A Comparative Study of James Redfield's Mystical Approach in The Celestine Prophecy with Major Persian Mystical-Educational Texts

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Moosa Arabi 1
Seyyed Ali Seraj 2
Mehdi Torkashvand 3
1 Associate Professor of the Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Neyshabor University, Neyshabor, Iran.
3 assistant professor in Arabic language and literature
Abstract
Comparative literature provides a productive field for observing and understanding intercultural interactions and influences. Historical, cultural, and literary imperatives, along with the investigation and chronological mapping of such exchanges, position James Redfield's novel The Celestine Prophecy as a pertinent subject for critique and analysis from this perspective. The work advocates a form of contemporary spirituality and mysticism and has garnered widespread global reception, including in Iran, where readers often engage with it based primarily on its surface narrative. This study first analyzes the mystical and didactic dimensions of Redfield's novel and subsequently compares them with those found in seminal Persian mystical-educational literary works (by Hafez, Rumi, and Saadi). The findings reveal that the novel's mystical and instructional themes are structured around nine "insights," encompassing subjects such as self-knowledge, love as the core of creation, the consciousness of beings, love, purposiveness, and others. While the work's outward form is appealing and bears notable resemblance to Persian mystical and didactic literature, an analysis of the cultural, social, and political context of its production highlights its distinctiveness from the Persian tradition. The novel's genre aligns with New Age self-help, despite its resemblance to classical religious-mystical works. It promotes a popular spirituality focused on resolving personal dilemmas and self-empowerment. Furthermore, the author attempts to present a vision of a utopian future society to the reader.

