The creatures of the universe are the words of God(Comparative study of unity of existence allegories in Bedil Dehlavi’s works and Upanishads)

Studying the historical evolution of "unity of existence" indicates that "we always encounter unity in mysticism" (Kakayi, 2010: 103); secondly, "the unity of existence in Islam was systematically organized by Ibn 'Arabi" (Poornamardian, 1996: 91). However, it has a long history, and has been popular roughly similar in different ethnic groups and religions. In Islam, before Ibn 'Arabi, the "unity of existence" has been referred in the speeches of mystics like Al-Hallaj, Bayazid Bastami, Junayd of Baghdad and etc., it is also stated in the Quran and Nahj al-Balaghah. As far as the Ancient Iran is concerned, the book Sikand-gûmânîk Vigâr, states that:"What exists in the tangible world, its root and origin can be found in the intangible world, too" (Zarrinekub, 2000: 26). In ancient Greece and Rome, "the history of the idea of ​unity of existence can be traced back to the pre-Socratic philosophy, all philosophers before Socrates believed that they could find a pervasive order and unity beneath the plurality of the observable universe" (Kakayi, 2010: 26). However, the oldness of unity of existence in ancient India may be as one of the most pretentious origins of the unity of existence, or even as the main origin of pantheism, which has been reflected in Upanishads (See also: 121-122). Given that the unity of existence belongs to the world beyond the existence world and sometimes the interference of these meanings leads to concurrency of contradictory meanings, hence, linguistic propositions are unable to transmit this mystical experience and mystics prefer to use allegory in their teachings.
Many similarities can be found among the allegories used to illustrate the issue of "unity of existence" in Bidel Dehlavi’s works and Upanishads. Though Bidel is considered as Ibn Arabi's followers in mysticism, he has referred to Indian mysticism and beliefs in his works. On the hand, the comparative study of different nations’ works leading to the clarification of thought commonalities and exploration of sympathy and mutual understanding among them, justifies the significance of this study. In this study, which is based on a descriptive and analytical method, an attempt is done to analyze and study the allegories which are presented for the better understanding of the "unity of existence" in Bidel Dehlavi’s works and the holy books of Hindus. To this end, the examples are first extracted from Bidel’s works and Upanishads and then are categorized in seven different groups. Later, the findings are analyzed.  3.1. Allegory of seed: considering that when a seed becomes a tree, it has several names such as root, trunk, branch, leaf, fruit, etc., but the origin is the same (see also, Ouldagh, 2008: 96). In Upanishads and Bidel's works, it has been pointed out through various allegories that there is only one existence as being real all through the world of being and the created universe with all its diversity is nothing but the manifestation of God.
3.2. Water: water has always been considered by the mystics for its colorless, immeasurable, softness and flexible features (see also, Kakayi, 2010: 501). The proponents of unity of existence believe that whirlpools, waves, bubbles, streams, springs and drops, and ... with all their diversity, are nothing but the manifestation of the sea; and the created universe with all its diversity is nothing but the plural manifestation of real existence.
3.3. Mirror and image: mirror is one of the most beautiful and precise allegories of the unity of existence due to features such as the inescapability of the image, lack of image in the absence of a person, the limitation of mirror in presenting the image owner, the difference in the image of the unit object in multiple mirrors and etc.
3.4. Sun and shadow: according to proponents of unity of existence, the relationship between the universe and God is like the relationship between shadow and shadow owner. The shadow is neither light nor darkness, or it is both light and darkness, both existent and nonexistent. It can be a paradoxical expression of existence and nonexistence. That is, the shadow may be likened to universe, while it is nothing it is existent.
3.5. Breath, Voice and Speech: The letters and words used by human beings can, in several aspects, be an allegory of different dimensions of the unity of existence. The origin of the words is the meaning that is at the chest of the speaker, and the words we hear are its manifestation. Thus, we can claim that the words, while appearing, remains at the chest of speaker, and this is an allegory of the manifestation of God in the people in their chest in terms of essence (See also Kakayi, 2010: 497). Or a single breath that goes out of the speaker's chest, creates different letters in dealing with various outlets and parts of letters that are diverse. The proponents of unity of existence believe that creatures are the words of God, which from the highest to the lowest rank are manifested from the graceful soul.
3-6. Sleep and awakening: The proponents of unity of existence consider the world as dream, that is, when one is sleeping, his dream is not true, this world is also a dream, and it is not true (See also, Ibn Arabi, 2010: 589). In this way, followers of the unity of existence, using the allegory of sleep and awakening, describe the paradox of unity of being with a particular beauty.
7. Color and colorlessness: The allegory related to the color of water, glass and sun, is another allegory of the existence of plurality in unity for the proponents of this theory. With this explanation that if the colorless light shines to colored glasses, it will appear in plurals with numerous colors.  Similarly, water takes different colors in different situations. For example, when it flows in a red rose, it turns red and when it penetrates into a green leaf, it turns green. While, when it sits on the mirror, it rusts. According to the proponents of unity of existence, this allegory indicates the paradox of unity, plurality, appearance and reality as well. 1- The idea of ​​the unity of existence is one of the common issues in the Upanishads and the works of Bidel Dehlavi. Hence, the fundamental thought in these works is that the true existence in terms of essence and prediction is unit, while it is plural in terms of names and traits and the universe of creation and creatures is nothing but imagination and manifestation of the unique essence.
2. Although it is undeniable that Bidel is impressed by Ibn Arabi’s idea of ​​the unity of existence, given that he lived in India and constantly communicated with Hindu tribes, it seems that he has been impressed by the ontological notions of Hindus and reflected some of these Hindu and Brahmaic ideas in his works while expressing the teachings of Islamic mysticism.
3- Although the allegories of the unity of existence are abundant in the works of Bidel Dehlavi, there are some allegories that are similar to the allegories in the Upanishads, including the allegory of water and various manifestations, mirror and image, shadow and sun, seed and tree, sleep and awakening, color and colorlessness, breath and voice and speech.