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Journal articles on the topic 'Esoteric sources'
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1
Rozi, Fathur. "Ibnu Athaillah dan Penafsiran Esoteric." PUTIH: Jurnal Pengetahuan Tentang Ilmu dan Hikmah 6, no. 2 (September 28, 2020): 47–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.51498/putih.v6i2.76.
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This paper discusses about Ibn 'Athoillah As-Sakandari’s thought in performing esoteric interpretations to religious texts. The Hadith said that the Qur'an has dimension of esoteric meaning, extrinsic and esoteric, internal historically had implications for inevitability of esoteric Qur'an’s interpretation, especially by and for Sufi. But the existence of this interpretation is diverse, both in terms of epistemological and methodological. So this considered important for author to discuss the discourse of Ibn Atha'illah's thoughts and his efforts to explain the content of Qur’an by means of esoteric interpretation. This research uses qualitative research methods with library research methods. It mean, inspect and researching the sources of literature and using written materials in form classical books, books and other written sources related with the theme discussion. The subject studied in this paper is what is behind ibn Athoillah's thoughts and how ibn 'Athoillah interprets religious texts with esoteric interpretations. This paper is a literature research and the historical approach, so the author concluded that 1) ibn Athoillah’s esoteric interpretation has historical legitimacy during the Prophet Muhammad saw and theology from Qur'an and Sunnah; 2) Esoteric interpretation should be based on the literal meaning, textual verse and Esoteric interpretation the source is the individual wijdaniyyah of Sufi.
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Ayad, Omneya. "Ibn ʿAjība's ‘Oceanic Exegesis of the Qur'an': Methodology and Features." Journal of Qur'anic Studies 23, no. 3 (October 2021): 1–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/jqs.2021.0477.
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Aḥmad Ibn ʿAjība (d. 1224/1809) was a prominent Sufi mystic who lived in Morocco during the thirteenth/seventeenth century. He stood out as an intellectual theoretician in the field of Qur’anic esoteric hermeneutics as he was one of the few scholars who managed to convey theoretical concepts and esoteric theories of Qur’anic interpretation in a language that is accessible to those who are not well versed in Sufism. In this paper Ibn ʿAjība’s famous Qur’an commentary al-Baḥr al-madīd fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-majīd (‘The Oceanic Exegesis of the Qur’an’) will be thoroughly examined, with an emphasis on the key features and the methodological approaches used in the composition of both its exoteric and esoteric aspects. The first section of this paper will examine the historical development of esoteric and Sufi Qur’an exegesis, so as to situate Ibn ʿAjība’s commentary within this genre. A thorough analysis will be given to the key features, guiding principles, and different methodologies adopted by various esoteric Qur’an commentaries. The second section will explore the most influential sources utilised by Ibn ʿAjība to inform the exoteric and esoteric dimensions of al-Baḥr al-madīd. In order to evaluate the extent to which these sources impacted upon the composition of al-Baḥr al-madīd, an analysis of their salient features and the main methodological approaches of these sources will be conducted. It is also important to analyse why Ibn ʿAjība chose certain sources over others, and to clarify the extent to which he depended upon these sources in composing al-Baḥr al-madīd. The third section of this paper will outline the methodology which Ibn ʿAjība adopted when he composed the esoteric dimension of his Qur’an commentary.
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Willmett, John. "Tradition, Esotericism, Secrecy and Hiddenness in the Gospel Studies of P.D. Ouspensky and Maurice Nicoll." Aries 20, no. 1 (January 22, 2020): 108–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15700593-02001012.
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Abstract This article examines the views of Gurdjieff’s disciples P.D. Ouspensky and Maurice Nicoll on the esoteric nature of the Gospels. Utilising one of Wouter Hanegraaff’s definitions of esotericism as religious activity concerned predominantly with salvific knowledge of the ‘inner mysteries of religion’ reserved for a selected elite, Ouspensky’s and Nicoll’s view of the Gospels as the rendering in metaphorical form of esoteric knowledge as the formulation of the esoteric psychology of the path of inner evolution is discussed. Sources for this discussion are Ouspensky’s A New Model of the Universe (1931), and Nicoll’s The New Man (1950) and The Mark (1954). It is suggested that the Gospels render esoteric knowledge and its linguistic expression secret and hidden. Nicoll’s idea of the necessity for this secrecy and hiddenness in dealing with the esoteric, that esoteric knowledge given to those unprepared for it is dangerous, both because it will be spoiled, its truth and beauty destroyed, and because it will turn into what Nicoll calls “world poison”, is illustrated in a discussion of the thesis presented in Jacob Needleman’s A Sense of the Cosmos (1975), that the rise of modern science represents an abuse of esoteric knowledge. The article concludes by presenting ideas from Needleman, Ouspensky and Nicoll of what needs to be done in the face of this current widespread abuse of esoteric knowledge.
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Amin, Habibi Al. "GUARDIANS CONCEPT IN QUR'AN PERSPECTIVE." SHAKHSIYAH BURHANIYAH: Jurnal Penelitian Hukum Islam 6, no. 1 (January 4, 2021): 95–114. http://dx.doi.org/10.33752/sbjphi.v6i1.1642.
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This article is the result of library research. The direction of this research discussion is how the process of interpreting ahkam works in producing a variety of guardianship concepts. This article discusses the application of esoteric interpretations of Hanafi and Syafi'I fiqh in the practice of istinbath and istidlal. The data sources of this research are the verses of the Qur'an and reference books that discuss the Hanafi and Shafi'I interpretation methods, namely al-Umm by Imam Shafi'I and al-Mabsut by as-Shaukani. This study concludes several things related to the concept of guardianship in the Qur'an. First, the concept of guardianship in the Qur'an cannot be imposed equally between Shafi'iyah and Hanafiyah. This difference arises because there is no sarih lafad that refers to the meaning of guardianship in the Qur'an. Second, the concept of guardianship appears diverse because the priests of the schools use different esoteric fiqh approaches in understanding the verses and al-Sunnah. The esoteric approach to fiqh carried out by Hanafi and Shafi'I relies on the same istinbath and istidlal process but the data used are different.
Keyword: concept, wali, qur'an
Abstrak
Artikel ini adalah hasil penelitian kepustakaan. Arah diskusi penelitian ini adalah bagaimana proses kerja tafsir ahkam dalam memproduksi keragaman konsep perwalian. Artikel ini mendiskusikan penerapan tafsir esoterik fiqih Hanafi dan Syafi’I dalam praktek istinbath dan istidlal. Sumber data penelitian ini adalah Ayat Al-Qur’an dan buku-buku referensi yang membahas metode tafsir Hanafi dan Syafi’I, yaitu al-Umm karya Imam Shafi’I dan al-Mabsut karya as-Shaukani. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan beberapa hal berkaitan dengan konsep perwalian dalam Al-Qur’an. Pertama, konsep perwalian dalam Al-Qur’an tidak dapat dipaksakan sama antara Shafi’iyah dan Hanafiyah Perbedaan ini muncul karena tidak ada lafad sarih yang menunjuk pengertian perwalian dalam Al-Qur’an. Kedua, konsep perwalian muncul beragam karena para imam mazhab menggunakan pendekatan esoterik fiqih yang berbeda-beda dalam memahami ayat-ayat dan al-Sunnah. Pendekatan esoterik fiqih yang dilakukan Hanafi dan Shafi’I bertumpu pada proses istinbath dan istidlal yang sama akan tetapi data yang digunakan berbeda
Kata Kunci : konsep, wali, al-qur’an
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Hammerstrom, Erik J. "The Heart-of-Mind Method." Nova Religio 17, no. 2 (February 2013): 5–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/nr.2013.17.2.5.
