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Reason, A Barrier or A Bridge… M. Dehghani Firouzabadi and M. Islami / (115
spiritual things, and that the right path to the higher
to disregard the spirit order of reality when it can
in spiritual matters, and contribute man by informing
to trust to reason is as him that he has reached a
foolish as if a carpenter, realm which is beyond the
about to begin a piece scope of reason. However, it
of work, were deliberately is not possible to gain a direct
to reject his keenest and knowledge of divinity through
sharpest tool. (Spurgeon, reason. This is possible only
2011: 3-4) through mystical experience.
In this regard, it is believed
As a result, reason by itself that reason, as Rumi puts it,
does not lead man to a point could be divided into partial
where the mystic receives and universal. Partial reason
knowledge of the eternal self. will be a barrier to the union
The stage where man becomes of man with the divine ground;
united with divinity is beyond however, universal reason will
the realm of reason. Thus, in pave the way as a bridge to
the eyes of mystics, reason has the union.
been shelved as an inferior According to Safavi, “Rumi
function of the mind as it is the great 13th Persian ‘Arif/sage,
not able to find out the has used around 34 terms on
reality of the eternal self. It Reason/Intellect in his masterpiece
is of course possible to Mathnawi.” Similarly Blake also
discover the characteristics of believes that reason is an
the self at the rational level. obstacle to the divinity; however,
In other words, reason might he uses the term imagination
be able to help man to find
