Dante’ and Reaching out to the Divine

Dante’ and Reaching out to the Divine

In my unlimited attempts to get a PhD scholarship on any subject that can trigger to my interests, that I am not sure I am in total knowledge of what it might be, I spent the last six months listening and reading European philosophy that ranged from Kant to Nietzsche , and took a time-lapse tour to Homer to throw me finally into Dante.
Dante to me is an old relationship. One among many I had but did not understand. I needed him for my knowledge like appeal. I read the Comedy in the past on more than one occasion, and I was critical, and each time I would throw it away the moment it reaches to the level of inferno where he mentions prophet, Mohammad. I would go to the critiques of the work and enjoy flirting on the idea that the book was stolen from the work of “the forgiveness letter” to the infamous Arab poet Abu al-Ala’ Al Maari.
It was a trap because I don’t really like poetry, and it is one of the themes that I also use to look sophisticated! So I read, but I don’t grasp much of and to the most, I don’t understand!
This time, Dante’ entered to the list of my readings intentionally after reading a lot about the unprecedented value of the Comedy, together with other books, so it was close on the list.
I spent the last almost three months audio listening to the Comedy and lectures given by Yale Courses in a full course, together with my Arabic version of the book that I already read before, to only realize part of the mystic of the fated encounter with the book. I needed some material in it to fit in directly in my upcoming novel.
I have been working on the “ on the path of Mariam” for the last two years. I finished last year, and I have been working on what I feel is missing for a whole year. Finding Dante was part of the found magic of my work …
However, this was not all…
I Was, of course, rediscovering the work on many levels, not to forget on top of them the beauty of the words. I wished I can read in Italian to enjoy the fantastic poetic verses that were so in-depth and elevating that felt beyond charm. IT was magical, uplifting, deeply philosophical, unbelievably entertaining, amazingly informative and by all means, it was a book for all time and needless to say beyond and after time.
The search of a man to the Divine is the bottom line of Dante’s work, and by all means, the pursuit of all men. Somehow this search of a man to believe in the creator . to make meaning beyond that religion is telling us and yet try to keep the faith. Maintaining faith in what may seem to a mediation effort between logic and theology. A sophisticated way to heal the bruises of religions done by men in a philosophical interpretation where philosophy tends to rule.
This divine Journey from the Inferno to Paradise gave me a better understanding of how human beings can be constructive in realizing the meaning of nature. It made the path towards the Divine an ascending one in a perfect, fantastic, thrilling ride from the inferno up to paradise. Up to where no intermediary needs to be there. A confrontation with the divine that does not need questioning or wondering … you arrive …and your existence become meaningful. You become eternal and a fulfilling part of the cosmos that contributed to the sphere of Dante Comedy of the Divine.