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مفهوم «خرد» در متون پهلوی دارای مراتب و درجات مختلفی است؛ چنانکه گاه سخن از خردی به میان می آید که اکتسابی است و نسبت به مرتبه فردی تعالی ندارد و گاه خردِ فطری و ذاتی در نظر است که حقایق را شهوداً می بیند و گاهی هم به بالاترین درجه خرد، خردِ مینوی متعلّق به اورمزد اشاره می شود. متن پهلویِ دادستان مینوی خرد که زبان و بیانی حکمی و عرفانی دارد، به ویژه بر «آسْن خرد» (خرد فطری، ذاتی، مطبوع) و «مینوی آسْن خرد» یا به طور خلاصه «مینوی خرد» تأکید می ورزد و خویشکاری های این مینو را در نسبت با اورمزد و جهان مِنوگ و گِتیگ برمی شمارد. این نوشتار با اتّخاذ نظرگاه حکمت و عرفان اسلامی و با رجوع به متن فارسی میانه مینوی خرد ، تأملاتی چند راجع به مفهوم خرد مینوی و چیستی و کیستی مینوی خرد طرح می کند و مطابقت آن را با سْپَنْتَه مَینیوی گاهانی نشان می دهد.

The Concept of Divine Intellect in Ancient Iranian Metaphysics (with Reference to Dādistān-ī Mēnōg-ī Xrad)

