خواستن توانستن نیست؛ تأملی درباب بهانه جویی مرغان منطق الطیر (مقاله علمی وزارت علوم)
درجه علمی: نشریه علمی (وزارت علوم)
آرشیو
چکیده
طلب (خواستن) نخستین مرحله (مقام) در سیر و سلوک (سفر مرغان به سوی سیمرغ) است. در منطق الطیر مسائل مربوط به این مقام بسیار مفصل تر از مقامات دیگر آمده است. در این مرحله مرغان به ضرورت یافتن سیمرغ و رسیدن به او اقرار و اصرار دارند. پرسش های اصلی مقاله عبارت است از: چرا مرغان با وجود این اقرار، در مقام عمل بهانه می آورند و به سفر تن نمی دهند؟ چرا با اینکه زیستن بدون سیمرغ را موجب بی نظمی (بی معنایی) در زندگی می دانند و گویی از وضع موجود خود ناراضی اند، هنگام آغاز سفر بهانه می آورند و از وضع موجود ابراز رضایت دارند و به داشته خود بسنده می کنند؟ با توجه به اینکه مرغان نماینده سالکان جویای حق و حقیقت (مردم مشتاق رسیدن به آمال و آرمان های خویش) هستند، این بهانه ها چه دلایل و انگیزه هایی می تواند داشته باشد؟ برای پاسخ به این پرسش ها به مبانی نظری مربوط به نسبت علم و عمل و خواستن و توانستن (داشتن یا رسیدن) اشاره می شود؛ سپس به نقش عواطف و به ویژه همّت (به معنی بلندنظری، عزم و اراده جدی و توجه کامل قلبی به هدف) در تحقق خواسته ها پرداخته خواهد شد. با توجه به متن داستان، مسائلی مانند نقصان آگاهی، ترس، خودخواهی و انواع دلبستگی، از موانع رسیدن به مقصد نهایی (سیمرغ) مطرح شده است؛ اما در نظر عطار، نقصان در همّت (بی همّتی) که با تکرار کلمه «بس» بر زبان مرغان بیان می شود و نقش موتیف دارد، در این مرحله باعث اصلی عذر و بهانه مرغان بوده است.Where there is a Will, there is not a Way: A Contemplation on Excuses of Birds in the Conference of the Birds (Mantegh Al-Tair)
The will is the first step in a mystical journey (here a journey of birds toward Simorgh, which is comparable with Phoenix). In the first step, birds are aware of the importance of finding Simorgh and having a king, but this primary awareness is in conflict with their current situations; thus, they face mental challenges and doubts. They are in a decision-making dilemma between what they have and what they want to have (Simorgh) which finally led to excuses, doubt, and inaction. The two main questions of this study are: 1) why do the birds reject to take a trip despite knowing the necessity of finding Simorgh? 2) Why is life without Simorgh meaningless? Theoretical foundations explained here mean the role of wisdom in acts and the relation of thought and emotion in the fulfillment of desires. Attar intended to illustrate that asking (quest) is a necessary condition, not a sufficient condition. Where there is a will, there is not a way necessarily and ambition has a key role in this regard. Some obstacles of the journey expressed include thought deficiency fear, avoiding risks, interests, pleasures, and habits. What is missing link in this stage is ambition. Lack of ambition is the main reason for the excuses of birds which is shown in birds’ speech with the recurring “enough” word as the motif.
Introduction
"What to ask for?" is the most important question in Sufism and mysticism. In his educational works, Attar has paid more attention to the desires and wishes of mankind and has tried to explain these desires from the perspective of mysticism and Sufism and determine what he considers to be fundamental and original. However, he had to deal more with this issue in his work “ Elahinameh ” (the letter of God) and spoke about the desires and needs of the people in the form of the story of the six children of the caliph. In his work the “ Mantegh Al-Tair ” (the logic of the birds), in addition to the question of what to ask for (which is solved very quickly by realizing the existence of Simorgh and finding it necessary), Attar has spoken about how to ask. The importance of the subject lies in the fact that from a mystical point of view, human value is measured according to one's desires and aspirations. Rumi says:
As long as you seek a gem of the mine, you are the mine
As long as you seek a piece of bread, you are the bread
You are wise if you know this secret
That you are everything that you seek it
Moreover, in mystical discourse, values are completely linked to the truth (God) and are determined in relation to proximity or distance from the truth. Therefore, the seeker of the path (Salek-e tariqat) must do everything in his power to approach and reach the true God or lover (who is Simorgh according to Mantegh Al-Tair ), and this is the only way to reach human perfection. Also, from a religious and mystical points of view, the spiritual life has absolute superiority over the physical life, and real life is an inner issue. So, if we want to know a human being, we must see what or who his life secretly tends to be.
