Nowruz, Mirror of Iranian Thought (3)

Nowruz manifests the belief of Iranians in glorification of the nature and natural phenomena as the bounties of God.

Nowruz is a beautiful story in which the nature, the society and emotions are intermingled. Nowruz is a great memory of man's relation with the nature. Human being often forgets the nature and pollutes it cruelly. But upon the arrival of spring, human being returns to the nature as he is jolted with enthralling beauties.

We know that feasts are held at the time of calm, cheerfulness and abundance. Nowruz brings man in conformity with the nature and creates reconciliation between the two. Preservation of the nature and human habitat has been considered as a sacred duty among Iranians. During the Achaemenid era, plants got such an importance among Iranians that they paid much attention to building of gardens and safeguarding plants and trees. The gardens of Takht-e Jamshid (Persepolis) and Pasargad are two of those gardens. Greek historian, Xenophon, describes how Cyrus the Great took the Greek commander to show him his garden and explain him the method of planting and keeping trees, herbs and plants. Iranian mythologists and experts of culture have often tried to find the roots of Nowruz. Their studies reveal that the deep bond of Nowruz with the nature is a sign of the status of the nature in the Iranian thought. Our ancestors maintained that we must never touch the nature so that the world remains intact. According to the Iranian thought, polluting of water and soil has been considered a sin. Cutting of trees used to be called a great sin and even picking of the leaves of trees were regarded as a sin. Iranians believe that happiness is not just the right of human beings but the nature and animals have also the right to live at peace and clam. In other words, Iranians maintained that the only way to be safe from the woes and calamities of the world is to heed the laws and creation.

The arrival of Islam in Iran bolstered the Iranians' view on the nature. This is due to the fact that Islam attaches an ethereal and sacred status for the nature and its phenomena. It stresses that the nature and its constituents are the signs of God. They have an internal essence; so, man must think of wellbeing of the nature just as he thinks of his wellbeing, perfection and sublimity. The noble Qur'an states that human being should develop the nature rather than destroy it. Basically, all bounties and the entire universe has been created for the sake of man and is entrusted to him.

Last but not the least is that encouragement of people to preserve the nature can be a clear message of Nowruz. Nowruz can pave the way for further heedfulness of people toward divine bounties and blessings. Respecting of the nature has existed among Iranians for several millennia. Let us learn generosity and kindness from the nature. The nature is very generous and kind. So, is it fair to destroy it for paltry gains and short-lived pleasures?

At the end of this episode we present you a piece of poetry by contemporary Iranian poet and painter, Sohrab Sepehri:

I can hear the sound of the orchard,

And the sound of a clear cough behind the tree,

The sneezing of water in every crack of stone,

The chirping of swallow on the ceiling,

And the sound of blood in the vein.

I know the sound of the quail's feet,

The colour of bustard's stomach and the footprint of the ibex.

I know well where the rhubarb grows,

When the starling comes, the partridge sings and the falcon dies.

I am close to the start of the earth.

RM/MG