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Singing in Love of the Self: A Musical Initiation into Apotheosis
- Priyanka Gupta
- Jun 28
- 6 min read
Where does the power lie, and how is it extracted to take the plunge into the dark, the dangerous temptation of the unknown—for…love?
Revisiting the psyche’s Road of Trials for the soul and…
Let’s revisit something we all might know: the myth of Psyche and Cupid. Psyche undertook the quest, laden with challenging tasks set by Venus, the mother of Cupid, for love. Venus laid out the trials carefully, one after another, each task a challenge, each challenge a step in the journey. Psyche traversed the Road of Trials in longing and desire for Cupid, as the breath of life—the yearning of the soul seeking a completeness, a transformation and to experience the numinosity of that eternal desire.
Throughout the journey, supernatural aids appeared, helping Psyche onward, not merely to find Cupid but to discover herself. Inner guides also assist all of us in achieving our goals—to the calling for oneself. To find love is to know oneself, and that is a heroic exercise in itself, filled with trials and challenges. Re-reading The Hero with a Thousand Faces after a long time rekindled the questions I have been holding from my PhD days alongside the story of Psyche and Cupid: What kind of an initiation into living is love when death is a known, waiting threshold? If life is a mystery and death is that one meaningful piece framing the puzzle, then why love, why desire, and why long? Or is the search itself the initiation into the soul—beginning with the self, through love?
Love and death as Initiation—Anand
Taking this forward, I want to explore love—but love as the experience of finding fullness in life itself, even as it nears its end. What an iconic film and music this entire exercise of revisiting Hero brings me back to: one of the classics of Indian cinema—Anand (1971). This story defies the usual frameworks of celebration, romance, heartland tales, or larger-than-life narratives. Instead, it follows a man who is terminally ill, yet who remains fully willing to live each moment in this battle against death and time—facing trials to cross the threshold to love life and in turn devote to the self.
The most difficult stages of the adventure now begin, when the depths of the underworld with their remarkable manifestations open before him.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 91
Anand truly lived out the philosophy Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi (“Life should be meaningful, not long”). The songs from the film embody this fulfillment—to take what life offers, face its tests, and simply move. They speak of the legacy of living and of how beautiful the challenges are contained within that very act of living. The melodies “Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli” by Manna Dey and “Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaye” by Mukesh bring it forward. With the soft, floating momentum of Dey’s “Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli” (with lyrics and English translation here), we are initiated into life itself. Each breath adds so much; a moment to urge us forward. So too does the song—with its reflective rhythm, lyrical emphasis and gently swaying pace, as if it's teaching us to take in every moment and savor the joy of being one with this journey.
“Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli”: Apotheosis through self-love
The song from the movie opens with the sustained rhythmic, lyrical tone for the word “Zindagiiiiii...”—an elongated vocal phrase that feels like a tune invoking awareness. It frames existence as an unfolding passage, a living conversation between the self and life itself. When the soulful melody enters, its balanced pulse leaves room for the lyrics to settle deeply, powerfully conveyed as the truths of life. Especially in the phrase “kabhi ye hasaaye, kabhi yeh rulaaye” (“sometimes it makes you laugh, sometimes it makes you cry”), where joy and sorrow are inseparable companions on the path.
The flowing orchestral interludes echo the rhythm of experience: each day revealing new horizons while also carrying its own sunsets, both essential to transformation. In the spirit of Joseph Campbell’s Initiation phase, the song points to the treasure found in embracing uncertainty, enduring tests and trials, and moving through ascents and symbolic descents of living. That transformation is not about reaching elsewhere, but about fully inhabiting every part of oneself. The singer’s expressive shaping of “Zindagi,” “hasaaye,” and “rulaaye,” along with the lingering instrumental spaces between the lyrics, gives listeners time to absorb each passing moment, as though those moments themselves are the treasures of being.
Moving towards its musical storytelling, the music, lyrics, and imagery seem to breathe life itself. The song becomes a symbol of an imperishable urge toward an unannounced initiation, for those who are willing when it arrives, while also welcoming the suddenness of its how and why. Life, presence, and awareness in Anand’s experience of death ensue from his pursuit of an elevated state of being. His gentle movement and the symbolic act of leaving behind the old self (seen in the release of balloons in the image from the sequence) represent the end of the ego-self and the embrace of freedom through mindful living.
The soft, slow, and introspective musical storytelling in “Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli” carries a quiet but profound power, empowering one to live out uncertainty, cherished. The Inner Alignment Apotheosis quest.
The ordeal is a deepening of the problem of the first threshold and the question is still in balance: Can the ego put itself to death?
The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 100
In Northrop Frye’s Anatomy of Criticism (33), heroic goals, initiation, and the journey foster the inward grounding for peace—Anand (meaning peace or solace) that illuminates life, making it whole. Like the gentle sway in the melody, Anand’s vibrance in his walk on the beach in the cinematographic presentation of the song- manifests the joy of simply living. Here, fighting the dragons or crossing difficult challenges is the deepest experience of death and rebirth in consciousness in living as well as knowing of death.
The song becomes a symbol of an imperishable urge toward an unannounced initiation, for those who are willing when it arrives, while also welcoming the suddenness of its how and why.
Oh wait, what a journey: love, grow and be
What a beautiful revisiting this has been: from Psyche to Cupid, from longing to love, and then into a deeper search and curiosity for the self. This felt like a passage of transformation for me, an inward turning toward the richness of what existence offers in its fullness, its continuum, its spectrum of joys, sorrows, mysteries, and truths. Through this musically initiated journey, I see a quiet sense of guidance, inviting a sustained perspective toward both the realistic enigmas of life, even if it is death—embracing the contemplation in its wholeness. Such a passage is a blessing, a wonder to know oneself and life in itself.
“Zindagi kaisi hai paheli, haye re…” (“What a beautiful mystery life is…”)
“Kabhi yeh Hasaaye kabhi yeh rulaaye…” (“It is filled with joys and sorrows…”)
MythBlast authored by:
Priyanka Gupta is a recent PhD graduate in Psychology with a specialization in Jungian psychology and mythology from the University of Delhi, India (2023). Her doctoral thesis explored the hero archetype, delving into the Campbellian structure of the hero's journey through the distinctive prism of Hindu mythology and Native American mythology. As a researcher, she's captivated by the interplay of the meaning of symbols, life, and religions, drawing inspiration and contemplating on the perspectives laid out by Joseph Campbell and prominent Jungian thinkers. Beyond academia and research, she's a writing enthusiast and a passionate painter. Her diverse interests converge in a desire to share new perspectives and ideas, propelling me towards a future in teaching and knowledge.
This MythBlast was inspired by the Initiation stage of the hero's journey and The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on his Life and Work.
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This Week's Highlights
"One of the best known and most charming examples of the “difficult tasks” motif is that of Psyche’s quest for her lost lover, Cupid. . . . When Psyche had accomplished all of the difficult tasks, Jupiter himself gave to her a draft of the elixir of immortality; so that she is now and forever united with Cupid, her beloved, in the paradise of perfected form."
-- Joseph Campbell
The Hero with a Thousand Faces 81, 100
