M6:2186 — چیست امعان چشمه را کردن روان / چون ز تن جان رست گویندش روان

Translation: What is deep contemplation? It is making the spring flow. When the soul (jān) is liberated from the body, they call it the ravān.

Meaning: This couplet likens profound contemplation to setting one's inner spiritual spring in motion. It then defines ravān as the vital soul (jān) that has been freed from corporeal attachments and ascended to a higher state.

This couplet, drawing from a deeper thread in Rumi's Masnavi, offers not merely a definition of em'ān (deep contemplation) but a profound blueprint for spiritual journey and human transformation, one of Rumi's most fundamental teachings. Em'ān here signifies profound reflection, what Rumi refers to as 'making the spring flow.' I have repeatedly elucidated that, in Rumi's view, psychological stagnation—the cessation of the soul's inner spring—is the very root of sorrow, melancholy, and depression. It is akin to stagnant water, upon which debris and impurities inevitably accumulate. The only way to clear this debris is to set the water in motion, opening a channel for its continuous flow. Thus, true joy and renewed life are the fruits of letting this inner spring flow, for 'When the stream flows swiftly, grief does not remain in the hearts of gnostics' (Chūn be ghāyat tīz jū gardad ravān / Gham napāyad dar darūn-i ‘ārifān); when the channel is opened, grief cannot persist in the mystic's heart.

The second part of the couplet, however, clarifies a fundamental distinction between jān (vital soul) and ravān (human soul), a key point in Islamic mysticism and philosophy. In Persian, we have both jān and ravān. Jān, as Rumi states here and as others have affirmed, can be understood as animal life or vitality. Animals are jāndār (possessing jān), meaning they possess this vital force, which we share with them. But ravān is a term roughly equivalent to the Arabic rūḥ (spirit) and is used exclusively for humans; we would not speak of the ravān of a wolf or a horse.

Rumi attributes this distinction to a 'sage' (hakim) and praises him for it. This hakim (whom some have ascribed to Ibn Sina or Sanai, though Rumi typically did not laud philosophers in this manner) offers a profound definition of ravān: 'When the jān is liberated from the body, they call it the ravān.' This does not mean the jān dies, but rather that it transcends the bonds of the body and its attachments, freeing itself from being a 'servant' or 'follower' of the physical form. In essence, this is the elevation of the jān from an animalistic stage to a human and spiritual one. Rumi unequivocally states that it is from this point that 'a human becomes human; otherwise, before that, they are the same as animals.' Thus, this couplet is not merely a linguistic definition but an invitation to an ontological transformation—a call to a spiritual life that transcends mere biological existence, emphasizing that the truth of humanity lies in this liberation and ascent of the soul.

Key takeaways

• Deep contemplation (em'ān-i nazar) is equated with activating the soul's inner spring of vitality.
• According to Rumi, spiritual stagnation and emotional dullness are the roots of grief and melancholy; its flow brings joy.
• Jān (vital soul) refers to the animalistic life force, common to both humans and animals.
• Ravān (human soul) is the jān that has liberated itself from bodily constraints and attained a human-spiritual state.
• True humanity is achieved through the liberation and ascension of the soul from physical attachments.