The reflection of “Mirror” Symbol in Myth & Mysticism According to Bundahishn and Mersad al-ebad

Abstract

AbstractBeing present for centuries, myths are our ancestors’ heritage that continues to reverberate in man’s unconscious mind. They contain symbols, frequently reflected in a variety of forms in literary and art works of different eras.Using these symbols for depicting a panoramic world will connect myths –which are often about supernatural incidences- to mysticism –which illustrates the unseen. The Mirror is one of these symbols that have been miscellaneously presented in mythical and mystical texts.This paper aims at providing a descriptive-analytic answer to this question: how is the Mirror symbol reflected in Bundahishn and Mersaad-al-Ibad as two mythical and mystical texts?In Bundahishn, one of the primal Zoroastrian religious texts as well as Pahlavi interpretations of Avesta, the Mirror is considered as one of the five parts of human body. The Mirror is the part which returns to the Sun and will be bestowed back to the humans by the Sun in the Resurrection Day to enable them to recognize themselves.In Mersaad, also one of the most important Persian prose and Islamic Mysticism interpretations, the Mirror has accepted a poetical function and has almost touched on the concept of “perfect man”. The inner world of men is the mirror-work of God. After death, these mirrors will be brought together to make up a full-length, God-reflecting mirror..

Keywords

• symbol
• mysticism
• the mirror
• bundahishn
• mersaad-al-ibad