A Meta-Analytical Comparative Study of ‘Mystical Journey’ in the Persian and the World’s Literature

Meta-analytical approaches can provide researchers with the overall results of studies which share the same themes. Adopting such an approach in the field of comparative literature can inform and set directions for future research. In the present paper, more than forty-three articles with the shared theme of ‘mystical journey’ were studied and their findings were employed to create an interconnected network of comparative corpuses. This paper mainly aims at providing comparative researchers with new avenues of research in order to come to a more comprehensive conception of the mystical journey. Despite the significance of carrying out such studies, no one, as far as the researcher knows, has adopted a Meta-analytical approach in the field of comparative literature, especially on the issue of ‘mystical journey’. Therefore, the current study is quite novel and no previous study has dealt with the mentioned subject. The corpuses include Ardaviraf-nameh, the Devine Comedy (by Dante), Seirolebad Elalma’ad (by Sana’i), Mantiq ut-tayr (or ‘Conference of the Birds’ by Attar Neyshaburi), Jonathan Livingston Seagull (by Bach), the Little Black Fish (by Behrangi), and some other comparable works. After introducing the abovementioned works and the related comparable ones, finally, the novel and potentially comparable corpuses never worked on yet are introduced to the prospective researchers.

The present study is a descriptive one conducted on the basis of library research. The main approach of the current study is meta-analytical. In such studies, after the extraction of the overall results of the studies with the same theme, a meta-analytical content is provided for researchers. In fact, it deeply informs and sets directions for prospective researchers in the field of comparative literature. To carry out the research, more than one hundred and twenty-two handpicked books and articles were studied, and some parts of them, the analytical-descriptive data and the major findings of forty-three articles were directly adopted to be employed in the analytical formulation of the discussion sub-section of the current study.

In the first sub-section, Ardaviraf-nameh, the Divine Comedy, Seirolebad Elalma’ad and the comparable works were presented. In the next sub-section, Mantiq ut-tayr and other analogous works were analyzed. Finally, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the Little Black Fish and other comparable works were analytically explored.   3.1. Ardaviraf-nameh and the comparable works Sadrzadeh (2002) in her article has comparatively analyzed four mystical journeys, namely Ardavirafnameh, the Divine Comedy, Royaye Sadeghe, and Resaleye Amorzesh. She has concluded that the common theme produced by the authors of the four works had been affected by the society wherein they lived. Ujaq Alizadeh (2007) in a paper entitled ‘the ladder of the mystical journey’ has referred to the study conducted by two great researchers who had evidently proved the inspiration of Dante in His writing of the Divine Comedy from Islamic resources, especially Me’rajnameh. Azar (2008) has proposed two works as the main inspiring resources for Dante: ‘Merjnameh of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)’ and ‘Ardavirafnameh’. Mohammadi and Nazri (2008) in their joint article have referred to the similarities and differences between the two works: ‘Ardavirafnameh’ and ‘Resaleye Amorzesh’. Mentioning the similarities between ‘Ardavirafnameh’ and ‘Resaleye Amorzesh’, Amini Lari and Mirqaderi (2012) pointed out that Khayyâm (in composing his Robaiat), Dante (in writing his Divine Comedy) and Milton (in writing his Paradise Lost) have all been inspired by Resaleye Amorzesh. Hejazi (2010) is of the opinion that the similarities between the Divine Comedy and Seirolebad Elalma’ad lie in the fact that Dante had been familiar with a translation of Seirolebad Elalma’ad. Ziaoddini and Farrokhnia (2013) have comparatively studied Resaleye Amorzesh and Seirolebad Elalma’ad and found that both works are on the basis of Islamic-Mystical concepts, especially the Holy Qur’an.   3.2. Mantiq ut-tayr and other analogous works On the basis of what Foruzanfar (1970) has found in his research, Attar, in composing his Mantiq ut-tayr, had been inspired by Avicenna’s Resalato Altayr.  Noori and Beiranvand (2018) have made a comparison between the stories of birds in Mantiq ut-tayr and Ulysses in Homer's Odyssey and have referred to a lot common themes between the two stories. The researchers did not make any claim that Mantiq ut-tayr was inspired by Ulysses. Afrouz (2017) in his article has analytically compared the spiritual journey stages in the works of Attar and Schmitt. According to what the researcher has found, the hero in the two stories (i.e., Oscar and the Birds), are comparable. The reason behind such a similarity was found by Afrouz to be the religious background of the two authors. Salimi Kouchi and Ghassemi Isfahani (2020) have made an intertextual study of Mantiq ut-tayr’s seven stages of love in the man-trunk and his traveler by Andrée Chéd. The researchers have found that the themes of the two works are quite analogous. Mobarak and Hamani (2011) have pointed out that the Holy Qur’an was the main source of inspiration for Attar in his composing of Mantiq ut-tayr. The seven stages of mystical journey by Shikh-San’an in Mantiq ut-tayr is absolutely comparable with that which could be detected in the Surah of Joseph”. 3.3. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the Little Black Fish and other comparable works Ghasemzadeh (2016) in his article has mixed the framework presented by Campbell with that of Pearson and Marr to analyze the journey of The Little Black Fish. Likewise, Abdollahzadeh Borzu and Reihani (2019b) have worked on the same corpus nd framework. The researchers’ finding indicated that the stage of ‘the return of the hero’ could not be detected in the Little Black Fish. According to the study conducted by Asghari, Abidinia and Tolooei Azar (2019) The Little Black Fish has its roots in classical Persian works such as ‘Kelile va Demneh’, ‘Marzbannameh’, and ‘Mantiq ut-tayr’. Coupa, Hejazi and Ghazanfari Moghaddam (2010) found that Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull is somewhat similar to Mantiq ut-tayr. In the same vein, Mohammadi Badr and Ghazanfari Moghaddam (2012) pointed out that Bach’s work is an indirect adaptation of Attar’s masterpiece.  

