M6:3706 — از قدح‌های صور بگذر مه‌ایست / باده در جامست لیک از جام نیست

Translation: Pass beyond the cups of forms, do not halt, / The wine is in the goblet, but not of the goblet. Meaning: This verse urges us to look beyond the captivating appearances and forms of the world, seeking instead the formless truth and absolute meaning that lies beyond them.

Mowlana, in this and subsequent verses, introduces one of the Masnavi's most pivotal insights: the concept of 'formlessness' (bi-ṣūratī). He asserts that this world, teeming with forms, originates from the 'formless.' The term ṣūrat (form) in Mowlana's lexicon carries various meanings: sometimes it denotes a quality, at other times an individual manifestation of a universal concept, or the physical actualization of an idea.

I insist that we must not be captivated by these forms. The world is not constituted by forms; rather, it is founded upon meanings—meanings that have manifested and settled within these forms. Just as one must push aside the foam on water to reach the water itself, so too must forms be set aside to access the 'formless meaning' that resides behind them. Only then will you perceive that this world, far from being a realm of particulars, is fundamentally a world of universals, which have taken on the guise of individuals. This is precisely the Platonic thinking that Mowlana eloquently articulates.

This verse contains a profound ethical and mystical counsel: "Pass beyond the cups of forms, do not halt, / The wine is in the goblet, but not of the goblet." Anything in this world that intoxicates you is akin to wine poured into a cup. Yet, these cups themselves are not the creators of the wine. When you behold a beautiful flower or a captivating person, the beauty is in that flower or person, but it does not originate from them. This entire cosmos is a trustee, indebted to a hidden treasury into which these precious meanings—be they beauty, knowledge, insight, or spirit—have been poured; a treasury whose source lies elsewhere.

I often point out that while the relativity of beauty is a common contemporary notion, Mowlana speaks of the 'reality of beauty' and the 'meaning of beauty' which is inherently formless. This formless essence then takes on the forms of beautiful flowers, people, or designs. You must not pause and become infatuated with these circumscribed beauties; rather, you must be captivated by 'Beauty itself,' which is absolute beauty—absolute, meaning liberated from any form. These restricted beauties are merely exhibitions and representations of absolute beauty, and to grasp its truth, one must transcend the forms. It is much like Majnun, who would tell others, "Layla's form is but the jug, and her beauty the wine; / God gives me wine from her goblet." Layla's beauty was for him like wine served from the vessel of her being, while others perceived only vinegar.

Absolute and perfected formlessness resides in the essence of God Most High. All beings, both transcendent and natural, possess form and have emerged from God's formless essence. This implies that these pluralities originate from a pure unity. Even in the realm of language, formless thoughts materialize in the form of words, and we must set these words aside to reach the core meaning, thereby discovering the formless through form.

Mowlana advises further: "Open your wide mouth towards the Wine-Giver; / When the wine arrives, the goblet will not be lacking." He means that you should ask the Wine-Giver for the wine itself, not the cup. If the wine is granted, the cup will accompany it; indeed, it may even be granted without a cup, much like the 'bread without the substance of dough.'

Another point regarding forms is their inherent flaw: "The least defect of that which is endowed with qualities / Is that when you see it repeatedly, weariness overtakes you." The slightest flaw of formed things, even the most beloved, is that repeated exposure leads to weariness, eroding the initial fascination. Formlessness, however, perpetually evokes wonder, being itself the source of a hundred kinds of instruments from its very lack of instrumentality.

Key takeaways

• The world is fundamentally composed of formless meanings that manifest within forms.
• True and absolute beauty is formless; forms are merely its manifestations.
• One must transcend fascination with appearances and forms to grasp the underlying essence and hidden meaning.
• Formed and limited things, even the most beloved, become wearying with repetition; but the formless evokes perpetual wonder.
• The seeker should ask the Wine-Giver for the 'wine' itself, not the 'goblet,' for with the wine comes the goblet, or perhaps no goblet is needed at all.