فصلنامه ادبیات عرفانی و اسطوره شناختی
سال پانزدهم شماره 55 (تابستان 1398)

René Girard takes a critical approach to the James George Frazer and Claude Lévi-Strauss anthropological views. He belongs to the Freudian psychoanalytic school and the late French psychoanalysis. Girard has proposed a view about history and culture that is a novel mixture of literary criticism, mythology, psychoanalysis and religious studies. He puts forward the idea that in every myth it can be found the trace of a real violence that has changed over time; he turns to a Euhemeristic  mythological point of view which holds that objective historical violence is a constitutive component of rituals and myths of different tribes. By reading texts, he identifies symbolic signs that indicate to mimetic desire in human’s ontological and psychological structure as well as victimary process and scapegoat mechanism in the cultural foundations of different ethnic groups. Accordingly, the present article attempts to consider the origins of Girard's ideas and his arguments by using analytical-critical method. The author of the paper puts an emphasis on Girard's irrationalist points of view and criticizes his anti-Cartesian views about the "subject". Also, what he proposes as the foundation of human culture follows a blind and wild unconsciousness which is based on denial of self-conscious position of desire.

Love and mysticism have a very close relationship with each other and in Arabic and Persian literature many poets have dealt with them. The mystical poems of Abd al-Wahhab Al-Bayati and Sohrab Sepehri represent their mystical approaches. The study of the poetry of these two poets shows that both of them are influenced by Oriental and Islamic mysticism. By employing descriptive-analytical method, the present article attempts to study the common themes, such as religious modern point of view, religious pluralism, Utopia, preaching the good news, life and death, in the poems of these two poets.

In the present article the attempt is made to consider the relationship between three terms of "aftab", "khorshid" and "shams" (all three mean "sun") in Divan Shams based on mystical motifs. Jalāl al-Din Rūmi uses these terms in two ways. First, he uses them for illustration. Second, with these words, he describes the character of Shams Tabrizi. For illustration, Rūmi, like other poets, points to the term "aftab". He is aware of the mythological and religious background of the words "khorshid" and "aftab", so for describing the character of Shams Tabrizi, first, he combines these two words with the word "shams" and then converts the word "shams" from sign to word by hermeneutic interpretation. In this way, he can record two terms "aftab", "khorshid" as mystical motifs. "Shams" is identical with "khorshid", and thus all the mythological and mystical features of "khorshid" appear in "shams". By using descriptive-analytical method, the present study has concluded that Rumi has dealt with worship of Shams Tabrizi and regards him as the god of mythology and searches for "self" in the process of individuality by annihilation in him. All of this process can be interpreted by Jung's psychology. According to this interpretation, Shams Tabrizi is a means to reach God.

Old rituals are associated with mythology, which means that man has lived with myth from the beginning. Human beings have common concepts such as suffering, happiness, war, peace, love and other emotions that open to a common sense and bring together single people; so they give meaning to myths and rituals. Blood is a part of human biological existence and his/her stream of life that goes beyond the body, becomes a common concept among humans and is the source of many myths and ancient rituals in the personal and social life of mankind. The myth of blood is manifested among various nations in various forms. Among Iranian people, the myth has many faces which some of them, such as shedding blood and drinking it, are appeared in Shāhnāmeh, the national Iranian epic. By using an analytical-comparative approach and based on evidence from other cultures, the present essay attempts to study the myth of blood and its ritual functions in the stories of Shāhnāmeh. The result of the research shows that the myth has a ritual function in forms of scapegoating, repelling evil, seeking revenge, mourning and Anew life.

Shāhnāmeh of Ferdowsi, as the valuable work of epic literature, shows collection of cultures and beliefs of Iranian people from the farthest times to the era of Ferdowsi. In this book, Ferdowsi narrates the story of Iranian kings and heroes from mythological to historical times; it is a collection of beliefs, cultures and rituals that kings, heroes, natural elements and animals are its actors. Elephant is among these actors. All the epic, mythological and ritual motifs related to elephant are not mentioned in Shāhnāmeh, so in order to achieve a comprehensive overview of the animal, inevitably, other Persian epic books, written after Shāhnāmeh and affected by it, should be studied. By using comparative-analytical approach, the authors of the present article try to extract, classify and analyze the motifs of elephant and its related themes in Shāhnāmeh and other ten epics including Bānūgoshasp-nāmeh, Borzu-nāmeh, Bahman-nāmeh, Jahāngir-nāmeh, Sāmnameh, Shahriyār-nāmeh, Farāmarz-nāmeh, Kok koohzād, Kūsh-nāmeh, and Garshāsp-nāmeh.  The most important motifs include: Ahurian-Ahrimanian motifs, elephant totem, killing elephant by hero, metamorphosis to elephant, presence of elephant in army, its role in games, interpretation of dreams and so on.