Keywords

Subjects

1.   بابور، ایان (1362 هـ.ش). علم و دین. ترجمة بهاءالدین خرمشاهی. طهران: «نشر دانشگاهی».
2.   چالمرز، آلن اف (1387 هـ.ش). «چیستی علم». ترجمة سعید زیباکلام. ط 8، تهران: منشورات «سمت».
3.   بخشایی، حمید و سینا صالحی (1396 هـ.ش). «بررسی نظری پایان تاریخ در اندیشه فوکویاما». مجلة پژوهش ملل. رقم 26، صص 99- 116.
4.   حافظ، شمس­الدین محمد (1379 هـ.ش). دیوان الشاعر حافظ شیرازی. تصحیح محمد قزوینی و قاسم غنی. ط 1، طهران: منشورات جهان دانش.
5.   حسین‌زاده، آذین (1389 هـ.ش). «تأثیر یأس و فقدان خداباوری در اندیشه ژید و پروست، بررسی تطبیقی از دیدگاه فرانسوا موریاک». بحث في الأدب العالمي الحدیث. رقم 58، صص 67- 81.
6.   حقیقت، صادق (1393 هـ.ش). «روش‌شناسی علوم سیاسی». ط 3، قم: منشورات جامعة شیخ مفید.
7.   دهقانی فیروزآبادی، سیدجلال (1393 هـ.ش). «فرانظریه­ روابط بین‌الملل». طهران: منشورات جامعة علامه طباطبایی.
8.   ریدفیلد، جیمس (1391 هـ.ش). پیشگویی آسمانی. ترجمة هرمز عبدالهی. ط 7، طهران: منشورات فرزان روز.
9.   رئیسی، رعنا (1392 هـ.ش). «بررسی تطبیقی نظرگاه‌های مولوی و لیسینگ در باب تسامح با تأکید بر ناتان خردمند و داستان انگور». بحث في الأدب العالمي الحدیث. دورية 18، رقم 2، صص 79- 95.
10.              سراج، سیدعلی(1400 هـ.ش). «تحلیل انتقادی بر دو رویکرد متناقض در شکل گیری آثار عرفانی (مطالعه موردی ده اثر شاخص قرن بیستم)». مجلة النقد الادبی. دورة 14، رقم 55،صص: 31- 8.
11.              سعدی، مصلح ­بن عبدالله (1389 هـ.ش). کلیات سعدی (غولستان، بوستان، و الأشعار و الأبيات و القصائد و الرسائل). تصحیح محمدعلی فروغی. ط15،طهران: امیرکبیر.
12.              شمیسا، سیروس (1370 هـ.ش). سیر غزل در شعر فارسی. ط 3، طهران: دار النشر لفردوس.
13.              عالم، عبدالرحمن(1389 هـ.ش). «تاریخ فلسفه­ی سیاسی غرب». ج 2،  ط 13، طهران: منشورات الوزارة الخارجية الإيرانية.
14.              عظیم‌زاده، اسدالله (137 هـ.ش). «اصلاح جامعه از خیال تا واقعیت: به بهانه مطالعه دو کتاب کیمیاگر و پیشگویی آسمانی». مجلة چیستا. رقم 143،صص 231- 233.
15.              فروم، اریک (1380 هـ.ش). انقلاب امید. ترجمة مجید روشنگر. ط 3،طهران: مروارید.
16.              فوغل، اشپيل (1380 هـ.ش). «تمدن مغرب زمين». ترجمة محمدحسين آريا. طهران: منشورات اميركبير.
17.              مولوی، جلال‌الدین (1374 هـ.ش). مثنوی معنوی. تصحیح نیکلسون. ط 2،تهران: منشورات پژوهش.
18.              مولوی، جلال­الدين محمد (1363 هـ.ش). کلیات شمس تبریزی. بجهود بدیع­الزمان فروزان­فر. طهران: منشورات امیرکبیر.
19.   Abbagnano, Nicola (1972). "Humanism". Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Paul Edwards. New York: Macmillan and Free Press.
20.   Abbagnano, Nicola (1973). "Renaissance Humanism". Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Edited by PhilipP. Wiener. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
21.   Allen, Graham (2000). Intertextuality. London: Routledge.
22.   Harrison, Colin (2010). American Culture in the 1990s. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP.
23.   Hoo, Misha. (2023). “New Age for Whom? An Intersectional Analysis of James Redfield’s The Celestine Prophecy.” Women’s Studies 53 (3): 358–370.
24.   Kurtz, Paul (1994). Toward a New Enlightenment: The Philosophy of Paul Kurtz. Translated byBuliough Vern and Madigan Timothy. London: Transaction Publisher.
25.   Luik, John (1998). "Humanism". Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London and NewYork: Routledge.
26.   Mandelbaum, Michael (2016). Mission Failure: America and the World in the Post-Cold War Era. Oxford: Oxford UP.
27.   Mason, Jessica (2019). Intertextuality in Practice.Amsterdam/Philadelphia:  John Benjamins Publishing Company.
28.   Riffaterre, Michael (1990). "Compulsory Reader Response: The Intertextual Drive." Intertextuality: Theories and Practices. Edited by M. Worton and J. Still. Manchester: Manchester UP. 56-78.
29.   Szimhart, Joseph (1994). “Book Review: The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)”. Cultic Studies Journal. Volume 11, Number 2, pages 223-226.
30.   Webber, Robert E (1982). Secular Humanism, Threat and Challenge. Zondervan Publishing House.
 
