Recognizing the Behaviors of the Sālek in Musibat-Nāmeh of Attār; Based on Max Lüscher's Psychology of Colors

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- ).