The Face of Sadness in Persian Mystical Tradition
Sylwia Surdykowska-Konieczny
Pakistan Journal of Historical Studies 2022 DOI: 10.2979/pjhs.4.1_2.04 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key points | Argues that sadness, particularly the sadness of separation, is a central and multivalent feeling in Persian literary culture, and that Persian Sufi poetry—works by Sanā‘i, ‘Attār, Moulānā Jalāloddin Balkhi, and Hāfez Shirāzi—shaped how Iranians understand and value it. The article proposes that the Sufi tradition distinguishes kinds of sadness and assigns it a role in forming human consciousness, and it examines these axiological dimensions. |
Abstract
Abstract:Sadness is a feeling that dominates all Persian literary culture. Over the centuries, it has changed its face, manifesting itself in various forms with changing meanings and contents. One of the most important traditions, which for centuries has been a carrier of the idea of sadness in the literary culture of Iran, is Sufism. Sadness was strengthened in the consciousness of the Iranian people especially by Persian mystical poetry. This raises many questions: how Persian Sufi tradition defines sadness, what kind of sadness it distinguishes, how it is interpreted by different practitioners in the role it gives to the process of shaping human consciousness, and how it perceives sadness from the point of view of axiology. This article deals with the feeling of sadness, especially the sadness of separation, and its axiological aspects in Persian mystical literature. The basic source material consists of works by the greatest mystical poets, e.g. Sanā‘i (11th c.), ‘Attār from Nishapur (12th c.), Moulānā Jalāloddin Balkhi (12th c.), Hāfez Shirāzi (14th c.).
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |