فصلنامه ادبیات عرفانی و اسطوره شناختی
سال شانزدهم شماره 61 (زمستان 1399)

In the eyes of pre-Islamic Iranians, lie or druj was so disgusting and ugly that the demon of Druj was considered an assistant to the devil and sometimes it was imagined as Ahriman himself.  The present article tries to study the root of the word “druj” in the Avestan language by using descriptive-analytical method. By delving into the lexical structure on the one hand, and exploring comparative concepts on the other hand, it is attempted to give a different perspective on the subject. From this perspective and with regard to the discursive discontinuities, druj as a demonic concept is compared to the goddesses of the pre-Aryan period, and by reflecting on the functions of the ancient goddesses, such as Mitra, Anahita, etc., it is tried to describe the semantic and linguistic changes of the term. The main emphasis in this study is on the feminine identity of the concept. According to the characteristics of the ancient goddesses and of a female-dominated society, the feminine aspect of druj is inferred. The studies show that some of the female archetypes in the religion of Mazdayasna have changed their nature. The archetypes that were in opposition to this religion, manifested in the form of demonic beings and druj is one of these beings.

The recklessnesses of Hallaj in breaking the traditions of the Sufis and his expelling from the circle of great Sufis, especially Junayd of Baghdad, caused the mystics to pay little attention to him in many of their early works and to mention only a few short anecdotes about him. But for the first time, al-Hujwīrī in his book, Kashf al-mahjūb (Unveiling of the Hidden), sought to respond to the accusations made against Hallaj. Al-Hujwīrī belongs to the school of Junayd and turns a blind eye to Junayd's opposition to Hallaj in order to acquit Hallaj in such a way that no one slanders Junayd. Using the descriptive-analytical method, in the present article, we have examined Al-Hujwīrī 's attitude towards Hallaj and have carefully considered the title "absorbed in the Meaning and drowned in claiming” bestowed on Hallaj by him.  Examining the various instances of "claiming" and "meaning" in Kashf al-mahjūb, shows that "the language of sign and gesture” is the most important example in the book. From this perspective, Hujwīrī tries to show that Hallaj's recklessness in revealing divine secrets is a "claim"; he links the procedure of Hallaj to the subject of “sobriety (sahw) and intoxication (sukr)” and confirms Junayd's view that “silence is preferable to words”.

Mystical letters are one of the most valuable examples of informal writings. These letters show abundant imagination, creative mind and mystical pen of their writers, and distinguishes the mystics from the courtly writers who are well aware of the art of letter writing. A study of these texts shows that there is a regular and coherent structure in them. By using descriptive-analytical method, the authors of this study have tried to analyze the content of the letters of Ghazālī, Sanāī, Rumi and Ayn al-Quzat in terms of structure and content of the letters. The style of writing, the subject, the addressee, and in general the structure of the letters is among the items that have received less attention; therefore, the need for such research in these areas is felt.  The findings of the study indicate that the structure of mystical letters is different from courtly letters. The difference is more evident in the speeches, the titles and the beginning of the letter; also, the main subject of the letter is the written requests. In addition, the letters of the mystics are full of advices that are morally and educationally valuable and for teaching ideological and mystical principles are useful.

Tone is the method of reading words and sentences in the text space; it originates from individual and collective beliefs and moral, spiritual and psychological characteristics of individuals, which are combined with the rhetoric, form and structure of poetry. Tone has always been considered as one of the most important elements of creating space and influencing the audience, because it expresses the inner feelings and emotions of the author. Based on the chosen subject, an author should be able to choose, far from artificiality, a tone that suits his/ her text. After introducing the tone, its types and manner of its formation, this descriptive-analytical study tries to consider the tone of Attār of Nishapur in opposition to the worldly authorities in the book of Mantiq-u-Tayr and to introduce its different types. The results of the study show that anecdotes are one of the most important areas of tone expression, because they are dialogue-oriented and are formed in dialogue. Attār of Nishapur has created different tones in composing Mantiq-u-Tayr, as one of the most important works of mystical poetry. In general, the tone of protest, especially the protest against the rulers and sultans in his works is more noticeable than other tones. Attār uses a variety of tones against those in power, including the protest tone, the preaching tone, the warning tone, etc., each of which is described separately

Mystical text is an area of psychological exploration that provides a cognition, albeit a small one, of the position of nearness to God; it also reveals the hidden aspects of its author spiritual dimensions and shows how he/she understands his/her Lord and how he/she approaches to God. In Jung’s school of analytical psychology, “the process of individuation” is an unconscious effort to achieve mental development; it explains that human beings can never achieve the full psychological development, but can only achieve individual, comprehensive and inner experiences by recognizing the "superego". Tamhīdāt (The Preludes) a treatise written by Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani, the prominent mystic of the fifth and sixth centuries AH, reflects a psychological development. The purpose of the present study is to investigate this development in the unconscious of the author of Tamhīdāt. The research has been done by descriptive-analytical method. The results indicate that the author, in his magnum opus, unconsciously shows the psychological development using the mystical teachings and exploring the unconscious. The unconscious influence of the archetypes, such as "Christ", "Wise old man" which eventually merge with the archetype of "shadow" and guide to light, is evident in the book; Ayn al-Quzat tries to achieve the process of individuation and to reach "the superego" in a pure and original way.