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This article uses theory developed in the study of NRMs to analyze strategies of legitimation employed by the Chinese Buddhist Wang Xiangliu (1876–1937) as he sought to spread a new form of esoteric Buddhism in 1930s China. It discusses the specific historical and religious context in which Wang was operating in order to identify the particular tensions between the new Heart-of-Mind Method and the dominant culture. This context resulted in the specific issues that Wang focused on in arguing for the legitimacy of this nascent tradition, which included: 1) claims in society that esoteric Buddhism is “superstitious;” 2) changing cultural and political attitudes toward Japan and Tibet, which were the sources of much esoteric teaching in circulation in China during that period; and 3) the religious demand that any esoteric lineage be based upon a legitimate, traditional lineage which had the potential to undermine apparently sui generis traditions like Wang’s.
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Samelik, Yury Leonidovich, and Olga Andreevna Nikitina. "The image of occultist and esoteric scientist in France and Russia at the turn of the XIX – XX centuries: the experience of reconstruction based on autobiographical sources (egodocuments)." Genesis: исторические исследования, no. 2 (February 2021): 47–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.25136/2409-868x.2021.2.35088.
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This article is dedicated to the images of occultists and esoteric scientists recorded in the Russian diaries of the turn of the XIX – XX centuries – image of the French occultist Clarence and the Russian esoteric scientist Alexander Navrotsky. An attempt is made to reconstruct the images and the underlying cogitative paradigms. Having analyzed not only the image of personality as it is described in the sources, but also the characteristics of its description, as well as having compared the image of the same personality in the diaries of different authors, the author determines the similar traits that unite these two characters in their unlikeness as personalities. As a result, the author reveals the similarity of not only the occult-esoteric cogitative paradigms that existed in two different countries during the same time period, but also the similarity of their perception by the “uninitiated” authors of the diaries. The article verifies the hypothesis, according to which the occult-esoteric views, despite their internal incoherence, are organically fit into personalities of the representatives of various social groups in the epoch-making historical periods. Egodocuments are examined in the context of studies on esotericism and the image of esoteric scientists for the first time. The acquired results can be valuable in further research of analogous phenomena related to the similar crisis periods in history, as well as for drawing parallels between them.
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Shinohara, Koichi. "Dhāraṇīs and visions in early esoteric Buddhist sources in Chinese translation." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 77, no. 1 (February 2014): 85–103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0041977x13000931.
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AbstractWithin the wider esoteric Buddhist tradition, this paper examines visions and soteriological goals in dhāraṇī practice by looking at the early instructions that are preserved in multiple Chinese translations. A number of different but not mutually exclusive ritual scenarios are presented in these materials. Here I will focus on two specific scenarios, namely dhāraṇī practices with and without visionary confirmation.
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Shrestha, Surya Deep Prasad. "The Origin and Development of the Kālacakra Tradition in Nepal." Research Nepal Journal of Development Studies 6, no. 1 (October 2, 2023): 107–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/rnjds.v6i1.58930.
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The Kālacakra tantra and its tradition is a philosophical esoteric Buddhist practice which has its roots in Nepal. This practice has developed and thrived over the centuries. This study dives into the origin and development of the profound Buddhist Tāntrik text, with a particular focus on the contributions of Nepal and in during its formative period. Drawing from various sources, it tries to trace its historical context and transmission of the Kālacakra Tantra. It highlights the significant role played by Nepalese scholars in translating, disseminating and transmitting this esoteric values. The primary sources of this study are Saṃskṛit text such as Vimalaprabhātika and Sekoddeśaṭīkā by are used. The translation a Tibetan text deb ther sngon po by Gö Lotsawa, Blue Annals is also used as the primary source for this study
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Paśnik-Tułowiecka, Ewa. "The Esoteric Nature of Death Preparations in Taoism and Their Possible Sources." Roczniki Humanistyczne 68, no. 9 (October 8, 2020): 207–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.18290/rh20689-10.
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Ezoteryczny charakter przygotowań do śmierciw taoizmie i ich możliwe źródła
Stephen Eskildsen przeanalizował zbiór tekstów należących do taoistycznej tradycji wewnętrznej alchemii, zwracając szczególną uwagę na medytacje w obliczu śmierci. Biorąc wnioski Eskildsena za punkt wyjścia, głównym celem tego artykułu autorka uczyniła pokazanie podobieństw między technikami przygotowania do śmierci w taoizmie („wejście do macicy”, „zmiana miejsca zamieszkania” i „odpychanie demonów zabójców”) a ezoterycznymi praktykami buddyzmu tybetański (The Six Yogas of Nāropa). Temat został wybrany po pierwsze dlatego, że niektóre z nich zostały pominięte przez Eskildsena, a po drugie dlatego, że podobieństwa te wydają się interesujące w kontekście ustalenia możliwych źródeł medytacji taoistycznych. Próba analizy źródeł obu zestawów praktyk i relacji między nimi prowadzi do wniosku, że wpływ ezoterycznych pomysłów indyjskich na chiński taoizm jest wysoce prawdopodobny. Autorka zauważyła również, że ćwiczenia oddechowe, które stanowią podstawę wszystkich omawianych technik, są wcześniejszymi wpływami buddyjskimi, a zatem możliwy jest również niezależny rozwój tych praktyk. Taki niezależny rozwój można uznać za interesujący, ponieważ zarówno techniki chińskie, jak i tybetańskie opierają się na podobnym pojęciu mistycznej fizjologii, co z kolei może sugerować pewien rodzaj uniwersalności.
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Azize, Joseph. "Assessing Borrowing." Aries 20, no. 1 (January 22, 2020): 1–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15700593-02001001.
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Abstract The history of esoteric currents cannot be intrinsically closed to scholarly research and query. Here, we shall examine just one question: that of methodology in examining the sources of esoteric systems. We shall take but one case study: that of Tobias Churton’s recent book-length efforts to “deconstruct” George Ivanovich Gurdjieff and his teaching. Like others before him, he traces diverse aspects of Gurdjieff’s teaching to different sources, viewing Gurdjieff as a synthesiser, who disguised his debt to Western Esotericism and presented it as his “Fourth Way”. How can such a theory be evaluated? Is it possible to draw up a canon of principles for assessing borrowing? In evaluating borrowing, does the whole of a teaching possess a significance over and above the parts? What is the significance of the phenomenon of borrowing? After noting some results of research on inter-cultural borrowings in ancient mythology, I make suggestions for sound methodology.
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Grimes, Samuel. "Amṛtasiddhi A Posteriori: An Exploratory Study on the Possible Impact of the Amṛtasiddhi on the Subsequent Sanskritic Vajrayāna Tradition." Religions 11, no. 3 (March 19, 2020): 140. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel11030140.
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Recent research into source materials for haṭhayoga (Birch, Mallinson, Szántó) has revealed that the physical techniques and esoteric anatomy traditionally associated with Śaiva practitioners likely found a genesis within Vajrayāna Buddhist communities. The physiology and practices for longevity described in the 11th-or-12th-century Amṛtasiddhi are easily traced in the development of subsequent physical yoga, but prior to the discovery of the text’s Buddhist origin, analogues to a haṭhayoga esoteric anatomy found in Vajrayāna sources have been regarded as coincidental. This paper considers both the possibility that the Amṛtasiddhi, or a tradition related to it, had a lasting impact on practices detailed in subsequent tantric Buddhist texts and that this haṭhayoga source text can aid in interpreting unclear passages in these texts.
