UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA EAST-WEST DIALOGUE ON JALALUDDIN RUMI AND RALPH WALDO EMERSON IN RELATION TO MYSTICISM HOSSEINALI LIVANI FBMK 2013 42
EAST-WEST DIALOGUE ON JALALUDDIN RUMI AND RALPH WALDO EMERSON IN RELATION TO MYSTICISM By HOSSEINALI LIVANI Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts August 2013
DEDICATED In humble gratitude to my parents Ali and Azra Livani For their sacred and enduring presence ii
Abstract of thesis presented to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts EAST-WEST DIALOGUE ON JALALUDDIN RUMI AND RALPH WALDO EMERSON IN RELATION TO MYSTICISM Chairman : By HOSSEINALI LIVANI August 2013 Arbaayah Ali Termizi, PhD Faculty : Modern Languages and Communication This research explores and compares the mystical and philosophical ideas of microcosm and macrocosm in selected works of Molana Rumi and Emerson. Excavating these ideas in the selected works helps us to understand that these two writers have similarities of thought in the depiction of the concepts. Therefore, the concepts have been explored from two main sections. One is from the Greek s philosophical point of view and the other from the Muslim s. In this regard, we investigated the history, meaning and the purpose of applying these concepts in this research. Greek and Muslim philosophers believe that microcosm is the human being and macrocosm is the universe or the cosmos. They called human being, the microcosm because they believed that he is a tiny replica of the universe or the macrocosm. Their purpose to imply these concepts in their philosophical and literary works was to establish the relationship of Man and the universe and to consider the position of Man in the cosmos. Both of these philosophers believe that there are correspondences within material and spiritual dimensions of Man and the universe by which they mirror themselves. Molana Jalauddin Rumi (1207-1273), Persian poet iii
and Muslim Sufi, has dealt profoundly with the concepts of microcosm and macrocosm, in his Masnavi-e-Manavi. Molana Rumi s depiction of the microcosmic Man revolves around the Islamic concept of the Perfect Man. On the other hand, the American transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), shares common mystical and philosophical roots in his collected works of the first and second series, despite his geographical distance and abiding in a quite different historical epoch. Although we cannot call Emerson, a mystic, this comparative study excavated the meaning and origin of these concepts and investigates them in the works of both writers. iv
Abstrak tesis yang dikemukakan kepada Senat Universiti Putra Malaysia sebagai memenuhi keperluan untuk ijazah Master Sastera. DIALOG TIMUR-BARAT ANTARA JALALUDDIN RUMI DAN RALPH WALDO EMERSON BERKAITAN DENGAN MISTIK Pengerusi Fakulti Oleh HOSSEINALI LIVANI Ogos 2013 : Arbaayah Ali Termizi, PhD : Bahasa Moden Dan Komunikasi Penyelidikan ini mengkaji dan membandingkan idea-idea mistik dan falsafah berkaitan dengan konsep microcosm dan macrocosm yang terdapat di dalam penulisan terpilih yang dihasilkan oleh Molana Rumi dan Emerson. Berdasarkan konsep serta analisa terperinci yang dijalankan, didapati bahawa kedua-dua penulis ini berada pada landasan persefahaman yang sama. Konsep yang dinyatakan akan dikaji berdasarkan dari dua sudut pandangan iaitu sudut pandangan ahli falsafah Yunani dan Islam. Dalam hal ini, penyelidikan tentang sejarah, maksud serta tujuan utama dalam mengaplikasikan konsep-konsep ini telah dijalankan. Ahli falsafah Yunani mahupun Islam percaya microcosm ialah manusia manakala macrocosm dikaitkan dengan alam semesta atau dikenali sebagai kosmos. Berdasarkan pendapat ahli-ahli falsafah Yunani dan Islam, ianya digelar manusia kerana dipercayai manusia hanyalah sebuah replika kecil yang berdiri teguh di alam semesta ini. Agenda utama dalam mengimplikasikan konsep ini dalam penulisan sastera mahupun v
falsafah adalah untuk mewujudkan perkaitan kedudukan antara manusia dan alam semesta. Perumpamaan seperti mencerminkan diri sendiri telah diakui oleh ahli falsafah Yunani dan Islam melalui kewujudan perkaitan material dan spiritual antara manusia dengan alam semesta. Molana Jalauddin Rumi (1207-1273) ialah seorang penyair Parsi dan ahli Sufi telah menggunakan secara mendalam konsep microcosm dan macrocosm di dalam penulisannya iaitu Masnavi-e-Manavi. Penerangan Rumi berkaitan dengan microkosmik manusia ialah berkisar akan konsep Islamik iaitu Manusia Sempurna. Manakala tokoh transcendentalist Amerika Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) pada masa yang sama juga turut berkongsi akan persamaan mistik dan juga falsafah yang terdapat di dalam beberapa siri penulisannya walaupun ianya ditulis pada era dan juga konteks geografi yang berbeza. Oleh itu, kajian perbandingan ini mengkaji dengan lebih mendalam tentang maksud dan asal-usul konsep microcosm dan macrocosm berlandaskan kepada hasil penulisan Molana Jalauddin Rumi dan Ralph Waldo Emerson. vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all I have to thank Allah for his all-embracing support during my life. I figured out that only in His will, is our peace. In the Preparation of this thesis I have especially helped by the suggestive and thoughtful criticism of my supervisor Dr Arbaayah Ali Termizi, the senior lecturer of Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, University Putra Malaysia. Dr Wan Roselezam Bt Wan Yahya has been of much assistance in reading the work and ensuring me of the validity of the contents. I am also indebted to the kindness of Professor Dr Karim Douglas Crow for advice which he has given me in reference to my part in this work and for his suggestions and help in some cases of difficulty. At the end, I wish to express my thanks to four of my intimate friends Mostafa Behzadi, Mohammad Hesam Hesamian, Moein Assgari and Saeid Jafari for all the unforgettable memories of music, poetry and laughter we have had in the dormitory, P1, rooms: 227 & 228. Hosseinali Livani 30 September 2013 vii
