The Seven Avatars of Love: Deliberations on Rūmī’s Mathnawī

Abstract

AbstractAn ‘avatar’ is a technical Sanskrit term used in Indian mythology, referring to a divine manifestation on earth. The ultimate goal of an avatar is to save the earth and guide its occupants to salvation. Similarly, Rūmī equates true love with God and introduces seven different personifications of love on earth as divine agents who are there to lead mankind to the ultimate joy of liberation – liberation from their own egos and from their surroundings. The typical stories of love revolve around the lovers’ fears, pains, joys, and other emotional states, and the path they follow in order to experience the ultimate ecstasy of union with the beloved. In the Mathnawī the issue of love has been discussed in various passages and stages. A detailed analytical study of the magnum opus shows an effort by Rūmī to represent various stages of love in bodily forms. That is to say the lover, in his mystical journey, faces individuals who are in fact personifications of love. In his journey of self-discovery, the lover encounters seven mysterious individuals, whom we have termed the Seven Avatars of Love. These seven avatars appear at various stages of the journey in order to test, help, and provide guidance to the lover. They are in fact manifestations of a single reality disguised in seven forms: the Blood-shedder, the Spiritual Guide (Pīr), the Constable, the King, the Caliph, the Angel Gabriel, and finally, the Musician. Together they display various intellectual, mental, and emotional challenges that are experienced by true lovers on the path of love.