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Danalov, Ilker. "Esoteric Painting by Hilma af Klint." Visual Studies 6, no. 3 (December 13, 2022): 285–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.54664/aimf4981.
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A number of modernist art movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries gradually reduced the mimetic approach, leading to the logical emergence of pure abstraction. There were several contenders for the ‘first abstractionist’, and the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) is most often identified as such by art historians. His watercolour (Untitled; Study for Composition VII), which dates back to 1911, is considered the first abstract work. In 1912, Kandinsky published a kind of personal manifesto called “Concerning the Spiritual in Art”, in which he theorized abstract art. Other key pioneers of this art form from the early 1910s were Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) and Kazimir Malevich (1879–1935). They also come up with their own theories about ‘non objective’ art. Although different in their vision, what those artists had in common was that all three of them worked in the idiom of abstraction and were more or less guided by the ideas of the spiritual. The latter is important because the main contender for ‘first abstractionist’ whom we consider here also eliminated the representation of objects from the visible world and followed various spiritual teachings that underlie her work. After 1986, in various sources, the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862–1944) was indicated as a pioneer of abstract art who began to paint the series “Paintings for the Temple” in 1906 (five years before Kandinsky). They are large-format, non-figurative paintings that bear visual and formalistic similarities to abstract painting. From this perspective, the debate about who was the first abstractionist is inevitable. The reason why Hilma af Klint began to be talked about so late is that she painted in isolation and kept her non-figurative paintings a secret. In her will, she stipulated that the paintings not be shown for 20 years after her death. They were discovered in the 1960s and exhibited for the first time in public at the exhibition “The Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1890– 1985” in 1986. By examining the life and work of Hilma af Klint and briefly reviewing the main ideas of abstract art, the current paper aims to answer the question of whether the works by Hilma af Klint were created in the context of abstractionism of modernism, or whether they fall into another category, such as spiritualist or esoteric art.
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Nelson, Victoria. "Children of the Light: Gnostic Fiction and Gnostic Practice in Vladimir Sorokin’s Ice Trilogy." Gnosis 1, no. 1-2 (July 11, 2016): 259–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2451859x-12340014.
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This paper offers a close reading of the contemporary Russian writer Vladimir Sorokin’s Ice trilogy and explores its deep roots in early gnostic spiritual movements of late antiquity, Russian esoteric philosophy and literature, and Western popular culture. Reflecting sources as varied as the Apocryphon of John, the Disney movie Escape to Witch Mountain, Russian New Age paganism, and esoteric Soviet science, these three interconnected novellas are based on the real-life “Tunguska event,” the great fireball that appeared over the Tunguska region of Siberia in 1908, flattening more than 800 square miles of forest. Famous in ufo circles as the “Russian Roswell” and long a magnet for esoteric speculation, in Sorokin’s hands this probable meteor strike becomes the springboard for a contemporary gnostic fantasy in which a giant chunk of ice carries the spirits of 23,000 gnostic demiurges to earth, where they inhabit human bodies that they despise and seek only to reunite and return to their source. More than a simple postmodern parable of the seventy-year Soviet regime and post-Soviet societal excesses, Sorokin’s damning portrait of his “children of the Light” illuminates the deeper and darker currents of human nature, ethics, and spirituality.
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Krakowski, Eve. "On the Literary Character of Abraham Ibn Da'ud's Sefer Ha-Qabbalah." European Journal of Jewish Studies 1, no. 2 (2007): 219–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/187247107783876266.
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AbstractAccording to a currently dominant interpretation, Ibn Da'ud's Sefer ha-qabbalah presents a chronologically symmetrical schema of Jewish history that is intended to convey an esoteric messianic speculation. This paper argues that Sefer ha-qabbalah is neither esoteric nor deliberately schematic. Rather, it is a compilation of material drawn from a large number of varied sources, which is consistently organized in order to forward Ibn Da'ud's primary polemical purpose of defending a particular historical narrative from competing claims put forth by Karaites, Christians, and others. The first part of this paper argues that the textual features underlying the esoteric interpretation can be better explained as reflections of Ibn Da'ud's polemical aims and eclectic use of source material. The second part traces these characteristics through a detailed analysis of a key passage in Sefer ha-qabbalah, which deals with the chronology of the First and Second Temples; this analysis also addresses the question of chronological schematism in the work, which is examined more systematically in an Appendix. Finally, the last section applies this analysis towards a redefinition of the literary character of Sefer ha-qabbalah, and discusses Ibn Da'ud's polemical use of history in relation to twelfth-century political circumstances and developments in historiography.
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Ioannesyan, Youli A. "Three Important Sources for the Study of Shaykhism and Early Babism." Письменные памятники Востока 17, no. 3 (October 26, 2020): 99–114. http://dx.doi.org/10.17816/wmo46767.
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The ground for the Babi Faith (Babism) as an independent religious system was laid by Shaikhism, an esoteric Shiih school. A great role in this process was played by one of the prominent Shaykhi theologists and religious thinkers Sayid Kazim Rashti. He developed certain concepts which, apart from being revolutionary for Islam, paved the way for Babism to some extent, while many of his disciples made up the ranks of the first Babis. The article considers three sources which reveal the crucial factors of this process from the theological standpoint as well as focuses on the transformation of the mindset of some of Sayid Kazims prominent disciples into the Babi worldview.
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Popov, V. Y., and Е. V. Popova. "Philosophical and Anthropological Foundations of Psychosynthesis by Roberto Assaggioli." Anthropological Measurements of Philosophical Research, no. 24 (December 29, 2023): 5–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.15802/ampr.v0i24.295135.
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Purpose. The authors aim to reveal the influence of philosophical and esoteric principles on the formation and further development of Roberto Assagioli’s concept of psychosynthesis. The theoretical basis of the study is determined by the latest methodological approaches in the study of the relationship between philosophical, psychological, and esoteric approaches in the study of the unconscious and the formation of a harmonious personality. Originality. For the first time, a systematic analysis of the anthropological foundations of Roberto Assagioli’s work has been carried out in Ukrainian philosophical literature, the specificity of the connection between esoteric teachings and psychosynthesis has been revealed on the basis of a thorough study of primary sources and biographical evidence of the life and work of the famous Italian thinker. Conclusions. Psychosynthesis, which is one of the leading directions of modern psychology, has a rather multicultural philosophical and methodological basis. Its founder Roberto Assagioli, while developing his concept, was influenced by theosophical-esoteric, pragmatic kabbalistic, and Eastern religious concepts and practices. Unlike psychoanalysis, which saw the unconscious as physiological-naturalistic determinants of the human psyche and behavior, psychosynthesis considers the unconscious as a hidden potential for self-development of the individual. Roberto Assagioli went through a long and difficult way to finally form his own concept, which became the basis of the psycho-techniques of disidentification and work with subpersonalities, which help to discover the true transpersonal self, which is the source of human self-improvement. Modern discussions about the relationship between psychosynthesis and various forms of parapsychology once again testify to the synthetic nature of Assagioli’s teaching, which combines various psychotherapeutic practices. This is what gives psychosynthesis a new push for development in the conditions of wars, disasters, loneliness, and related psychological disorders.
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Stone, Albert E. "Children, Literature, and the Bomb." Prospects 19 (October 1994): 189–223. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s036123330000510x.
