islamic literary, mystical and ethical texts a particular hadith (the Prophet's saying) is citied for explaining “metaphorical love” (Ishq Majazi). It is well-known as the “hadith of love”, as follow: Whoever falls in love and yet conceals it until his death, he has died as a martyr. First time, Ibn- Dawood, in his book Al-Zuhara and in the interpretation of story of “love of Ozra”, referred to this Hadith. But the researchers who study about the Prophet Tradition and Hadith believe that this Hadith is apocryphal and invented. Despite the opposition of opponents, especially Hanbalites, the Hadith continued to live on in Islamic mysticism. In the present article, after considering the history of the Hadith and its genuineness, we study its use in mystical texts, and its reflection in Persian and Arabic literary books. Also, these issues will be considered: the relationship of metaphorical love and chastity, strife against one's caprice and martyrdom, and concealing and love.

Even though, Thomas More, English writer and philosopher, proposed the term of “utopia” for first time, man has always tried to portray and imagine an ideal society which is free from injustice, failure and misfortune. Man's motive behind creating utopias was to reduce suffering and pain and point at the problems and merits of his own society. Many poets, writers and philosophers, like Plato, Aristotle, Al-Farabi and Nezami, have spoken about the characters and formation of the ideal society. In ancient Iran, as cited in Shahnameh, there are ideal kings like Jamshid, Fereydun, Kai Khosrow and Siavash; and ideal places like Kangdezh and Siyavashgerd. In the present article, some of these characters and places in the story of Siavash will be studied.

Haft Paykar, composed by Nizami Ganjavi, is a symbolic work with well integrated structure. It shows not only Nizami's power of storytelling but also his acquaintance with literary, cultural and mystical heritage of the past. Part of this heritage belongs to Gnostic mysticism, Manichaeism and hermetic philosophy. The aim of present article is to show the traces of these ideas in one of stories of Haft Paykar. After introducing Gnostic mysticism, it is indicated that how Muslims got acquainted with Gnostisim. Then, we look at the influence of Gnostic themes in the fifth story of Haft Paykar, the story of Princess of turquoise Dome or the story of Mahan. The Gnostic themes that are considered are as follows: duality of body and mind, the fall of Adam, captivity, oblivion and nostalgia, pessimism, knowledge, rebirth and salvation.

Mystical allegory prepares the ground for a deep experience; it then leads to “artistic creativity”. In a mystical allegory, the narrator creates the literary work which in a way helps the reader to recreate it. The reader reconstructs the literary work and reaches to a new apprehension; as if; he creates a new work in his imagination and thoughts by himself. Hosein ibn Ali al-Hoseini, the mystic of 7th century AH, in his book Nuzhat al-Arwah, coextends narrator with reader by using allegory; helping the reader to recognize the hidden themes. The present article, by using content analysis method, tries to answer these basic questions: How has the writer of Nuzhat al-Arwah used allegory; and what are hidden themes and allegories in the book? Also, what characters are in the stories and allegories of the book?

In this article, the play Delibay and Ahou by Abbas Maroufi is considered. We believe that Maroufi has created this play to obtain a better understanding of the culture and values of Turkmen. Studying the play helps to recognize the Turkman myths; so the play needs to be analyzed profoundly. So, the basic question of the present article is that how and in what way the play uses the mythical elements to transform its message. After introducing the Turkman myths and the play Delibay and Ahou, we consider the myths mentioned in the play. Most of the myths in the play belong to pre- Islamic period, the period that the Turkmen believed in shamanism. The main thought of the play is based on belief in spirit of dead and its influence in the life of man. Worshiping the spirit of ancestors and worshiping the nature (sky, moon, mountain and etc.) are the other shamanistic beliefs proposed in the play.