The study of the Persian mystical fable’s capacity to be rewritten as spiritual literature for children in the light of the theory of relational consciousness

ABSTRACT

‘Relational consciousness’ introduces four kinds of relationships as characteristics of children’s spirituality: relation with self, others, environment and the higher being or God. These four relationships have also been noted in Persian mystical fables. The aim of the present study is to review some of these fables so as to assess their capacity for being rewritten as spiritual literature for children in the light of this theory. We contend that fables which pay more attention to the relationship with self and God, have less capacity because of their abstract concepts. Fables concerning the relationship with the environment and others are more suitable for being rewritten for the child reader, as they are more objective and perceptible. Many fables of this kind have the potential to guide the reader from the relationship with the environment and others to the relationship with self and God. The study also shows that Persian mystical fables could be used as a rich source for nourishing the child’s spirituality according to the theory of relational consciousness.

KEYWORDS:

• Children’s literature
• Persian mystical fables
• relational consciousness
• spirituality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. This poem by Naser Keshavarz in published in the book ‘Nan o Parvaneh’, a collection of religious poems collected by Hosein Haddad. The poem is originally written in Persian. The English version is our own translation of it.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Samira Qayyoumi

Dr. Samira Qayyoumi (1981) got her PhD in Persian Language and Literature from Tehran University and is now a professor at Payame Noor University. Children's literature is one of her areas of interest and in addition to holding different workshops of fiction and poetry for children and young adult, she has a career as the author of children's literature and has published a number of books for young readers.

Zahra Jalaeifar

Zahra Jalaeifar got her BA in English Language and Literature at Shahid Beheshti University. She was later attracted to children’s literature, and graduated from the same university with an MA degree in Children’s Literature. At the same time, she began writing for children and young adults. She has now a number of publications both in academic and creative fields of children's literature.