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If hiroshima as fact and metaphor marks a turning point of modern secular and spiritual history, what has this fact meant to American children and youth? The thinkable event with the unthinkable implications has, for four decades and more, offered unique challenges and opportunities to all sorts of writers working in popular and esoteric forms with adult audiences. One of the least esoteric but most neglected of these literary forms is children's books, written and illustrated, for the very young and for adolescents. As with works for adults, writings for children are rich sources of cultural information on and attitudes about the nuclear age. They create, vicariously but affectively, informative and imaginative encounters with earthshaking events and their aftershocks long antedating young consciousnesses but present in children's lives as adult conversations, media messsages, and significant silences. Such books often build early imaginal memories on which adult thought and feeling about the Bomb are deeply based.
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Wasisto, Muhammad Adiz. "Reflecting on Kejawen: Javanese Esoteric Teachings in Indonesian National Development." Udayana Journal of Law and Culture 5, no. 2 (July 31, 2021): 96. http://dx.doi.org/10.24843/ujlc.2021.v05.i02.p01.
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Kejawen as a concept of spirituality arose out of ancient Javanese society. Many Western scholars have used the term ‘Javanese mysticism’ to refer to Kejawen teachings, which focus on inward rather than outward religious expression and feeling. Kejawen teaching offers an esoteric understanding of religion and spirituality, one that seems to circulate mainly outside formal religious traditions. This paper demonstrates the significance of Kejawen teaching in spiritual, psychological, and social development in Indonesia, suggesting it has especial relevance to issues of peace and violence. Placing Kejawen in its context, this study shows that the national development in Indonesia after independence was influenced by the esoteric ideas of Kejawen, as portrayed in the national motto “unity in diversity”. This expression resembles the post-independence state ideology of Pancasila. Through analysis of key nationalist texts, themes linked to elements of Kejawen teachings are identified and analysed in this study. This is done by analysing key texts, including Soekarno’s independence speech, Pancasila, and other relevant materials from various available sources. The reader will find out more about the need for comprehensive symbolic and resource-based recognition of Kejawen teachings in Indonesian society.
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Hogendijk, Jan P. "The Burning Mirrors of Diocles: Reflections On the Methodology and Purpose of the History of Pre-Modern Science." Early Science and Medicine 7, no. 3 (2002): 181–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157338202x00108.
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AbstractMuch has been done on the publication of original sources in Arabic during the past 30 years, but much more remains to be done. Some of the recent multiple editions are unnecessary duplication of work and therefore waste of energy. This energy could be better spent on the publication of unpublished sources, and on studies involving the contextualization of Islamic sciences. Furthermore, historians of pre-modern science should work on the popularization of their wonderful subject. This exoteric work is as important as esoteric research, because the survival of the field depends on its image among various audiences outside the community of historians of science.
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Chen, Yushu, and Bing Huang. "The Influence of Daoist Astrology on the Chinese Visual Representation of Tejaprabhā Buddha." Religions 13, no. 11 (October 26, 2022): 1016. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel13111016.
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Tejaprabhā Buddha is the lord of the constellations and one of the most significant esoteric deities. Its image occurs in a number of Chinese visual presentations dating from the Tang Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty. The cult of Tejaprabhā was also disseminated to Korea and Japan and spawned related local visual creations. Tejaprabhā Buddha and his followers do not belong to the core group of Buddhist deities but are instead connected to the Daoist deities. This was most likely due to the fact that asterism held a greater significance to Daoists, for whom it was the most important of all the power sources derived from the cosmos. The focus of this study is on unearthing the Daoist astrological influences in the visual presentation and its adaptation of Tejaprabhā Buddha and the accompanied luminary deities in China. The cult of constellations and Tejaprabhā in the context of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism was constantly evolving under the influence of Daoism, gleaned by examining and comparing the quantity and visual variations of luminaries in the artworks of Tejaprabhā of different periods.
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Zubanova, Lyudmila B. "ESOTERIC AND MEDIA PLUME OF THE MEMORIAL LANDSCAPE: THEORETICAL ASPECTS AND ARCHITECTURAL CONTOURS OF THE FIELD STUDY." Sign problematic field in mediaeducation 50, no. 4 (December 21, 2023): 79–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.47475/2070-0695-2023-50-4-79-84.
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The article deals with the phenomenon of popular esotericism – the creation and active promotion (including the use of media resources) of commercially-oriented goods and services. The information is given on the basis of research expeditions to the Arkaim memorial complex, which attracts tourists and pilgrims with a special mystical “trail”, fixed in the public space. On the basis of a comprehensive study (mass survey, interviews with visitors, observation of ritual esoteric rites and practices, analysis of thematic esoteric products for sale in the space of the memorial landscape) – characteristic features of popular esotericism, features of promotion among modern audience, motives for people to turn to this kind of commercial offer are summarized. Special attention is paid to the media support of the topic: demand for media information, key sources, regularity and intensity of contacts, information stimuli and reactions in the form of “feedback”. Based on the results of the conducted surveys, the conclusion is made about the limited nature of media infl uence in the formation and evaluation of the image of Arkaim.
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Jones, Prudence. "A Goddess Arrives: Nineteenth Century Sources of the New Age Triple Moon Goddess." Culture and Cosmos 09, no. 01 (June 2005): 47–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.46472/cc.0109.0205.
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The Triple Moon Goddess of contemporary Pagan and New Age thought is generally assumed to be an invention ex nihilo of the 20th century, with no precursor in classical antiquity, created by the poetic imagination of Robert Graves (1895-1985), with possible inspiration from the classicist and anthropologist Jane Ellen Harrison (1850-1928). However this hypothesis is incorrect. The Triple Goddess was presented in the 20th century before Graves. In addition, this paper is the first to reveal some astrological and esoteric as well as scholarly writings of the 19th century which presented and discussed a triple moon goddess from the ancient world whose identity would have been familiar to most educated men (and a few women) of the time.
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Mathiesen, Robert. "The Characters (Χαρακτῆρες) of the Glagolitic Alphabet: New Light on an Old Puzzle." Slavistica Vilnensis 65, no. 2 (December 28, 2020): 10–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.15388/slavviln.2020.65(2).44.
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The article calls attention to a neglected source for the over-all “look and feel” of the Glagolitic alphabet as it was first created by Constantine the Philosopher circa 863 ad. This source is the variant forms of the Greek and other alphabets (including Hebrew and Arabic) that consist of so-called Brillenbuchstabe (otherwise charactères à lunettes or ring-letters). These variant alphabets were employed chiefly for esoteric purposes, including astrological and magical ones. Because of their limited use, they have largely been overlooked in standard handbooks of Greek and Oriental paleography. An interest in such subjects as astrology and magic comports poorly with routine assumptions about the inner lives of Medieval Saints such as Constantine. Relying on the extant primary sources for Constantine’s life, however, the article shows that his education, interests and mystical inclinations make a familiarity with some of these esoteric alphabets virtually certain. Thus it is historically plausible that such alphabets were among the inspirations for the general style, that is, the “look and feel”, of the letters of Constantine’s original glagolitic alphabet. (This article supplements the author’s earlier study from 2014, “A New Reconstruction of the Original Glagolitic Alphabet”.)
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Sedgwick, Mark. "Sufi Religious Leaders and Sufi Orders in the Contemporary Middle East." Sociology of Islam 6, no. 2 (June 6, 2018): 212–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22131418-00602007.
