[Shaahayda Rizvi]

Dear Dr. Norland Tellez,

Thank you for another formidable Mythblast article. I very much appreciate your analysis of Campbell’s work and highlighting the difference between the institutional religions and spiritual philosophy.  Would it be fair to say that essentially, it’s similar to concretizing a symbol, when we are in the womb of myth, and we become spiritual adults after we learn to dissolve the concretization —  And, it’s Reason- the thinking mind that helps us dissolve the symbol?  In my mind, James’ piece on Joe’s interpretation of the Star of David fits right in. “To dissolve such a concretization as an adult, you need to find what the reference of the symbol is. When that is found, you will have the elucidation.”

You write,

“Rather than reducing human reason to some kind of ridiculous narrow-mindedness as if it were some ideological fantasy among others, depth mythologists like Campbell help us recognize the greater archetypal logos of the psyche in the inner workings of myth and dream. Reason is indeed a sign of the divine spark of the human soul in the unfathomable history of the cosmos” —  Yes indeed.

Additionally, I see Reason as the basis of mythic motifs —  Myths of gods and goddesses, myths of death and resurrection, myths of the hero/heroine’s quest, all arise because of needs and reasons. So, reason is in the making of a myth, reason is in the making of a particular myth, that is, myth of a planetary society vs. myth of a hunter gatherer society, and also in finally comprehending it.

Also would it be fair to say that the four functions of Mythology grew out of societal need and the contents of the functions depend wholly on Reason.   Take for example the sociological function of the myth which is to justify and account for the existing social order of a given society. Yes indeed, Constitution of a country can’t be written without reason. Here “Reason assumes its proper ‘equiprimordial’ role and archetypal status; it becomes, like the Heraclitean fire of becoming, constitutive of the universal order of the world—the fiery spark of a cosmic consciousness of being and time.”

Thank you for being the reason for this rational journey.

Shaheda