M6:1114 — آن‌چنان کان خواجه را مهمان رسید / خواجه از ایام و سالش بر رسید

Translation: Just as a guest arrived for that host, The host inquired about his days and years. Meaning: This verse begins a secondary tale where a host asks his guest about his age, and the guest strangely counts his years backward.

I maintain that in this verse, and indeed, in this introductory story, Rumi's aim is not merely to recount a tale, but to prepare the listener's mind for a deeper lesson. He himself says: “Rumi seeks a story to tell that would be entertaining… to break their slumber.” This verse, in essence, is a prelude to a more significant anecdote that follows: the parable of the backward-moving horse. Rumi explicitly states this story is an “account in the explanation of this very saying, that is, going backward.”

Here, Rumi touches upon the pivotal theme of “going backward” (pas-pas raftan). The guest, instead of stating his age progressively, counts backward, as if retreating to his mother’s womb. This regression is symbolic of the behavior humans sometimes adopt in their spiritual and moral lives; a retrograde movement instead of advancement. Rumi means to say that some of us are not only not advancing, but are “constantly going backward, regressing into decline and decadence.” This is a sudden reproach directed at the audience.

Yet, Rumi’s brilliant insight here is that even this “going backward” and these regressive instincts and desires can be tamed and guided. Just like that stubborn horse that only moves backward. Rumi asks: Should this horse be killed? Rejected? Eradicated? His answer is an emphatic “no.” He says: “Turn its tail towards the house.” Meaning, if the horse moves backward, turn it around and let its backward motion carry you to your destination.

This is a foundational lesson in self-cultivation. Many Sufis or ascetic traditions emphasized uprooting base desires and inclinations (such as lust and anger). They would say one must purify oneself so thoroughly that no trace of these remains. But Rumi presents another path: reform, therapy, gardening, not surgery and eradication. One must make good use of every force, even seemingly negative ones. Lust, which might draw us towards the worldly, can, by changing its “object” and “direction,” be guided towards the “afterlife” (ʿuqba) and sublime goals.

Rumi beautifully aligns this idea with the modern psychological theory of “sublimation.” He states: “When you bar its lust from a loaf of bread, / That lust will emerge from the noble intellect.” This means if you control the gluttonous desire for food, that very energy will gravitate towards intellect and noble thought. This is akin to pruning a tree: “Just as a branch you cut from a tree, / Its strength will emerge from a fortunate branch.” When you cut off superfluous branches that consume nourishment without bearing fruit, the life force is redirected towards productive branches. This demonstrates that all our existential elements, even those that seem crooked or deficient, can, with proper guidance, serve our perfection.

Key takeaways

• This verse introduces a story used by Rumi to capture the audience's attention and introduce the concept of 'spiritual regression' (pas-pas raftan).
• The guest in the story symbolizes a person who, instead of advancing, 'goes backward' towards the past and decline.
• Through the parable of the backward-moving horse, Rumi emphasizes that base instincts and desires should not be eradicated, but rather 'tamed' and 'guided'.
• The core of this teaching is the 'reform' and 'gardening' of the soul, not harsh surgery or absolute suppression.
• Psychic energies, even those seemingly negative, can be redirected towards spiritual perfection and growth by changing their orientation, akin to Freud's theory of 'sublimation'.
• Controlling gluttonous desires can redirect that very energy towards intellectual contemplation and spiritual elevation.