M6:587 — دیگران چون کودکان این روز چند / تا شب ترحال بازی می‌کنند

Translation: Others, like children in these few days, / From dawn till night, engage in trehāl-bāzī (mud-pie play/trivial games). Meaning: This verse likens the lives of most people to childish play, occupying their brief existence with fleeting, insignificant matters. Rumi distinguishes here between those engrossed in worldly affairs and those whose entire focus is on the Divine.

This verse is one of those instances where Rumi, with a seemingly simple simile, strikes deep into the human psyche, exposing the true nature of many of our preoccupations. He says, "Others"—and this "others" encompasses many of us—"like children in these few days" (referring to the brevity of life), "from dawn till night, engage in trehāl-bāzī (mud-pie play or trivial games)." In this context, Rumi divides 'idleness' (bīkārī) and 'engagement' (ishtighāl) into two categories: engagement with the Divine, and engagement with anything else. Those who "turn towards the placeless" (ru dar lāmakān) and receive their soul's sustenance directly from God, are considered "idle" by Rumi—yet this idleness is precisely the truest form of engagement. In contrast, those entangled in a thousand worldly tasks, professions, and disputes, though outwardly busy, are in his view truly "idle," their souls "drowned in idleness." Here, we see how words acquire fresh, profound meanings. Rumi places this trehāl-bāzī in opposition to genuine "work." What is genuine work? "The work belongs to him who became a disciple of God / For His sake, cut off from every other work." That is, true work is for a human to sever ties with all other endeavors in order to become a true disciple of God. This is the apex of spiritual journey, where one directs all attention to a single qibla or orientation. This simile clearly recalls the story of Martha and Mary in the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus tells Martha: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen the good portion." This is the same point Rumi reiterates in a hundred ways: "Do one work, do one essential work, let all other works be secondary." Gather your scattered attention, so you may become pleasant and beautiful, instead of distributing your awareness across a thousand things. This diffused awareness, in Rumi’s words, "is not worth a single straw." Rumi criticizes idleness, but not the idleness of the spiritual wayfarers; rather, the idleness of those who spend their lives in "frivolous tasks." He harshly admonishes those who are "a burden to others," saying, "Be alive and walk on the earth like a steed / Not like a corpse to be carried on shoulders." But the "idle" one who turns towards the placeless is, in fact, in the busiest state possible, for they are engaged in the most essential work—a work before which all other tasks are nothing more than childish trehāl-bāzī. This verse serves as a wake-up call to all of us, to examine our qibla and whether we are spending our lives on childish games that lead to naught, or if we are engaged in the one essential "work."

Key takeaways

• Rumi likens a life oblivious to the Divine to childish, trivial play.
• The concept of 'idleness' (bīkārī) in Rumi's thought has two contrasting facets: engagement with the Divine is true busyness, while engagement with the world is true idleness.
• Humanity's brief existence should be dedicated to 'one essential task'—the pursuit of the Divine—rather than numerous peripheral concerns.
• This verse critiques the dispersion of interests and attention, which prevents one from focusing on life's ultimate purpose.