M6:1113 — نه چو تو پس‌رو که هر دم پس‌تری / سوی سنگی می‌روی از گوهری

Translation: Not like you, a backward-goer, who every moment moves further back, / You are heading towards a stone, away from a jewel. Meaning: Rumi addresses those who, instead of spiritual advancement, continuously degrade their inner worth, trading the jewel of their being for the valueless stone of the world.

Mowlana, with his characteristic incisive and decisive tone, directly addresses those human beings who, in their journey of life, regress instead of progressing, drifting further away from their inherent authenticity with each passing moment. This 'backward-going' (pas-row) stands in stark contrast to 'forward-going' (pish-row); it speaks to the human capacity to direct one's spiritual trajectory towards the lowest attachments, rather than reverting to the jewel of one's own being.

Indeed, he sees humanity as a jewel that transforms itself into a stone. This is a choice, not a predetermined fate. While many Sufis and mystics advocated for the eradication of desires and impulses as a prerequisite for self-purification, Mowlana presents a profoundly different and deeper approach here. He places this verse within the narrative of the 'backward-going horse' (asb-e pas-row) from the Masnavi. A horse accustomed to moving backward instead of forward. The question arises: should this horse be killed? Rejected? Sold cheaply? Mowlana declares: Never!

The solution lies in altering the horse's orientation. Instead of pointing the horse's head towards the destination, turn its tail towards it, so that by moving backward, it carries you to your goal. This unparalleled allegory offers a crucial lesson for the discipline of the self and the refinement of character. This is precisely the point I have emphasized for years, beautifully articulated by Victor Hugo in Les Misérables: 'Take nothing from the soul, but rectify it.' We must not eradicate our instincts and emotions; rather, we must 'rectify' and 'guide' them. Do not kill desire; instead, redirect worldly, ephemeral desires towards lasting and sublime spiritual pursuits.

This thought aligns precisely with Freud's theory of 'sublimation' (tasʿīd) in psychoanalysis; that is, the transformation and elevation of a primitive, raw impulse into a nobler, more refined aspiration. When Mowlana states, 'When you restrain its desire for bread [righīf], / That desire will emerge from the noble intellect [ʿaql-i sharīf],' this is precisely sublimation. If you divert the energy of gluttony, that same energy will manifest itself in rational and noble inclinations. It is like pruning superfluous branches from a tree; when you cut the barren branches, strength is transferred to the fruit-bearing ones.

Therefore, backward-going means abandoning these energies aimlessly, allowing them to lead us towards worthless and fleeting stones. But forward-going is that 'journey of love' (sayrān-i ḥobb) in which the body of Moses, like a true kalīm, traverses a seven-hundred-year path as if it were the width of a mat. This is your choice: backward-going towards the stone, or forward-going towards the jewel.

Key takeaways

• Humanity can degrade the jewel of its essence into a worthless stone; this is a choice, not destiny.
• Self-purification in Mowlana's thought does not mean eradicating impulses, but rather their 'rectification' and 'guidance'.
• Inner energies, even those considered 'bad' (like lust), can be redirected towards noble and transcendent goals by changing their orientation.
• Freud's theory of 'Sublimation' aligns with Mowlana's approach of changing the object of desires; elevating a raw impulse to a noble aspiration.
• The path of the forward-goers (garm-rowān) is one where long journeys are shortened and smoothed by love and spiritual resolve.
• This verse is an invitation to re-recognize one's true value and invest in the jewel of one's being, instead of clinging to the fleeting 'stones' of the world.