M6:1115 — گفت عمرت چند سالست ای پسر / بازگو و در مدزد و بر شمر

Translation: He said: 'How many years is your life, O son? / Recount it, do not lie, and count them forth.' Meaning: This verse captures a host's direct question to a guest about his age, urging an honest count. Rumi uses this seemingly simple inquiry as a narrative device to introduce a more profound philosophical parable.

This seemingly simple couplet, a mere inquiry into a guest's age, is masterfully used by Rumi as a narrative pretext to introduce a deeper and more significant story. Indeed, it serves as a gateway to the parable of the 'backward-going horse,' a profound symbol for the human soul and its faculties. I have often reiterated in my lectures that Rumi sometimes employs such 'pretextual' narratives to engage his audience and 'break their slumber' before delving into more serious discussions.

The story unfolds with a man requesting a horse from an emir, who offers him a 'dappled grey.' The man refuses, explaining that the horse is 'backward-going' and 'headstrong,' meaning it's stubborn and only moves in reverse. Here, the emir utters a profound statement that is key to understanding the larger allegory: 'Turn its tail towards the house.' That is, if this horse only goes in reverse, then simply ride it backward, orienting its tail towards your destination, and it will carry you forward.

This point is critically important and stands in contrast to many Sufi and even Buddhist teachings. In various schools, when one encounters an undesirable trait or an unwholesome desire within the soul, the instruction is to 'uproot' or 'annihilate' it. They preach: 'kill lust,' 'destroy anger.' But Rumi, here, contends otherwise: 'Do not take anything away from the spirit; rectify it.' This echoes Victor Hugo's famous dictum, frequently cited by the late Master Mohammad-Taqi Ja'fari in his commentary on the Masnavi. We do not discard the backward-going horse, nor do we behead it; rather, we learn how to properly utilize it.

This implies that lust, anger, and other instincts and emotions, even if they appear 'foul' or 'bad,' can be made useful. They should not be surgically removed or brutally uprooted; instead, they should be 'gardened.' Like pruning a tree: when you cut away superfluous branches, strength and energy flow to the more fruitful ones. This is akin to Freud's theory of sublimation, or tas'īd, which Rumi hinted at centuries ago. When one 'curbs' the lust for bread, that same desire 'emerges from the noble intellect.' That is, the inclination elevates from base matters to higher, transcendent ones.

Rumi even implores God: 'O transformer, turn its desire toward the hereafter.' This does not mean negating desire, but rather changing the 'object' of desire. Instead of having no desires, one shifts their object from the ephemeral to the eternal. Here, Rumi diverges from Buddhists who identify the root of suffering with desiring itself. He argues that desiring is not inherently bad; rather, desiring impermanent things is what is undesirable.

Rumi then contrasts 'forward-going, docile horses' with 'backward-going' ones. He speaks of the swift and 'ardent journey' (garm-raw) of Moses's body, which traversed a seven-hundred-year path in an instant, as if stepping from one edge of a rug to the other. This symbolizes the 'journey of love' (sayrān-i ḥubb) or a love-driven movement that can quickly lead a person to their destination. In contrast, 'slackers' (kharbatān) or lazy, gluttonous individuals, do not take even a single step and 'cast themselves down at the base.'

The final point is the story of a caravan that arrives in a village, intending to 'throw themselves down' there. A voice calls out: 'Cast your burdens outside, and then enter within yourself.' The condition for entering this exalted sanctuary (majlis-i sanī) is to be light-laden, to shed all material burdens, corrupt imaginations, and superfluous attachments. These are all the hidden wisdoms behind a simple question about age, which Rumi employs as a tool for profound enlightenment.

Key takeaways

• Rumi uses a simple question as a pretext to introduce a deeper, instructive parable.
• The core principle of spiritual training is to 'rectify' and 'redirect' human instincts, rather than 'uprooting' or 'annihilating' them.
• The soul is likened to a 'backward-going horse' that can reach its destination if one knows how to re-orient it.
• The concept of 'sublimation' of desires: the energy from lower inclinations can be channeled towards higher, transcendent aspirations.
• Rumi advocates changing the 'object' of desire (from the worldly to the hereafter) rather than 'completely negating' desire, a distinct approach from Buddhism.
• The 'ardent journey' (garm-raw) or love-driven movement can make long spiritual paths swift and easy.