The

Mandaic Mandaic may refer to: * Mandaic language * Mandaic alphabet ** Mandaic (Unicode block) Mandaic is a Unicode block containing characters of the Mandaic script used for writing the historic Eastern Aramaic, also called Classical Mandaic, and the m ...

word mana () is a term that is roughly equivalent to the philosophical concept of ''

nous ''Nous'', or Greek νοῦς (, ), sometimes equated to intellect or intelligence, is a concept from classical philosophy for the faculty of the human mind necessary for understanding what is true or real. Alternative English terms used in p ...

''. It has been variously translated as "

mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

", "

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

", "

treasure Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions le ...

", "Garment", "Intelligence", "Heart", "Spirit", "Being"; or alternatively as "

", "

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

", or "vessel".

Theodor Nöldeke Theodor Nöldeke (; born 2 March 1836 – 25 December 1930) was a German orientalist and scholar. His research interests ranged over Old Testament studies, Semitic languages and Arabic, Persian and Syriac literature. Nöldeke translated several ...

argued that the word is of Iranian origin.Häberl, Charles G. (2007).
Introduction to the New Edition, in The Great Treasure of the Mandaeans, a new edition of J. Heinrich Petermann's Thesaurus s. Liber Magni, with a new introduction and a translation of the original preface by Charles G. Häberl
'.

Gorgias Press Gorgias Press is an independent academic publisher specializing in the history and religion of the Middle East and the larger pre-modern world. History Founded in 2001 by Christine and George Kiraz, the press is based in Piscataway, New Jers ...

, LLC.

Meaning

E. S. Drower (1960) translates the literal

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

meaning of ''mana'' as 'a garment, robe, vehicle, vessel, instrument'. Symbolically, it refers to the 'soul' or 'mind'. Drower compares ''mana'' to the Valentinian concept of '' Sophia'' (Wisdom) and the Marcosian concept of '' Ennoia'' (Idea, Thought).

In Mandaean scriptures

All of the hymns in Book 2 of the

Left Ginza The Left Ginza is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Right Ginza. Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl (200 ...

, in which the ''mana'' laments that it has been cast into the physical world, begin with the following refrain: "I am a ''mana'' of the Great Life" () is also frequently used in the

Mandaean Book of John The Mandaean Book of John (Mandaic language ࡃࡓࡀࡔࡀ ࡖࡉࡀࡄࡉࡀ ') is a Mandaean holy book in Mandaic Aramaic which is believed by Mandeans to have been written by their prophet John the Baptist. The book contains accounts of Jo ...

. In Psalm 5 of the Manichaean

Psalms of Thomas The ''Psalms of Thomas'' (more correctly ''Psalms of Thom'') are a set of 3rd-century Judeo-Christian psalms found appended to the end of a Coptic Manichaean psalm book, which was in turn part of the Medinet Madi Coptic Texts uncovered in 1928. ...

, the phrase "treasure of life" is derived from the aforementioned Mandaean formula according to

Torgny Säve-Söderbergh Torgny Säve-Söderbergh (born 29 June 1914 in Lund; died 21 May 1998 in Uppsala) was a Swedish writer, translator, and professor of Egyptology at Uppsala University from 1950 to 1980. He was the younger brother of paleontologist Gunnar Säve-Sö ...

. This phrase has also been borrowed by the Valentinian Gnostics from Mandaeism. The Book 3 of the Right Ginza, the "''mana'' within the ''mana''" and the "fruit (''pira'') within the fruit" existed before even the spiritual universe (the

World of Light In Mandaeism, the World of Light or Lightworld ( myz, ࡀࡋࡌࡀ ࡖࡍࡄࡅࡓࡀ, translit=alma ḏ-nhūra) is the primeval, transcendental world from which Tibil and the World of Darkness emerged. Description *The Great Life (''Hayyi Rab ...

) with its

uthra An uthra or ʿutra ( myz, ࡏࡅࡕࡓࡀ; plural: ʿutri) is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism. Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath translate it as "excellency". Jorunn J. Buckley defines them as "Lightworld beings, called 'utr ...

s and emanations came into being. In Book 5, Chapter 1 of the Right Ginza (also known as the "Book of the Underworld"),

Hag and Mag In Mandaeism, Hag ( myz, ࡄࡀࡂ) and Mag ( myz, ࡌࡀࡂ) are a pair of demons in Mandaeism, demons that are usually mentioned together. Hag is a male demon, while Mag is a female demon. Hibil Ziwa encounters Hag and Mag during his descent to ...

, two inhabitants of the

World of Darkness ''World of Darkness'' is a series of tabletop role-playing games, originally created by Mark Rein-Hagen for White Wolf Publishing. It began as an annual line of five games in 1991–1995, with '' Vampire: The Masquerade'', '' Werewolf: The Apoca ...

, are described as the two ''manas'' of darkness. On the origin of ''mana'' (reason or mind) in mankind, Book 10 of the Right Ginza states:

As names of Hayyi Rabbi

According to E. S. Drower, the name Great Mind or Great Mana refers to the "

over-soul "The Over-Soul" is an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson, first published in 1841. With the human soul as its overriding subject, several general themes are treated: (1) the existence and nature of the human soul; (2) the relationship between the soul ...

" or "over-mind", the earliest manifestation of

Hayyi In Mandaeism, Hayyi Rabbi ( myz, ࡄࡉࡉࡀ ࡓࡁࡉࡀ, translit=Hiia Rbia, lit=The Great Life), 'The Great Living God', is the supreme God from which all things emanate. He is also known as 'The First Life', since during the creation of th ...

("Life"), from which the soul of a human might be seen as a spark or temporarily detached part. In book three of the Right Ginza, Hayyi is said to have "formed Himself in the likeness of the Great Mana, from which He emerged".

References

{{Mandaeism footer Mandaic words and phrases Mandaean philosophical concepts Intelligence Mental content Metaphysics of mind Mind Vitalism

Meaning

In Mandaean scriptures

As names of Hayyi Rabbi

See also

References