M1:3096 — رفتن این آب فوق آسیاست / رفتنش در آسیا بهر شماست

Translation: This water flows above the mill; / Its flow into the mill is for your sake. Meaning: Mowlana conveys that his profound inner insights and divine wisdom are in constant, spontaneous flow within him, but they descend into the concrete form of the Mathnawi solely for the benefit and spiritual nourishment of his audience.

Mowlana, in this pivotal couplet, unveils the source of his inspiration and the motivation behind composing the Mathnawi. He elucidates that sublime thoughts and esoteric wisdom, like a pure, flowing stream, are in constant motion within his inner being. This current, he asserts, is natural and independent of any external impetus; the 'water' flows 'above the mill,' utterly unconcerned with its grinding function. This imagery of water flowing fawq-e āsyā (above the mill) underscores the spontaneous and inherent nature of Mowlana's inner wisdom, a wisdom that, even without a 'sucker' to draw it forth, continues its course within his breast. It is the very 'milk in the breast of the soul' that, as he states elsewhere, needs a 'sucker' to begin its flow.

Yet, raftanash dar āsyā behr-e shomāst—'its flow into the mill is for your sake.' Here, the role of the audience, primarily Husam-al-Din Chalabi, becomes paramount. The 'mill' is an instrument that draws water to itself, transforming its potential into a force that grinds grain for human sustenance. This channeling of the water towards the mill is no longer spontaneous; it is an act performed for your sake. This implies that Mowlana, though soaring in the highest realms of divine knowledge—a station Husam-al-Din could never reach—is moved by Husam-al-Din's relative 'lower' position and his need for this water. It is this need that compels Mowlana to articulate these profound insights into the form of words, words that would become the tens of thousands of verses of the Mathnawi, an immense spiritual legacy.

I have consistently emphasized that Mowlana needed Husam-al-Din for this 'milk from the breast of his soul' to flow. Without such a 'sucker,' these insights might have remained confined within him. Thus, the Mathnawi is an emanation, a bestowal stemming from spiritual plenitude and a response to the needs of others, not from compulsion or for Mowlana's personal gain. If ever the 'need for the mill were to cease,' this water would 'return to its original channel,' meaning the flow of divine knowledge would revert to its unmanifested state, residing peacefully within Mowlana's being.

Key takeaways

• The Mathnawi's origin is Mowlana's spontaneous, inner effulgence, not compulsion.
• Mowlana's words emerge into the Mathnawi for the sake of his audience, not for himself.
• Husam-al-Din and the audience serve as the 'mill' that draws the 'water' of wisdom into verbal form.
• Even inherent mystical wisdom requires an 'external mill' (means and audience) for its outward manifestation.
• The primary flow of Mowlana's insights transcends and pre-exists its external, manifested forms.