
The Criterion: An International Journal in English
Comparative Literature
Dynamics of Love: Weaving the Vision of Love of Rumi and Tagore
Abstract
Love, in its innumerable forms, stands as one of humanity’s most enduring and complex subjects of inquiry, explored across cultures and centuries through philosophy, theology, and literature. While universally acknowledged as a profound force, the interpretation of love’s “dynamics”; its origin, function, and ultimate purpose, varies dramatically depending on the cultural and spiritual lens through which it is examined. The concept is not a static ideal but a vibrant, evolving process that shifts with the human experience. Two unparalleled voices in this discourse are Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (13th century), the revered Persian Sufi mystic, and Rabindranath Tagore (20th century), the Nobel laureate and Bengali polymath. Both thinkers articulate a vision of love that is central to their respective worldviews. However, they approach the subject from fundamentally different starting points and chart distinct ultimate destinations for love’s journey. Rumi’s perspective is steeped in esoteric Sufi tradition, while Tagore’s is rooted in humanistic universalism and the realization of unity within the material world. This study aims to evaluate how Rumi philosophizes the concept of love and its dynamic nature in transcendental reality, whereas Tagore traces love from the physical to the transcendental to the divine. The goal of this research is to examine how Rumi and Tagore agree on the fundamental idea that love is the ultimate, unifying force that binds the finite to the infinite and the human to the divine. The study focuses on their diverged trajectories where Tagore’s journey from the human to the divine and Rumi’s journey into divine unity provide a more thorough comprehension of the deep dynamics of love.
Keywords
Love, Organic Unity, Transcendentalism, Supra-Rational, Divine, Reality
How to Cite
Md Samaun Sk, Dr. Muhammed Aslam Kunnathil. “Dynamics of Love: Weaving the Vision of Love of Rumi and Tagore.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 1, Feb. 2026, pp. 587-602. ISSN: 0976-8165.