I certify that a Thesis Examination Committee has met on 27 th August 2013 to conduct the final examination of Hosseinali Livani on his thesis entitled East-West Dialogue on Jalaluddin Rumi and Ralph Waldo Emerson in Relation to Mysticism in accordance with the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 and the Constitution of the Universiti Putra Malaysia [P.U.(A) 106] 15 March 1998. The Committee recommends that the student be awarded the Master of Arts. Members of the Thesis Examination Committee were as follows: Mohd Zariat bin Abdul Rani, PhD Associate Professor Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication Universiti Putra Malaysia (Chairman) Rosli bin Talif, PhD Associate Professor Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication Universiti Putra Malaysia (Internal Examiner) Shivani a/p Sivagurunathan, PhD Senior Lecturer Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication Universiti Putra Malaysia (Internal Examiner) Sandra M. Gustafson, PhD Professor University of Notre Dame United States of America (External Examiner) NORITAH OMAR, PhD Associate Professor and Deputy Dean School of Graduate Studies Universiti Putra Malaysia Date: 17 October 2013 viii
This thesis was submitted to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia and has been accepted as fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. The members of the Supervisory Committee were as follows: Arbaayah Ali Termizi, PhD Senior Lecturer Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication Universiti Putra Malaysia (Chairman) Wan Roselezam Wan Yahya Associate Professor Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication Universiti Putra Malaysia (Member) BUJANG BIN KIM HUAT, PhD Professor and Dean School of Graduate Studies Universiti Putra Malaysia Date: ix
DECLARATION Declaration by graduate student I hereby confirm that: This thesis is my original work; Quotations, illustrations and citations have been duly referenced; This thesis has not been submitted previously or concurrently for any other degree at any other institutions; Intellectual property from the thesis and copyright of thesis are fully owned by Universiti Putra Malaysia, as according to the Universiti Putra Malaysia (Research) Rules 2012; Written permission must be obtained from the supervisor and the office of Deputy Vice- Chancellor (Research and Innovation) before thesis is published (in the form of written, printed, or in electronic form) including books, journals, modules, proceedings, popular writings, seminar papers, manuscripts, posters, reports, lecture notes, learning modules or any other materials as stated in Universiti Putra Malaysia (Research) Rules 2012; There is no plagiarism or data falsification/fabrication in the thesis, and scholarly integrity is upheld as according to the Universiti Putra Malaysia (Graduate Studies) Rules 2003 (Revision 2012-2013) and the Universiti Putra Malaysia (Research) Rules 2012. The thesis has undergone plagiarism detection software. Signature:------------------------- Date:---------------------------- Name and Matric No.:. x
Declaration by Members of Supervisory Committee This is to confirm that: The research conducted and the writing of this thesis was under our supervision; Supervision responsibilities as stated in the University Putra Malaysia (Graduate Studies) Rules 2003 (Revision 2012-2013) are adhered to. Signature:.. Name of Chairman Supervisory Committee: Signature:.. Name of Member of Supervisory Committee:. Signature: Name of Member of Supervisory Committee:. Signature: Name of Member of Supervisory Committee:. xi
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ABSTRAK ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS APPROVAL DECLARATION LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF PLATES LIST OF ABBREVATIONS CHAPTER iii v vii viii x xiv xv xviii xx 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Statement of the problem 10 1.2 Research Questions 11 1.3 Research objectives 12 1.4 Significance of the study 12 1.5 Scope and limitation of the study 14 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 17 2.1 Introduction 17 2.2 Greek philosophy: Microcosm and Macrocosm 18 2.3 Pythagoreanism: Man and the universe 21 2.4 Plato and his conception of microcosm and macrocosm 25 2.5 Plotinus: Man and the Cosmos 30 2.6 Microcosm and Macrocosm among the Medieval/Renaissance thinkers 32 2.7 Islamic Philosophy and Hikmat (Wisdom): Microcosm and Macrocosm 34 2.8 Islamic Philosophers and their perception of Man and the Cosmos 35 2.9 Previous studies on Molana Jalaluddin Balkhi ( Rumi) 48 2.10 Previous studies on Ralph Waldo Emerson 60 2.11 Conclusion 71 3 METHODOLOGY 74 3.1 Introduction 74 3.2 Conceptual framework of the research 75 3.2.1 The significance of a comparative method for study 76 3.2.2 An introduction to comparative literature 77 4 MICROCOSM AND MACROCOSM IN MOLANA JALALUDDIN S WORKS 83 4.1 Introduction 83 4.1.1 Mysticism 84 4.2 Universe; the Macrocosm 89 4.2.1 Dichotomy of Spirit and Matter 89 xi
4.2.2 Universe; an Intelligent Being 98 4.3 Man; Microcosm and Macrocosm 101 4.3.1 Dichotomy of Spirit and Matter 101 4.3.2 Names and the Vicegerency of God 104 4.3.3 Names and the Concept of Perfect Man 108 4.4 Conclusion 115 5 MICROCOSM AND MACROCOSM IN R. W. EMERSON S SELECTED WORKS 119 5.1 Introduction 119 5.1.1 American Transcendentalism: A Brief Introduction 119 5.2 Microcosm and Macrocosm in Emerson s Works 125 5.3 Conclusion 142 6 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 145 6.1 Introduction 145 6.2 Summary 145 6.3 Areas for further research 155 WORKS CITED 157 BIODATA OF STUDENT 163 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS 164 xii