References
1.       Abbagnano, Nicola (1972). "Humanism". Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Paul Edwards. New York: Macmillan and Free Press.
2.       Abbagnano, Nicola (1973). "Renaissance Humanism". Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Edited by PhilipP. Wiener. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
3.       Alam, Abdolrahman (2010). History of Western Political Philosophy. Vol. 2. 13th Edition. Tehran: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Publications. (In Persian)
4.       Allen, Graham (2000). Intertextuality. London: Routledge.
5.       Azimzadeh, Asadollah (1998). "Reforming Society from Imagination to Reality: On the Occasion of Studying the Two Books the Alchemist and The Celestine Prophecy." Chista, no. 143, pp. 231–233. (In Persian)
6.       Bakhshaei, Hamid, and Sina Salehi (2017). "An Examination of the End of History Theory in Fukuyama's Thought." Journal of National Studies, no. 26, pp. 99–116. (In Persian)
7.       Barbour, Ian (1983). Science and Religion. Translated by Bahāʼ al-Dīn Khurramshāhī. Tehran: Nashr-e Dānishgāhī. (In Persian)
8.       Chalmers, Alan F. (2008). What Is This Thing Called Science? Translated by Saʻīd Zībākalām. 8th Edition. Tehran: SAMT Publications. (In Persian)
9.       Dehghani Firoozabadi, Seyed Jalal (2014). Metatheory of International Relations. Tehran: Allameh Tabataba’i University Press. (In Persian)
10.   Forum, Eric (1380). Revolution of Hope. Translated by Majid Roshangar. Third Edition. Tehran: Morvarid. (In Persian)
11.   Fromm, Erich (2001). The Revolution of Hope. Translated by Majid Roshangar. 3rd Edition. Tehran: Morvarid Publications. (In Persian)
12.   Hafiz, Shamsuddin Muhammad (1379). Divan of Hafez Shirazi; Edited by Muhammad Qazvini and Qasem Ghani. First Edition, Tehran: Jahan-e-Danesh Publishing Institute. (In Persian)
13.   Haqiqat, Sadeq (2014). Methodology of Political Science. 3rd Edition. Qom: Mofid University Press. (In Persian)
14.   Harrison, Colin (2010). American Culture in the 1990s. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP.
15.   Hoo, Misha. (2023). “New Age for Whom? An Intersectional Analysis of James Redfield’s The Celestine Prophecy.” Women’s Studies 53 (3): 358–370.
16.   Hosseinzadeh, Azin (2010). "The Influence of Despair and Loss of Belief in God on the Thought of Gide and Proust: A Comparative Analysis from the Perspective of François Mauriac." Research in Contemporary World Literature, no. 58, pp. 67–81. (In Persian)
17.   Kurtz, Paul (1994). Toward a New Enlightenment: The Philosophy of Paul Kurtz. Translated byBuliough Vern and Madigan Timothy. London: Transaction Publisher.
18.   Luik, John (1998). "Humanism". Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London and NewYork: Routledge.
19.   Mandelbaum, Michael (2016). Mission Failure: America and the World in the Post-Cold War Era. Oxford: Oxford UP.
20.   Mason, Jessica (2019). Intertextuality in Practice.Amsterdam/Philadelphia:  John Benjamins Publishing Company.
21.   Molavi, Jalaluddin Muhammad (1363). Kolliyyat Shams Tabrizi. Edited by Badi’ al-Zaman Forouzanfar. Tenth edition. Tehran: Amirkabir. (In Persian)
22.   Molavi, Jalaluddin Muhammad (1374). Masnavi Ma’navi. Edited by Nichelson. Second Edition. Tehran: Pajohesh Publications. (In Persian)
23.   Raeisi, Rana (2013). "A Comparative Study of the Views of Rumi and Lessing on Tolerance with an Emphasis on Nathan the Wise and the Grape Story." Research in Contemporary World Literature, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 79–95. (In Persian)
24.   Redfield, James (2012). The Celestine Prophecy. Translated by Hormoz Abdollahi. 7th Edition. Tehran: Farzān-e Rouz Publications. (In Persian)
25.   Riffaterre, Michael (1990). "Compulsory Reader Response: The Intertextual Drive." Intertextuality: Theories and Practices. Edited by M. Worton and J. Still. Manchester: Manchester UP. 56-78.
26.   Saadi, Mosleh Ibn Abdullah (1389). Kolliyyat Saadi. By Muhammad Ali Foroughi. Edition 15, Tehran: Amirkabir. (In Persian)
27.   Seraj, Seyyed Ali (2021). "A Critical Analysis of Two Contradictory Approaches in the Formation of Mystical Works (A Case Study of Ten Prominent Twentieth-Century Works)." Literary Criticism, vol. 14, no. 55, pp. 8–31. (In Persian)
28.   Shamisa, Sirus (1991). The Development of the Ghazal in Persian Poetry. 3rd Edition. Tehran: Ferdows Publications. (In Persian)
29.   Szimhart, Joseph (1994). “Book Review: The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)”. Cultic Studies Journal. Volume 11, Number 2, pages 223-226.
30.   Webber, Robert E (1982). Secular Humanism, Threat and Challenge. Zondervan Publishing House.