M6:1133 — بانگ آمد نه بینداز از برون / وانگهانی اندر آ تو اندرون

Translation: A call came: 'No, cast off from outside / And only then, come thou within.' Meaning: This verse conveys a divine summons to shed all external burdens and inner impurities before seeking entry into the sacred realm. True spiritual passage is conditioned upon radical inner lightness and detachment.

This verse appears within a narrative about a caravan seeking shelter on a cold winter day. One traveler suggests: "Let us cast ourselves down here for a few days," implying a desire for comfort and respite. However, "a call came forth" (bāng āmad)—a sudden, divine command: "No, cast off from outside, and only then, come thou within." This absolute injunction defines the prerequisite for entering that sacred precinct as being unburdened and purified.

I believe this "cast off from outside" (bīndāz az borūn) refers to "all that must be cast off" (har ānch afkandanīst), as elaborated by Mowlana in the subsequent verse. It is not merely about discarding material possessions, though that is certainly part of it. Rather, it encompasses everything: "Do not come with impure or soiled garments, do not come with heavy burdens, do not come with superfluous goods, do not come with corrupt imaginations." This is a comprehensive command for liberation from anything that creates 'weight,' whether physically or, more importantly, spiritually. The condition for admission into this "sublime assembly" (majlis-e sanī), this exalted and luminous gathering, is to come as "your own pure self" (khod-e khod-e khodat), stripped of attachments and cleansed of impurities.

This insight stands in contrast to the views of some Sufis who advocated for the eradication of base desires and passions. Mowlana himself, in the same context, speaks of an unruly horse (representing the unruly ego). He advises against killing or rejecting this horse; instead, one must rein it in and "turn its tail towards the home" so that even in its backward movement, it advances towards the goal. This teaches the meaning of 'reforming' and 'gardening' the self, rather than 'surgical removal' or 'uprooting' desires. However, when it comes to entering the divine presence, the command in this verse is more absolute: anything external to one's essence, anything that constitutes a 'heavy burden,' must be "cast off from outside." This is not about managing or redirecting; it is about radical purification and letting go.

Mowlana does not here arrive at an absolute negation of desire, unlike Buddhist teachings or certain poetic expressions such as "The ascetic's life was spent in longing for paradise / He knew not that paradise lies in abandoning longing" (Sa'eb Tabrizi). Rather, as Mowlana himself states: "O Transformer, make its passion for the hereafter" (Ey mobaddel, shahvat-ash oqbayīsh kon)—meaning, we should redirect our inclinations and shift the objects of our desires from the transient to the enduring. But when the entry into that "sublime assembly" is at stake, the command "cast off from outside" signifies shedding all specific forms and weights, so that the soul may enter with utmost lightness and in its purest, unadulterated form. This is not Freudian sublimation; it is a profound self-stripping before encountering absolute Presence.

Key takeaways

• Entry into the divine presence requires shedding all external burdens and internal impurities.
• The 'call came' (bāng āmad) is a direct, absolute command for radical purification and self-stripping before presence.
• To enter the divine 'sublime assembly,' one must come as one's pure, essential self.
• Inner lightness and detachment from attachments are the path to deeper spiritual experience.
• Mowlana emphasizes casting off what obstructs entry to the sacred, distinct from eradicating inherent desires.