THEISM, DESIRE FOR PEACE, LOVE FOR MANKIND, SHARED DIMENSIONS OF CIVILIZATIONS; AN APPROACH TO THE TREE AS THE MOST SUBLIME DIVINE SIGN AND ELEMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Mahdokht Poorkhalegi-Chatrudi

Dr. Mahdokht Poorkhaleghi Chatroodi received MA in 1985 and
her PhD in 1997, from the faculty of Letters, Mashhad University of Ferdowsi
in Iran, where she has been teaching since 1994. She has published two
books: The narrative hints in the Masnavi, and the symbol of the tree and
its significance in the Persian poetry.

In our approach to the tree, we begin with the contention that
one of the most important issues that the world is faced with and should
naturally be included in the agenda of the dialog between civilizations is the
environment and the importance of safekeeping it against pollution. In this
great universal drama in which hostility is replaced by friendly dialogs, the
participants should share the belief in God, in peaceful coexistence, in love
for mankind and in unity of word and action. The present writer is of the
opinion that the tree, the most sublime element of the environment, and the
cultural values associated with it are shared by all cultures and that in the
human civilization it has been a symbol of divine power, monotheism, peace and
love for mankind. Thus the tree, a silent story-teller, can be the most eloquent
speaker in this glorious feast of the dialog between civilizations, and a green
response to the theory of the clashes of civilizations. This is specially
because, as documented in the myths of many nations, the origin of man and the
human civilization is mehrgiyah, the tree of compassion. Based on the
Qur'an, the voice of the tree is the voice of a civilization which knows no east
nor west: lā sharghiyaton va lā
gharbiyaton The dialog of civilizations is in fact a mystic dance
which finally attains unity through a link with lā elāh ellal-lāh, the goodly saying described
in the Qur'an as the Pure Tree (shajariy-e taayyebeh). The tree, in its
recurring movement from spring to spring and its ascending movement towards
light, lays the foundation of a civilization in which man is freed from the
dominion of contrasts and diversity, and provides man with peace, unity and love
for mankind, which are the shared dimensions of all civilizations.