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This article examines the authority of the Sufi shaykh, which it divides between the esoteric and the exoteric (which includes the social implications of esoteric authority) and analyses with help from Weber. In principle Sufi shaykhs are among the most important leaders of the Sunni faithful. In practice, however, the Sufi shaykh now has much less power and authority than might be expected. This is partly because modern states have, in general, reduced the power of Sufi shaykhs, and because decline in the power of the ʿulamaʾ has included the decline of the power of Sufi shaykhs who are also ʿulamaʾ. It is also because there is an inverse relationship between the power of the shaykh and the size of his ṭarīqa (order). The most powerful shaykh is the one with primarily charismatic authority, but his ṭarīqa will be small. The largest ṭarīqa is led by a shaykh whose authority depends on tradition and heredity; his power is not so great. This paradox is not changed by the availability, for political reasons, of new sources of state support for the leadership role of Sufi shaykhs as an alternative to Salafi and ikhwāni Islam.
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Prophet, Erin. "Hermetic Influences on the Evolutionary System of Helena Blavatsky’s Theosophy." Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies 3, no. 1 (April 4, 2018): 84–111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2451859x-12340050.
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AbstractHelena Blavatsky (1831–1891) developed a program of salvation that she called “double evolution,” which was elaborated in a system known as root race theory. Human souls were seen as traversing through progressive reincarnation a series of seven “races,” or body types, ranging from gigantic amorphous and ethereal bodies and transitioning through hermaphroditic into gigantic gendered ape-like humans, modern humans, and thereafter adepts and divine beings. Although root race theory drew from the scientific racism of its day, it did not equate root races with human races, but to stages of human emanation from and return to divinity. The sources of root race theory have been sought in Eastern contexts due to its use of Hindu and Buddhist terminology, though scholars have noted its Western esoteric influences. This article argues that the primary structure of root race theory is based in the Corpus Hermeticum. It identifies some of Blavatsky’s Hermetic sources, showing that she referred not only generally to a perennialist “Hermetic philosophy” that incorporated Western esoteric tropes, but also to specific Hermetic texts. These texts provided the organizing matrix of root race theory, specifically its creation mythology, support for prior androgyne human existence, a “fall into matter,” and the initial ensoulment of humans with mind, ornous. It also provided a template for the future transformation of humans into divine beings. The article builds on the suggestions of Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (2013) and Brendan French (2001) to elaborate on the role of Hermetic influence in Blavatsky’s reconfiguring of evolution as a novel form of salvation for an empirically-oriented nineteenth century audience.
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McGrath, S. J. "Sexuation in Jung and Lacan." International Journal of Jungian Studies 2, no. 1 (March 1, 2010): 1–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19409050903498311.
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In the following article I first situate Lacan and Jung in the broader history of the unconscious: Western esotericism and Romanticism. This contextualization is necessary for the subsequent construction of a Jungian reading of Lacan's theory of sexuation. I will underscore one commonality between Jung and Lacan, and make evident the specific challenge Lacanian theory presents to Jung's notion of coniunctio. In conclusion I will suggest that Jung's theory will not only be improved by meeting the Lacanian challenge to a naïve notion of coniunctio; it will ultimately be brought into clearer alignment with its Western esoteric (alchemical) sources.
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Morray-Jones, C. R. A. "Paradise Revisited (2 Cor 12:1–12): The Jewish Mystical Background of Paul's Apostolate: Part 2: Paul's Heavenly Ascent and its Significance." Harvard Theological Review 86, no. 3 (July 1993): 265–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0017816000031230.
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Part one of this article examined the Jewish sources that record the story of four individuals who “enteredpardes,” three of whom came to grief while R. Aqiba, alone, survived unscathed. The story is preserved within a talmudic compilation of materials concerningmaʿaśeh merkabah(an esoteric, visionary-mystical tradition associated with Ezekiel I), inSong of Songs Rabbah, and in two “merkabah-mystical” hekhalot compilations:Hekhalot ZuṭartiandMerkabah Rabbah. Several scholars have adopted the suggestion, first offered by Wilhelm Bousset, that this story indicates the background in Jewish mystical tradition of Paul's account of his ascent to paradise (2 Cor 12:1–12).
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Pruitt, Jennifer. "Method in Madness: Recontextualizing the Destruction of Churches in the Fatimid Era." Muqarnas Online 30, no. 1 (January 31, 2014): 119–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22118993-0301p0007.
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The reign of al-Hakim bi-ʾAmr Allah (r. 996-1021) is often dismissed as a psychotic blip in the history of multiconfessional relations in the medieval Islamic world. Al-Hakim infamously embarked on a large-scale destruction of churches in his realm, including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. This article draws on a variety of sources to argue that rather than being reductively attributable to a personal psychological imbalance, al-Hakim’s dramatically negative treatment of churches signaled a general shift from an esoteric form of Ismaili Shiʿism to one more appealing to the broader Islamic umma.
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Kourilsky, Gregory. "The “Kammatthan Buddhist Tradition” of Mainland Southeast Asia: Where Do We Stand?" Journal of the Siam Society 112, no. 1 (June 1, 2024): 85–130. http://dx.doi.org/10.69486/112.1.2024.6.
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This review article explores the distinctive Tai–Khmer Buddhist tradition of meditation, so-called kammaṭṭhān(a) or yogāvacar(a) tradition in recent literature, initially identified by T.W. Rhys Davids in the late 19th century. French scholars like F. Bizot and British scholar K. Crosby have continued to study this tradition, revealing its unique practices and vernacular literature in mainland Southeast Asia. Crosby’s recent work, Esoteric Theravada: The Story of the Forgotten Meditation Tradition of Southeast Asia (2020), is critically examined in this study. The analysis assesses her new findings, discusses her sources, and offers reflections to enhance understanding within contemporary Buddhist studies.
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Teidearu, Tenno. "Crystal Shops and Shopping for Crystals in Estonia: Materiality and Experience as Sources of Value." Numen 70, no. 5-6 (September 4, 2023): 514–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685276-20231704.
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Abstract This article concentrates on crystal shops and shopping for crystals in Estonia. Consumption and commerce are inherent parts of New Spirituality. Crystals became the most salient commodities in esoteric shops during the 2010s, most of the shops having become “crystal shops” in Estonia. The aim of this article is to analyze the meaning-making potential of the materiality of crystals in shopping, and the material and sensuous aspects of crystal shops. From the perspective of material culture and consumption studies, this case study proposes that crystals are valuable in shopping primarily because of their materiality as a source of meaning and experience. In choosing crystals, people follow their material form and material qualities instead of a textual description of their supportive effects. Crystal shops are generally described as therapeutic places, however as an “experiencescape” they are strictly sensuous and material places.
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Hacohen-Bick, Tafat. "Ecocriticism, Theology, and the Environment in Haviva Pedaya’s The Eye of the Cat." Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology 26, no. 1-2 (November 26, 2021): 5–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685357-20220202.
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Abstract Haviva Pedaya’s book The Eye of the Cat presents an innovative theology of ecology, yet in correspondence with traditional Jewish-Kabbalistic sources. I discuss Pedaya’s ecopoetic reading of these sources, as well as her own midrashim in this regard. Pedaya raises questions regarding the place of man in the world; political questions regarding center and periphery; urbanization and nature; construction and destruction. These questions arise via the book’s unique poetic expression. Pedaya offers a theology of waste, addressing the place of garbage in the human sphere through the Kabbalistic idiom regarding the collection of qlipoth (“husks” קליפות,). The Kabbalistic project of collecting the qlipoth, which previously functioned in the context of an esoteric and mostly secretive symbolic system, now takes on a different meaning in light of the real “husks” that demand to be collected and reused.
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Lin, Pei-ying. "The Chinshō Yasha-hō 鎮將夜叉法 and the Adaptation of Tendai Esoteric Ritual." Religions 14, no. 8 (August 18, 2023): 1060. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel14081060.
