Analysis of Children's Stories Containing Theosophical Themes: A Case Study

In children's literary works, mystical thoughts are at times presented to the audience in such a compact and attractive manner in the form of a story, which not only increase the pleasure of reading the work, but also immortalize the literary work. In these stories, intuitive concepts are written in simple language for children. If we want to choose mystical stories for children, from among children stories, or if we want to choose such stories from the perspective of a researcher, what features can be considered for children mystical stories? Is it possible to provide a general definition of mystical literature specific for children including mystical stories? The theoretical framework of this research for studying children's mystical stories is Hasheminejad's classification of adult mystical stories (the only research available in this field). In addition, in the analysis of the three fictional works, the theory provided by Matthews in Philosophy for Children program, which highlights the importance of children's stories in philosophical imagination, is also partially included. This may aid to find a way to the mystical imagination of children and its cultivation. In the present study, conducted through a descriptive-analytical approach and deductive method, first, the what and how of childlike mysticism is briefly discussed; then, a five-component definition of children's mystical literature is provided; and last, in accordance with the features of adult mystical stories, features set for children mystical stories are presented.