Mystical Symbolism Research Articles

Voices from Periphery: Punjabi Poetry, Resistance and Anti-Colonial Nationalism

This article examines a genre of Punjabi poetry, as a voice from the periphery, a powerful vehicle of the marginalised for the performance of collective expression and resistance against the hegemonic nature of colonial rule, charting a strong relationship between language and articulation of political imagination. The images of rich tribal culture, warriors as sons of the soil, Punjabi valour and mystical symbols were used to portray the punjab’s plural landscape. The socio-economic marginality of disenfranchised individuals, created by a vertically structured patron–client network, operating in a coercive administrative framework, forged a sense of community identity along religious lines. Using religious rhetorics, community identity was converged into Islamic identity to construct nationhood. Anti-colonial nationalism became the language of a meta-project for the attainment of political independence.

Kadın Siyasetçilerin Seçim Kampanyalarındaki Mitler Üzerine Göstergebilimsel Bir İnceleme: İran’daki Yerel Seçimler Örneği

This paper explores gender issues through a mythical lens, studying myths from a semiotic standpoint and their impact on gender roles in politics. The legendary elements included in campaign posters for Iranian female candidates during municipal elections are investigated in this study. It specifically explores the importance, worth, and impact of these visuals in political advertising. The research findings indicate that although women have achieved notable progress in the realm of politics, their advancements and entitlements are frequently obscured by gender biases. Although women have made significant strides in addressing gender inequality in areas such as education, posters still prominently feature aesthetics and femininity. Women with scientific credentials continue to prioritize face appearance, influenced by the societal norms and regulations of a conservative society. Ancient Iranian political propaganda continues to harness the potency of age-old mystical symbols, serving as a testament to the significant value and influence of women in that era. Political myths, such as nationalism, assert that nationalism is not influenced by gender and that gender equality is a central focus in national movements, regardless of whether they are led by radical or liberal parties.

Spiritual Formation and Mystical Symbolism ed. by Grover A. Zinn, et al (review)

Spiritual Formation and Mystical Symbolism ed. by Grover A. Zinn, et al (review)

Mystical Implicature of Javanese Mantras: From Lingual to Transcendental?

Up to this point, no research has been conducted on the mysticism found in the mantra of Kidung Rumeksa ing Wengi (referred to as KRW). This study focuses primarily on Javanese Mysticism, employing qualitative research methods as guidelines. The primary data utilized in this study is the spell text, while hermeneutic techniques are employed for analysis. The findings reveal that KRW, through the symbolism of its mantra language, embodies the implicit aspects of Islamic Mysticism within Javanese philosophy. The structure of KRW demonstrates influences from Javanese poetry, specifically tembang macapat, while mystical symbolism draws upon the analogy of birds. The essence of mysticism pertains to sufiyah inclinations such as desire, anger, mutmainah, and lawwamah. The most profound aspect of controlling desire revolves around the perspective on the life of the Kiblat Papat Lima Pancer. The content of KRW holds relevance as it serves as an Islamic religious mantra for conversion. A subtle strategy that combines language symbolism and cultural convention is deemed more acceptable than proselytizing through violence. A significant implication of this research is that mantra literature stands as an essential medium for embracing transcendental values. KRW is an inclusive and collaborative platform that unites linguistics, mysticism, sociology, culture, and philosophy, all converging toward the enhancement of theological studies.

T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets and St. John of the Cross

Four Quartets (1942) is a sequence of four poems:'Burnt Norton' (1936), 'East Coker' (1940), 'The Dry Salvages'(1941) and 'Little Gidding' (1942). The main sources of themystical symbols in T.S. Eliot's masterpiece, Four Quartets,are some of Saint John of the Cross's writings and this has notbeen given its due of study. This paper aims at exploring St.John of the Cross's influence on Eliot's Four Quartets,especially his Dark Night of the Soul and The Ascent ofMount Carmel. The downward movement, the descent intothe inner darkness and the symbols of ascending anddescending of the stairs in Eliot's poems were among theoutstanding mystical symbols used by John of the Cross. Eliotalso strongly echoes John of the Cross in his emphases thatone must die to self and undergo mortification of the bodybefore one can hope for the perfect union of the soul withGod. The paper attempts to investigate Eliot's use of these andother symbols relating them to their counterparts in the worksof St. John of the Cross .