One of the most common methods of studying mythology is the psychological analysis of myths. Carl Gustav Jung, the founder of personality psychology, opened a new window in criticism and analysis of myths by introducing archetypes. According to Jung, everyone has a personal and a collective unconscious. He believes that the personal unconscious is built on a deeper innate layer that is called collective unconscious or archetype. The manifestation of archetype is more prominent in the works of art, especially literature and myths. This issue can be seen in Shāhnāmeh which is one of the most famous Iranian mythological and epic texts. Shadow, anima, animus, hero and mother are the prominent archetypes of Shāhnāmeh.  We can find many of these archetypes in the story of the Seven Labors of Rostam (Haft Khan-e Rostam). Based on Jung's theory, it can be considered the stages of the Labors a kind of passing from "ego" to reach "self" in order to achieve "psychological individuation". And this is not possible except with the help of the hero (Rostam) and the passing of the shadow. In fact, Kai Kāvus, as the symbol of man, benefits from the help of Rostam (hero) and passes from "ego" to "self" (psychological individuation). By employing comparative-analytical method and based on Jung's psychological theory the present article attempts to examine the story of the Seven Labors of Rostam (Haft Khan-e Rostam) as an archetype.

The recreation, regeneration and metamorphosis of myth can be seen in contemporary poetry; that is, the contemporary poets, based on temporal context and their themes, change the components of a myth and manipulate it. By using descriptive-analytical method, the present study tries to show the metamorphosis myths and methods of metamorphosis in the poems of Badr Shakir al-Sayyab and to consider the contexts that have led to the transformation of myths in his poems. Sayyab is a pioneer in contemporary Arab poetry, so the present research can show new approaches in his poems and, in addition, Illustrate the methods of transformation of myths in contemporary Arabic poetry. The results show that the main methods of metamorphosis of myths (Greek and Arabic) in the poems of Sayyab are as follows: adding elements to original myths, changing the nature and function of mythical characters and components of myths, especially at the endings of them. Also, the most important goals of Sayyab in the metamorphosis of myths include: the adaptation of myths to the modern age and political- social needs.

The poems of a poet reflect his/her various moods, so the colors used in his/her poems can lead the way in identifying the reactions and behaviors of the poet. The visionary experience of poet-mystics which is based on a symbolic language can be better expressed by using colors and its related terms. By using descriptive-analytical method and based on the Max Lüscher's psychology of colors, the present article attempts to re-read Musibat-Nāmeh, written by Attār of Nishapur. The results show that categorization of colors in Musibat-Nāmeh, from left to right, is as follows in order of preference:  (7+3+4×2×1=5=0-6-). According to Lüscher, such prioritization by the sālek (the holy traveler) implies that he/she suffers from separation from the Divine world (7+3+); but he/she hopes to achieve a better situation and to overcome many of the limitations of the material world (4×2×). In this way, he/she doesn't find any tranquilizing environment and hides his/her thoughts from strangers and shares them with close people (1=5=). According to Musibat-Nāmeh, the sālek looks for an opportunity to improve his/her spiritual states by purification of the soul. By this way, he/she can obtain his/her pervious dignity in the Divine world (0-6- ).

Dreaming is one of the puzzles that has preoccupied the mind of man from way back. It has been discussed in many fields such as religions, mythology, psychology, literature and mysticism. Dreams have been categorized into some types like veridical dream, sound dream and so on. As a source of inspiration, mystics and Sufis used dream to solve many of their problems and they had great value for it. Attar of Nishapur has narrated many dreams of Sufis and saints of God in his book, Tazkirat-al-Auliyā. By using descriptive-analytical method, the present article tries to consider the dreams narrated in this book. Also, the characters of the dreams, their subjects and their relationship with facts of life are considered. The results show that many of the dreams are rooted in real life of mystics and Sufis. They intended to express their dreams, because they were considered as part of the Prophecy and messages from the Divine world.

The scholars in the field of mysticism have expressed a variety of ideas about the concept of love, which show the importance of it in Iranian religious thoughts. Ahmad Ghazali (452 -520 AH) created a dramatic change in the nature of love by writing mystical works. He presented a new interpretation of the story of Layla and Majnun's love in Sawāneh, his first work in the field of love in Persian language. In Arabic literature, Layla and Majnun love story is a kind of pure love (Ishq-e Azrā) or Platonic love. By using descriptive-analytical method, in the present article the attempt is made to consider the stages of the transformation of pure love of Layla and Majnun in Ahmad Ghazali's thoughts and to answer this question: In a comparative study, how do we interpret the similarities and differences between the Layla and Majnun love in Ahmed Ghazali's attitude and the pure love in Arabic literature? The results show that, based on Ghazali's romantic and mystical principles, virtuous, secular, painful, unending and pure love transforms to admirable, divine, pleasant and hopeful love and leads to perfection.