Mēnō, Gētī and the Multiple States of Being in theIlluminationist Philosophy

The Two most important notions of the Mazdean cosmology are mēnō and gētī. Mēnō is a non- material, invisible and suprasensory state which belongs to Ahuramazda, Amshaspands, other deities and the eternal mēnō of the creatures of this world. In a sharp contrast, gētī is the material, contingent and earthly mode of existence. In the Avesta and the Pahlavi texts these two modes of being seem closely interwoven. Mēnō is the unseen force which moves, organizes and manipulates gētī, and gētī is the material form in which mēnō resides and with which it performs its functions. In the Illuminationist philosophy of Suhrawardi all the descending states of being emanated from Nur al- anwar, are classified into three categories of «the world of pure beings» , including the world of intellect and the world of soul, «the world of mithāl», which is the intermediate state, and «the material world»which includes the spheres and the elements. In a comparative outlook, the Mazdean triple worlds of Amshaspandns and other deties, the mēnōg forms of the gētīg beings, and the gētī correspond to the triple worlds of Suhrawardi.