Там – здесь, далеко – близко, высоко – низко: пространственно-визуальное моделирование двоемирия в «Стихах о Прекрасной Даме» А. Блока

ABSTRACT Aleksandr Blok’s cycle “Poems about the Beautiful Lady” embodies the romantic-mystical concept of dvoemirija (‘a dual world’): the world of the lyrical hero and the world of the Beautiful Lady. The observer plays an important role in depicting dual worlds in poetic narrative. This is a lyrical hero-narrator who acts as a subject of visual, acoustic and other perceptions of the surrounding world, occupying a certain spatial position in it. It allows him to model two poetic realities and interpret them in symbolic and mystical terms. Both worlds are built on the basis of spatial oppositions “there – here,” “far – close,” and “high – low,” which have their own formal linguistic means of expression. A border appears between two realities, an intermediate reality, which has its own visual effects: blurred boundaries, silhouettes, blurred colors. Twilight, the fog of the intermediate world gives rise to a mystical symbol of mystery surrounding the Beautiful Lady and her world. The article provides an analysis of linguistic means of expressing spatial oppositions which establishes the dominant role of visual perception in modeling dvoemirija in Blok’s poetry.

The Mystical Symbolism in Coomaraswamy’s The Dance of Shiva

The Mystical Symbolism in Coomaraswamy’s The Dance of Shiva

MYSTICAL SYMBOLS IN THE CULINARY DISCOURSE OF JOAN HARRIS’S NOVEL “CHOCOLAT”

The article deals with analyzing the nature of Joan Harris’s novel “Chocolat” mystical symbolism. The authors state that the culinary discourse is a mixed, personal-oriented type of communication, which is manifested in the everyday communication sphere which has an institutional character. Foreign language Culinary discourse is represented by precedent texts of culinary recipes that reflect the specifics of national culture, which has social and gender characteristics and is a special type of communication that uses certain professional-oriented signs – terminology, stable turns of phrase, characteristic morphosyntactic structures. It is noted that sign are characterized by a symbolic nature, structuredness, the presence of cultural interpretants, individually authored nature of coding, communicative orientation. Certain features of the image indicate that it acts as a special connecting link between the life world of a person and the linguistic representation of this world. This is done through the process of encoding spiritual and cultural values with the help of linguistic means (signs). The magic in the plot of the novel is connected, first of all, with mystical seniority. The novel, written as a diary of the heroine and her daughter, alternating with the letters of Vianne’s antagonist, Curé Raynaud, to his father, intimates the story from the beginning, emphasizing the specific symbolism of the characters’ world. All this makes it possible to imagine chocolate as a mystical substance that evokes a whole range of sensations described in detail in the novel.

Symbols in Chandra Shyam Dangol's Stone Sculptures

Chandra Shyam Dangol's stone sculptures have symbols that suggest the concepts of wisdom and enlightenment. The symbols are images that signify something else beyond themselves. The recurrent symbols in the sculptures are the figures of divinities, lotus, sword, mudras (gestures) of meditating characters and the image of Shivalinga. These mystical symbols suggest spiritual values. They make the viewers aware of the self and the external world and inspire the unity of these entities. Due to the mythical and spiritual subject matters, the works appear to be magical and mystical. The symbolic artworks enhance moral values and contribute to refine the civilization. 'Stone sculptures of Chandra Shyam Dangol', the area of this research, is explored from the symbolist perspective of Thomas Carlyle and Susanne K. Langer. Symbols suggest the silent aspects of reality. Symbols in Dangol's artworks suggest invisible spiritual dimensions of human experience. Since the paper derives the thesis statement through the interpretation of sculptures, andthere are the possibilities of multiple interpretations, this research is qualitative.

