Dr Vida Ahmadi (Dana Kamran)
The garden is one of the most used symbols in religion and literature. In almost all religions, heaven is a garden full of flowers and trees, which is promised to good people as a place of salvation. In many poems and also in the field of art, especially the art of painting, flowers and plants represent the most beautiful and meaningful symbols of culture and thought. This is the case not only in Iran, but also in other nations of the world.
But I will continue my writing by raising this question that What is the true meaning and interpretation of this high-frequency symbol and what was its purpose? Is it only the external beauty of green and flowery gardens that has given it such glory in the field of religion, literature and art? Or that it has a deep topic that deserves to be thought about. In this article, in short, I present a symbolic and psychological analysis in response to this thought-provoking and important question.
To enter into this analysis, I will present a few lines from the valuable book "dictionary of Symbols", a book that is the result of extensive and deep studies and research by several educated professors of the University of Strasbourg, France, and in my opinion, it contains relatively comprehensive points about the supposed symbol of our opinion. In the culture of symbols, we read: "The garden is a symbol of consciousness, unlike the forest, which is a symbol of the unconscious. The garden has a feminine meaning. And this is because of its characteristic as a privacy"[1]. Another thing is that "the garden is often seen in a dream as a blissful expression of desire free from all anxieties. The garden is the growth and cultivation of living and internal phenomena but to enter the garden, you can only enter through a narrow door. The dreamer often has to go around the garden to find this door. This walk around the garden is a picture of long-term physical development achieved through inner richness... This garden may be an allegory of one's self, when there is a tree or a fountain in the middle... [2] The garden model in Islam and Christianity is the same alchemical model of the philosophers' garden, which we know from treatises on alchemy and many beautiful engravings. The points that deserve reflection here are as follows:
1 Alchemy of Self
2 Removing Obstacles and Solving Problems
3 Effort and Perseverance
4 Self-Awareness
5 Evolution and Transformation
6 Self-Flourishing
7 Peace and Happiness
As you can see, in these few lines, the meanings of the garden have been briefly listed, meanings that are also linked to the knowledge of alchemy and indicate a profound transformation. The world within a person is full of abilities, which of course are all potential and hidden like a treasure at the beginning of his entry into this world. The revelation and actualization of these abilities requires great effort and determination, which of course is not available to everyone.
That is why many people never become what they should be. This important category, "becoming," is essential to the alchemy of human existence, and it is the manifestation of these potential forces and abilities that give meaning to human existence. An effort that leads to a person's awareness of his inner treasures, and it is this awareness that causes evolution. It is now clear why Thomas Aquinas, in his "Alchemy Treatise Aurora " likened this process to the sprouting of a seed from the soil and its transformation into a growing plant. These important things are the main things that are among the semantic characteristics of the garden symbol, and I can confidently say that in the field of religions, literature, and art, whenever the garden symbol is mentioned, one or more or all of these characteristics have been taken into account. For this reason, it can be believed that the garden is a symbol of prosperity and growth, and the most fundamental task of the inhabitants of Paradise is to realize their true identity.