M1:692 — منبسط بودیم یک جوهر همه / بی‌سر و بی پا بدیم آن سر همه

Translation: We were all expansive, a single essence, Without head or foot, we were all that origin. Meaning: This verse speaks of a pre-creation state where all beings were a single, boundless, formless essence, utterly devoid of physical distinctions or individual forms.

This verse is, without doubt, one of the keys to understanding Rumi's profound vision of the origin of existence and our true reality. When the Masnavi begins with, "Since they cut me from the reed-bed," the mind is immediately drawn to the question: where is that "reed-bed"? Here, Rumi himself answers, unveiling a great secret: "We were all expansive, a single essence / Without head or foot, we were all that origin."

In our primordial state, in that eternal reed-bed, we were nothing but a single, unified "essence" (gowhar). The word "expansive" (monbasit) here means all-encompassing, boundless, and without limitation; like a light shining across an endless expanse, or water that, before being poured into vessels, has no shape. "Without head or foot, we were all that origin" further emphasizes this formlessness and lack of distinction. We were devoid of the distinct organs and shapes that we later acquired upon entering the world of multiplicity. All of us were, in fact, that single, infinite "origin" or source.

This is the "world of formlessness" (ʿālam-e bī-ṣūratī) that Rumi speaks of repeatedly. A world not governed by time or space. This is a crucial point for understanding the language of mystics: they never speak of a historical or distant past. When they speak of "eternity" (azal), they mean "right now." Time is a natural creation, belonging to this elemental and corporeal world of ours. Beyond this world, in the realm of intellects, divinity, and divine power (ʿālam-e ʿoqūl, ʿālam-e olūhīyat, jabarūt), time has no meaning. We are the ones who, by comparing ourselves and this world, create past, future, and present. But in that primordial unity, all is one, and all is "that."

Rumi uses vivid analogies to explain this formlessness. We were like water, which itself is shapeless, but takes on various forms when poured into different containers. Or like a single white light that, when passing through a prism, separates into various colors (red, green, blue). But before that, it was whole. These analogies demonstrate that the multiplicity of the world and our apparent differences are merely external forms; in the depths of our being, we stem from a single, unified essence.

This truth of "formlessness" and "unity" in existence is the foundation of many of the Masnavi's teachings. It means that our soul is the origin, and the body is secondary; the forms of the world are "the foam of the sea," and one must pass beyond this foam to reach the true sea. When we were cut from that reed-bed, we were, in essence, separated from this world of unity and formlessness and entered this world of abundant forms and multiplicity. Yet, the reed's lament is always a reminder of that singular origin, and the longing to return to that reed-bed is our primary inner motivator. This separation is not loneliness; rather, it is a longing for a Companion whose presence is eternal and to whom return is always possible.

Key takeaways

• Our primordial existence was a single, boundless "essence" (gowhar), devoid of all distinction and form.
• Rumi's "reed-bed" (neyestān) symbolizes this "world of unity" and "formlessness."
• The concept of primordiality (azal) in mysticism signifies an eternal "right now," transcending time and space.
• The multiplicity and differences of this world are merely external forms; internally, all originate from a single, unified truth.
• This verse illuminates the root of "separation" (firaq) in the Masnavi: separation from a timeless, primordial unity.