M6:2975 — جمله فرزندانش در اشغال مست / خود نگفتندی که بابایی بدست

Translation: All his children, absorbed in their affairs, intoxicated, / did not even recall that they once had a father. Meaning: This verse speaks to the children's complete oblivion of their father's existence, so engrossed were they in their own tales and preoccupations that they forgot their very origin.

This verse appears in the continuation of the story of Abdul-Qaws and the fate of his family. Abdul-Qaws, the one who was away from his home for nine years and, after a brief return, disappeared again. Here, Rumi portrays the state of his children, a state not dissimilar to our own human condition.

I interpret this verse as a profound allegory for the heedlessness and oblivion towards one's 'original Self' or 'origin.' Initially, the children spun tales about their father's fate, speculating, 'Was he attacked by a wolf or a brigand? / Or did he fall into a well or an ambush?' This indicates that at first, there was an inquiry, a search, even if only within the realm of imagination and storytelling. But the crucial point is that this very act of storytelling becomes a veil. They became so absorbed and 'intoxicated' (mast) in their 'occupations' (ashghāl)—their affairs and their tales—that they transitioned from a stage of questioning and guessing to one of absolute oblivion.

Undoubtedly, this forgetfulness stems from their deep preoccupation with their current concerns and fantasies. This 'intoxicated occupation' is a brilliant metaphor. Humanity in this world becomes so engrossed in its stories, narratives, and daily preoccupations that it not only fails to seek its origin and source but gradually forgets the very existence of that origin. The father here symbolizes that 'origin' and the 'reed-bed' (neyestān) from which the soul has been severed and is meant to seek its time of reunion. However, Abdul-Qaws' children symbolize humans who have fallen short of this search and have become utterly oblivious.

Rumi, with particular subtlety, illustrates this progression from curiosity to heedlessness. First, 'Was he attacked by a wolf or a brigand?' and then: 'All his children, absorbed in their affairs, intoxicated, / did not even recall that they once had a father.' This transition from inquiry to forgetfulness reflects a common existential state among humans—how an apparently absent presence transforms into absolute absence in memory and consciousness, not due to its non-existence, but due to the intense preoccupation with what is secondary.

Key takeaways

• Forgetting one's 'origin' stems not from its absence, but from being immersed in daily affairs and stories.
• Intoxication by worldly multiplicity is the greatest impediment to remembering one's existential source.
• This verse critiques humans who, instead of seeking truth, become entangled in imaginary narratives and speculations, eventually forgetting their origin entirely.
• The father in this story symbolizes the source and existential origin, whose presence in consciousness fades due to preoccupation with secondary matters.
• The transition from 'questioning the past' to 'absolute oblivion of the past' is a cautionary journey for the human soul.