H. Skovoroda in the Works of Ukrainian Artists

This paper analyzes the creative heritage of H. Skovoroda, his literary pronouncements on the role of art in the cultural heritage of the reference period. Along with dialectics of philosophical thought of H. Skovoroda, an important principle of his work, namely symbolism, which was inherent not only in Baroque emblematic poetry, but also in the visual art in general at the time, is revealed. Philosophical reflections and symbols of H. Skovoroda were understandable and highly sought not only in the Baroque period, but also throughout the time. It is thus with good reason that philosophical and ethical views of H. Skovoroda influenced the artistic conceptions of many Ukrainian artists, first and foremost those belonging to M. Boichuk, H. Narbuta, V. Krychevskyi, O. Bogomazov, K. Malevich and others.
 This paper expands the concept of emblematics, symbolism of the Baroque and its quotation in the modern Ukrainian art. It has been brought out that the image symbolism of H. Skovoroda in their creativity expressed the idea of Ukrainian Sacrum, sophistication and cordocentrism. The philosophy of Ukrainian art, based on the idea of Sacrum, as well as on the sacral signatures of the national fine arts, developed its own understanding of both art and artistic concepts that reflected the revolutionary “mythmaking” and transformed the stable Ukrainian archetype into new artistic images.
 Skovoroda’s teachings have always attracted artists by their uniqueness, the significance of opinions, the depth of spiritual understanding of both the world and man, while his mystical symbolism is still quoted in the works of Ukrainian artists. Skovoroda’s figure is embedded in the historical process of understanding both the man and the world around, and his views can be projected not only onto the past, but likewise onto the present. In Ukrainian fine art and iconography, the philosopher’s dream of the harmony of human existence, the greatness of his spirit and self-knowledge is still maintained.
 The expressed allegorical nature of Skovoroda’s philosophical meditations is reflected in the symbolism of both the past and contemporary works of art. The illustration of a conceptual idea in terms of images-symbols is kind of “l'instant épié”, which aims at the most adequate expression of the artist’s point of view, when reality is transformed by flair, and everything that the artist’s brush touches rises above everyday life and becomes poetic.

Mystical Symbols of Divine Love in the Poetry of Omar Tarin and William Blake: A Comparative Cognitive Analysis7

This study is a comparative cognitive analysis of the identical symbols of Divine Love in the poetry of the oriental Pakistani poet Omer Tarin and the occidental English poet William Blake. It adopts the Mental Spaces theory in Cognitive Poetics and the theory of Perennialism in Comparative Mysticism as the main theoretical frameworks. The study aims at demonstrating the mental operation of meaning construction of these symbols and help deliver meaningful mystical perceptions of the human soul’s ineffable experience in its union with the Divine. Exploring mystical symbols via these theories will offer an accurate interpretation of the meaning of the abstract concepts based on the concrete ones and stipulate deeper insight into the commonality of the ambiguous feelings of the soul in Divine Love. Answering the question of the existence of identical symbols with mystical connotations, the study focusses on the symbols of Pipe, Woman, and Bird and reveals that despite the religious and cultural disparities between Omer Tarin and William Blake, there is a keen affinity between them as related to their unitary poetic-mystical consciousness of the soul’s experience in its search for the Divine, for which both poets have ingeniously utilized identical symbolism not only as a tool for artistic ornamentation but as a tool for cognitive orientation. The study endorses further research on mystical language and poetry from comparative and cognitive perspectives to corroborate the tenets of cognitive theories in comparative literary studies through cross-cultural research.

Expression of Death with the Metaphor of Migration in Classical Turkish Poetry

Yaklaşık altı asır hüküm süren klasik Türk şiirinde insani olan veya insan hayatına dokunan hemen her konu kendisine yer bulabilmiştir. Ancak bu konular doğrudan değil, klasik şiir poetikası veya tasavvufi sembolizm çerçevesinde şairin muhayyilesinde işlendikten sonra söz meydanına çıkmıştır. Göç olgusu da bu şiirde hem bir konu hem de metafor olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Göçün toplumsal, siyasi ve tarihî yönleri daha çok destan ve efsane gibi türlerde işlenmiştir. Bazı manzum siyer-i Nebi’lerde ve mesnevilerde hicret hadisesi, anlatıya (tahkiye) dayalı olarak ve nisbeten tarihî verilerle uyumlu bir şekilde ele alınmıştır. Klasik şiirin genelinde, özellikle gazel türünde, ise âşık-maşuk ilişkisi bağlamında ortaya çıkan “göç” kavramı aynı zamanda “ölüm”ün de müşebbehün bih’i (kendisine benzetilen) konumundadır. Bu kavram; beraberinde kervan, kafile, azık (zâd), ceres (kervan zili, çan, çıngırak), göç davulu ve göç borusu (kûs-ı rahîl/rıhlet), eşkıya, deve vs. birçok farklı kelimeyi de şairin zihnine getirerek basit bir teşbihten ziyade metafor olarak kullanılmış ve neticede herkesin bildiği ve kaçınılmaz olan “ölüm” gerçeği daha sanatsal, edebî bir şekilde dile getirilmiştir. Çalışmada göç metaforu bu zengin kullanım ve çağrışım alanıyla birlikte ele alınıp örnekler içerik ve üslup yönünden ayrıntılı şekilde tahlil edilmeye çalışılmıştır.

