The "Spiritual Man" in the Thoughts of Jalāl-al Din Rumi and Wayne Dyer; A Comparative Study

Analyzing human nature is one of the most basic philosophical, religious and sociological issues. Also, knowing the characteristics of spiritual man and the ways to achieve happiness is one of the main topics in mystical schools. Many scholars and mystics - both in the West and in the East - have addressed this issue and reached different results. In the present essay, by using descriptive-comparative method, the intellectual systems of Jalāl-al Din Rumi and Wayne Dyer are studied on the issue of "spiritual man" and the common thoughts of these two thinkers are explained. The research findings show that the similarities between their views are much more than the differences. This is due to Dyer's great influence from Rumi's teachings and shows that their intellectual source, that is mysticism, is the same. The main point of commonality between the two is the concept of "unity of being" and the most important difference is the issue of "belief in divine punishment".