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This study aims to investigate the ritual of a peculiar scripture entitled Chinshō yasha-hō 鎮將夜叉法 (Ch. Zhenjiang yecha fa. “Tantric Ritual of Chinshō Yakṣa”). The Japanese deity Chinshō Yakṣa is a Tendai variation of Vaiśravaṇa (Ch. Pishamen/Jp. Bishamon 毘沙門), a heavenly king who vowed to protect Buddhism. The ritual of Chinshō Yakṣa is a major ritual in Tendai Esotericism. It has been traditionally accepted that this scripture was transmitted from China. Modern scholarship, however, suspects that this ritual is Saichō’s 最澄 (767–822) invention. This study examines the contents and characters involved in this ritual manual by comparing other ritual manuals of Vaiśravaṇa. In analysing its liturgical aspect, as well as its textual relationship with other ritual manuals, this paper illustrates how the Chinshō yasha-hō deviates from the other ritual manuals and evaluates the possible sources or origins regarding the formation of this ritual. Similar mudrās and mantras that appear in both the Chinshō yasha-hō and other texts were identified, implying that the Chinshō yasha-hō might have drawn from multiple sources. Moreover, judging from its similarity with Chinese Tiantai ritual manuals and other texts that were forged in the Tang dynasty, it is possible that Tang China and Japan saw a period of active ritual invention.
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Stroumsa, Sarah. "Compassion for Wisdom." Bochumer Philosophisches Jahrbuch für Antike und Mittelalter 1 (December 31, 1996): 39–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/bpjam.1.03str.
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Abstract In studying the attitude of medieval philosophers towards the act of writing, scholars have tended to concentrate on their esoteric tendencies and their reluctance to commit philosophy to writing. The basic attitude of medieval philosophers to the decision to commit something to writing, whether it be that made by the prophets, the sages or the medieval philosophers themselves, however, is on the whole positive. This article examines the sources - both religious and philosophical - from which this positive attitude stems and then discusses its manifestations in the work of three medieval thinkers: Abu Nasr al-Farabi, Abu al-Barakat al-Baghdadl and Moses Maimonides.
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Dalla Grana, Giulio. "Fight and Contemplation. The Towianists amid the European Revolutions of 1848." Polish Journal of the Arts and Culture New Series, no. 17 (1/2023) (May 2023): 13–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.4467/24506249pj.23.002.18995.
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The aim of the article is to show the European diffusion of an esoteric doctrine that originated in Lithuania in the nineteenth century and its circulation during the European uprisings of 1848. The article focuses on a case study of heterodox Catholic thought promoted by Andrzej Towiański. Towianism was diffused in Central and Eastern Europe and consolidated its presence in Western and Southern Europe. The Towianists acted to influence politics and participated in several key historical events of the nineteenth century. Using archival sources, the article investigates the relationship between Romantic nationalism and esotericism, its transnational nature, and its contribution to a turning point in European history.
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Schmitt, A. "Andrei Bely's Concept of the “Self-Conscious Soul”: Synthesis of his Early Reception of Kant with Steiner's Teachings and Esoteric Practice." RUDN Journal of Philosophy 24, no. 2 (December 15, 2020): 201–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.22363/2313-2302-2020-24-2-201-218.
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This article deals with the connection between the anthroposophical practice of meditation and the concept of self-conscious soul, which is developed in the main theoretical work of Andrei Bely, “The History of the Becoming of Self-conscious Soul.” After a brief review of the esoteric practice, in which Bely was introduced by Rudolf Steiner in the years 1912-1914, it examines the topography of the meditative space, according to the descriptions given by Bely in the “Krizisy”. Relevant sources of Steiner on the higher stages of knowledge are involved, from which the concept of Bely differs in a few points. It is considered, how the inner experience of Bely is reflected in the cognitive principles of the self-conscious soul, which he understands as a reflection of the higher cognitive abilities at the lower level of the soul. It is shown, that the cognitive principles of the self-conscious soul, which Bely names “composition of space”, “theme in the variations of time” and “symbol”, are a synthesis of the esoteric practice of Bely with his early reception of the critical philosophy of Kant. He fuses them into a gradational model of multi-stage deepening of knowledge into the construction of the universe and the human cultural evolution. This process is carried out with the creative participation of the cognizing subject and culminates in his deification.
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Steavu, Dominic. "Paratextuality, Materiality, and Corporeality in Medieval Chinese Religions." Journal of Medieval Worlds 1, no. 4 (2019): 11–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/jmw.2019.1.4.11.
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In medieval China, talismans (fu) and sacred diagrams (tu) were ubiquitous elements in religious texts. Since they were composed of divine illegible esoteric patterns, meaning was not produced by the markings talismans and diagrams bore; it was, rather, displaced onto the objects themselves, whether they were two-dimensionally represented in scriptures and ritual manuals or externalized and materialized onto physical supports. In this respect, the objecthood and palpable materiality of talismans and diagrams made them shorthand tokens for direct access to the supernatural. Drawing on emblematic yet understudied scriptures of medieval Daoism and esoteric Buddhist, the present study considers talismans and diagrams as paratextual objects, bringing to light the fact that they not only passively frame the reading of a text but in many instances also constitute the primary and determining level of “text” that is read. In this way, sources in which talismans and diagrams featured prominently were approached first and foremost through their material aspects, namely paratexts. What is more, the talismans and diagrams that appeared in texts were often meant to be externalized and materialized, in some cases onto the bodies of adepts or visualized in their mind’s eye, thereby conflating paratextuality, materiality, and corporeality. In a pair of striking examples, practitioners are instructed to embody and become actual ritual objects, blurring the boundaries between text, object, and body in one single divine locus.
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Howard, Veena. "Divine Light and Melodies Lead the Way: The Santmat Tradition of Bihar." Religions 10, no. 4 (March 27, 2019): 230. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel10040230.
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This paper focuses on the branch of Santmat (thus far, unstudied by scholars of Indian religions), prevalent in the rural areas of Bihar, India. Santmat—literally meaning “the Path of Sants” or “Point of View of the Sants”—of Bihar represents a unique synthesis of the elements of the Vedic traditions, rural Hindu practices, and esoteric experiences, as recorded in the poetry of the medieval Sant Tradition. I characterize this tradition as “Santmat of Bihar” to differentiate it from the other branches of Santmat. The tradition has spread to all parts of India, but its highest concentration remains in Bihar. Maharishi Mehi, a twentieth-century Sant from Bihar State, identifies Santmat’s goal as śānti. Maharishi Mehi defines Śānti as the state of deep stillness, equilibrium, and the unity with the Divine. He considers those individuals sants who are established in this state. The state of sublime peace is equally available to all human beings, irrespective of gender, religion, ethnicity, or status. However, it requires a systematic path. Drawing on the writings of the texts of Sanātana Dharma, teachings of the Sants and personal experiences, Maharishi Mehi lays out a systematic path that encompasses the moral observances and detailed esoteric experiences. He also provides an in-depth description of the esoteric practices of divine light (dṛṣti yoga) and sound (surat śabda yoga) in the inner meditation. After providing a brief overview of the history and distinctive features of Santmat of Bihar, this paper will focus on the specifics and unique interpretations of the four structural principles of the tradition: Guru (spiritual teacher), dhyān (inner path of mediation), satsaṅg (spiritual discourses or congregating practitioners for meditation or study), and sadācār (moral conduct). Through a close analysis of textual sources, Sants’ oral discourses that I translated, as well as insights from my participant-observant experiences, I will examine how the four elements reorient the practitioner from the mundane world to the sacred inner experience of śānti.