The Concept of the Intellect (xrad) in Middle Persian literature is portrayed at various existential levels. Sometimes it is seen as an acquirable intelligence, which does not transcend the individual state; sometimes it is described as an essential and primal intellect that intuitively perceives the truths, and sometimes the highest level of the intellect is in view, i.e. Ohrmazd’s omniscient intellect. Dādistān-ī Mēnōg-ī Xrad (The Tribunal of the Divine Archetype of the Intellect), a work with a primarily metaphysical tone, emphasizes the āsn-xrad , or the inner primal intellect, and its divine archetype ( mēnōg ī āsn-xrad , abridged as mēnōg ī xrad) in particular, and discusses the role of this archetypal intellect in relation to Ohrmazd, as well as to the spiritual and corporeal worlds. In the present study, we examine the concept of divine intelligence from an Islamic metaphysical perspective, explore the text to identify the divine archetype of the intellect, and establish a correlation between the concepts of Mēnōg-ī-xrad and Spǝnta-mainyu of the Gathas.   Keywords : Xrad, Gōšōsrūd-Xrad, Āsn-Xrad, Ohrmazd’s Intellect, Mēnōg-ī-Xrad.   Introduction The Middle Persian text Dādistān-ī Mēnōg-ī Xrad (The Tribunal of the Divine Archetype of the Intellect) is a valuable piece of Zoroastrian religious literature that likely dates back to the late Sassanid period. One of the main themes emphasized in this book, and even referred to by its title, is the concept of the intellect (xrad). Throughout the book, particularly in the introduction and chapter 56, the importance of the intellect is elaborated on in detail, including its significance in managing Gētīg (corporeal world) and taking hold of Mēnōg (spiritual world). Furthermore, there are references to the hierarchy and the highest rank of the intellect belonging to Ahura Mazdā. Since most studies conducted on this book have been devoid of a philosophical perspective, the important question of what the Mēnōg-ī Xrad (the Divine Archetype of the Intellect) ultimately represents has either been overlooked or briefly touched upon. Islamic philosophers' teachings on the levels of intelligence can be summarized as follows: there are two types of intelligence, individual and universal. The former is inclined towards worldly affairs while the latter is faced towards the spiritual aspect. Additionally, intelligence can either be passive, receptive of conceptions, or active, processing what is already received. Therefore, respectively, there are four levels of intelligence in this regard: individual passive, individual active, universal passive, and universal active. In Zoroastrian philosophical teachings following the references of the Avesta , the first two levels of intelligence are called gōšōsrūd-xrad, intelligence associated with the sound waves received by the ear and is altogether externally acquirable. On the other hand, the two latter levels are called āsn-xrad, intelligence that is innate, natural, and internally essential.   Materials and Methods In conducting this study, a combination of textual analysis and comparative methodology was employed. The primary source of the essay was the Middle Persian text, Dādistān-ī Mēnōg-ī Xrad . The text was analyzed using a close reading approach to identify the various existential levels of the intellect presented in the text. Additionally, a comparative methodology was used to explore the concept of divine intelligence from an Islamic metaphysical perspective and establish a correlation between the concepts of Mēnōg-ī-xrad and Spǝnta-mainyu of the Gathas. This involved examining relevant Islamic metaphysical texts and comparing them with the concepts presented in Dādistān-ī Mēnōg-ī Xrad . Overall, the methodology used in this study aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the concept of the intellect in Middle Persian literature and its comparison to Islamic philosophy.   Research Findings As for gōšōsrūd-xrad (the reason) the question is why the concepts of ‘ears’ and ‘listening’ is employed in this term among many sensory faculties. Here, it is the symbolical aspect of the ‘ear’ taken into consideration and not the ear itself. Vision (like senses of touch, smell, and taste) employed for intelligence, can be a symbol of a higher state of perception that sees and realizes the truths directly and immediately, or in other words, intuits them. The ear is the tool for receiving the external data, and not realizing the reality as such. This is referred to the Persian proverb that goes, "listening can never be like seeing". The higher level of intelligence, closer to the concept of ‘the eye of the heart’, realizing and intuiting the truths directly is what is called āsn-xrad (the intellect), the intelligence that is not modified by the accidental matters and does not obtain its knowledge and ideas from the external world. Its ideas are received neither by the sound waves that enter the ears, nor the form seen by the eyes, but the truths bubble like a fountain inside the soul. The āsn-xrad of the people must have a universal source. As āsn-xrad is a higher level and the origin of gōšōsrūd-xrad, Mēnōg-ī Xrad is the principal state of all āsn-xrads. Indeed, the term mēnōg-ī xrad (the divine archetype of xrad) is an abridged form of mēnōg-ī āsn-xrad (the divine archetype of āsn-xrad ). Mēnōg-ī Xrad, referring to the highest level of the intellect in the Dādistān-ī Mēnōg-ī Xrad , can trace back to the Gathic term Xratu (the intellect) as equated with Spenta Mainyu (the Blessed Spirit) which is the head of the Ameša Spentas (Immortal Blessed Ones). As the Gathic Xratu is the ‘creator’ of Aša (the existential emanation), Mēnōg-ī Xrad is also frequently associated with the function of the creator in regard to the world. On the other hand, the Gathic Spenta Mainyu and Mēnōg-ī Xrad both have an important role in creation, legislation, and the afterlife.   Discussion of Results and Conclusions The Dādistān-ī Mēnōg-ī Xrad is a report of the questions of Dānā (the wise) from Mēnōg-ī Xrad, and the answers of Mēnōg-ī Xrad manifested to him. At first glance, it may seem that Dānā represents the individual reason (gōšōsrūd-xrad), while Mēnōg-ī Xrad represents the Universal Intellect. However, it has been shown that the intelligence associated Mēnōg-ī Xrad is a level higher than individuality, like the ‘acquired intellect’ in Islamic philosophical teachings, which resembles the ‘first principles of existence’ and in the light of the Sun of the Mēnōg becomes an ‘active seer’. Therefore, Dānā will be a symbol of the partial microcosmic intellect (āsn-xrad), which receives its knowledge from its own Mēnōg (divine archetype) or the Universal Intellect. The Universal Intellect or Cosmic Āsn-Xrad is the same as Gathic Spenta Mainyu, which is the leader of the Ameša Spentas and the ruler of the whole universe in all its diverse levels. Spenta Mainyu is called Geuš Tašan, meaning the Maker of the Cow, insofar as it is the origin of existence. It is called Sraoša, meaning the Hearer, since he hears the message of Ahura Mazda and carries it, insofar as it is the origin of knowledge. By delving into some sections of the Gathas, it becomes clear that Xratu (the Intellect), which is equated with Spenta Mainyu, is a general name with respect to two aspects of existence-giving and knowledge-giving, just as the Mēnōg-ī Xrad is also a source of both existence and knowledge according to the Dādistān-ī Mēnōg-ī Xrad .

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