كلمة العدد (الإنجليزي)

Ansaq still seeks to achieve its major goal to become a significant scientific and academic platform, being an important addition in scientific research and specialized studies within social sciences and humanities, and reaching an intermediary horizon by being open to all visions and proposals by scientific researchers and those interested in all branches of these sciences. Additionally, the journal seeks, through its upcoming issues, to realize a scheme targeting contemporary theories and modern methodologies in its experimental and modernizing proposals in the relevant fields of knowledge. To achieve this end, the journal is pleased to place in the hands of its valued readers the first issue of 2022, which includes six research papers, in addition to a book review of a recently published text, entitled Dictionary of Narrative Characters in Narrative Folklore: Standards and Functions. In philosophical and intellectual studies, the paper entitled “Worldview /Perception in Miftāh's Critical Discourse: An Epistemological Reading in the Critical Method” provides an epistemological reading within the critical approach, surpassing some of the previous shortcomings in the analysis of critical approaches, which failed to address the epistemological premises upon which those methodologies are based. The paper seeks to provide a reading capable of deciphering the mystical symbols that make up the talismans of the unity of the discourse of this critic, whose work is difficult for many to understand owing to a confusion between seeing and envisioning. The paper entitled “Revelation in the Light of Hassan Hanafi’s Phenomenological Approach” attempts to investigate the “Hanafi” view on revelation, based on the Western phenomenological approach, which is one of the most prominent approaches that imposed itself in the philosophical arena during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He adopted this approach as a gateway to the renewal of Islamic sciences, through his project “From Text to Reason.” The third paper showcases the epistemological contribution of Ibn Khatimah al-Ansarī al-Andalusī (1324-1369) in establishing an early theory on contagion, based on the principle of natural causation, and how he epistemologically established this theory. The paper indicates that the scientific method based on clinical observation and experience is the only one capable of overcoming health, social and economic crises that occur as a result of the spread of epidemic diseases. Grammar was the subject of two research papers in this issue. The first deals with “Some Cases of Replacement Nunation and its Definiteness Origin: A Study in the Linguistic Fossils of the Arabic Definiteness Theory’s History,” investigating the reality of Tanwīn (nunation) in the structure of the Arabic sentence. The researcher mainly relies on the formal marking for some of the linguistic units. It is not possible - according to this paper - to justify some cases of accusatives, or nominatives, through the theory of action. As for the second research, it focuses on “grammatical implication,” raising a number of questions worthy of research and reflection from a critical perspective. In history, the paper on Sheikh Mohammed bin Thanī’s rule of Qatar sheds light on an important period in the history of the State of Qatar, in the period from 1886 to 1878, which constituted an important stage for the establishment of Qatar. The paper concludes that the State of Qatar, whether during the era of Sheikh Mohammed bin Thanī, or the eras of his successors from Al Thanī family, did not attack any of the neighboring countries, and that the wars that took place between Qatar and some of its neighbors were only in defense of the country and its independence. The book review on “Dictionary of Narrative Characters in Narrative Folklore: Standards and Functions” provides a systematic conception of the mechanism of making a cultural narrative dictionary focusing on the narrative personalities in folklore, such as Arabian Nights, the Maqamat, Folk Biographies and other narrative forms. It clearly elaborates the structural and cultural role of those characters, within each narrative text, going beyond their mere description as they appear in the texts to the levels of form and intellect. It provides scientific methodological information on those characters, and it is the first dictionary of this kind in Arab culture, which represents an important tributary to the Arab library in the field of narratives and cultural studies. Technically, Ansaq is in the process of updating its e-platform, which can be accessed through the journal's official website. Concurrently, Ansaq invites its researchers to use this platform for future submissions in order for them to follow-up and be updated more efficiently about the status of their papers.

