M6:3147 — او نگفت این نقش داد آب نیست / این به جز تقلیب آن قلاب نیست

Translation: He (the lion) did not tell himself: this image is not from the water itself; This is nothing but the cunning deception of that trickster (the rabbit). Meaning: This couplet highlights the lion's fatal delusion in the story, mistaking a mere reflection in the well for a rival. Rumi uses this narrative to illustrate the deeper philosophical principle of projecting one's inner flaws onto external realities and failing to distinguish between shadows and truth.

This couplet emerges from the heart of the Lion and Rabbit story, a narrative where the lion, deceived by the cunning rabbit, mistakes his own reflection in a well for a rival who has stolen his prey. What Rumi articulates here is a profound psychological and philosophical insight: The lion failed to tell himself that this image was not from the water itself, but merely the taqlīb (deception, inversion) of that qallāb (trickster, the rabbit). He fell prey to the deceit of his own eyes, and instead of looking beyond the well to discern the truth, he plunged into it, meeting his demise.

Rumi extracts not one, but several profound lessons from this tale. Firstly, do not mistake your shadow for the true self. The lion fought with his own shadow, unaware that the real adversary lay within himself. This is precisely the psychological phenomenon of projection that resides within all of us. When we find ourselves in conflict with someone, perceiving a flaw in them, very often that flaw is a shadow of our own imperfections, projected onto the other. If we wish to eradicate the roots of animosity, we must find and rectify them within ourselves, not in the other.

The second lesson carries a Platonic dimension: This entire cosmos is but a shadow of God. We must not attack these transient forms or mistake them for ultimate reality. Everything we perceive of grace, wrath, knowledge, or generosity in this world is but a reflection and emanation of its absolute source in the transcendent realm. “The righteous giver's gift and generosity, is but the reflection of that gift in the five and six.” This means every beneficence we witness from creatures is an echo and shadow of divine, absolute generosity.

Rumi brilliantly likens this idea to a mirror: “Your ugly nature showed its face in him, for he was but a mirror's surface to you.” Others serve as mirrors for us; when we perceive a flaw in them, we are, in truth, witnessing our own flaw reflected. Therefore, instead of attacking the mirror and blaming it, we should rectify our own imperfections: “When you saw your own ugliness, O fair one, do not strike the mirror.” The great philosopher Mullah Hadi Sabzevari, for instance, mistakenly interpreted the subsequent verse, “O wretch of the six, you err in every six,” as referring to the five senses plus one other, when Rumi's “six” clearly refers to the six directions of the world, addressing one imprisoned by worldly dimensions, erring in all aspects.

In essence, this couplet is an invitation to deep self-awareness and the critical distinction between origin and reflection, between truth and image. It teaches us to complain less about destiny and others, and to look more deeply within ourselves, for many of the world's distortions are, in fact, distortions projected onto the world from within us.

Key takeaways

• Projecting one's own flaws onto others is a fundamental cognitive error.
• The world and even our adversaries often serve as mirrors reflecting our inner states.
• Distinguish between the original and the reflection, between truth and shadow, to avoid delusion.
• Hostility towards another is frequently a battle waged against an image of oneself within that other.
• Recognizing one's own faults is the initial step toward liberation from animosity and conflict.
• The attributes of wrath and beauty in the world are mere reflections of divine attributes, not independent sources.