In the religious texts of ancient Iran and especially in the Zoroastrian ones, the land of Sistan is of great importance so that its mythical, historical, geographical places and people related to it have been frequently cited. Given the importance of the issue and due to the lack of comprehensive research in this area, by using analytical-descriptive method, the present article attempts to examine the religious and mythological issues related to the land of Sistan covered in Zoroastrian texts. The results of the study show that the Scythians and the Kayanians were associated with this region. Also, since it is the birthplace of Zoroaster, it was the place of the spread and propagation of Zoroastrianism and the emergence of the eschatological saviors. In addition, in these texts, several holy mountains, holy fire temples, holy seas and holy rivers in Sistan are mentioned that show its privileged position in Zoroastrian religion. The frequent mention of Sistan in Zoroastrian texts can be a reflection of its religious and mythological image in this ancient religion.

Cormac McCarthy's The Road, with its ashen, post-apocalyptic landscape, seems a conspicuous exodus from the realism of his earlier novels. Its horrendous atmosphere frustrates the readers and forces them to ask: what really has happened to the world? And is there any kind of salvation for modern man after the horrific post-apocalyptic era? In this novel McCarthy portrays some events which he thinks they are the impossible fate of human beings. He narrates a journey of a father and a son who try to survive after the civilization has been wiped off the face of the earth. The present study has analytic-comparative approach and its main objective is to prove that there is a close relationship between the postmodern novel of The Road and ancient myths of The Holy Grail and The Fisher King. In this research the emphasis is not on the characteristics of The Road as a postmodern novel, but on the myths which are older and more significant. In the post-apocalyptic world which everything is ruined, the only remedy of human being is seeking transcendentalism through myths. The world created upon individual benefit and expediency is doomed. The result of this research reveals that the only salvation for man is to build new moral principles regardless of individual benefit. In fact, the antidote which can cure this melancholic world is nothing but to have mercy upon others; in other words, for survival we need to have compassion and love for others without any condition or calculation.

In the book seven of Dēnkard and The Selections of Zadspram, some legendary stories are narrated about the birth of Zarathustra, the Persian Prophet. In these stories, his mother plays an important and fundamental role in accepting and transmitting the prophetic light more than the father. To analyze this role, the present study presupposes two assumptions: In Iranian thought, everyone's specific function is a result of his/her essential nature; in pre-Zoroastrian thought, heroic action is to break the darkness and take it out of the Ahuraian universe. Zarathustra creates a new myth called “the pious man” that has the characteristics of a Mobad (Zoroastrian cleric); he performs the task of a hero and breaks the darkness. By using mythological and analytical approach, the present article attempts to study “the myth of hero”, as one of the cultural teachings of ancient Iran, and focuses on the concept of the heroic gem. After examining the story of Zarathustra's birth in Dēnkard and The Selections of Zadspram, we come to the conclusion that the heroic gem is so rooted in Iranian thought that the Zoroastrians, despite the teachings of their prophet, have given this gem to him to make his role in driving Ahreman out of the Ahuraian universe more believable. The heroic gem, as a dual gem, is the result of a combination of light and darkness; it is provided in the essence of Asho Zardosht (the righteous Zarathustra) by combining the gems of Ahura Mazda and Dughdova, the mother of Zarathustra.

A large number of gods have arisen from the world of mythology and have been appeared as famous heroes or great kings in epics. One of these heroes is Samak in the prose epic-heroic story of Samak-e Ayyar. This hero, like the mythological gods Indra and Mitra, is considered to have some mythical characteristics. Some of the mythological features of Samak are as follows: rescuing princesses from the clutches of evil kidnappers; an inseparable relationship with Khorshid Shah; destroying demons and fairies; constantly accompanying a woman who is the manifestation of a goddess. By an analytical-comparative approach and considering the Indo-Iranian sacred texts, Rigveda and Avesta, and the ideas of mythological scholars such as Mehrdad Bahar, the authors of the present article have tried to compare the functions of two gods, Indra and Mitra, with the functions of Samak. The results show that Samak, the prominent hero of the prose epic-heroic story of Samak-e Ayyar, is an amalgamation of two mythological cultures of India and Iran and have metamorphosed into a new form.

Abu al-'Ala Ma'ari and Omar Khayyam are prominent poets of Arabic and Persian languages and literatures, and the intellectual similarities between these two famous poets has been the subject of much research. In the present article, the influence of philosophy, poetry and mythology on the uncommon lifestyles of Abu al-'Ala Ma'ari and Omar Khayyam has been discussed. By using analytical-comparative method, it is tried to answer the following questions: Given the many similarities between Abu al-'Ala Ma'ari and Omar Khayyam, why did they choose a completely different lifestyle?   Can it be said that this difference is the result of their different perceptions of the same intellectual origins? Attempts have also been made to examine the origins of Abu al-'Ala Ma'ari’s pessimism and Omar Khayyam’s optimism based on the views of Plato and Cassirer. The results show that despite the many similarities between the two poets, Abu al-'Ala Ma'ari’s pessimism and his unhappy lifestyle stem from his poetic identity and mythological views; while Omar Khayyam’s optimism and his happy lifestyle are rooted in his philosophical outlook.