The Origin of Human’s Nature and Aspects in Mathnavi
Subject Areas : Research in Iranian classical literatureKeywords: human anthropology origin genealogy nature soul,
Abstract :
Human is one of the key concepts in Mowlavi’s works, especially in Mathnavi. Mowlavi considers human as an eye created to gaze at God and thereby, take pleasure; the essence of existence is thought, the thought whose object is The Divine. One can certainly ask where human originated from. According to the divine religions and the Gnostic schools following them man was made out of mud, and Adam was the first referent of humans. So, it is worth asking what processes human has left behind to reach to his present stance. The question is investigated as genealogy. Mowlavi introduces different stages in human’s genealogy. Having passed these stages, he reached the present stage. Now, he has come up with the question that, how his present situation is. The answer lies in human’s nature, which Mowlavi considers it of double quality. In sum, all these issues are reflected in Mathnavi. The humans’ creation out of various kinds of soils is the symbolic way of suggesting their different faculties and natures. At the same time, he has the potential of being the place of the Divine revelation; the soul breathed in him is the symbol of God’s presence in this place. This soul involves the levels including vegetative soul, animal soul, and holy soul. According to Mowlavi, human is the ultimate cause of the creation, though he is the last being to be created. Now, if he could reach perfection, he would acquire the capacity to be exalted. Such exaltation would result in his turning to be God-like, which would promote him far beyond plans, animals, and angels, to an exalted rank. This is so because human moves from these stages, while non-human beings are permanently fixed in their stages.