Phallocentric esotericism in Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmʾi's

Description

Jalal al-Din Rumi's (d. 1273) Mas&barbelow;navi-i Ma `navi (The Poem of Inner Meaning), a masterpiece of medieval Perso-Islamic mystical literature and theosophic teachings, contains many bawdy tales and explicit sexual images that have remained virtually unexamined by modern scholarship. Belonging to a wider Iranian cultural context, the bawdy tales, vulgar words and pornographic references in the Mas&barbelow;navi possess a highly satirical and humorous aspect. Both medieval and modern commentators on the Mas&barbelow;navi have generally dismissed the significance of these tales, effectively relegating them to the category of the non-mystical. It appears, however, that in the context of the teachings of the Mas&barbelow;navi, they are used primarily to communicate esoteric knowledge. This thesis seeks to substantiate the esoteric significance of these tales and passages, and to problematize established distinctions between categories of the mystical and the non-mystical. More specifically, it represents the first attempt to establish a link between the dynamics of eroticism and phallocentric esotericism that are operative in the Mas&barbelow;navi.Lacanian psychoanalysis and gender and semiotic theories have been applied to the interpretation of medieval Jewish Kabbalistic texts by various scholars. The analytical approach adopted to the Mas&barbelow;navi in this thesis will also be informed by such studies, particularly in instances when the communication of esoteric knowledge is contemplated along gender lines, mediated through erotic imagery, or expressed in sexual terms. This thesis thus utilizes a multi-disciplinary approach that foregrounds communication between the discourses of postmodern textual criticism and Perso-Islamic mystical hermeneutics.Methodologically, the bawdy tales in the Mas&barbelow;navi will be analyzed by utilizing certain relevant features of postmodern theories of gender and psychoanalysis as strategic conceptual tools. Particularly relevant to this analysis is the work of the French psychoanalyst, Jacques Lacan, whose inquiry into the religious dimensions of subjectivity and whose theory of signification offer great potential for interpreting the esoteric significance of these bawdy passages. This thesis thus establishes the relevance of certain aspects of Lacan's work to the interpretation of what is arguably the most sophisticated poetical expression of medieval Islamic theosophical thought. Conversely, the symbolic resources of Perso-Islamic mystical literature might contribute to a greater understanding of the Lacanian system of signification.

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