Journal of Religious Studies
Year:2016 | Volume:9 | Issue:18|Papers Count:6

A number of ancient people believed that some gods will accompany their spirits in the next world or even will judge them based on their deeds in this world. One of these gods is Insusinak, the great god of the Elamites, about his judgement in the nether world a number of studies has been done. In this essay, in the light of the Elamite texts we are going to find out why they chose him for this role, and hence, to acknowledge the importance of the judgement after death for the Elamites. They called him with the titles such as “the guardian god of the king”, “the great god”, “the great guardian”, “the guardian of our city”, “my god”, “my ruler”, “my ancestor”, “the guardian of Susa”, “god of the kings”, and also “god of the dead and tombs”. Some other gods like Isme-karab and Lagamal were also considered as Insusinak’s helpers and assistants. So it seems that Insusinak performed a number of functions and as the Elamites feard him, they gave him the role of judgement as well. There is no clear evidence of the importance of the god of the next world or the judgement of the spirit in the Elamite texts, but it seems that the importance of this issue made them to consider it as the function of such a great god.

Abu al-cAbbas Qassab Amuli, an Iranian sufi of the 4th century A.H. is one of the leading figures of the Futuwwah and chivalry. In the present article, the reason of mentioning him in the spiritual geneology of Shaikh-i “Ishraq in al-Masharic wa al-muarihat is examined. Considering the similarity of his views on spiritual journey with the fundamental ideas of Khusruwani mystics of the eastern side of wisdom, such as intuitive tawhid and other related subjects, and because of the conformity of his chivalric manner with that of the Khusruwani wisdom and Mazdaism, and also for some other textual and rational arguments, it is legitimate to regard him as a link in transmiting the eternal essence of wisdom from the spiritual kings of ancient Iran (kiyomarth, Firiydun, Kaykhusruw) to Bayazid Bastami and Hallaj, and finally to Abu al-Hasan Kharaqani.

Rituals and ceremonies might be considered the pillars of a religion, and by taking part in them, one seeks to communicate with the holy. Understanding the role and function of the rituals, both in individual and communal spheres has been the subject of attention for sociologists and anthropologists of religion. As a contemporary anthropologist of religion, Clifford Geertz tries to give an analysis of the rituals based on his interpretative approach and objective observations, which is considered a turning point in anthropology of religion. In his view, on the one hand the rituals provide the necessary circumstances for preservation of the religious beliefs and social integrity, and on the other they provide the necessary context for transformation of the individual and bringing about his sacred moment. The present article is an effort in analyzing Geertz’s view on rituals and by doing so, it tries to give a definition of religion and religious beliefs as a system of symbols, functions of the rituals and their role in creating the sacred moment, and the reason of participation of people in the rituals. At the end, the ceremonies of cockfightings and Barong-Rangda battle which have been studied by Geerts, are analayzed.

Both Mulana and Eric Fromm consider “love” as one of the main factors of creating psychological and spiritual health, and call the true and sound love “the art of healthy and developed man”. Despite the temporal and spatial distance, and differences in culture and approach, there are many common points in their words, which shows the affinity of Fromm’s psychology and Mulawi’s mysticism. They both refer to “the healing and treating role of love”, “love as a relating and unifying factor”, “the necessity of cleansing vices and adorning with virtues in a love relationship”, “love being the outcome of knowledge and understanding”, “the possibility of learning to love”, “love being the generator of love”, “creativity and fruitfulness of love”, “association of love with suffering, and the necessity of patience for the lover”. Mulawi and Fromm’s differences of opinion goes back to their approach, status, the horizon of their views, and the depth of their words rather that an unreconcilable logical opposition. Fromm considers love as an essential element in “psychological growth and health”, but Mulawi regards it as the cause of “proximity and return to the divine threshold” and tries to deliver man to paradise and eternal bliss through his psychological wellbeing.

Sahajahyana is a mystical and occult trend in Tantric Buddhism which is rooted in indigenous culture and literature of eastern India. The absolute Truth in Sahajahyana is the very essence of the reality which has no empirical determination. Various states and notions of this esoteric and occult way is manifested in concepts such as devotion to and following a guru, importance of physical and sexual acts, performing secretive rituals and hidden yogic practices, presence of a female counterpart, and finally a manner of thinking beyond the exoteric knowledge and rational intellect which is called “intuition”. In this article we are going to consider the meaning of sahaja and history of development of this mystery tradition by introducing the native literature and poems of Sahajahyana. We are also going to analyze its ritualistic and mystical concepts according to Tantric reports.

In Islam mystical thought is also political. Sufis and monasteries had an essential role in maintaining the security, prosperity and political growth of Iran, and it seems that the reason for political backwardness of Iran, specially after the Mogul invasion, was of cultural origin, not the asceticism and renunciation on the part of Sufis. Mystics turned into asceticism in search of spiritual soundness for themselves and for the society, and through this they were going to help people. They were the best psychologists of the society, since through reporting various states of spiritual wayfaring, they proposed the solution for reforming both the individual and the society. Concepts such as seclusion in congregation, the law of synthesis shows the way of being present in the society and enjoying the world, alongside of being an ascetic. In short, the way to intuitive wisdom starts from acquired knowledge and goes through asceticism and renunciation.