Ulakbilge - Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi
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Cilt 10, Sayı 77  2022/10  (ISSN: 2148-0451, E-ISSN: )
Ersin ÇETİNKAYA

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1657095507 THE ALCHEMIST IN THE CONTEXT OF MEVLANA CELALEDDIN-I RUMI'S ESOTERICISM

Since human beings are in a structure that questions the purpose of their existence in the world since the day they exist, they resort to various ways in order to realize themselves. As a result of his efforts, he proceeds by finding his source in an esoteric context from ancient times. Mevlânâ Celaleddin-i Rumi, one of the most competent names of Anatolian Sufism, goes on his inner journey in this context and creates his Islamic-based teaching. Mevlânâ, who appears as an important component of our culture and is one of the most important people who ensured the understanding of Islam in the Anatolian geography, deeply affects the world in this context. Mevlânâ, who went on this journey to find himself, continues his action until the last moment of his life, trying to reach the level of a perfect human being. Esotericism, whether it is western or Islamic-based, is essentially a long and arduous road/journey that the individual takes to realize himself. Since the paths passed in the two esoteric contexts are similar to each other, the individual depicted by Mevlânâ and the Santiago character of Paulo Coelho are similar. Since literary works place the human and the factors surrounding him in the center, the works created with this mentality contain more or less esotericism. The works that construct their message in the image of the person who is on the way and moving take the point of finding the purpose of life as its principle. A person's "personal legend" is the only thing that guides him on this path. Paulo Coelho, who creates works that usually contain esoteric features by describing the inner world of man, also acts in the desire to reveal the richness in the west by considering the esoteric thought system with the understanding of "alchemy". In this context, it is the author's originality to see the characters that he takes on a journey with the characteristics that exist in every monotheistic religion. The aim of our study is to deal with "The Alchemist", one of the most competent works of Western esotericism written in literary form, in the context of Mevlânâ's thought system / Sufism.
Keywords: Mevlânâ, Esotericism, Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist, Personal Legend