Mystical Nature Research Articles

Hydropedagogical Literary Perspective on the Brantas River Myth in Java, Indonesia

This study on the myths of the Brantas River is conducted using a literature hydropedagogy perspective. The research aims to dissect the literary aspects of the myth by applying the concept of water studies. This qualitative research uses data in the form of mythological narratives about the Brantas River that are prevalent in the Kediri community, collected through interviews with local residents. The data is analyzed through various literatures using the hydropedagogy perspective developed based on the concept "Learning from Water" by Prof. Dr. Suwardi Endraswara, M.Hum. The origin of the Brantas River is described by Empu Bharada, who divided the Kediri Kingdom’s territory by pouring water from a jug in the middle of the kingdom. The analysis reveals several Javanese philosophies related to water: (1) water always flows from higher to lower places, (2) water always fills empty spaces, and (3) water always flows to the estuary. Additionally, the term "kendhi" is derived from the phrase "kendhalining dhiri". A myth suggests that if a president crosses the Brantas River, they will lose their position or power. This belief is linked to the mystical nature of the Brantas River, often used for rituals and spiritual practices by ancestors. However, the validity of this belief depends on one's logic and religious values. Moreover, the study explores how individuals perceive myths as life guidelines or literary works that enhance cultural awareness and wisdom in facing life.

Религиозное воспитание молодежи: социальные аспекты

Addressing the topic of religious upbringing of youth today is very relevant, since religion is one of the social institutions that plays a significant role in the spiritual and moral education of the younger generation in our country. The specificity of the current situation among young people is the presence of a large number of baptized young people, but not churchgoers, so working with young people in the field of religious upbringing is more pressing than ever. The article reveals the concept of religious upbringing, understood as the unity of content, forms and methods of transmitting the cultural religious experience of a person’s conversion to God and communication with the Creator, and highlights the purpose of OrthodoX religious upbringing and its structure. The implementation of religious upbringing should be carried out on two levels, since it is based on two types of laws. The first of them was received by people from God, the second one is determined in accordance with the social structure of human society. Therefore, one of these planes is of a spiritual and mystical nature, the second one is endowed with a rational essence. The relationship between religious upbringing and the process of human socialization has been clarified. The views of modern youth on religious upbringing are revealed, the features of spiritual values that prevail among young people and have a negative impact on the development of personality are clarified. The author reveals the priority forms and directions of work with young people within the Russian OrthodoX Church, focuses on the significant role in the religious upbringing of young people played by OrthodoX youth organizations and associations created on the initiative of both the Russian OrthodoX Church and the youth themselves, and clarifies the features of work on religious upbringing in secondary vocational institutions. The problems that arise in the process of the religious upbringing of young people are also identified.

Soul-Life: Richard Jefferies’ Mystical Vision of Nature

This paper examines Richard Jefferies’ contribution to the study of nature mysticism. I argue that the study of nature mysticism can be utilized as a valuable source of insight to cultivate a more ecocentric response to the ecological crisis. Historically, the study of mysticism in the West has been shaped by a monotheistic bias that tends to marginalize the teachings of nature mystics. I seek to redress this lacuna in the field by calling attention to the understudied teachings of the English mystic and author, Richard Jefferies. I claim that Jefferies’ spiritual autobiography, The Story of My Heart ([1883] 2014) presents a compelling vision of nature mysticism that challenges the reader to reflect critically on conventional understandings of God, body, and time/being. Most significantly, I argue that Jefferies’ concept of “soul-life” can be interpreted as an ontological category characterized by an intellectual and moral sensitivity towards the wonders of nature. Jefferies believed that the cultivation of soul-life is transformative and key to unlocking the full potential of our relationship to the earth and each other.