Fish as a sufi symbol: fish in legends and fish metaphor in dervish lodge's poetry

Deniz imgesinin tasavvufta önemli bir yeri vardır. Sadece deniz değil denizle ilgili olan dalga, katre, gavvâs, bahrî, inci, mercan gibi unsurlar da menkıbelerde ve tekke şiirinde tasavvufi birer remiz olarak kullanılır. Tasavvufi remiz olarak kullanılan unsurlardan biri de balıktır. Tasavvufta deniz vahdeti simgeler. Vahdet deryasına dalan salik ise denizdeki bir balığa benzetilir. Zira balık deniz olmadan yaşayamaz; salik de vahdet deryasına dalmadan hayat bulamaz. Balığın kıssa ve menkıbelerde geçen bir canlı olması da tekke şiirinde dinî-tasavvufi mesajlar vermek için bir araç olarak kullanılmasına zemin hazırlamıştır. Çeşitli nasihatler ve tasavvufi hikmetler bazen balığın özellikleri üzerinden dile getirilir. Bu çalışmada balık metaforunun menkıbelerde ve tekke şiirinde nasıl kullanıldığı ele alınmıştır. Çalışmamız bir giriş bölümü, iki ana bölüm ve bir sonuç bölümünden oluşmaktadır. Giriş bölümünde tasavvufta ve tekke şiirinde deniz ve denizle ilgili unsurların hangi şekilde kullanıldığı hakkında kısaca bilgi verilmiştir. Birinci bölümde balığın kıssa ve menkıbelerde nasıl geçtiği üzerinde durulmuştur. Kur’an-ı Kerim’de bulunan bazı kıssalardan söz edilmiştir. Balıkla ilgili evliya menkıbeleri ele alınmıştır. Balığın dinî-tasavvufi kaynaklardaki önemi ortaya konmuştur. İkinci bölümde ise tekke şiirinde balığın işlenişi üzerinde durulmuştur. Balıkla ilgili bazı benzetme ve özellikler sıralanmıştır. Konuyla ilgili beyitler günümüz Türkçesine göre nesre çevrilmiş ve açıklanmıştır. Sonuç bölümünde araştırmadan elde edilen faydalar belirtilmiştir.

A Mystical Reading of D. H. Lawrence's "Shadows"

Though D. H. Lawrence was not a mystic or a mystical poet, his poem "Shadows" is a mystical poem par excellence. However, this aspect has never been given its due of study. Due to the depth of the inexpressible mystical experience, mystical poets resort to symbolic language to render their experiences. This paper aims at exploring the poet's mystical experience in this poem and it is divided into two sections. The first section is introductory; it attempts to shed light on mysticism, its meaning and nature to reach at an acceptable definition of "mysticism". The second is devoted to a detailed analysis of the mystical experience and the main mystical symbols in the poem such as water, autumn, darkness, dry tree, blossoms, and the phoenix. The paper also shows the diversity of the poet's sources of this experience by relating it to Christian and even Islamic mystical thought or even to Indian mysticism. It also attempts to point out the major influences on Lawrence, namely those of the Spanish mystic John of the Cross, Islamic mysticism and Indian Mysticism. The last part of the poem is the conclusion which sums up the results of the study.

Natural Destruction And The Role Of Humans In Ongkak: A Collection Of Short Story By Spn. Fakrunnas Ma Jabbar (An Ecocritic Study)

Abstract. The environmental crisis is not a new topic. It is a phenomenon that we cannot ignore. Natural damage, forest fires, floods and others are caused by humans. Therefore, this study aims to find out the forms of natural damage and how the role of humans in providing defense in the short story entitled Ongkak: a collection of short stories by SPN. Fakrunnas MA Jabbar based on eco-critical theory, and tries to correlate research results with social phenomena that are currently happening. This research is a qualitative research, the data in this study were taken from short stories with environmental themes. The instrument in this study was the researcher as a human instrument assisted by notes. In analyzing the data, the researcher reads the short stories repeatedly and interprets it using ecocritical theory. This study found that some short stories use nature as mystical symbols, such as butterflies and trees, and some short stories show natural damage in the form of deforestation, flooding, infrastructure damage, fog, water pollution and tornadoes. The role of humans in overcoming natural damage occurs in the form of providing defense. The results of this research should be able to provide an impact in the form of insight and a sense of responsibility towards the importance of protecting nature. Keywords: Natural Damage, Ecocritic, Short Story

