Yusuf Hass Hajib Balasaguni (1020 – approximately 1070) – a famous poet, philosopher, public figure, scientist of the Turkic era, a native of the Shu and Ili interfluve region.

Biography

Yusuf Hass Hadzhib Balasaguni – a  famous poet, philosopher, public figure and scholar of the Turkic era, was born in the XI century in musicians family in the city of Balasagun, in the vast steppes of the interfluve. The exact year of birth of the poet is not known, researchers have still not agreed on this regard. Some historians date his birth as 1015, and others say it is 1017. Others speak of 1020. In any case, his works and his philosophy are of importance. There is data on the genealogy of Yu. Balasaguni, cited by Kh. Suinshaliev that Yusuf’s father was related to art, was a musician, played string instruments. Yusuf’s father also served in the service of Satukh Bograhan, the ruler of the Karakhan state.

Yusuf received his first music lessons from his father. From childhood, the boy was quick-witted and attracted the attention of the palace nobility. Bograhan (died in 1012), who owned East Turkestan, Kashgar, Balasagun and Zhetysu district, had high hopes for the young man, and motivated him to study sciences. Yusuf visited all important educational institutions of those times, learned many languages, received a good education. In search of a righteous path, he actively manifested himself both in literature and in science.

Yusuf was considered the most educated person of his time. Studying languages ​​since childhood, in addition to Turkic dialects, he also mastered Farsi, Arabic and Chinese. “Yusuf was educated in literature, history, astronomy, geometry and other disciplines” [1, 116-120 pp.].

Having gained knowledge in almost all areas of education and sciences of his time, Yusuf set about writing the classic work “Kudatku Bilik”. Despite knowledge of Arabic and Farsi, Yusuf decided to show the world the beauty and richness of his native language. In addition, Balasaguni was a musician, performer of folk music.

Yusuf Balasaguni was born in the capital of the Western Turkic Kaganate, in the city of Balasagun – the  famous political, economic, spiritual and cultural center of the Middle Ages. Famous Kazakhstani historian, ethnographer and archaeologist, scientist U. Kh. Shalekenov conducted several voluminous studies of the city of Balasagun for several years and wrote that “the city appears before us in the form of an archaeological monument, completely gone underground. On the site of this city, the village of Balasagun (the former Kalinin collective farm), of the Shuy district of the Zhambyl region, next to the Almaty-Taraz highway, is now located. The aul is located on a plain where the lower tributaries of the Shargau, Aksu, Karabalta and Toktash rivers flow into the Shu River ”[2, 8-10 pp.].

The formation of Balasaguni as a person is the result of upbringing, innate talents, as well as historical and other conditions that contributed to the self-development. Balasaguni had God-given talents of a philosopher and teacher, he left a rich legacy and works devoted to traditional education. According to his teachings, the harmonious formation of personality depends to a large extent on the conditions for the upbringing of young people in society, on the impact of the environment, on the positive qualities that are invested through upbringing from the moment of birth and are formed throughout life. He also recognized the important role in the development of personality, qualities and virtues that are inherent in a person from birth.

Thus, Yusuf Balasaguni is a famous poet and thinker who lived in the 11th century during the reign of the Karakhanids in Central Asia, who made many great achievements, is a native of the city of Balasugan. The name Yusuf Hass Hajib Balasaguni became famous thanks to the work “Kudatku Bilik” that has survived to this day. It can be assumed, of course, that the great thinker is the author of other works. The book “Kudatku Bilik” was written in 1069 in honor of the ruler of Kashgar Suleiman Arystan Kara, for which Yusuf Balasaguni was awarded the title of Khas Kazhi, and was appointed to the post of adviser to the khan on social issues.

