M6:2547 — لاف شیخی در جهان انداخته / خویشتن را بایزیدی ساخته

Translation: He has cast the boast of sheikhi (spiritual mastership) into the world, And made himself like Bayazid. Meaning: This verse describes someone who falsely claims spiritual leadership and prestige, positioning themselves as a great mystic akin to Bayazid Bastami, despite lacking true qualifications.

This verse is among those uttered by Mowlana with a profound sense of indignation, taking aim at the marketplaces of deception and hypocrisy. He explicitly laments those who have "cast the boast of sheikhi (spiritual mastership) into the world" and "made themselves like Bayazid." This speaks not merely to false claims, but to the audacity of "equating oneself with prophets" (hamsarī bā anbiyā bardāshte), those who presume to stand in the rank of prophets and saints, believing that simply because "they (prophets) are human, and we too are human," there exists no fundamental difference. This is a profound "blindness" (ʿamā) that prevents them from discerning the "infinite difference" (farq-i bī-muntahā). Mowlana delivers this warning within the narrative of the jester, who, for all his antics, is more truthful and virtuous than these "braggarts" by virtue of his admission of inability and insignificance. Mowlana had previously stated that "this parable is vital in our time" (īn masal andar zamāne jānī ast)—a crucial warning for his era, and indeed for ours. He observes that the ignorant, instead of learning from a master (ostād), open new shops: "For the ignorant shuns a master / Thus he went and opened a new shop" (zān ke jāhil nang dārad z oustād / lājaram raft o dukānī now goshād). These shops, as Mowlana warns, are "full of stench and scorpions and snakes" (gand o pur-kazhdom ast o pur z-mār)—places of destruction and misguidance, not true guidance. This is not solely a reference to the philosophers or theologians of Mowlana's time; it is a timeless warning against all false spiritual claims that emerge in every epoch. I myself have witnessed numerous examples in my own time of these "raw ones (khāmān) with drum and banner" (bā ṭabl o ʿalam); individuals who, despite their "ignorance, emptiness, and lust for power," market themselves "expensively to the public." Mowlana here speaks of those who have "become a seeker by themselves, attained by themselves / And opened an assembly in a house of claims" (ham z-khud sālik shode, wāṣil shode / mahfilī wā-karde dar daʿwī-kade). Instead of genuine spiritual journeying and union with the Divine, these individuals merely make claims and establish their own circles and storefronts. Rather than showing humility and accepting a master's guidance, they resort to boasting and making a great noise, while their inner being remains hollow. This is a chronic malady in the history of thought and spirituality that Mowlana, with profound insight, dissects.

Key takeaways

• A critique of false claims of spiritual leadership and boasting on the path of spiritual journeying.
• Emphasis on the necessity of humility before a master and the peril of 'self-taught' spiritual endeavors.
• A comparison between those who deem themselves equal to prophets and saints, and the true, elevated reality of these figures.
• A critique of the 'shops' of hypocrisy and deception that lead to misguidance and ruin instead of true guidance.
• A timeless warning against the 'raw ones with drum and banner' who, despite their inner emptiness, present themselves as great.