Ancient Turkish thought and mystical tradition

Abstract

Faith and moral values occupy a special place among the sources of ancient Turkic thought. Faith and moral values have made a significant contribution to the formation of a person’s psychological structure and identity, as well as his thinking. The beliefs and ways of thinking of the ancient Turks were associated with mythology. The ancient Turks always lived in close contact with nature and therefore they deified natural phenomena. Shamanism spread in the Altai and Ural regions, which influenced Tibetan and Chinese culture. Among the Turks, local traditions met with shamanic elements, but, unlike shamans and other movements, they did not share idolatry and polytheism. The ancient Turks were inclined towards monotheism. This can be found in the concept of “Goktanrı” (belief in the Heavenly God). The tendency of the human spirit from polytheism to monotheism is a movement from chaos to order and harmony. The ancient Turks did not separate love for God from love for man. They also had high moral and spiritual values. And therefore the Turks easily accepted Islam and its mystical traditions. All this matters contributed to the dominance of the universal spiritual environment in a wide geography. They move away from material understanding and denote the symbolic embodiment of the beauty of God. A person begins to understand the phenomenology of his spirit. In ancient Turkic thought, the connection between God and man is established by spirit. The Spirit emanates from God and descends from heaven to earth. He ascends back to Him. This movement is reminiscent of the Sufi concepts of “nuzul” (descent) and “uruc” (ascension). Thus, local elements of the spiritual culture of the ancient Turks and the traditional values of Islamic mysticism complemented and enriched each other throughout history. This process was an important factor in ensuring the spiritual unity and social consolidation of society.