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Chen, Jinhua. "A Chinese Monk under a “Barbarian” Mask?" T’oung Pao 99, no. 1-3 (2013): 88–139. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685322-9913p0003.
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Zhihuilun (?-876) was not only a major advocate of Esoteric Buddhism in ninth-century China, he also played a crucial role in transmitting Esotericism to the rest of East Asia. Details of the life of this important figure have remained lost in the mists of uncertainty due to the lack of reliable data. Relying on long-hidden evidence, this article shows that almost all of the remarks made about Zhihuilun by Zanning (919-1001) in the Song gaoseng zhuan are contradicted by this body of new evidence and must be modified or simply rejected. In addition to reconstructing more accurately the life of a principal esoteric promoter, this article aims at exposing certain fundamental flaws inherent in monastic biographies. It also suggests that the nature and functions of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism might need to be reassessed in view of the newly revealed Chinese origin of this key promoter of that tradition. Zhihuilun (?-876) n’a pas seulement été l’un des grands représentants du bouddhisme ésotérique en Chine au ixe siècle, il a également joué un rôle crucial dans la transmission de l’ésotérisme vers le reste de l’Asie orientale. Les détails de la vie de cette importante personnalité restaient enveloppés de mystère en raison de l’absence de sources fiables. La présente étude s’appuie sur des données restées longtemps cachées pour montrer que presque toutes les indications données par Zanning (919-1001) sur Zhihuilun dans le Song gaoseng zhuan sont contredites par ces nouvelles données, et qu’elles doivent par conséquent être soit modifiées, soit rejetées purement et simplement. Outre qu’il propose une reconstruction plus exacte de la vie d’un des grands promoteurs de l’ésotérisme, l’article s’attache à exposer certains des problèmes fondamentaux soulevés par les biographies de moines. Il est également suggéré que la nature même et les fonctions du bouddhisme ésotérique chinois méritent peut-être d’être réévaluées à la lumière de l’origine chinoise, telle qu’elle est révélée ici, d’un des personnages clés de cette tradition.
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Paz, Yakir. "Metatron is Not Enoch." Journal for the Study of Judaism 50, no. 1 (February 13, 2019): 52–100. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15700631-12501239.
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AbstractThis article traces the evolution of the archangel Metatron from his inception to his identification with Enoch. It argues that the name Metatron was derived from the term metator, which was used in Palestine to describe the role of the angel of the Lord in Exod 23:20-21. It was only in Babylonia that Metatron became a name of a specific angel, where, however, he was never identified with Enoch. The first attestations of Metatron in Palestinian sources are only from the beginning of the seventh century CE, and they know nothing of Enoch. The earliest evidence for Enoch-Metatron is only found in Palestinian sources from the eighth century. Enoch-Metatron is therefore neither an ancient esoteric Palestinian tradition nor a Babylonian creation, but rather a late Palestinian innovative synthesis of Babylonian Metatron and Byzantine Enoch trajectories, which resulted in a new hybrid figure.
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Leuchter, Mark. "The Pre-Pentateuchal Enoch." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 86, no. 1 (January 2024): 37–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/cbq.2024.a918369.
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Abstract: Scholars have long recognized that the Second Temple–period literature regarding the figure of Enoch draws from much older traditions dating from the same general period as the pentateuchal texts that mention him. Chief among these are the genealogical narratives in Genesis 4–5, widely recognized as deriving from distinct sources. Insufficient attention, however, has been devoted to the conceptual overlaps between these sources, which point to a pre-pentateuchal tradition regarding Enoch shared by the writers behind Genesis 4–5. I argue that a pre-pentateuchal Enoch tradition connected the legendary patriarch Enoch to esoteric knowledge related to the ancestral cult and chthonic mythology, one that drew from an even older set of circumstances where rival forms of Transjordanian Yahwism took root in premonarchic Israel. The different sources behind Genesis 4–5 show awareness of this tradition even as it was transformed into a new narrative setting. This carries significant implications for the way Jewish scribes reengaged the Enoch tradition in the Second Temple period, especially in the Book of the Watchers ( 1 Enoch 1–36).
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Capezzone, Leonardo. "The solitude of the Orphan: Ǧābir b. Ḥayyān and the Shiite heterodox milieu of the third/ninth–fourth/tenth centuries." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 83, no. 1 (February 2020): 51–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0041977x20000014.
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AbstractThe community of Shiite alchemists gathered under the pen name of Ǧābir b. Ḥayyān produced an important corpus first studied by Paul Kraus, who dated it between the third/ninth and fourth/tenth centuries. The religious, doctrinal and political issues of the corpus – especially in the last two collections – show that the Ǧābireans were a real sectarian trend unknown to heresiographers. Kraus, along with some scholars after him, understood the Ǧābirean community to be an expression of Ismaili thought. This paper aims to reconsider: a) the religious and political affiliation of Ǧābir's alchemical community in the light of textual comparisons that show a close connection between the Ǧābireans and the esoteric tenets characterizing the Shiite ġuluww as mirrored in the heresiographic sources of the late third/ninth and early fourth/tenth centuries, and in the Ġulāt literary sources; and b) the last collection of the Ǧābirean corpus as a polemical outcome specific to the Shiite milieu between the lesser and the greater Occultation of the twelfth Imam.
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Kreisel, Howard. "Imitatio Deiin Maimonides'Guide of the Perplexed." AJS Review 19, no. 2 (November 1994): 169–212. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0364009400005729.
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There is probably no topic in Maimonides' philosophy more thoroughly explored than that of human perfection, many of the studies dealing explicitly with the notion ofimitatio Dei. Maimonides' view of ultimate perfection has been interpreted alternatively as primarily either intellectual, political, ethical, or halakhic. Many have interpreted Maimonides as positing a harmonious combination of the contemplative life and the life of socially oriented activity—bios praktikos—despite the evident tension between the two.Others have explained the apparent inconsistency in Maimonides' approach in terms of the distinction between exoteric and esoteric doctrines. The appropriate texts in Maimonides' writings have been analyzed in detail, and the sources at his disposal have been discussed at length. The challenge facing the student of Maimonides' thought, however, lies not only in explicating the individual texts which deal in a direct manner with the topic, but also in identifying all the issues and texts which are relevant to the topic, as well as their sources, and how they are related.
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Syarifuddin, Mohammad Anwar. "Measuring the Haqa’iq al-Tafsir: From its Contentious Nature to the Formation of Sunnite Sufism." JOURNAL OF QUR'AN AND HADITH STUDIES 2, no. 2 (December 20, 2013): 209–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.15408/quhas.v2i2.1315.
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This article discusses the Haqa’iq al-Tafsir by al-Sulami against the extant accusation of being Shi’ite. It is a certainly Sunnite commentary accumulated from their-own traditional sources as well as representing Sunnite theological principles. Despite its contentious title as well as the use of weak hadiths, the nature of Sulami’s tafsir was relatively free from either Shi’ite elements or mystico-philosophical notions contradictory to the spirit of Sunnite orthodoxy. Al-Sulami’s tafsir is to be classified ma’thur, but it conceives spiritual significances (haqa’iq) that might have been set beyond the common objectives of Qur’anic tafsir in general. It is not a general tafsir for laymen, but an esoteric interpretation of the Qur’anic verses for the elites of sufi readers.
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Woolf, Daniel. "Memory and Historical Culture in Early Modern England." Journal of the Canadian Historical Association 2, no. 1 (February 9, 2006): 283–308. http://dx.doi.org/10.7202/031038ar.
