M6:43 — ما به بحر تو ز خود راجع شدیم / وز رضاع اصل مسترضع شدیم

Translation: We returned to Your Sea, from our own selves; And from nursing at the Source (Aṣl), we became nourished (mustarḍaʿ). Meaning: This verse speaks to humanity's return to its divine origin. By transcending the ego, individuals join the ocean of divine unity and are nourished directly by the primordial source of existence.

I have often articulated that the Masnavi is a discourse on the Quranic dictum, “Indeed, to Him we shall return” (إنا الیه راجعون). This very verse, M6:43, sits squarely upon this theme. Rumi declares, “We returned to Your Sea, from our own selves.” The verb “returned” here is not merely a past tense or a future aspiration; it is an active, continuous present. We are, at this very moment, returning to God. This return is not a future-oriented event, but an ongoing ontological reality; we emanated from God and are ceaselessly moving back towards Him, even as we dwell in this ephemeral world.

The crucial point is that this return occurs “from our own selves” (ز خود). This implies a transcendence of the commanding ego (nafs-i ammarah), worldly attachments, and false self-perceptions. As long as we remain confined within the walls of our fabricated self, this return and union with the divine Sea is impossible. This “self” is our greatest veil. Once this veil is lifted, the path of return is opened, and this return, as I emphasized, unfolds moment by moment, in every now.

The phrase “Your Sea” is immensely evocative. The divine existence is a boundless ocean from which all particles have separated and to which they ultimately return. In this Sea, there is no longer conflict or contradiction, just as particles of light, when they return to the sun, lose their distinction and become the sun itself. This is the concept of fana (annihilation); not annihilation into nothingness, but annihilation within absolute Being, a drowning in it.

Rumi adds in the second hemistich: “And from nursing at the Source (Aṣl), we became nourished (mustarḍaʿ).” This image of drinking milk from the “Source” is profoundly deep. In this world, we are nourished by various “wet nurses” – by sciences, concepts, experiences – but these are all branches (furuʿ). When we reach the “Source,” the true fount of existence and knowledge, we then drink directly from it. This “nursing” signifies the direct, unmediated reception of truths from the primordial, divine origin, without the filters of mind, logic, or argumentation.

This “Source” is God Himself, the origin and wellspring of all existence. When a person steps out of their own self, out of their egotism, and connects with this Source, they are no longer nourished by the branches, but by the very principles (uṣūl). It is here that one is liberated from the idle boasting about principles (as he alludes to in the next verse), for one is already immersed in and drinking from the ocean of principles. This is the station of mahv (effacement) and wuṣūl (arrival), which is the Masnavi’s promise to the sincere reader.

Key takeaways

• Return to God is a continuous, present reality, not merely a future event.
• Attaining the Divine Source requires transcending the 'self' and egoic attachments.
• The 'Sea' metaphor represents boundless divine unity where conflict ceases to exist.
• Nursing from the 'Source' signifies direct, unmediated reception of truths from the origin of being.
• This verse describes the experience of immersion in divine principles, contrasting it with idle claims about branches of knowledge.