M6:59 — هست بی‌رنگی اصول رنگها / صلحها باشد اصول جنگها

Translation: Colorlessness is the principle of all colors; Peaces are the principles of all wars. Meaning: This verse posits that all diversity and conflict in the phenomenal world, such as colors and wars, originate from a singular, undifferentiated reality—namely, primordial colorlessness and peace.

This verse from the Masnavi, M6:59, is profoundly rich, revealing one of Mawlana's most foundational mystical and philosophical insights: the principle of formlessness as the origin of forms, and the unity underlying all opposites. Mawlana presents two parallel clauses here to explicate a single truth through different examples.

The first hemistich states: “Colorlessness is the principle of all colors.” By “colorlessness” here, Mawlana does not mean merely the absence of color, but rather that unified, boundless reality from which all colors arise and to which they return. It is analogous to white light, which appears colorless yet is refracted by a prism into a myriad of hues, or water, which is colorless in itself but takes on the color of any vessel it occupies. This “colorlessness” is the realm of the transcendent, the unseen world, which Mawlana elsewhere refers to as the “world of formlessness” (ʿālam-i bī-ṣūratī). This realm constitutes the uṣūl (principles or origins) and the mabdaʾ (source) of all multiplicities and differences.

The second hemistich, “Peaces are the principles of all wars,” conveys the same meaning. At first glance, this might seem counter-intuitive; how can war arise from peace? Yet, Mawlana points to a primordial truth. He asserts that the uṣūl of wars are, in fact, peaces. This signifies that at a higher order, in that singular, unblemished realm, only absolute peace reigns. Opposites and antagonisms, and consequently wars, have manifested in this fallen world, differentiated from that undifferentiated realm. These wars are the remote and corrupted manifestations of that eternal and primordial peace.

Mawlana's intention is that we should not apply the rules of the world of multiplicity and opposites to the world of unity and non-duality. Such analogies are misleading and prevent us from grasping higher truths. In that higher world, sorrow has no place, and angels are never grieved, for it is a vast realm, unlike this world, whose narrowness and constraints lead to grief and weariness.

This insight distinguishes Mawlana from many other poets and thinkers. He perceives the world, at its foundation, not as crooked or flawed, but as perfect and unblemished. If we perceive crookedness, its root lies in our own vision and perception, not in the essence of the world itself. As he states elsewhere, “A crooked hair can veil the sky; what if all your parts are crooked?” Thus, the reed's initial complaint is a narration (ḥikāyat) of this separation and fall, not a lament against a flaw or crookedness in the essence of existence. The reed speaks of principles that transcend colors and wars.

Crucially: One should not assume that every being or entity is necessarily subject to the rule of opposites. The transcendent realm is exempt from the rule of opposites; differences and antagonisms only appear in the world of sense and color, that is, in this phenomenal world. Through this, Mawlana introduces us to a transcendent unity from which multiplicities originate, but which itself remains ever-undiminished.

Key takeaways

• All worldly multiplicities and antagonisms originate from a single, undifferentiated reality.
• Colorlessness (bī-rangī) symbolizes the transcendent, unseen realm that holds the principles of all forms.
• Absolute peace is the primordial root and origin of all wars and conflicts in this world.
• Mawlana points to a pre-existent truth where no opposites or dualities exist.
• Grasping this verse requires shedding analogies that project the rules of the material, pluralistic world onto the realm of unity.
• Mawlana's view of the world's perfection and flawlessness stems from this understanding of foundational unity.