Materials and Methods
The present study aims to investigate the excuse of birds in Attar’s Mantegh Al-Tair . The two main questions of this study are why the birds reject to take a trip despite knowing the necessity of finding Simorgh and why life is without Simorgh meaningless. The mentioned theoretical foundations in the study include the role of wisdom in acts and the relation of thought and emotion in the fulfillment of desires.
Discussion of Results
After learning of the existence of a kingdom called Simorgh, the birds in Mantegh Al-Tair agree on the necessity of traveling and finding him. But when they want to start the journey to find Simorgh, it is as if they have doubts and make excuses for not going. In the text, the reason for the refusal of the birds (which are the symbol of the seekers of the path or people with special wishes and ideals) to travel to Simorgh (the symbol of the right and the ultimate wish) is not very clear. In the beginning, the birds of the narrative are impatient to start the journey, but their excuses begin immediately, which has led to a long conversation between them and Hudhud (hoopoe). The birds' conversations with Hudhud are presented in two episodes: In the first chapter, it is the beginning of the Bulbul's speech (nightingale), and in the last, it is the Sa’wa’s speech (finch). After presenting themselves (reporting on the current situation), both seem to want to turn away from the initial determination to reach Simorgh, and at once speak of the sufficiency of what they have. In fact, they prefer contentment and satisfaction with the current situation (although they considered it bad and undesirable) to traveling and reaching Simorgh (which they consider good and desirable). Every bird has an excuse to step back. In the second part, in spite of Hudhud's explanations and responses, birds describe their situation to a number of anonymous birds and ask for Hudhud's guidance.
With this storyline and conversations between the birds and Hudhud, Attar aims to explain the mental challenges of the position of decision (magham-e talab) and the distance between decision and practice. In the field of human behavior, the important question has always been why a person does not always act in accordance with what he knows, or why, even though he knows that one action is good and useful and another one is bad and harmful, he acts according to the first and the latter is not avoided? It has been a challenging issue for philosophers of the past and psychologists today for one to intentionally do bad or harmful work after knowing what is good or useful and what is bad or harmful. These are just some concepts named Akrasia. It is the state of mind in which someone acts against their better judgment through weakness of will. People like Socrates and Plato find akrasia impossible because they believe that man cannot act against his wisdom, while according to the reality of human life this is not the case. It is quoted from Socrates that we do what we know to be right, and what deprives us of doing right is ignorance. That is, if someone has clear knowledge, it will be strange if an agent overcomes his knowledge and pulls it back and forth like bands.
Plato has said that desires and emotions could not overcome reasoning and thus change rational decisions. In Attar's view, logic, alone, cannot cause action or prevent the interference of emotions and desires, and it is the effort (Hemmat) that connects knowledge and desire with action and possession. Hemmat which means heartfelt attention with all spiritual powers to the goal and destination (Vesal-e Simorgh), causes the continuation of walking the path (Soluk) to reach the truth. In the word selection of the birds, the word ‘enough’ has been repeated many times as a motif, which indicates the low effort of the birds. The birds’ high effort also depends on overcoming humble desires and paying attention to the foresight and overcoming obstacles.
Conclusions
In Hudhud's dialogue with birds, Attar explains the inner challenges of seekers (and people) when making a decision and doing an action. He shows that, in both the outer life (objective) and the inner life (spiritual), just wanting and wishing is not enough to achieve the goal and fulfill desires. Self-sufficiency along with some unhealthy habits, laziness, hedonism, and seeking for convenience lead to inaction and these are major obstacles in the way of achieving one's desires. According to Attar, the main obstacles to achieving the goal are removed with effort. A long conversation between birds and Hudhud is to strengthen the will and determination of the birds and eliminate the gap between decision and action. Attar's special emphasis on the issue of the distance between decision and practice in this narrative indicates his realism, which is the result of the poet's constant relationship with people. Attar was aware of human nature and its control over mankind. In the narrative of Mantegh Al-Tair , while expressing the theoretical and practical foundations of mystical cirrhosis, he has sent the moral message to the general public that it is not enough just to know and decide to achieve the goal, but strong will and effort are necessary as well.
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