A Comparative Study of the Stages of Journey towards God in Mehr Creed and Yoga School

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Religions and Mysticism, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Iran

2 Master's Student in Religions and Mysticism, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Iran

Abstract

Soluk (the journey towards God) in its general meaning is the process of spiritual evolution and breaking away from the apparent world and joining the sacred world, which has been common in various religions in different ways from the distant past. Iran and India, due to their cultural affinities as well as their deep and almost similar worldview, have adopted profound methods to achieve the highest spiritual status. Iranian Mehr and Mithras creed have long sought to go through the seven stages of soluk, that is, complete departure from selfishness and absorption in the sun of truth and joining Mehr. The school of yoga, by imposing difficult austerities and going through eight stages, has provided the possibility of spiritual evolution to reach the position of Samadhi (the state of meditative consciousness). To this end, the abandonment of carnal attachments and the renunciation of worldly life, the school of Yoga and the creed of Mithras/Mehr have proposed methods, each of which has had its own global effects. These methods are sometimes similar, and sometimes have differences, that stem from the worldview, soluki thinking, and esoteric perceptions of the founders of these two creeds. The research findings show soluk and soluki thinking is one of the fundamental systematic reflections in the ancient Eastern traditions that is effective both in terms of theory and theoretical life and in terms of practice and practical life.

Keywords

References

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