Document Type : Original Article
Highlights
Extended Abstract
Background
One of the most pressing concerns of contemporary human existence is the erosion of authentic and ethically grounded life under the influence of social conformity, media saturation, identity performance, and externally imposed systems of value. In modern societies, individuals are increasingly encouraged to define themselves through public approval, collective norms, and dominant cultural expectations rather than through reflective self-awareness and moral responsibility. This condition gives rise to what may be termed borrowed living: a mode of existence in which individuals construct their identities, values, and life orientations by borrowing them from others rather than grounding them in inner ethical insight and conscious choice.
While the problem of inauthentic existence has been extensively examined in existentialist philosophy—most notably in the works of Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Sartre—its systematic exploration within Persian Islamic mysticism remains limited. In studies on Jalāl al-Dīn Rumi, themes such as self-knowledge, imitation, moral awakening, and spiritual authenticity have been discussed, yet “borrowed living” has not been examined as a distinct phenomenological and ethical category. This study addresses this gap by offering a phenomenological analysis of borrowed living in Rumi’s thought, with particular emphasis on the Mathnawi, and by situating his insights within contemporary ethical and existential concerns.
Method
The study adopts a descriptive-analytical methodology inspired by hermeneutic phenomenology. Rather than imposing predefined philosophical frameworks, it allows the phenomenon of borrowed living to emerge from Rumi’s own textual universe. Core passages from the Mathnawi are examined to identify experiential patterns related to imitation, self-alienation, moral passivity, and loss of authentic agency. These patterns are analyzed phenomenologically as lived structures of experience rather than abstract moral prescriptions.
The extracted data are then interpreted in dialogue with normative ethics, contemporary moral ontology, and existential psychology. This comparative dimension does not aim to equate Rumi with modern existentialist thinkers, but rather to illuminate convergences and divergences in their understandings of authenticity, responsibility, and ethical life. Through this method, the study reconstructs Rumi’s implicit phenomenology of borrowed living and articulates its ethical implications for both individual and social life.
Findings
The analysis reveals that Rumi conceives borrowed living as a form of hidden servitude. In this condition, the individual becomes detached from truth, divine presence, and awakened conscience, while remaining largely unaware of this captivity. Borrowed living is not merely a social problem but an existential-ethical state in which the human being relinquishes moral agency and substitutes inner discernment with external validation.
Several interrelated dimensions of borrowed living emerge from Rumi’s thought. These include self-alienation and forgetfulness of one’s true identity; dependence on social judgment and approval; fear of exclusion and loss of popularity; blind imitation of the masses; domination of instrumental reason over ethical and spiritual insight; attachment to transient pleasures, status, and material success; susceptibility to flattery and deceptive praise; and separation from divine guidance and authentic spiritual companionship. Together, these elements produce a fragmented self characterized by weakened autonomy, diminished responsibility, and moral instability.
Rumi contrasts this condition with authentic living, which he defines as a return to the true self through spiritual awakening, ethical self-awareness, and liberation from imitation. Unlike modern existentialist models that emphasize radical self-grounding autonomy, Rumi situates authenticity within a theocentric and love-centered framework. Authentic life arises through remembrance of one’s divine origin, cultivation of inner vigilance, and alignment of reason with love and moral insight. Ethical responsibility, in this view, is inseparable from spiritual consciousness and self-knowledge.
Conclusion
This study concludes that Rumi’s critique of borrowed living offers a coherent and comprehensive ethical framework with enduring contemporary relevance. His analysis exposes borrowed living as a fundamental source of ethical irresponsibility, loss of freedom, and identity distortion, while his proposed remedies provide pathways toward authentic moral existence. These remedies include cultivating critical and reflective thinking, resisting social conformity, practicing continual self-examination, safeguarding spiritual independence, moderating attachment to public approval, and reconnecting with divine love as the ultimate source of meaning and value.
Beyond individual transformation, Rumi’s insights have significant implications for ethical education, cultural critique, and social analysis. The concept of borrowed living provides a powerful lens for understanding contemporary phenomena such as identity performance, consumerist selfhood, social-media exhibitionism, and approval-dependent morality. Ultimately, this research argues that Rumi’s phenomenological vision transcends its historical context and offers a viable ethical response to the challenges of modern life, contributing to the cultivation of authentic, responsible, and spiritually grounded human existence.
Subjects