Merits

“Kudatku Bilik” is “dastan” – poem, written in the Turkic language and consisting of 13 thousand lines, is the only legacy of the scholar. This work, which has survived for many centuries and made the author famous, is a monument to Turkic culture and science, it remains an important book for the education of a holistic, comprehensive personality, and is also recognized as one of the most important philosophical and pedagogical works in the history of mankind. According to research, to date we have reached three versions of the manuscripts of the book “Kudatku Bilik”. Academician V.V. Bartold, in his book “Tьrks: Twelve Lectures on the History of the Turkic Peoples of Central Asia”, writes: “we have reached three versions of the manuscripts of the book“ Kudatku Bilik ”, written in Uyghur script in 1439 in Herat, as well as two versions in Arabic script, Cairo and Ferghana ”[3, 59 p.]. 

“Kudatku Bilik”, the dastan of the 11th century is a pearl of his era, incorporating the characteristic features of Turkic literature and the features of poetic aesthetics. This is a phenomenon of the time with an understandable social and social orientation and high poetic taste. As a literary work, the book has all the patterns of style and artistic techniques of Turkic poetry of that time, as well as the aesthetics of new literary trends. The work had a great influence on Kazakh folk poetry, served as the basis for the appearance of poetry by the Zhyrau storytellers of the 15th-19th centuries, the poem is close in spirit to people living in harmony with nature and contributed to the emergence of a special literary movement, which later turned into a real tradition.

There are several reasons why the rulers of the Karakhanids appreciated the work of Yusuf Balasaguni so highly and showed great interest in the book “Kudatku Bilik”. Firstly, this book has become for representatives of the Turkic community a kind of code of honor, containing ethical rules and norms. Secondly, this book played an important service for the Karakhanid dynasty, as it propagandized their form of government, marked by the development of agriculture and crafts (associated with manual labor), contributed to the growth of the country’s authority in the eyes of the rulers of neighboring states. Yusuf wrote about how the ruler and his entourage coexist in accordance with Turkic ethics, how the relationship between the people and the authorities is carried out according to the rules of “science of state”, how to learn to rule, and what knowledge is needed for this.

The Yusuf Balasaguni poem is a spiritual guide, both for the entire Turkic world and for today’s Kazakh society. The impact of this work on Kazakh society and consciousness is based on kinship with folk literature, on historical and cultural unity. The birthplace of the scholar and poet is the city of Balasagun, the language of the writing, the figurative-stylistic system, the dimensions of the classical Turkic verse, form and history, philosophical and aesthetic aspects confirm the fact of historical kinship.

A skillful and talented work based on encyclopedic knowledge is the main sign of a historical phenomenon. Signs of nationality, characteristic features of national consciousness, the essence of tradition are expressed in such phenomena even brighter. On the pages of ” Kudatku Bilik ” – graceful knowledge, we notice features inherent in the nature of the Kazakh people. Such ingrained habits and foundations of our people as decency and upbringing, expressed in veneration of elders, in respecting the younger ones, contentment with the small, generosity and hospitality, kindness and charity, which are manifested on a statewide scale in everyday activity, life, morality and traditions. These traditions are enshrined in culture and represented in folklore, shine like pearls, organically intertwined, form an integral national image in perception [4, 20 p.].

Undoubtedly, the author was familiar with many examples of advanced poetry of his time, written in Farsi and languages ​​close to Farsi. All these writings were prerequisites and inspired the author to write the first significant work in the Turkic dialect. Balasaguni put a lot in “Kudatku Bilik”: he covered all the pressing social issues of Turkic statehood with encyclopedic accuracy and rationally explained their essence. The secular orientation of Balasaguni’s reasoning is inspiring, and the artistic style of the work makes it attractive for study, shows how the author reveals the philosophy of the Turkic world.

Parenting, marriage, the choice of a life partner, the tradition of hospitality, thoughts and conclusions are in tune with the modern way of life of our people, they reveal essentially characteristic features and habits embedded in the minds of great-grandfathers. Akyn urges to bring up a child from an early age, not to let go of himself, to teach wisdom, inculcate honesty and accustom to work. It advises not to establish a dwelling near a high road, not to spend the night near a wild river, and stay away from the fortress. These habitual beliefs are known from literary works.

