Seyyed Hossein Nasr's Conception Of The Human Being

Abstract

Seyyed Hossein Nasr is among the most important spokesmen of traditional thought and stated that approximation to the creative will, that he placed at the center, in the contemplative life fed by religious sources is the most important factor in guiding human beings to the straight path. A person who walks with the pleasure and divine wisdom of this approximation has established his connection with the center. The person who has achieved it has discovered the channel of God’s mercy that reminds the inhabitants of the world of the grace and spirit bestowed from the heavens and elevates his presence to the Creator (Nasr, 1997:23). Regarding the person who cannot achieve it, Nasr emphasizes that the divine truth reaches people like the light beams of the sun, however, problems arise concerning human beings as a result of the disruption of the center-periphery connection due to the willful rejection by human beings as well as their forgetfulness or disengagement from their soul (Nasr, 2013b:18). Nasr’s conception of the human being is primarily shaped by his understanding of a tradition originating in the sacred. This tradition shapes the human being himself and also his expressions, behaviors and attitudes towards those around him. The strength of transmission of these expressions, behaviors and attitudes has degenerated due to modernism. The most important solution of this degeneration is the fact that the human being first learns to exercise asceticism and satisfaction as an individual. If we liken Nasr’s thought structure to a pyramid, it is based on tradition. This pyramid, which goes upwardly with asceticism, satisfaction and devotion, reaches the peak by the realization of the archetypal human being who is the true or existent core of humanity, in other words, the Muhammadan way or path. The person who has reached this level is the person who has canalized all of the angels that comprise himself to the divine and has not stopped his connection and communication with the creative force existing in the center, on the contrary, he has established them again and firmly. For all of these, the person should have an actionary attitude and take on responsibility.