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EXPRESSION OF THE CONCEPT OF SOUL (Spirit) THROUGH METAPHORS IN
ALISHER NAVAI'S GHAZELS
Ibotova Madina Otabek kizi
Teacher of Bukhara State Pedagogical Institute
Abstract:
The article studies the concept of soul (ruh) in Alisher Navoi's ghazals and its
expression through metaphors. The poet's skill in creating metaphors created through these
concepts and the ideas put forward through the artistic interpretation of soul (ruh) are
analyzed.
Keywords:
soul, spirit, bird, div, cage, dungeon, light, soil.
The symbolic images that are uniquely interpreted in Alisher Navoi's lyrical heritage include
soul and spirit. The poet's ghazals create a number of metaphors related to the soul (soul) and
div.
The lyrics of the great poet Alisher Navoi use unique metaphors in the artistic expression of
the soul and spirit, and in the study we tried to present them in the following classifications.
1.
The soul is a bird, the div is a cage
2.
The soul is light, the div is dust.
3.
The soul is light, the soul is shadow
4.
The soul is a flute, the div is a flute.
The soul is a bird, the div is a cage.
Comparing the soul to a bird and the div to a cage is
one of the metaphors widely used in Eastern literature. The soul is likened to birds in terms of
being a subtle being and containing heavenly perception. Since it belongs to the higher
worlds even after death and is believed to have departed, the expression “flew” is also used.
A number of combinations used in classical literature, such as “bird of the soul”, “bird of the
heart”, “bird of sorrow”, “bird of wisdom”, etc., also served for the artistic expression of the
soul and spirit.
In classical poetry, the metaphor of the div as a cage has a traditional connotation. The
metaphor of a "cage" is often used to express a person's emotional or spiritual "stiffness" and
"confinedness" in their inner world.
It's not good to save your soul from the wrath of nature.
It is a difficult age to be a nightingale in a cage.
The poet created a wonderful image. In the couplet, the soul is depicted as a nightingale, and
the div is depicted as a cage. We emphasized above that it is impossible to imagine a soul
without a div or a div without a soul. So, what purpose does Alisher Navoi have in the
image of the soul leaving the div? The abode of the nightingale is the garden and the
meadows. It loves freedom, liberty. The soul also loves freedom. For this, it must be free
from the “nature's fountain” - from sensual vices. Nature's fountain - from attachment to the
world. Not rescuing the soul from such a pit is like a nightingale in a cage. The true abode of
the soul is the abode of Allah - the gardens of Paradise. Only a soul that has reached
perfection and is free from the cage of the div can reach such a place.
In his romantic ghazals, Alisher Navoi skillfully used the symbol of the div - the cage - to
express the mental state of the lover.
1
Navoi Alisher. Bado' al-Bidoya. MAT. Volume XX. Volume I. –T.: Fan, 1987. p. 471.
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What else was your dream, you were longing for the bird of happiness,
You have made every inch of my div a cage, a cage for it.
A lover who desires the love of a bird of prey shoots arrows (khadang) at the lover's div
from all sides, imprisoning him (his soul) in the cage of his div.
Another such metaphor used in the poetry of Alisher Navoi in the interpretation of the soul
and spirit is the dungeon. In Sufi literature, the soul is compared to a bird, and the div is
compared to a dungeon. Through death, the soul bird escapes from the prison of the div and
flies to a sacred place. However, the ascetics who have achieved the secret of "dying before
dying" fly to the heaven of divinity without reaching natural death. Alisher Navoi used this
symbol extensively in his romantic ghazals. For example,
Again, this evening I am in a bad mood, a bad mood,
In the prison of the corrupt div, the soul is also in a state of ruin.
In the above verse, the lover's div is compared to a "corrupt prison." The soul imprisoned in
a prison is also ruined. Therefore, by comparing the lover's div to a prison, the poet
describes his impossibility in the verse, and his "corrupt heart" is "wretched." In this way, he
manages to harmoniously describe the problems of love and infatuation along with the
contradictions of life.
The soul is light, the div is dust.
