Mircea Eliade: Dayan and the signs of the hidden third
The aim of this paper to offer a transdisciplinary reading of Mircea Eliade’s novel, which illustrates the relevance of the fundamental components of the eliadean cultural project for the way humanity changes at present. Motivated by the desire to open his spirit to the fundamental insights which can define one’s existential situation, the protagonist of this mythologising story aims to identify the correlations between the realm of science and the sacred messages that form the perennial wisdom of humanity. Through his ”ultimate equation”, he proposes a completely new perspective on the structure of reality, whose consequences, properly understood, might radically change mankind’s understanding of the universe. Engaged in his quest, Dayan discovers that, beyond attaining rational knowledge, humans should remember and develop their abilities to distinguish life’s multiple components in order to successfully emerge from its labyrinths and enjoy absolute freedom.
Keywords: Mircea Eliade, hidden third, transhistory, initiation, primordial models
1.[1] See Basarab Nicolescu, O descoperire surprinzătoare – Nivelurile de Realitate (A Surprising Discovery – Levels of Reality), in De la Isarlîk la valea uimirii. Drumul fără sfârşit (From Isarlîk to the Valley of Wonder. The Endless Road), Vol. II, Bucureşti, Curtea veche Publishing, 2011, p. 7-18.
Gödel’s theorem points out that a rich system of axioms leads to results that are either contradictory or incomplete. Therefore, the laws governing a certain level of reality represent only a part of the total assembly that informs the structures of the real.
2.[1] Einstein’s theory of relativity, representing the climax of classical physics, maintains the central role of space-time with four dimensions. Werner Heisenberg, founder of quantum mechanics, demonstrates it is impossible to locate a quanta in a certain point of space, at a certain moment in time. This paradox is particularly instructive because it reflects the contradiction between classical and quantum realism. Eliade was interested in this mysterious discontinuity which explains the scientists’ failure to unite the theory of relativity with quantum mechanics. Basarab Nicolescu goes further to indicate that this incompatibility might reflect the fact that mankind might be on the verge of discovering new characteristics of reality. Ibidem, p. 12.
3.[1] All the considerations referring to Man’s relationship with God and the world are contained in the phrase ”in God’s likeness and image”. In the orthodox tradition, these terms indicate two essential coordinates of human becoming, as the image is the one that reveals the potentialities with which man is endowed in order to accomplish his mission in the world. Vladimir Losski, După chipul şi asemănarea lui Dumnezeu (In God’s Likeness and Image), Bucureşti, Editura Humanitas, 2006, p. 116.
4.[1] Mircea Eliade, Dayan, in Proză Fantastică (Tales of the Sacred and the Supernatural), vol. V, Bucureşti, Editura Fundaţiei Culturale Române, 1992, p. 136.
5.[1] Ibidem, p. 137.
6.[1] In all traditions, the number five occurs when the quaternary structure, symbol of cosmic manifestation, is given a centre, as it is in the case of the cross. Matila Ghiyka, Filosofia si Mistica Numărului (The Philosophy and the Mystical Interconnections of Numbers), Bucureşti, Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 1998, p. 9-10.
7.[1] Mircea Eliade, Dayan, în Proză Fantastică (Tales of the Sacred and the Supernatural), vol. V, Bucureşti, Editura Fundaţiei Culturale Române, 1992, p. 140.
8.[1] Ibidem, p. 141.
9.[1] Mircea Eliade emphasises the fact that „language can only naively render the notions of tremendum majestas, mysterium fascinans, resorting to terms borrowed from the naturalistic field or man’s spiritual life. This analogic terminology results precisely from man’s incapacity to express ganz andere: language can only suggest what exceeds man’s natural experience with the help of terms that derive from it”. See Eliade, Sacrul şi profanul (The Sacred and the Profane), Bucureşti, Editura Humanitas, 1992, p. 12.
10.[1] Idem, Dayan, in Proză Fantastică (Tales of the Sacred and the Supernatural), vol. V, Bucureşti, Editura Fundaţiei Culturale Române, 1992, p. 158.
11.[1] Gordianic knowledge, Eliade explains, represents „a special type of knowledge which has played a considerable part in the history of mankind’s spirituality”. This means „neglecting or ignoring absolutely all previous attempts to solve a problem in order to find a solution outside it, starting from different data, using alternative instruments of investigation, considering another total vision of the world.[…] It is obvious that gordianic knowledge will dominate our times”. See Eliade, Fragmentarium, Bucureşti, Editura Humanitas, 2008, p. 133.
12.[1] Idem, Dayan, in Proză Fantastică (Tales of the Sacred and the Supernatural), vol. V, Bucureşti, Editura Fundaţiei Culturale Române, 1992, p. 176.
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