Recognition of the Role and Status of Baths in Iranian Mysticism

Although Persian texts can be classified and studied from different aspects, all of them must be considered literary texts since their artistic and literary aspects are outstanding. The ritual of washing is familiar to man from birth to death. Thus, it is natural that the bath phenomenon and its various relevant aspects have been exploited by thinkers, writers, and poets in different periods of history. The present article studies the idea of baths in mystic texts and analyses some findings. On the whole, mystics used this idea in three ways. First, baths were considered to be good places for them to be with common people and to influence them with their words. Second, they found the bath to be a good place to get away from the world in order to practice ascetism. Third, they did not neglect the allegorical and decorative aspects and used this facility in the best way to express their sublime meanings.