Sohrawardi’s concept of Nâ-Kojâ-Abâd as the ultimate subjective or imaginal world has parallels in many mystical, esoteric, and philosophical traditions. Across cultures, thinkers have conceptualized an intermediate world between the purely material and the purely abstract or spiritual, accessible through altered states, visionary experiences, or deep contemplation.

Plato described a world of perfect, eternal Forms or Ideas that exists beyond the physical realm. According to Plato, everything in our material world is an imperfect copy of these pure archetypes. While he saw the Forms as a purely intellectual reality, later Neoplatonists like Plotinus developed this into a spiritual hierarchy, where the soul must ascend beyond material illusion to access the true world of divine intelligence.

Neoplatonists expanded on Plato’s metaphysics into an esoteric practice, where intellectual intuition and visionary experience grant access to higher worlds. Plotinus described ascending levels of reality, where the soul moves beyond sensory perception into the Divine Mind, containing all Forms and archetypal realities. Proclus and Iamblichus emphasized theurgy, using rituals and symbols to interact with the divine forces of this hidden world.

Ibn Arabi, a contemporary of Sohrawardi, described a world of images, a fully real dimension between the sensory and divine realms. This intermediate world contains spiritual beings, archetypes, and visionary landscapes that can be accessed through dreams, meditation, and mystical ascent. The Barzakh is a liminal realm between life and the afterlife, a boundary between realities. Personalized visions occur, meaning that different seekers may perceive different aspects of this realm.

Carl Jung described a deep layer of the unconscious that contains archetypes, primordial symbols that shape human experience. Through active imagination, Jung engaged in dialogues with figures from the unconscious, treating them as real entities, much like Sohrawardi’s journey through Nâ-Kojâ-Abâd. In The Red Book, Jung describes his descent into a mythic and symbolic world, where he meets figures like Philemon, the Wise Old Man, who serves as his guide. Jung’s method is remarkably similar to Sufi and Neoplatonic techniques, where the soul travels inward to a domain of higher knowledge.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the Bardo is an intermediate realm that the soul experiences after death. This is a fluid and visionary space, where one encounters various deities, illusions, and karmic reflections. The Sambhogakaya is another intermediate body, a luminous form that connects the formless divine with the material world. This parallels Sohrawardi’s angelic hierarchies and the notion of a world where meaning takes form.

Sohrawardi’s ultimate subjective world is not unique but part of a long tradition of mystical, philosophical, and psychological models of an intermediary realm. Whether through Neoplatonic ascent, Sufi visionary practice, Jungian active imagination, or Tibetan meditative techniques, cultures across time have recognized a dimension beyond ordinary perception, yet deeply real. What makes Nâ-Kojâ-Abâd unique is its Persian esoteric context, where light, angelic intelligence, and the human soul’s journey define its nature. By studying its parallels, we gain a broader understanding of how the imaginal world functions across different traditions, and how consciousness can navigate beyond the limits of the sensory world.

Lets become practical, how did the great thinkers from the Plato school accessed this realm?

Methods for Accessing Higher Reality in Plato and Neoplatonism

Plato and his followers in Neoplatonism described various methods for accessing the realm of Forms, higher realities, or the intelligible world. While Plato himself did not provide a strict, step-by-step method, he suggested that the soul could ascend to the realm of pure knowledge through philosophy, dialectic, and inner contemplation. Later Neoplatonists, particularly Plotinus, Proclus, and Iamblichus, developed more structured spiritual and meditative techniques for accessing these higher realities.

Plato described intellectual ascent as the primary means of accessing the world of Forms, particularly in the Allegory of the Cave in Republic, Book VII, where he compares human experience to prisoners in a cave who only see shadows of reality. The path out of the cave represents the soul’s ascent toward true knowledge, requiring education, reasoning, and direct experience of the Forms. In the Theory of Anamnesis in Meno, Phaedo, and Phaedrus, Plato argued that the soul already knows the Forms but forgets them upon entering the physical world. Recollection, anamnesis, happens through deep questioning, dialectical reasoning, and contemplation. In the Symposium, the Ascent to Beauty describes the Ladder of Love, where one moves from physical attraction to an intellectual and mystical appreciation of divine Beauty, leading to direct experience of ultimate reality.

Later Neoplatonists expanded Plato’s methods into mystical and ritual practices. Plotinus emphasized inner vision and contemplation as the way to transcend material reality and unite with the One, the ultimate source of all existence. His approach involved withdrawing from the senses, turning inward to reach a higher state of consciousness, intellectual purification, moving beyond sensory knowledge and focusing on pure thought, and spontaneous mystical union. Plotinus described moments of ecstatic union with the One, a state of noetic absorption beyond duality. Below we end with a whole chapter related to his work.

Iamblichus critiqued Plotinus’ purely intellectual approach, arguing that ritual, theurgy, was necessary to interact with divine realities. His methods included invocation of divine intelligences, using prayers, hymns, and rituals to attract the presence of gods and daimons, symbolic objects and gestures, using sacred symbols and rituals to align the soul with divine forces, and purification and ascent through levels of being, moving through different realms of reality, guided by divine intermediaries.