In the present paper, the researcher adopted a meta-analytical approach to study more than forty-three articles which shared the same theme of ‘mystical journey’. The findings could be used in opening up new avenues of comparative studies for prospective researchers. Findings revealed that the works studied here were comparable due to the following criteria: accessibility to the translated works of other nations, adaptations, direct inspiration from the Sacred Scriptures, common religious background of mystical-journey-oriented works, and common concerns in presenting mystical-journey’s stages. The corpuses included Ardaviraf-nameh, the Devine Comedy, Seirolebad Elalma’ad, Mantiq ut-tayr, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the Little Black Fish, and some other comparable works. In the following table, the potentially comparable works which are yet unsearched are presented. It should be noted that the factor of ‘time’ or ‘inspiration’ are overlooked and the symbol ‘~’ refers to ‘the collection of works comparable to that specific work’:            The Work (to be compared) Potentially Comparable Works The Work (to be compared) Potentially Comparable Works Mantiq ut-tayr Resalato-teyr; Resalato-toyur; Al-tavahhom; Ardaviraf-nameh; Odyssey; Paradise Lost; Seirolebad Elalma’ad; Enoch’s Dream Yoga Sutras Ala Tariqe Eram; the Pilgrim’s Progress; The Man-Trunk and His Traveler; Oscar and the Lady in Pink; The Parliament of Fowls; The Canterbury Tales; Mantiq ut-tayr ~ Ardaviraf-nameh the Pilgrim’s Progress; Ala Tariqe Eram;  Mantiq ut-tayr ~ The Man-Trunk and His Traveler Yoga Sutras ~ Resalato-toyur Ardaviraf-nameh ~ Oscar and the Lady in Pink Yoga Sutras ~ Resalato-teyr Ardaviraf-nameh ~ The parliament of Fowls Yoga Sutras ~ Seirolebad Elalma’ad Ardaviraf-nameh ~ The Canterbury Tales Yoga Sutras ~ Al-tavahhom Ardaviraf-nameh ~ Faust Siddhartha; Qur’anic Sura “Joseph” Enoch’s Dream Ardaviraf-nameh ~ the Little Black Fish the Little Prince; Mantiq ut-tayr ~ the Devine Comedy Ardaviraf-nameh ~ Jonathan Livingston Seagull The Fish Jumped over the Dragon Gate; Mantiq ut-tayr ~ the Pilgrim’s Progress Ardaviraf-nameh ~ the Little Prince the Little Black Fish; Jonathan Livingston Seagull ~ Ala Tariqe Eram Ardaviraf-nameh ~