The Role of Descent, Oblivion and Captivity of the Wayfaring Soul in the Experience of Boundary Situations(with a Focus on Suhrawardi’s Symbolic Stories)

The story of the descent of the soul as a symbolic language has been adopted by philosophers, mystics, and men of letters for years. The systematic investigation of this symbolic language in Suhrawardi’s works, which is often represented in the form of a story, reveals that this image is interwoven with philosophers’ reminiscence theory on the one hand and the myth of awareness and oblivion on the other hand. Suhrawardi’s distinct intellectual and ontological system turns the “image of descent” into a meaningful symbol through which the state of oblivion is depicted as man’s superior gain. The motif of descent, which is symbolized by a bird in most stories, is the tale of a wayfaring soul who has departed from its origin and descended into the corporeal world. The characters of Suhrawardi’s symbolic stories sink into oblivion after their descent, and this stage prepares the wayfaring soul to realize its limitations and abilities while many of its profound beliefs turn into frail notions. Oblivion and descent in those stories provide conditions through which the wayfarer experiences boundary situations that can lead to knowledge, excellence, and elevation. The present study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach to analyze the stories of “The Red Intellect”, “Resalat ol-Tair”, “Language of the Ants”, and “The Nostalgic Story of the West” and concluded that oblivion is some sort of pre-awareness or pre-understanding which plays a fundamental role in experiencing boundary situations.