. The relationship between the soul and light is closely
related to the inner enlightenment and spiritual perfection of man. “The human soul is
essentially composed of light, therefore man delights in the sight of light and fears darkness.
All causal creations in the universe ultimately return to Nur ul-anwar (Allah).
The spirit is the light, the truth gives it its fullness,
The soul remains in darkness, and the action is a source of bitterness.
The hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) states, "Allah created mankind in darkness,
then sent light upon them."
In the above verse, the poet says that the soul is created from
light, and that Allah gives it "a climax" - exaltation, ascension.The guiding and illuminating
role of light in human spiritual development is emphasized, while the ego "remains in
darkness" and causes it (the soul) to remain below the rank and level (hubut). Therefore, the
soul is the light that illuminates the path of man in darkness, representing faith and hope.
If you say, "Ascend to heaven," you will die a mortal death,
Don't worry about your soul.
The origin of the word is Arba'.four elements: air, water, fire, and earth. These four elements
are the foundation of the human div. “To ascend to the sky” - the flight of the soul. This
refers to the soul's departure from the material world and merging with true existence in the
process of spiritual ascension and approaching God. In the verse, the great poet emphasizes
that there are four fundamental “crosses” for the soul preparing for flight, that is, “four pegs.”
2
Navoi Alisher. Bado' ul-bidoya. MAT. Volume XX. Volume I. –T.: Fan, 1987. 301-p.
3
Navoi Alisher. Badoe' ul-wasat. MAT. Volume XX. Volume V. - T.: Science, p. 122, 1990.
4
Sirojiddinov Sh. Philosophical sources of Uzbek classical literature. – T.: “Generation of the New Century”. p.
184.
5
Navoi Alisher. Fawaid ul-kibar. MAT. Volume XX. Volume VI. - T.: Science, 1987. p. 198.
6
Abulhasan Hujviri. "Kashf ul Mahjub". Tehran, "Tebbian". Edited by Faridun Asiabi Ishqi Zinjani. (Translated
by A.A. Boltaev), 2003. – P. 122.
7
Navoi Alisher. Navodir un - the end. MAT. Volume XX. Volume II. - T.: Science, 1987. p. 457.
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Of course, such images are used to convey mystical ideas. In Sufi literature, it is traditional to
depict the soul's ascension to the Divine World, freeing itself from the limitations of the
material world and finding true bliss and peace. The flight of the Heart can be achieved by
purifying the soul and being filled with divine love. For this, the soul must become mortal,
that is, free itself from the "four elements." In the verse, the "four elements" are a symbol of
"self."
The same idea is put forward in the verse quoted below.
The div's organs are foreign,
When you say Navoi, it sounds like a heavenly melody.
The image is related to the div being outside the four corners of the earth to make a "sky-
like melody." Here too, the idea of the soul reaching perfection is put forward.
It is clear that Alisher Navoi skillfully used the symbols of spirit - light, div - earth to
promote mystical ideas. These symbols also served the poet's artistic intention in his romantic
ghazals.
Because you are pure in spirit, I am like a dirty, dirty person,
If you find it in my conversation, you are a real person.
The beloved is pure in spirit, the lover is pure in soil. The lover is right. If the beloved feels
pure in the conversation between them, then she is right. The lover wants to convey by this
that she is pure. The divine-mystical idea in the couplet related to the pure creation of the soul
came in handy for the poet's artistic intention. The lyrics of the great poet Alisher Navoi use
unique metaphors in the artistic expression of the soul and spirit. The images used in the
poet's lyrical heritage, such as the soul - bird, div - cage; soul - light, div - soil; soul - light,
soul - shadow; soul - flute, div - flute; soul - nightingale, div - cage, are charged with
symbolic meaning, and they sometimes served for the artistic interpretation of the spiritual
image of the solicitor, sometimes of the lover.
8
Navoi Alisher. Bado' al-Bidoya. MAT. Volume XX. Volume I. –T.: Fan, 1987. 324 p.
9
Navoi Alisher. Fawaid ul-kibar. MAT. Volume XX. Volume VI. - T.: Science, 1990. p. 220.