“Kudatku Bilik” is a somewhat instructive treatise. Wisdom born from life experience. Many of the tips and conclusions from the author’s life experience have changed over time, took the form of proverbs and sayings, aphorisms, winged expressions and phraseological units. For ten centuries, they preserved their semantic core and form, gradually transformed into the figurative potential of the modern Kazakh language. In addition, it is difficult to assert that the winged expressions in “Kudatku Bilik” are the innovation of the author. The author demonstrates the beauty and richness of the language of that era [5, 9–11 pp.] With the holistic content of the work, poetic style, and sophisticated syllable.

In the works of Yusuf Balasaguni, parenting and raising an individual personality comes first. Yusuf Balasaguni takes such concepts as a fair society, peace, good intentions, common sense, moderation, work, education and responsiveness as the basis of a harmonious life. If we pay attention to the moral aspect, the philosopher claims that people are a “product of public relations,” since all the positive aspects of behavior, universal values, moral character as well as a humane society, moderation, humanity, knowledge, responsiveness and ethics of integrity depend on family education and the level of public consciousness. When we say that “education begins at birth,” we mean that the family is the closest social environment that affects a person from birth. Family upbringing is always an important topic.

“Homeland begins with the family.” In the family, the child develops the qualities necessary for the formation of personality: the ability to think, empathize, and learn the culture of relationships. Family education is the first and main step in the formation of human qualities. In order for a person to achieve his destiny, he needs proper education. The task of parents is to give their child the upbringing and necessary knowledge. It is parents who teach children to look at the past soundly and respectfully, to value and adhere to traditions, not to desecrate shrines, and explain the role of hearth host and the importance of procreation. Parents should always keep their children in sight. “The child is a clean slate”, therefore it is important to protect the child from harmful habits, bad deeds, and suppress unwanted external influences.

From the moment of birth, the child should see only fair deeds and actions. The body and soul must develop in harmony. For this, the child must receive education in the family [6, 21-23 pp.]. The foundations of Balasaguni’s upbringing can be seen in this statement: “All the diligence of upbringing, direction and types can be gleaned in an organized, living in peace and harmony society of people where mature, attentive personalities are recognized as of particular value. Education is inherited, and therefore it is so important.” These words emphasize the main line of Balasaguni thought. This is an important covenant.

From the point of view of modern pedagogy, this method reveals the main goals and objectives of raising children by the community as a whole, and can serve as the basis for education with involvement in work. Thus, this work can be taken as the pedagogical basis, the theory of labor and education. “All the diligence of upbringing, direction and types can be gleaned in an organized society of people living in peace and harmony, where mature, attentive personalities are recognized as of particular value. Parenting is inherited and therefore so important”. These words emphasize the basic condition and thought of Balasaguni. Based on his work and experience, Balasaguni divides the educational tradition into three levels. First, each person must have knowledge. To have knowledge, you need to learn. The second stage – wealth and prosperity are achieved by work, professionalism, honesty and purity of thoughts. The third step – a strong social society can only be reached through unity, friendship and freedom [7, 15-17 pp.].

The doctrine of the education of a mature personality is the basis of the pedagogical theory of Yu. Balasaguni. This teaching reflects the spiritual principle of the socio-political views of the philosopher, where didactic thoughts and opinions acquire special significance. As noted above, the pedagogy of Yu. Balasaguni is aimed at humanization. In addition, one should not lose sight of the Islamic priority of ideas in the Balasaguni theory, based on the Qur’an, the source of Muslim ideology for the entire Islamic world, a revered book of all time, which captures the unchanging “Word of Allah”.

The very name “Graceful knowledge” already says that the book is dedicated to the issues of education and knowledge. Moreover, the peculiarity of the pedagogical knowledge of Yu. Balasaguni lies in the upbringing of a mature personality, all didactics of upbringing should be aimed at the development of humanism in a person. The education of humane (virtuous qualities), according to Yu. Balasaguni, plays a decisive role in the formation of personality with the inner world, which is in harmony with the external manifestations of character and behavior; mature personality, in which the spiritual and physical principles are organically developed.