Мотив «посмертной муки» в «Строфах» Иосифа Бродского

The article is devoted to the analysis of Joseph Brodsky’s long poem “Stanzas” (1968), which has not previously been subjected to detailed philological analysis, a number of images and motifs of which cause discrepancies. The research aims to comprehend the poetic and semantic components of the genre of a “valediction”, explicated in the text in orientation to the traditions of Western European poetry, mainly by John Donne and Dante Alighieri. It is noted that the poem “Stanzas” was created during the period of Brodsky’s dramatic break with Marina Basmanova, although, unlike other texts, the work was not prefaced with the initials “M. B.”. Nevertheless, as shown in the paper, the leveled latent addressing does not cancel out the structure of the dialogical construction of the farewell verse, an (in)direct appeal to an invisible interlocutor. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that it traces how the central thesis about the drama of lovers’ separation is gradually reinterpreted by Brodsky, it begins to acquire the features of separation-death, half the way to death, with the connotations of a sublimely solemn and mystical nature attached to it. As a result, it is proved that, in the view of Brodsky’s persona, the tragedy of saying goodbye to his beloved lies not in the eternal separation of former lovers (a traditional aspect of scientific and critical interpretations), but in the very fact of the ontological existence of separation.

Pocong Oath Law in Palembang City

This research was motivated by the phenomenon of the pocong oath carried out by Lorong A Rahman Residents, RT 10/04, Kelurahan 1 Ilir, Ilir Timur II District Palembang City, which had shocked the public on social media. Besides that, this issue often occurs in the community. The pocong oath is closely related to shari'áh. The pocong oath is substantially the same as a cultural practice or a community custom; it is done when there is a dispute or problem of a mystical nature or to prove something. Rationality is essential to distinguish between the truth of belief and rationality, which refers to the basis for believing it. The findings of this study are that the religious point of view related to the pocong oath is that there must be a name of God and that it is a truth. The method used in this study is qualitative research with three data collection techniques, namely in-depth interviews, conservation and documentation.

Mystical motifs in literature as a reflection of the world of the human soul

Relevance. The basis of this research is a comparative study of mystical literature written by Kazakh and English-speaking writers.Purpose. In this article, the artistic works of famous authors are considered from the point of view of analyzing the features of the image of mystical motifs in them.Methodology. In this research paper, comparative analysis of mystical motifs in Kazakh literature and artistic works published in English-speaking countries were conducted. It is obvious that a new trend that began in the second half of the XVIII century in England led to the widespread use of mystical elements by writers in literature, and it also began to spread to other states, as well.Results. The functions of mystical motifs in various fictions are revealed, and the ways of their creation are determined in this work. Currently, there is a growing demand for mystical fictions, and interest in writing fictions with mystical elements. Therefore, there are many scholars who investigated the issues related to the mysticism in English Literature. Although Kazakh writers and poets started to use mystical elements in the structure of their fictions in 20th century only, this trend could find its readers.Conclusions. In their works, almost all the authors also lead and seduce their readers to the high ideals that they strive for. At the same time, the mystical literature researchers have been trying to analyze various controversial views on this matter, arising from the ambiguous nature of mysticism.

«Духовный союз» Е.Ф. Татариновой как квинтэссенция русского мистицизма XIX в.

The article is devoted to one of the iconic mystical organizations in Russia in the 19th century – the “Spiritual Union” of E.F. Tatarinova, who combines the ecstatic practice of the serfdom, which is widespread among the people, with the spiritual insights of European Freemasonry. The article discusses the features of sectarian and Masonic doctrines and rituals, while revealing their inherent similarity. Revealing the negative nature of the attitude of Russian mystics towards the church and state, the author emphasizes the anti-Orthodox nature of mysticism and its social danger.

Средневековый московский миф о государстве и его смысловые актуализации в современности

