M6:1086 — گشت عالی‌همت از تو چشم من / جز به خواری ننگرد اندر چمن

Translation: Through your grace, my eye became high-aspiring; it now looks upon the meadow with nothing but disdain. Meaning: This verse conveys the elevation of one's aspiration and inner vision when exposed to the true Beloved or a perfect spiritual exemplar, to the point where one no longer values or attends to superficial worldly beauties and concerns.

This verse emerges from Rumi's impassioned narrative, spoken through the character of Abu Bakr in praise of the Prophet. Yet, as I have consistently emphasized, such words, far from being mere historical accounts, are deeper expressions of Rumi's own profound insights. It is his enduring method to convey his inner state through the voices of others, as if to say, 'These stories are the very report-of-my-present-state (naqd-i ḥāl); they are the narrations of my own conditions.'

The Abu Bakr of the story, in whom Rumi's spirit dwells, recounts a youthful dream where the sun saluted him and elevated him from earth to sky—a dream he initially dismissed as mālīkholīā (madness or melancholy) and an impossibility. But this 'impossible' (maḥāl) becomes 'real' (ḥāl) upon encountering the Prophet: 'When I saw you, my impossible became real; my soul was submerged in grandeur.' This encounter with 'you' (the perfect human, the soul of the world) engenders such a transformation that it alters one's perception and inner vision.

The verse in question speaks directly to this transformation. 'Az To' (through your grace, by virtue of your light, or by the blessing of your companionship and gaze) is the catalyst. 'My eye' (cheshm-e man) here refers not merely to the physical eye, but to the 'inner eye' (cheshm-e del)—the spiritual insight, the faculty of perception, and, more importantly, one's 'aspiration' (himmat). Whatever this eye previously sought, after seeing 'You,' its gaze was so elevated that it became 'high-aspiring' (ʿālī-himmat). Himmat is that inner force which draws one towards their ultimate goal and beloved. To become ʿālī-himmat means one's quest no longer turns to base or mundane matters, but looks only to the zenith and loftiness of the Real. Preceding this verse, Rumi states: 'The charm of this sun fell from my eye.' This implies that even the sun, a symbol of supreme light and beauty in the material world, loses its allure in the presence of 'You,' the ultimate Beloved, let alone lesser beauties.

The consequence of this elevated aspiration is that one 'now looks upon the meadow with nothing but disdain.' The 'meadow' (chaman) here symbolizes the world, its beautiful but transient manifestations, and perhaps even lower levels of knowledge and love. For one whose inner eye has opened to the highest manifestations of the Real, this 'meadow' can only be viewed with 'disdain' (khwārī)—a sense of insignificance or lowliness. This does not imply disrespect or denial of the meadow's inherent beauty, but rather indicates that compared to the 'Joseph-garden' (yūsofistān) seen in 'You,' or the 'paradise' (jannat) manifested in every part of 'You,' this mere 'meadow' holds no grandeur or value. This perceptual shift liberates one from attachment to anything lesser than the Real, drawing the individual towards their 'higher self,' as I once expressed: 'Make me more myself.'

Key takeaways

• The true Beloved or perfect spiritual guide elevates the seeker's aspiration and inner vision to such an extent that worldly affairs appear lowly.
• This perceptual transformation is an internal event stemming from an encounter with Truth or a perfect human, making impossibilities manifest.
• High aspiration (ʿālī-himmat) does not imply ignoring worldly beauties, but rather detaching from them when compared to the higher manifestations of the Real.
• One whose inner eye has become high-aspiring no longer inclines to anything below the station of the Beloved, focusing solely on the sublime.
• This verse exemplifies Rumi's method of expressing his own profound inner states through the voices of his story's characters.