M6:1465 — چون شنیدی شرح بحر نیستی / کوش دایم تا برین بحر ایستی

Translation: Since you have heard the exposition of the sea of non-being, Strive always that upon this sea you may stand. Meaning: The verse summons the listener, once the grandeur of non-being is understood, to not merely accept it, but to anchor oneself upon this boundless expanse and take root within it.

After Mowlana calls upon us to 'look' and 'see with the eye of the heart,' presenting humanity as 'all eye' and 'mere gaze,' he finally arrives at a central key to spiritual knowledge in the Masnavi: Nīstī (non-being or nothingness). This verse invites us, having heard the exposition of this 'sea of Nīstī,' to strive perpetually to stand firm upon it and establish ourselves within its depths.

I have said before that this concept of Nīstī is one of the most crucial insights in the Masnavi, frequently reiterated in Mowlana's discourse. Nīstī here does not signify absolute void, but rather an empty, formless stage, which serves as the 'workshop of God' and the 'workshop of masters.' As Mowlana himself states: "For the true workshop is that Nīstī, which is void, unmarked, and empty," and "All masters, to manifest their work, seek Nīstī and a place of humility." Any master, to bring forth a creation, seeks an empty and unadorned scene; a painter paints on a blank canvas, not one already inscribed. A builder seeks empty land upon which to erect a structure. Thus, we too, must become a blank canvas.

It is from this premise that Mowlana concludes: "Therefore, the Master of masters, the Self-Sufficient One, has His workshop in Nīstī and non-existence." God operates where the ground is empty, where there is 'no' and 'nothing.' "Wherever this Nīstī is greater, there is the work of God and His workshop." The more this Nīstī and emptiness reside within a person's being, the more it becomes the workshop and locus of Divine manifestation. For humans, this Nīstī means emptying the heart of ulterior motives, afflictions, preconceptions, pre-understandings, attachments, desires, whims, and passions. This is the true 'humility' (inkisār), the breaking of the ego, and genuine lowliness, not a feigned modesty. Dervishes, for this reason, have surpassed all others because they seek this station of Nīstī, taking little from the world and practicing asceticism: "Since Nīstī is this highest level, Dervishes have outstripped all others."

This Nīstī also implies abandoning the 'false self' and attaining the 'true self.' This station is none other than 'formlessness' (bī-ṣūratī), from which the world of forms originated. It is like water, which is colorless but takes on the hue of any vessel, or wind, which is shapeless but affects all it blows upon. Mowlana himself identifies as this 'reed' (ney), signifying his ontological nothingness. "We are like the reed, and the song within us is from You." We are contingent beings, and only God is the Necessary Existent. This negation of the false self and attainment of the true self is a path that one must traverse through reliance on God and persistent struggle against the ego. The goal of this 'constant striving' to 'stand upon this sea of Nīstī' is not to be lost within it, but to achieve stability and take root in this boundless realm of divine knowledge and presence.

Key takeaways

• Non-being (Nīstī) is the workshop of the Divine, manifesting its work in void and unmarked space.
• For divine reception, one must empty oneself of the false self and earthly attachments.
• Standing firm upon the sea of Nīstī demands constant striving for true humility and the breaking of the ego.
• Dervishes, by seeking Nīstī and formlessness (bī-ṣūratī), surpass all others and attain higher spiritual stations.
• This Nīstī is identical to 'formlessness' (bī-ṣūratī): an emptying of determinations and preconceptions to become the Divine's blank canvas.
• The concept of Nīstī is rooted in the understanding that 'We are naughts, and You are the manifest existence; You are the Absolute Being, our existence.'