Walter Benjamin’in Mistisizmi ile Tasavvuf Felsefesine Bir Bakış (An Outlook on Sufi Philosophy by Walter Benjamin’s Mysticism)

Yazar: Harun Reşit Soya

Özet:
Bu makalede orijinal bir mistik yoruma sahip olan W. Benjamin’in
düşüncelerinden hareketle Tasavvuf Felsefesine bakabilmenin yolları aranacaktır.
Benjamin’in düşüncesindeki orijinallik; Sanayi devrimiyle birlikte Kıta
Avrupası’nda gerçekleşen, köklü kültürel değişikliklerin etkilerini ve daha sonra
tanıştığı Marksizm’i, Yahudi mistik geleneğiyle harmanlamasından gelmektedir.
Bahsedilen orijinallik, aynı zamanda Benjamin’in tam olarak anlaşılması veya bu
makalede olduğu gibi onu tek bir yönden ele almak adına çeşitli zorluklar
doğurur. Mistik yönünü kıyaslarken, onu tam bir mistik gibi göstermek ya da
materyalist görüşlerinin art alanında bulunan mistisizmini gözden kaçırmak
Benjamin’e adeta bir ihanet olacaktır. Bu yüzden bir kıyasa girmeden önce
Benjamin’in mistisizmini açık bir şekilde ortaya koyabilmek için felsefesini ve
yaşama şeklini açıklamak gerekir. Tarih, hukuk ve dil felsefesi hakkındaki
görüşlerinden, esrar deneyimine; yazma ve yaşama şeklinden, sıklıkla kullandığı
(aura, flaneur, hikâye anlatıcısı vb.) kavramlarına kadar, onun mistik yönünü
anlaşılabilir kılacak her noktasına değinilmeye çalışılacaktır. İçinde Marksist
söylemler bulunan ve başta Sufi geleneğe çok aykırı görünen düşünme şekliyle
Tasavvufu bir arada okuma çabası, kabaca Yahudi ve İslam mistisizmlerini
karşılaştırmak olmayacaktır. Peygamber-devrimci, cennet-komünizm gibi
kıyaslamaların sıklıkla yapıldığı bu dönemde, daha fazla ortak nokta keşfetme
umudu bu makalenin çıkış noktası olmuştur
Anahtar Sözcükler:
Walter Benjamin, Mistisizm, Mesihçilik, Tasavvuf Felsefesi, Flâneur, Hikâye
Anlatıcısı, Aura.

Abstract:
This article is trying to find the means of discussing Sufi Philosophy with the light
shed by W. Benjamin, who has an original mystical interpretation. The originality
of Benjamin’s idea is formed by the synthesis of the effects of radical cultural
changes derived from the Industrial Revolution which occurred in Continental
Europe and the Marxism with the Jewish mystical tradition.
The ‘originality’ that is in question gives birth to various difficulties for
understanding Benjamin precisely or discussing it in only one aspect. Revealing
him as a complete mystic or ignoring the mysticism in the background of his
materialistic views would be almost betraying Benjamin when comparing his
mystical aspect. For this reason, before making a comparison it is needed to
explain Benjamin’s philosophy and the way he lived in order to put forward his
mysticism explicitly. Each of the subjects, from his views on the philosophies of
history, law and language to his experience on weed, or, from the way he wrote
and lived to the notions he often used (aura, flaneur, story teller, etc.), that could
make his mystical side comprehensible is to be touched and then some response to
be sought for all in Sufi Philosophy. As in all of the mystical traditions, the
tendency to give weight to practice more than theory may well find a response in
Benjamin’s thoughts which are directly influenced from the life itself and aim to
give it a shape at the same time. However; melancholic state of mind, hope for the
future, and inspirations of being ecstatic are automatically to gain prominence so
as to correlate with the Sufism.
The atmosphere of political depression and chaos between the years of the two
world wars, when Benjamin’s thoughts were developed, resembles the religious
corruption and political crisis in Emevi period when the Sufi philosophy emerged.
Thus, both the ways they emerged and the fact that they had a political sight point
out another mutual aspect of the two mysticisms. Yet, mysticism was mostly used
for rebellions against the tyrant governments and for leading the people although
it seems a completely individual way. All of these are to strengthen the idea that
same of what Benjamin, also known to be one of the members of Frankfurt
School, argued were already lived or argued before in Islamic geography.
Moreover, apart from his life style; considering written forms of mystical
experiences such as aura-the divine light, wanderer (being on the road)-flaneur,
story teller-stories and words of the Prophet’s period; the parallelism is highly
strong between how they were used and emerged.
It is to remind that; examining the Sufism with this idea that includes Marxist
expressions which seems highly incompatible to Sufi tradition is not a rough
attempt to compare Jewish and Islamic mysticisms. In this era that prophetrevolutionist
or heaven-communism comparisons are frequently made, the hope of
finding further intersections is the starting point of this article.
Key Words:
Walter Benjamin, Mysticism, Messianism, Sufi Philosophy, Flâneur, Story Teller,
Aura.

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