The medieval state in Rus’ was constituted and symbolized as a Christian institution, and its quintessence was the image of the sovereign. To fill the significant image with meaning, the mythological motif of serpent fighting, the struggle of the Hero with the Enemy, was used. This was demonstrated both by visual representations (icons, seals, coat of arms) and by the official nomination “tsar”, which acquired a special Orthodox mystical meaning. The sacralization of the image of the Russian sovereign and state was based on the Byzantine model of a universal empire, in which the tsar was the vicar of Christ on earth, being his “living” incarnation. As a result, the role of Moscow, this already transcendental state, called by virtue of symbolic continuity the “Third Rome”, and the tsar were associated with the extension of the life of the fourth world Christian kingdom in the context of the coming end of the world. This last kingdom, it was believed in medieval Moscow, was already an established Orthodox power, united in the universe, headed by a truly Orthodox tsar, hence the main political function of the tsar was to protect Orthodoxy from enemies. Thus, on the basis of the construction of the heroic myth, a complete and all-encompassing world of meaning was built, and the political order was legitimized in its ultimate meaning, in its correlation with the divine cosmic order. The ideas of Russian Orthodox theology of the 18th–20th centuries concerning what should be done in the construction of Russian statehood are based on ideas about the God’s chosenness of the Russian people, the religious mission of Rus’ and its tsar, formed during the period of the Principality of Moscow. Meanwhile, the theology of this period also has its own specifics. The new political reality, characterized by the fact that Russia, with the beginning of the church reform of Peter the Great, took the path of state secularization, gives a special tone to discussions about the nature of Russian statehood. The theological thought of this period is distinguished by an attempt to substantiate the need for a return to traditional values, which, according to the authors, constitute the basis of Russian statehood. Particular hope for a return to the “old models” rests with the Russian people, who are assigned a heroic role – to be the savior of the state. Ideas about the mystical nature of the Russian state are updated today through speeches and statements of political and religious leaders, in which political power is represented in mythical-heroic motifs, and Russia appears as a defender of traditional values and world Orthodoxy, a state with a messianic role in the modern world.

ФЕНОМЕНОЛОГІЯ МІСТИЦИЗМУ ГЕРДИ ВАЛЬТЕР І БОГОСЛОВСЬКА АНТРОПОЛОГІЯ ЕДИТ ШТАЙН: ІСТОРИКО-ФІЛОСОФСЬКИЙ ПІДХІД

This article examines two prominent aspects of contemporary philosophical and religious discourse: the phenomenology of mysticism in the work of Gerda Walther and theological anthropology presented in the writings of Edith Stein. Phenomenology of mysticism is one of the most interesting topics in modern philosophy and religious studies. This deep research area examines and analyzes spiritual experience and mysticism through the lens of a philosophical approach called phenomenology. Two outstanding women and friends, Gerda Walther and Edith Stein, made a significant contribution to the development of this field. Deep reflections on the nature of mysticism, faith and theological anthropology are found in their research works. Phenomenology of mysticism allows us to better understand the nature of spiritual experience and inner experiences, and also to show the phenomena of mysticism through the phenomenological method. The works of G. Walther highlight the key aspects of this approach. On the other hand, E. Stein offers theological anthropology, which examines faith and religious experience in the context of human existence and through the relationship with God. Her works provide a strong conceptual basis for understanding faith and its role in the modern world. Therefore, the article is an attempt to consider their thoughts and contribution to the development of the phenomenology of mysticism and theological anthropology and their contribution to philosophy and religious studies.

The formation and evolution of black holes

The concept of Black Holes was first introduced as a prediction by Eisteins Theory of General Relativity and later solved by the Schwarzschild Solution in 1915. A point of mass to great that the bend in space time as a result doesnt allow even light to escape its gravitational pull within the Event Horizon, a point of infinite density and a point at which the laws of time break down. Formation of Black Holes are of interest in many fields of not only Astrophysics but the Physics as a whole. For example it can tell us about the structure and rotation of galaxies which in turn reveals properties of Dark Matter while features such as Hawking Radiation help to further link the world of quantum mechanics to Eisteins Theory of General Relativity. Stellar Black Holes are the remains of enormous stars which has collapsed after running out of fuel for nuclear fusion to continue. These objects can be found throughout the galaxy but most importantly at the center of each galaxy lies a Supermassive Black Hole such as Sagittarius A* at the centre of the Milky Way which has a massive of 4.6 million solar masses, the process by which these Supermassive Black Holes form remain unknown till this day. Black Holes have been notoriously hard to detect due to the fact that they cannot be seen and only through the analysis of orbits of objects around it can its properties like mass be determined. Their mystical nature is exactly why Black Holes draw so much interest within the Astrophysics community today. The formation of such large celestial objects has been debated among Physicists for decades and this paper aims to review current understandings and existing research on the formation of Black Holes to provide an overview on the collapse of stars and the processes with which the core may evolve into a black hole.

