M6:162 — قند خر را گر طرب انگیختی / پیش خر قنطار شکر ریختی

Translation: If sugar could incite joy in a donkey, / You would pour qintars of sugar before it. Meaning:* Rumi posits that every being has its particular sustenance and delight. What brings joy and nourishment to one creature may be utterly worthless and meaningless to another.

In this couplet and its surrounding verses, Rumi, through a simple yet profound allegory, points to one of the most fundamental truths of existence: every being, with its unique physical and spiritual structure, seeks its commensurate sustenance and delight. It is not the case that all blessings and pleasures are equally appealing to all. Observe: a donkey naturally prefers hay. No matter how many qintars of sugar you pile before it, even if sugar could theoretically rouse joy in it, it would be useless. It would neither derive pleasure from it nor would it contribute to its growth. This is a patent reality. Yet, this very same sugar is the source of life and joy for parrots; a parrot is a sugar-eater, a donkey a hay-eater. This allegory is not merely about animals; it extends to human beings. Humans, too, according to their capacities, talents, and inner constitution, seek different things. Some souls incline towards "spiritual sugar," while others are content with the "hay of the world." This is not a moral judgment but an ontological description; each person's nature determines the nourishment of their soul. And this is a crucial principle in Rumi's epistemology: if someone is not a seeker of truth, one should not force-feed them truth, for they will neither comprehend it, nor enjoy it, nor will it have any effect on them. Truth is not everyone's naqd-i hāl (present state) unless they have sought it.

Key takeaways

• Every being (human or animal) possesses its own specific sustenance and delight, congruent with its nature.
• What constitutes life and pleasure for one being may be meaningless and useless for another.
• Rumi employs this principle to explain the differences in human spiritual capacities and inclinations.
• Truth cannot be imposed on those who do not seek it; it is not aligned with their naqd-i hāl (present state).