M6:606 — گردکان ما درین مطحن شکست / هر چه گوییم از غم خود اندکست

Translation: Our walnuts broke in this mill; whatever we say of our sorrow is but little.

Meaning: Mowlana asserts that in the mill of divine love, all personal attachments and worldly possessions have been shattered, and the depth of the sorrow arising from this profound severance is utterly beyond the capacity of words to describe.

This verse flows directly from Mowlana's profound, unmediated state, where, amidst the tale of the bird and the hunter, he himself transforms into that wailing bird, directly communing with God. These are utterances steeped in passion, the agony of separation, and the yearning for union. As I have always emphasized, true lovers stand as vigilant guards at the portal of their hearts, never succumbing to slumber. This very beyt emerges from that same absolute wakefulness and awareness.

I interpret this verse as follows: "Our walnuts broke in this mill." The maṭḥan is a mill. Mowlana declares that our gordekān (walnuts)—meaning all our attachments, everything we possessed or did not possess—have been utterly crushed and annihilated in this mill of love. No walnuts remain for us to play with, no attachments endure for us to cling to. Whatever existed was cast into this "mill of love" and ground to dust. This is precisely the meaning of muḥw (effacement), a concept Mowlana stresses elsewhere: "Not grammar, but effacement is needed here, know this!" (M1:2849). The human being must be effaced from their attachments and false identities for their true essence to manifest. This shattering of the walnuts refers to the radical and often painful process of detachment that the mystic must undergo.

And then he adds: "Whatever we say of our sorrow is but little." This statement points to the ultimate depth of this experience. The sorrow that pervades the mystic's soul after the shattering of all attachments is not an ordinary grief; it is a sorrow beyond description. One must not confuse this sorrow with common complaints. Mowlana never speaks from a place of grievance or protest. This grief is a profound, "green sorrow," a dignified anguish stemming from separation from one's origin, not the sorrow of being alone in a meaningless world. He does not lament tanhāyī (loneliness), for separation is always accompanied by the memory of the Beloved with whom one was connected and to whom one shall return. This is not the language of Hafez's lament, who says, "A new world must be built, and a new humanity." Rather, it is the voice of one who perceives the world as perfect and seeks any flaw within their own gaze. This is a cry without gratitude and without complaint, a primal existential wail that stirs the seven heavens.

Key takeaways

• The verse reflects Mowlana's unmediated state of divine love and the deep separation from the Beloved.
• "Our walnuts broke in this mill" symbolizes the shattering of all material and worldly attachments and possessions.
• The mill (maṭḥan) is a metaphor for love's transformative and purifying power, emptying the seeker of their 'self' (muḥw).
• "Whatever we say of our sorrow is but little" emphasizes the ineffable depth of this grief, transcending all words.
• This sorrow is the mystic's green, constructive anguish, not a complaint against destiny; it is a prelude to deeper union and self-knowledge.