Mytho-Mystic Literature
Year:2010 | Volume:5 | Issue:17|Papers Count:8

In Persian mythology, Jame-Jam (the cup of Jamshid, Jam-e Kei-khosrow) is the symbol of prediction that was for long possessed by the rulers of ancient Greater Iran. It was believed that one could observe all the four corners of the universe by looking into it. Monjik of Tirmazi, the poet of the 4th century A.H., was the first to coin the term "Saghare Jam" (goblet of Jam) and after that it has been the subject of many Persian poems and stories.The present article tries to show the process of changing the concept of Jame-Jam in Persian literature.

In all his life, man has suffered and endured pains and has tried to make them bearable through using the teachings of the learned men. Mowlana Jalal-al Din Balkhi, the Persian mystic, in his two books Masnavi Manavi and Divan Shams illustrates these human pains and vicissitudes of life.Based on Hermeneutics, and based on behavioral, cognitive and effective communicational approaches, the authors of the present article try to study Mowlana's thoughts in the realm of human pain.

According to Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, Rostam-e Dastan is the champion of champions and mythical hero of ancient Persia, constituting some of the most popular parts of the Shahnameh. He is the son of Zal (the son of Sam and the grandson of Nariman). Also, his legend indicates that Rostam's mother is a decedent of Zahhak, the son of Mardas.But in the older version of this myth, Dastan is a title for Rostam, Nariman a title for Garshasb, Mardas a title for Zahhak, and Sam is the name of the extended family of Garshasb.The present paper tries to show that the myth of Rostam has been transformed in Shahnameh.

The myth of "Noble Savage" was shaped with the discovery and conquest of America. Although the phrase first appeared in the sixteenth century, it became identified with the idealized picture of "nature's gentleman". The term "Noble Savage" refers to the concept of the natural man, unencumbered by either civilization or religion.After a lengthy sojourn with Indians in the rain forests of Panama, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio (born 13 April 1940), French author and the 2008 Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature, portrayed the Indians and criticized modernity and mechanized Western civilization.The present article, by analyzing the origin of the myth of "Noble Savage", studies the works of Le Clezio.

According to Islamic mysticism, the holy traveler (salek) has to separate himself from everything other than God (infesal) and form a communion with the Beloved (vasl). Prophet Muhammad is the mediator between the Creator and the Created, and this is the reality of the Prophet (Haqiiqat Muhammadiyyah).Considering the mystic tendencies in the age of the Mamluks-Ottomans, the present article studies the concepts of "infesal" and "vasl" in the thoughts of the poets and mystics of this period.

Social movement is a type of group action; it is a large informal grouping of individuals and/or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, or in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change. Sociology has developed a variety of theories and researches on social movements; based on these theories, the question of the present paper is: «Is Tasawwuf a social movement?» Social movement theories can provide important tools for the analysis of Tasawwuf and Sufism in contemporary societies, but the study of the history of Tasawwuf shows that, in spite of similarities, it is not a social movement and is a unique phenomenon. 

The present article analyzes the different stages of mystical poetry in Persian literature. At the first stage, we face comprehensive and simple poems. These are read in the beginning of Sama (the Sufi ritual of chanting and dancing), preparing for the next step, i.e. the ritual of Sama. In the last stage, we face symbolic and mystical poems needed for interpretation. Besides that, there are other poems that have been composed for educational purposes, publicizing the mystical thoughts and recording the method of Sufism.