Carl Jung, Rumi, and the Mandala as Ordered World: Psychic Integration, Mystical Return, and the Pattern Translation Method
Sultan Zeshan
PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) July 12, 2025 preprint DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21384654 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Jung's reading of the mandala as an image of psychic integration modernized the form, and that Rumi offers a language of center, longing, turning, rupture, and return. Proposes Sultan Zeshan's "Mandala Translation Thesis" as a comparative method for reading whole systems without asserting that all circles, cultures, illnesses, or cosmos are secretly the same, illustrated through the Kālacakra Mandala in the Potala Palace. |
Abstract
This artice argues proposes that Cark Jung made the mandala modern by reading it as an image of psychic integration, while Rumi supplies a disciplined language of center, longing, turning, rupture, and return. Sultan Zeshan’s Mandala Translation Thesis turns the mandala into a comparative method for reading whole systems without claiming that every circle, culture, illness, or cosmos is secretly the same thing. A worked example on the Kālacakra Mandala in the Potala Palace demonstrates the method on a single object.