Мистический символизм художественного пространства текстов Ф.М. Достоевского (на примере повести «Хозяйка»)

The article examines the phenomenon of the mystical symbolism of the plot of the story by F.M. Dostoevsky's “The Landlady”. The unconscious, irrational concept of the story and its possibility of coexistence with a realistic implication are investigated. The text of the story is considered in its versatility and multilevelness. The images of the main characters are consistently considered and analyzed, both separately and in their connection with each other, the role of the mystical aspect in the formation of these images is revealed.

ANCIENT BELIEFS AND THEIR RELIGIOUS AND MYSTICAL SYMBOLS

The article examines the concept of religious symbols, the history of the origin of religious-mystical symbols in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, their essence and content and meaning today. Also, the author’s views on the introduction of the concepts of symbol and religious symbols into scientifc circulation are expressed, various defnitions of these concepts by Western scientists are given, the role of symbols in society is determined. It is noted that in ancient Egyptian beliefs, each tribe worshiped and revered not only its own god, but also a certain animal that was somehow connected with this god, regardless of whether they were both in separate forms or zoo-anthropomorphic, that is, presented in the form religious symbol «man-animal». In particular, from the article you can learn a lot about such popular symbols as the Ankh Amenti, Ba, Shenu, Jed, The pen Maat, Urey, Ujat. Also, the work contains information about the symbols represented in the religious beliefs of Ancient Greece from various sources that have come down to us, ancient Greek epics, the works of Greek philosophers. Since the ancient Greeks and Romans often deifed several animals and birds, the moon and the sun, gods in human forms, based on the mythologies of these peoples, a comparative analysis of some religious and mystical symbols was carried out, such as Ares - Mars, Asclepius, harpies, Hermes - Mercury, Zeus - Jupiter, Nika - Victoria, Pegasus, Themis. Besides, this scientifc study reflects the scientifc views that the religious worldview of the ancient Romans was associated with agriculture, rituals deifying nature, mysticalreligious images and ancestral spirits, which were usually carried out by the head of the family. Shows the essence and content of attributes and symbols that appeared later in ancient Roman beliefs as a result of rituals of animal and plant sacrifces, worship and special rituals

Масонская мифология в творчестве В. А. Моцарта на примере оперы «Волшебная флейта»

The paper aims to reveal interaction of masonic notions represented in mystical symbols and musical images of the fairy opera “The Magic Flute” by W. A. Mozart. The article analyses representation of masonic mythological themes at different levels of the musical composition: storyline, dramaturgic, prosodic. Scientific originality of the study involves a comprehensive philosophical and musicological analysis of the musical text focused on identifying interrelation of the musical material and masonic symbols. The research findings are as follows: the authors prove that masonic notions and symbols determine the storyline development, the author’s intention and the personages’ images interpretation; reveal importance of number symbolism for the dramaturgy and composition; distinguish two levels of musical-prosodic masonic symbols (overall prosodic complex and concrete symbols-figures).

Mystic Language and Symbols: Unity of Being and Pakistani Women Fiction Writers

This article explores the concept of unity of being in fiction by Pakistani women writers. The usage of mystic language and depiction of mystical and Sūfi symbols in literature can be traced back to ancient texts. However, it has been deemed alien for women to be Sūfis and have mystic experience, apart from a few exceptions. Indulging in formulating mystical symbols and using mystic language by women has not been perceived as too womanly. The main reason for this is the fact that women’s world-view has been restricted and thus deemed limited. Complete works of fiction by Pakistani women writers writing in Urdu have been explored for this research. There are two steps in sample selection i.e. women fiction writers and their fiction. Women writers are selected on the basis of set criteria. Selection of text is done through theoretical sampling. Women fiction writers have used mystic symbols meaningfully at innumerable places in their works. By the study of these works, it can be concluded that women writers have indulged in using mystical language and symbols and have done it in a crafty manner, though retaining the traditional usage of these symbols and metaphors.