Szczęście w doświadczaniu świata i przybliżaniu go w nauczaniu. Studium przypadku

The Leibnizian concept ofhappiness on the road is presented in Jacques Maritain’s personalistic interpretation. On the basis of it, an analysis of blessed Natalia Tułasiewicz’s experience of the world is carried out, contained primarily in her diary entries. All her life shows an inseparable weave of moral improvement towards holiness and achieving happiness on the road, when the road is directed towards the ultimate goal. It does not have to lead through strict asceticism, but throughthe everyday effort of self-improvement and formation of those under her care – children, youth and adults. Keywords: eudaimonia, moral experience, natural mysticism, creativity, pedagogy

“Lison ut-tayr” dostoni kompozitsiyasi va obrazlari uyg‘unligi

This article analyzes Alisher Navai's work "Lison ut-Tayr" from a mystical point of view. Alisher Navai's unique views on Sufism and his Naqshbandi doctrine are given the importance in the solution of the scien-tific problem posed before the article. Paying attention to the uniqueness of the composition of the work, it is based on the analysis that every section, every detail reflects Alisher Navai's first Islamic and mystical worldview. The importance of stories about the famous historical figures in the history of Islam in the introduction of the work to the correct understanding of the mystical nature of work and the illumination of artistry of the images are emphasized. The story of Abu Turab Nakhabi and his disciple described in the 95th chapter of work was also analyzed, and it was concluded that the most important moral and educational topics of Sufism were written in it. In covering the subject, besides the works of Alisher Navai, the poets who created on the mystical theme, the history of Islam, the opinions of classic and modern authors on mysticism were taken as a basis.

EIN INTERVIEW MIT DEM LYRIKER UND THEOLOGEN CHRISTIAN LEHNERT: GESPRÄCH ÜBER DICHTUNG, RELIGION, NATURMYSTIK UND SEINEN LYRIKBAND OPUS 8. IM FLECHTWERK (2022). MIT ZWEI UNVERÖFFENTLICHTEN GEDICHTEN VON CHRISTIAN LEHNERT

ABSTRACTThis article is an interview with the writer Christian Lehnert, who is both a theologian and a distinguished German poet. Linguistic precision, the artful use of semantics from the Christian and Jewish traditions, and an associative, surprising imagery are considered the hallmarks of Lehnert's poetics. The interview examines the relationship of his poetry to theology and religion, the tension between religious and non‐religious interpretations of reality and the personal motivations for his writing. The interview focuses on the pronounced references to nature in his poetry and the influence of nature mysticism in his writing. As Lehnert explains, the recourse to pre‐modern theologies of creation enables him to explore an approach to nature in which, in critical distance to a rational‐functional access to nature, the mysteriousness and strangeness of the non‐human other is understood anew, suggesting a deeper connection with other creatures.

Қазақ әңгімелеріндегі мистикалық мотивтер

The article is devoted to the analysis of mystical motives in Kazakh stories. The author, on the basis of comparative historical, hermeneutic, historical and functional principles, explored the features of the use of mystical motifs in small genres of modern Kazakh prose - in stories. The study is based on world and domestic literary samples, their origins, evolution and modern transformation are consistently shown. The bases of irrational knowledge - the systems of mythical, esoteric, religious exploration of the world - are analyzed, the mystical motives related to them are investigated. As a distinctive feature of Kazakh mystical motifs, it was suggested that its origins lie in the rites of Tengrian knowledge and MuslimSufi traditions. Mystical motifs in the stories of Kazakh writers of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century were studied, their typology, features, methods were determined. In addition, the article reveals the general nature and essence of mysticism through the description of mystical lines in Kazakh and foreign works. Considering the connection of mysticism with literature, its artistic activity was determined on the basis of Kazakh stories. The activity of the mystical method was revealed in the stories of Oralkhan Bokey, Mukhtar Magauin, Nurgali Oraz, Koishybek Mubarak, which describe the Kazakh society, human psychology, human destiny. Based on a comparison with foreign works, a peculiar conclusion was made about the similarity of the general idea and the transition of mystical plots.

