Whitman i vassen - en komparativ studie mellan Rumi och Whitmans gudsbilder
(2024) ISLK04 20232History of Religions and Religious Behavioural Science
- Abstract (Swedish)
- The thesis examines the portrayal of the divine in the works of Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī and Walt Whitman, specifically through the Masnavi and Leaves of Grass. Thereafter, the study conducts a comparative analysis between Whitman and Rumi’s perception of the divine.
The result from the study finds that Rumi’s God is a God integrated into the whole of existence, bound by a mutual sense of love towards humankind, where the goal for Rumi is to join God in complete union. A life of separation from the Beloved is a life filled with suffering and longing. According to Rumi, God and the Divine can’t be expressed through words or actions. The focus is instead on the mystical experience of God.
Whitman perceives the divine as a penetrating... (More) - The thesis examines the portrayal of the divine in the works of Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī and Walt Whitman, specifically through the Masnavi and Leaves of Grass. Thereafter, the study conducts a comparative analysis between Whitman and Rumi’s perception of the divine.
The result from the study finds that Rumi’s God is a God integrated into the whole of existence, bound by a mutual sense of love towards humankind, where the goal for Rumi is to join God in complete union. A life of separation from the Beloved is a life filled with suffering and longing. According to Rumi, God and the Divine can’t be expressed through words or actions. The focus is instead on the mystical experience of God.
Whitman perceives the divine as a penetrating force in the world, surging through each and every one, as well as through plants, animal and insects. Whitman writes that God cannot be reached through words but must be seen and understood from within. The divine consists of love, and for a human, in order to come closer to the divine, the human must also fill themselves with love.
The results show many similarities between Rumi’s and Whitman’s perception of the divine. They both perceive the divine as something untouchable by words and rituals alone, and instead as something that needs to be experienced by oneself to be fully understood. They both see God as an object of love and as a subject that loves you in return, and they both make analogies to unwillingly having been separated from the divine source from which humankind originated. They both see the act of returning to the divine source as an act of absolute love, and union with God as the ultimate goal. Light or darkness, heaven or hell does not matter. Opposing concepts are just an illusion from God, and the goal is to see past this in order to catch a glimpse of the absolute reality.
The results also show differences. The Masnavi was written in the 14th century in the context of being a guide for Sufi disciples seeking union with God, and Leaves of Grass was written in the 19th century for an American audience in the context of leisure reading. Rumi was an Islamic scholar and mystic, while Whitman was raised in a Christian and deist context. Therefore, the intended audience, the metaphors and the language used differs. There is also a difference in how Rumi and Whitman relate to God, as Rumi is filled with pain and longing in his separation from God while this is not as apparent in Whitman’s texts. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9167800
- author
- Westermark, Albin LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- ISLK04 20232
- year
- 2024
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Whitman, Rumi, Jalal ad-Din Rumi, Walt Whitman, Mysticism, Comparative Religion
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9167800
- date added to LUP
- 2024-09-18 14:07:27
- date last changed
- 2024-09-18 14:07:27
@misc{9167800,
abstract = {{The thesis examines the portrayal of the divine in the works of Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī and Walt Whitman, specifically through the Masnavi and Leaves of Grass. Thereafter, the study conducts a comparative analysis between Whitman and Rumi’s perception of the divine.
The result from the study finds that Rumi’s God is a God integrated into the whole of existence, bound by a mutual sense of love towards humankind, where the goal for Rumi is to join God in complete union. A life of separation from the Beloved is a life filled with suffering and longing. According to Rumi, God and the Divine can’t be expressed through words or actions. The focus is instead on the mystical experience of God.
Whitman perceives the divine as a penetrating force in the world, surging through each and every one, as well as through plants, animal and insects. Whitman writes that God cannot be reached through words but must be seen and understood from within. The divine consists of love, and for a human, in order to come closer to the divine, the human must also fill themselves with love.
The results show many similarities between Rumi’s and Whitman’s perception of the divine. They both perceive the divine as something untouchable by words and rituals alone, and instead as something that needs to be experienced by oneself to be fully understood. They both see God as an object of love and as a subject that loves you in return, and they both make analogies to unwillingly having been separated from the divine source from which humankind originated. They both see the act of returning to the divine source as an act of absolute love, and union with God as the ultimate goal. Light or darkness, heaven or hell does not matter. Opposing concepts are just an illusion from God, and the goal is to see past this in order to catch a glimpse of the absolute reality.
The results also show differences. The Masnavi was written in the 14th century in the context of being a guide for Sufi disciples seeking union with God, and Leaves of Grass was written in the 19th century for an American audience in the context of leisure reading. Rumi was an Islamic scholar and mystic, while Whitman was raised in a Christian and deist context. Therefore, the intended audience, the metaphors and the language used differs. There is also a difference in how Rumi and Whitman relate to God, as Rumi is filled with pain and longing in his separation from God while this is not as apparent in Whitman’s texts.}},
author = {{Westermark, Albin}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Whitman i vassen - en komparativ studie mellan Rumi och Whitmans gudsbilder}},
year = {{2024}},
}