Proclus further developed theurgical methods, emphasizing cosmic hierarchy, ascending through various levels of divine reality, from the material world to the One, divine mediation, using prayers, visualizations, and symbolic acts to bridge the gap between human consciousness and higher realms, and mathematical and harmonic structures, where music, numbers, and sacred geometry were seen as tools for aligning with divine order.

These methods bear strong similarities to later esoteric and mystical traditions. Sufi visionary journeys, such as Ibn Arabi’s world of Alam al-Mithal, function like the Neoplatonic imaginal world. Hindu Advaita Vedanta shares similarities with Plotinus’ oneness with the absolute. Kabbalistic ascent through the Tree of Life resembles Proclus’ hierarchical ascent.

Plotinus Meditation Techniques

Plotinus emphasized inner vision and contemplation as the way to transcend material reality and unite with the One, the ultimate source of all existence. His approach involved withdrawing from the senses, turning inward to reach a higher state of consciousness, intellectual purification, moving beyond sensory knowledge and focusing on pure thought, and spontaneous mystical union. Plotinus described moments of ecstatic union with the One, a state of noetic absorption beyond duality. As he wrote, “We must close the eyes and invoke a new manner of seeing… awakening that faculty which everyone possesses but few use” (Plotinus, Enneads, VI.9.8).

Practical Techniques for Neoplatonic Contemplation and Union

To follow Plotinus’ path to the One, one must cultivate a contemplative practice that allows for detachment from sensory distractions and immersion in pure intellect. Some practical techniques include:

1. Withdrawal from the Senses

One of the first steps in Neoplatonic ascent is to limit reliance on sensory input. This means reducing attachment to external perceptions and turning attention inward. Plotinus suggested that “the soul must be free from all external ties, leaving behind the things of the body and turning entirely to its own interior life” (Enneads, I.6.7).

Practice: Meditative isolation, sitting in a quiet space, and engaging in deep reflection without external distractions can aid this withdrawal. Methods such as closing the eyes, sitting in darkness, or using visualization to detach from physical surroundings help facilitate the inward turn.

2. Intellectual Purification and Inner Focus

Plotinus believed that the mind must become purified of lower, fragmented thoughts to perceive the unity of the One. This purification involves eliminating unnecessary desires, distractions, and false identifications with external realities. He stated, “The soul that has seen itself has seen the image of the higher world” (Enneads, V.8.11).

Practice: Engaging in focused study of philosophical or metaphysical principles, engaging in self-inquiry, and practicing mindfulness of thoughts can help refine intellectual clarity. Journaling contemplative insights or meditating on questions such as “Who am I beyond my senses and emotions?” fosters self-awareness.

3. Meditation on Unity and Light

Plotinus often used the metaphor of light to describe the presence of the One. He encouraged seekers to contemplate the presence of divine light within themselves, a direct reflection of the One. “As the eye sees the light, so does the soul see the divine by being itself divine” (Enneads, V.3.8).

Practice: Contemplative visualization of a radiant, formless light expanding from within is a powerful way to experience unity. Holding a soft, unforced awareness of light, whether with open or closed eyes, mirrors the ancient practice of theurgy and prepares the soul for mystical union.

4. Spontaneous Mystical Union

Plotinus described moments where the soul, through deep meditation and intellectual purity, would suddenly experience a direct union with the One. These moments of “ecstasy” dissolve the individual sense of self, leaving only pure awareness. He wrote, “He who has seen himself truly, has seen the One; and having seen, he has entered into union with it” (Enneads, VI.9.11).

Practice: Allowing moments of stillness after prolonged contemplation, without expectation or mental effort, creates the conditions for spontaneous mystical experiences. Deep breathing, rhythmic prayer, or surrendering to silence can facilitate these states.

These methods bear strong similarities to later esoteric and mystical traditions. Sufi visionary journeys, such as Ibn Arabi’s world of Alam al-Mithal, function like the Neoplatonic imaginal world. Hindu Advaita Vedanta shares similarities with Plotinus’ oneness with the absolute. Kabbalistic ascent through the Tree of Life resembles Proclus’ hierarchical ascent.

Plato’s intellectual ascent through dialectic and contemplation laid the foundation for later mystical traditions. The Neoplatonists expanded this into a structured process involving meditation, inner purification, and theurgical rituals, making it a practical pathway for experiencing higher realities. By studying these methods, we gain insight into how the human mind can access realms beyond sensory perception, bridging philosophy with mystical experience.

Plato’s intellectual ascent through dialectic and contemplation laid the foundation for later mystical traditions. The Neoplatonists expanded this into a structured process involving meditation, inner purification, and theurgical rituals, making it a practical pathway for experiencing higher realities. By studying these methods, we gain insight into how the human mind can access realms beyond sensory perception, bridging philosophy with mystical experience. Shunyam Adhibhu

References

Plotinus. (1956). The Enneads (S. MacKenna, Trans.). Faber & Faber.

Hadot, P. (1993). Plotinus or the Simplicity of Vision. University of Chicago Press.

Gerson, L. (1994). Plotinus. Routledge.

Shaw, G. (1995). Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus. Pennsylvania State University Press.

Armstrong, A. H. (1967). The Architecture of the Intelligible Universe in the Philosophy of Plotinus. Cambridge University Press.