Allegorical Images in The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan

This article discusses the strategies of visual representation and the status of visual images in Mariam Petrosyan's novel The Gray House, originally published in Russian as The House in Which... The novel is an excellent example of magical realism in contemporary literature. Dispersed throughout the text, visual images have an important role in understanding the fictional world. The characters of the novel sketch animals or fantastic creatures, which become their signatures. The pattern is similar to that of a magical ritual. These drawings and graffiti help the characters to communicate with the mystical House, where they all live. The drawings represent someone or something, while being themselves the subject of representation, which complicates the structure of the novel and requires readers’ reflection. The allegorical nature of the drawings creates the semantic continuity of the House because the characters share the same way of self-expression. The images created by Smoker are special because this character belongs to the House only partially. Smoker’s drawings clearly demonstrate his alienness in the world of the House, but they provide a metaphorical understanding of the House and offer its artistic interpretation. They serve as an alternative key to deciphering the mystical nature of the space. Smoker’s drawings reveal the concept of time distorted by the House

Spirituality of Papar Landscape

Art's function has allowed artists to express themselves for centuries. Art was once created solely for religious reasons, especially with the rise of the Catholic Church. The Industrial Revolution and the church's declining influence in the 19th century opened people's eyes to emotion and imagination, which Romanticists later portrayed artistically. This led to nature mysticism and landscape paintings. Similarly, St. Ignatius' Ignatian Spirituality corresponds to the divine yearning in nature. Spirituality and art can go hand in hand, say Jesuit priest-artists. Mystical landscapes reveal humanity's spiritual connection to nature. Artists explore emotion and spirituality through monochromatic art because it can provoke deeply personal experiences.

Review Essay: Nature Mysticism in Randolph County

Review Essay: Nature Mysticism in Randolph County

Communing with Figs and Palm Trees. Nature Mysticism, Migration and Moral Maturity in Marica Bodrožić

In her writings, the German-Croatian author Marica Bodrožić develops a new form of feminist ecocriticism from a postmigrant perspective, which portrays the mystical encounter with the natural world as essential for the understanding of the postmodern self and the survival of diverse postmigrant communities. Drawing on Theodor W. Adorno’s concept of moral maturity, Bodrožić suggests that the epistemological and aesthetic qualities of nature may help educate individuals towards critical, independent, but also empathetic thought and action. The key to this educational experience lies in contextualizing nature within political and social processes, while also acknowledging its transcendental dimension. In her novel, Mein weisser Frieden (2014), Bodrožić merges the genres of autobiography and essay to explore the relationship between memory, nature and identity via the lens of a hybrid German and post-Yugoslav intellectual heritage. By weaving together personal narrative and intertextual references from Romanticism to the contemporary period, she also challenges common assumptions about postmigrant writing and national belonging. Bodrožić suggests that a re-enchantment of the world is necessary to create the community of morally mature citizens that is needed to meet the challenges of alienation, displacement, and systemic violence in the postmodern world.

DIDACTIC REFLECTIONS IN THE VERSES OF KUL KOJO AHMED YASSAWI

This article discusses the life and work of Kul Kojo Ahmed Yassawi, a medieval (10-12th century) "holy poet". First of all, the opinions of Turkologists who pay attention to the issue of clarifying the place of birth and residence of Kul Kojo Ahmed Yassawi will be given. In particular, one of the folk tales about the poet's childhood was cited as an example. The only surviving work - "Collection of poems" ("Divani kikhmet") - is of a religious and mystical nature, the philosophical and didactic thoughts of the Sufis based on Islam are analyzed in the literature. This proves by example that Kul Kojo Ahmed Yasawi was a Sufi poet who founded the medieval Sufi movement. It is emphasized that the didactic ideas in his poems are still relevant today.

Televangelists, Flying Saucers, and Soul Eaters

Abstract This article outlines the general history of American Evangelical Christianity’s textual response to the UFO phenomenon, framed by the literary genre of the jeremiad and as part of the apocalyptic turn of the twentieth century. Beginning with its early entanglement in the 1940s and moving to the present, it highlights the shifts in the narrative from angelic harbingers to demonic co-conspirators. The article pays particular attention to a new Evangelical approach to the phenomenon through novelization that at once mirrors contemporary politicization and utilizes the literary form to initiate adherents. While “new” in some regards, the extended discussion and examination of Michael Heiser’s novel The Façade reveals a continuity with earlier forms of occult literatures birthed in the mid-twentieth century. Ultimately, the metaphysical and mystical nature of UFOs together with the similar qualities of the novel have been and are being appropriated by American Evangelicals in a hyperreal mode to extend their cultural influence.