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Abstract The place of memory in the thought and culture of early modern England has been often discussed, but usually in the context of the more esoteric aspects of Renaissance culture, such as "memory theatres." Using printed and manuscript sources, this essay reviews the uses of memory and contemporary attitudes toward its importance, with particular attention to its use in the preservation of the past. A distinction is posited between three levels of memory: personal, community, and social, each of which is studied in turn. It is suggested that the formation of a national historical culture in early modern England derives in part from the changing balance between dependence on memory and the use of the written!printed word to commemorate and communicate the past.
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Mu’ammar, Moh Nadhir. "STUDY OF APPROACHES, METHODS, SOURCES AND INTERPRETATION INSTRUMENTS OF MULLA SADRA." International Journal of Islamic Khazanah 9, no. 1 (July 14, 2020): 1–8. http://dx.doi.org/10.15575/ijik.v9i1.9015.
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This research is carried out on some uniqueness found in the interpretation of the Al-Qur'an by Mulla Sadra, including: he is a philosopher who is the foremost in interpreting the Al-Qur'an and productive writers who have produced many works. In the hands of Mulla Sadra, the synthesis of the three Islamic intellectual schools, namely Sufi makrifat, philosophy or theosophy, and Shiite theology was finally reached, and directly reflected in the field of esoteric interpretation of the Al-Qur'an. Based on the uniqueness, the author is interested in examining it with the title: "Mulla Sadra's Interpretation Methodology (Study of Approaches, Methods, Sources and Instruments of Interpretation)". The purpose of this study is to find out and explore the methodology of the interpretation of Al-Quran Mulla Sadra, as well as describe how the approach, methods, sources and instruments of interpretation of the Al-Quran that he initiated. And to find out and criticize the application of the interpretation methodology of Al-Quran Mulla Sadra in its interpretation product. This type of research is a library research based on the book of Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Karim as a primary data source. Based on this research, we can draw the conclusion that Sadra's work is a combination of approaches and interpretive methods that have developed in the Islamic world. The advantage is that it combines two approaches, namely f irfani and philosophy. This is then considered a bridge from the different interpretive traditions in the Islamic world
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Muhaimin, Umar. "METODE ISTIDLAL DAN ISTISHAB (FORMULASI METODOLOGI IJTIHAD)." YUDISIA : Jurnal Pemikiran Hukum dan Hukum Islam 8, no. 2 (April 8, 2018): 330. http://dx.doi.org/10.21043/yudisia.v8i2.3243.
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<p><em>Ra’yu (logic) is an important aspect of ijtihad thus in ushul fiqh - a subject discussing the process of ijtihad – there are several method of finding the law based on logic of fuqaha (scholars), some of them are istishhab and istidlal (finding the sources). Those are two sides of a coin which are two inseparable methods of ijtihad. The source (dalil) is a material object while istidlal is a formal object. Generally, istidlal refers to finding sources either from Qur’an, Sunna (Tradition), or al Maslahah (considerations of public interest) by means of muttafaq (settled methods) such as Qur’an, Sunna (Tradition), Ijma’ (consensus), Qiyas (analogy) or mukhtalaf (debatable methods) such as Mazhab ash-shahabi (fatwa of a companion), al-‘urf (custom), Syar’u Man Qablana (revealed laws before Islam), istihsan (equity), istishab (presumption of continuity) or sad al-dzariah (blocking the means). Al-Syatibi classified four mind sets of understanding nash (the Text) i.e. zahiriyah (textual), batiniyat (esoteric), maknawiyat (contextual) and combination between textual and contextual. </em><em></em></p>
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Sutcliffe, Steven J. "Gurdjieff as a Bricoleur." International Journal for the Study of New Religions 6, no. 2 (January 20, 2016): 117–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/ijsnr.v6i2.29056.
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Several descriptions have been given to the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff (1866?-1949), including ‘esoteric Christianity’, a herald of the ‘New Age Movement’ and a standalone system called ‘The Work’ or the ‘Fourth Way’. Scholars qualify their assessments by noting Gurdjieff’s exposure to Theosophy, Spiritualism and Hypnotism, or his background in indigenous oral culture. Nevertheless, a complex unity of ideas, constituting a whole, is usually taken to underpin Gurdjieff’s instructions, with the allure and mystique of this ‘System’ lying in the quest to uncover its source(s). As a result, the Gurdjieff movement is typically presented as sui generis, issuing from a self-contained dynamic. In contrast, taking my lead from the model of the bricoleur in Levi-Strauss, and drawing on an illustrative range of primary sources and secondary literature, I argue that Gurdjieff is better understood not as launching a new ‘system’ – complete, integrated and self-sufficient - but as drawing together a heterogenous repertoire of sources and resources through which to make a bricolage. As a result, the ‘fourth way’ has always been a ‘work in progress’.
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Pajón Leyra, Irene. "THE ARISTOTELIAN CORPUS AND THE RHODIAN TRADITION: NEW LIGHT FROM POSIDONIUS ON THE TRANSMISSION OF ARISTOTLE'S WORKS." Classical Quarterly 63, no. 2 (November 8, 2013): 723–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0009838813000207.
Full textAbstract:
The ancient sources tell a particular story about the destiny of the works of Aristotle and Theophrastus after Theophrastus' death. According to information provided mainly by Strabo and Plutarch, the texts produced by the Peripatetic school were lost and unavailable during a period of more than two hundred years, from the time of Neleus, the heir of Theophrastus' library, until Sulla's victory in Athens, in 86 b.c., at the end of his campaign against Mithridates. That was the point at which the private library of a famous bibliophile was confiscated: Apellicon of Teos, who at some time at the beginning of the first century b.c. had acquired the autograph papyri that contained the only copies of Aristotle's and his disciple's works. Sulla, so these sources maintain, recovered then for later generations the so-called ‘esoteric writings’ of Aristotle, and this prepared the ground for the general diffusion of Aristotelian thought, and for the work of Andronicus of Rhodes, whose name has gone down in history as the author of the editio princeps of the Aristotelian Corpus.
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Kugel, James L. "On Hidden Hatred and Open Reproach: Early Exegesis Of Leviticus 19:17." Harvard Theological Review 80, no. 1 (January 1987): 43–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0017816000023506.
Full textAbstract:
As is well known, the beginnings of biblical exegesis are to be found within the Hebrew Bible itself: later books or passages often comment on earlier ones, clarifying perceived ambiguities, at times harmonizing apparent contradictions, or seeking to bring an ancient text up to date, even rewriting history or trying to bring out some would-be esoteric meaning. Indeed, evidence of these interpretive concerns is to be found not only within the later parts of the Jewish canon, but among the biblical apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, in the Qumran documents, Hellenistic Jewish writings, the New Testament, rabbinic literature, and so forth. Sometimes we can do more than simply catalogue how a given verse or passage was interpreted in various sources—we can actually try to glimpse something of the history and evolution of its interpretation.
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Antokoletz, Elliott. "A Survivor of the Vienna Schoenberg Circle: an Interview With Paul A. Pisk." Tempo, no. 154 (September 1985): 15–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0040298200021458.
Full textAbstract:
The Passage of Time naturally removes us from first-hand personal experience with significant historical events and/or important persons that were part of those developments. Since the musical aesthetics and techniques of Arnold Schoenberg and his circle originated and began to develop in Vienna over 75 years ago, future students will have to rely on written rather than direct personal sources of information to gain insight into the music of that era. Our loss of primary contact with the Vienna Schoenberg circle is further complicated in that its members generally met and worked in intimate and esoteric situations. These conditions were in large part due to the conservative tastes of the Viennese public, so that new works in all the arts were generally not able to find public support.