M6:1023 — استخوان و باد روپوشست و بس / در دو عالم غیر یزدان نیست کس

Translation: These bone and breath are but a mere covering, / In both realms, no one exists save God. Meaning: Our physical body and vital breath are mere temporary coverings. In all realms of existence, from this world to the next, there is ultimately no true being or entity other than God.

This particular couplet from Mowlana is, without question, one of the most direct and unequivocal expressions of waḥdat al-wujūd, the unity of existence, in the entire Masnavi. Observe how Mowlana portrays this profound ontological truth with such simple, unadorned words: "bone and breath," which signify our physical and vital presence in this world, are "but a mere covering." They are a veil, a transient manifestation, over a far more profound reality.

I firmly maintain that Mowlana subscribed to both waḥdat al-shuhūd (unity of perception) and waḥdat al-wujūd (unity of existence); and this beyt, unequivocally, demonstrates his adherence to the latter. Let me clarify the distinction between the two. Waḥdat al-shuhūd refers to a stage of spiritual insight where the mystic perceives all multiplicity as ultimately one. They behold the inner essence of every phenomenon as connected to the Divine Reality, viewing everything as a manifestation of that one Truth. For example, when you look at me, you perceive a single individual, not billions of disparate cells; my unified personality transcends the multiplicity of cells, and you see me as "one." This is a unitive perception.

Waḥdat al-wujūd, however, goes beyond this. It is no longer merely an epistemological or perceptual quality but an ontological truth. In waḥdat al-wujūd, the mystic not only sees everything as one but grasps that, in reality and at the core of existence, there is fundamentally "no multiplicity." That is, it's not merely seeing a hundred thousand things as one; rather, there are no hundred thousand things to begin with. There is only "one," and it is that very "one" that we perceive. Mowlana's line, "In both realms, no one exists save God," signifies that true existence belongs exclusively to God. Everything apart from Him is a temporary appearance, a "covering." This transcends mere unitive perception; it is a belief in the inherent unity of reality itself.

This unitive perspective resonates deeply with other pronouncements by Mowlana. Recall his words on prayer: "Be You the speaker, be You the listener, be You the Self, / We are all but corpses, for all our striving." Here, too, he indicates that in the ultimate depth and authenticity of action, even in the act of a servant's prayer, God is the primary agent. He is the one who speaks, the one who hears, and the one who answers. We—our very "bone and breath"—are but "corpses" engaged in a superficial "striving." This striving and this "corpse" are precisely the "covering." Our apparent identity and multitudinous forms are merely a veil over His absolute agency.

From a more philosophical standpoint, we can further analyze this concept of being a "covering." Philosophers such as Mullā Ṣadrā posit that perceptions possess an "emanative subsistence" (qiyām ṣudūrī) from the soul, rather than an "inherent subsistence" (qiyām ḥulūlī). This means perceptions do not enter the soul; rather, the soul "creates" and "emanates" them. Similarly, the world of multiplicity is an appearance emanated from the absolute existence, rather than independent existences entering into being. Our bone and breath are forms "emanated" from the Divine Reality, and in relation to that Reality, they hold no independent essence; they are like foam on the boundless ocean. This is an ontological truth that Mowlana expresses with utmost clarity in this beyt.

Key takeaways

• Our physical body and vital breath are merely transient coverings or veils over the ultimate Divine Reality.
• This beyt is a clear and decisive statement of waḥdat al-wujūd (unity of existence), meaning that at the core of reality, there is no multiplicity, and only the singular Divine Being holds true essence.
• Mowlana subscribed to both waḥdat al-shuhūd (perceiving multiplicity as one) and waḥdat al-wujūd (the ontological reality of existence being one).
• In every action, even a devotee's prayer, the true and original agent is God alone; our every deed is a "covering" over His absolute agency.
• The world of multiplicity and material forms are like the foam on the sea, emanated from the boundless ocean of absolute existence, possessing no independent being.