The Other as Ego: Shams and Rumi's Relationship from Jacques Lacan's Viewpoint

The concept of “the other” is one of the outstanding features of Jacques Lacan's theory, and his major departure from Freudian thought. The basis of Freud's system of thought was based on the concept of “ego”. He defined a great deal of issues related to mental sub-consciousness in relation to “ego”; an agent in the psychic apparatus which enjoys a clear and structured nature and mediates between “id” and “super-ego”. Nevertheless, Lacan was dubious about the definition of “ego” from the outset, and showed that there is never a single and homogeneous image of “ego” in the development of human psyche. In Lacan's words, “ego” is the “ego-the other” dialectics formed in an imaginary and symbolic stage. “The other” is an essential part of “ego” and is integrated with it from the beginning. “The other” is internalized in different ways, and is always present in the psyche with the “ego”; even the impression or image of “ego” is mixed with “the other”. When “the other” has got an outside manifestation, it might be internalized and identified with, to the greatest possible extent, and find a mental life. This is what we see in the relationship between Shams and Rumi; two wandering spirits each seeing their mental and psychological capabilities in the other, and during the process of discovering each other, they continually apply their “ego- the other” dialectics. If we consider this metal reciprocation from the viewpoint of Shams, we realize that the basis of his relationship with Rumi is on repeated, mutual moves of the metal states of the lover and the beloved. Facets of this mirroring could be seen in various, repeated parables in Maqalat (papers) of Shams.