In the dastan of Yu. Balasaguni “Graceful knowledge” the goals of practical education are also shown. Particular attention is paid to the education of three roles in a person – a  citizen, a public person and a family man. As a citizen, a person should have the following qualities: humanity, nobility, consciousness, camaraderie, friendliness, spirituality, generosity, magnanimity, fidelity to the word, performance of duty. The content of the dastan is aimed at a thorough description of the merits of a citizen, their significance and characteristic features [8, 24 p.].

Thus, the ideas of Y. Balasaguni on the goals of upbringing are directly consistent with the pedagogical goals of modern upbringing and have not lost their significance, which confirms their relevance and vitality, and their destiny for the continuous upbringing of generations.

Being one of the most educated people of his time, Yusuf Balasaguni was able to collect valuable information in his work on large-scale knowledge in the fields of history, philosophy, ethics and aesthetics. It should be noted that the spelling of “Kudatku Bilik” in the form of two-line masnevi as in “Shahname” by Firdousi suggests that Balasaguni knew the Iranian heroic epic well. In the poem there are names of characters from “Shahnameh” – Anushirvan, Zohak, Feridun, Rustem, Afrasiab and others. The author makes them the owners of positive characters, they are characterized by justice, responsiveness, courage. Through their images Balasaguni demonstrates the ruler without a single flaw.

Freedom-loving gave rise to a culture of freedom, which is why the philosophical poem Kudatku Bilik is an example of a free and humanistic work. Revealing the effectiveness of Islamic knowledge as the essence of humanism for the future of every person, Balsaguni’s work is an ethical installation of the educational discourse of the Islamic Middle Ages. Only an educated person can serve as an example for others, says Balasaguni. Reason and humanity are indissoluble categories. The author of “Kudatku Bilik” shows the power of scientific knowledge, believes that only an educated person can become happy [9, 197 p.].

The philosophical work of Yusuf Balasaguni for centuries determined the secular direction of the socio-ethical thought of the Turkic environment, and became its rationale kernel. Khoja Ahmed Yassaui and his associate and follower S. Bakyrgani developed the spiritual heritage of Balasaguni in a religious-Sufi direction, in which a person first of all strives for self-development and humanity in learning his inner world. These two trends – secular-rational and Sufi, coexisted simultaneously affecting the consciousness of people, sometimes confronting, and thereby contributed to the further development of Turkic thought and ethics.

If you pay attention to the formulation of the life ontology of Yusuf Balasaguni in the poem “Kudatku Bilik”, you can notice the important role of existential concepts in the work of the medieval thinker. For example, Balasaguni is trying to formulate, describe the meaning and essence of the world by such concepts as Justice, Reason, Happiness and Wisdom [10, 5-9 pp.].

The work of Yusuf Balasaguni “Graceful Knowledge” is recognized as the source of pedagogical science, which came to us from antiquity in the form of an entrenched, continuous system of spiritual development, inheriting from generation to generation. In particular, the book “Graceful Knowledge” has become a source of scientific thought for Kazakh pedagogy. Because the main ideas of labor are devoted to the issues of upbringing, the content of general pedagogy, problematic issues of the theory of didactics and upbringing, the book discusses the ways of becoming a person with humane guidelines, a range of aesthetic knowledge, skills of work physically developed, and competent in the field of law. The work of the great Czech teacher Jan Amos Komensky “Great Didactics” was written in the 17th century, six centuries after the writing of “Graceful Knowledge”, this fact confirms that the work of Balasaguni is a source of pedagogical science.

