In Search of Inner Self:Yunus Emre’s Mysticism and Emerson’s Transcendentalism

Abstract

How could a person seek freedom of inner self and find the truth? Acording to Ralph Waldo Emerson, this is possible through Self-Reliance. From Emerson’s transcendental perspective, the most important thing for a person is to know himself. On the other hand, approximately six hundred years before Emerson, the Turkish poet Yunus Emre gave a very similar message with the phrase Know Yourself. Emre’s perspective on inner self, truth, and love is closely related to Emerson’s ethical ideas, indicating that both writers lead us towards Neoplatonic theories of knowledge. Emre and Emerson came from contrasting cultural backgrounds and had distinct living and working conditions and learning envi- ronments. Emre hails from the Turkish culture and is a disciple (murid) of a Sufi spiritual teacher (murshid), in contrast Emerson comes from a Unitarian background, but he does not follow a lineage and relies on his individual actions. Despite this, they both have an inclu- sive attitude that encompasses all of humanity. Although there seems to be no references to the Turkish poet Emre in Emerson’s texts, there are a lot of commonalities in their writings in terms of self and inner-self. These philosophers - who lived in different continents, thou- sands of miles away from each other and at different times - listened to the universe with the same ear, with the same heart. Thus, they appear as two poets who aim to help people know themselves and add meaning to their lives, not only in their own society but also in other societies. Therefore, this study focuses on the unseen connection between these literary figures and through comparative analysis; it seeks to shed light on the shared mystical and transcendental themes that connect Emre and Emerson across time and cultural boundaries.