Although the formulation of the basic pedagogical concepts of Balasaguni does not coincide with the conceptual apparatus of today’s pedagogical science, there are general thoughts and points of view regarding the principles of education and teaching methods. For example, Balasaguni does not give scientific pedagogical definitions in his work, but a person who has read “Graceful Knowledge” immediately understands that this work is dedicated to educating a person, that this is the work that forms the foundation of pedagogical science. Although Balasaguni does not use the term “pedagogy”, the content of scientific work is confirmation of this; Yusuf Balasaguni does not define the term “upbringing,” but it follows from his knowledge that the formation of personality occurs under the guidance of a senior mentor in a specially organized environment with the aim of instilling certain skills and abilities.

According to Balsaguni’s pedagogy, the harmonious formation of personality depends to a large extent on the conditions for the upbringing of young people in society, on the impact of the environment, on the positive qualities that are invested through upbringing from the moment of birth and are formed throughout life. He also recognized the important role in the development of personality, qualities and virtues that are inherent in a person from birth. [11, 24-25 pp.].

Yusuf Balasaguni as a thinker is not limited in his works to the theme of philosophy, human education, folk pedagogy, and also makes very important conclusions about the significance of Islamic values. In historical terms, the philosophy of Turkic Islam is represented by a large number of thinkers who were searching for the secret grace of Allah. Yusuf Balasaguni became the most famous among them in the era of the Karakhan state, writing “The Grace of Knowledge” and thereby leaving a spiritual heritage in Turkic culture.

Yusuf Balasaguni managed to clarify the relationship between man and God within the framework of the Qur’an. Allah gives man reason, will and choice. Only a person who is engaged in constant self-development can count on the grace of Allah. A person who does not develop, having received God’s grace, may not keep it. Therefore, a real Muslim constantly prays to Allah and asks to show the way. This is the basic postulate of Sufism. Only through the grace received from God can a person achieve perfection, “touch” Allah with his soul. This degree of knowledge apparently passed to Balasaguni from Farabi. Because he popularized the philosophical heritage of Farabi, Avicenna was a mentor to Yusuf Balasaguni. According to Balasaguni: “the soul of man (heart) is a bottomless sea, and knowledge is a diamond at the bottom of this sea. Until a person takes a gem from the bottom of his soul, there is no use for him, even if it is a diamond of the highest quality, ”[12, 160-161 pp.].

Not knowing and ignorance of a person comes from frivolity and excitement. Frivolity leads a person to bad consequences. Even when a person dies, his good and evil deeds leave a mark. People who set an example for good deeds in front of the world and society, while dying, remain on the lips of people, which means the mercy of Allah towards them. Balasaguni often uses the expression “the right person.” Balasagun’s understanding of God corresponds to the content of the Qur’an. Only Allah sees the visible and the invisible, knows what is happening inside and out (haqq-ul yaqin). Since Allah knows the world and everything that is in the world is the Creator of everything, He is called the One, Existing, Great, Outstanding, Scientist, the real truth “haqq-ul yaqin ”.

Balasaguni’s place in Islam relates to the service of Turkic scholars of the Middle Ages. For example, according to the point of view of the founder of the Hikmet tradition, Khoja Ahmet Yassawi, the identity of the Prophet was previously indicated in the famous work of Yusuf Balasaguni “Graceful knowledge”. But the area of ​​distribution of this work was limited [12, 160 p.]. Since it was not known anywhere except for the Karakhan state and the centers of Islamic knowledge in Maverannahr. As for the Hikmet tradition, which by its nature relates to spoken word, it was passed by word of mouth. According to the Hikmet tradition, the personality of Mohammed occupies a special place there. It was Balasaguni who influenced Yassaui with his theory of Qut-Goodness and Hikmet. Through Qut-grace, one can spiritually touch the sacred. This is the knowledge received by Balasaguni from Farabi.

Memory

Yusuf Balasaguni, one of the thinkers of the Middle Ages, along with other philosophers and learned contemporaries devoted his life and works to the study of social problems and ways to solve them in the mainstream of humanism. His conclusions and instructions are used to this day, this was facilitated by the social status of the thinker, ethical worldview, worldview based on respect for spiritual values, the upbringing of decency and humanity. The legacy and worldview of Yusuf Balasaguni and other Turkic scholars, thinkers, their example and human heritage contributed to educational processes, the development of advanced thinking among the Kazakh people. In short, the life path and ideas of Yusuf Balasaguni against hostility, hatred, violence, contention and war play an important role in the revival and education of justice, love and service for the good of society. At the heart of Balasaguni’s philosophy, the goal is clearly not the people’s personal achievements, but the development of society as a whole.

В настоящее время в нашей стране, и во всех государствах тюркского мира открываются научные центры, улицы, библиотеки и высшие учебные заведения, названные в честь Юсуфа Баласагуни. Например, в больших городах Казахстана есть улицы имени Баласагуни. Кроме того, дом культуры в городе Таразе. В Жабылской области есть населенный пункт Баласагун.

At present, in our country, and in all countries of the Turkic world, the academic centers, streets, libraries and higher educational institutions are opened, named after Yusuf Balasaguni. For example, in large cities of Kazakhstan there are streets named after Balasaguni. In addition, the house of culture in the city of Taraz. In the Zhambyl region there is a settlement of Balasagun.

The ideas, philosophy, thoughts and attitude of Yusuf Balasaguni are consistent with the needs of modernity, they contain spiritual relationships. No matter what century we live in, the main goals of society remain the same: the formation and development of a conscientious nation, the education of worthy people with a high spiritual, cultural, scientific potential, with a good education. The basic rule of Yusuf Balasaguni is to teach a person humanity, to call people to morality and humanity, to educate a generation that is useful for society. Undoubtedly, “Kudatku Bilik” is a spiritual heritage of the past era, designed to educate the modern generation, a storehouse of useful thoughts and reflections, a good guide to action.

References:

1 Suinshaliev H. Kazakh literature of the VIII-XVII centuries. – Almaty: Mektep, 1989 .– 280 p. (in Russ.).

2 Shalekenov U.Kh. The city of Balasagun in the V-XIII centuries. – Almaty: Zhіbek Zholy, 2006 .– 248 p. (in Russ.).

3 Bartold V.V. Turks: Twelve lectures on the history of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. – Almaty: Zhalyn. – 192 p. (in Russ.).

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5 Kononov A.N. A word about Yusuf from Balasaguni and his poem “Kutadgu Bilig” – Soviet Turkology. – 1970. – No. 4. – S.3-12. (in Russ.).

6 Egeubayev A. Qutty bilik / Balasagun, Zhusip; Translation from ancient Turkic, preface and comments by A.K. Egeubayev. – Almaty: Zhazushi, 1986.- 616 p. (in Russ.).

7 Akhmetov T.A. The instructive and educational ideas of Yusuf Balasaguni. – Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences … diss. – Almaty, 2003 .– 152 p. (in Russ.).

8 Abdikarimuly B., Sarbasova K.A. Pedagogy of Zh. Balasaguni: Textbook. – Karaganda: Publishing house of KarSU, 2008. – 124 p. (in Russ.).

9 The history of Kazakh philosophy (from ancient times to the present day) The formation of Kazakh philosophy: the ancient Turkic era / edited by Z.K. Shaukenova and  S.E. Nurmuratova. – Almaty: CS MES RK.  Philosophy. Institute of Political Science and Theology, 2014. – 400 p. (in Russ.).

10 Yusuf Balasagunsky. Graceful Knowledge / Translation and Comm. by S.N. Ivanova. – M .: Nauka, 1983 .- 558 p. (in Russ.).

11 Zhamirova U. Fundamentals of public education in the dastan of Jusip Balasaguni “Graceful knowledge”. – Candidate of Pedagogy … diss. autoref. – Almaty, 2007 .- 28 p. (in Russ.).

12 Kenzhetayev D.T. Background and formation of Kazakh Islam: Monograph – Astana: Corporate Fund “Fund for the Support of Spiritual Values”, 2018. – 248 p. (in Russ.).

Apendiyev T.A., PhD