M6:1778 — خود نبود از والدینت اختبار / هم نبودت عبرت از لیل و نهار

Translation: You gained no ikhtibār (experience/lesson) from your parents; Nor did you take ʿibrat (heed/counsel) from the night and day.

Meaning: This verse chastises an individual who, despite the long passage of years and witnessing countless examples, has learned no lessons from their forebears or from the continuous cycles of time, remaining instead in a state of spiritual immaturity.

This verse belongs to a category of Mowlana's admonishing lines, delivered with a resolute and direct tone, in which he censures an individual who has lived long in the world but remains unripe from its experiences. It is, in essence, a sharp and poignant question to the reader: Are you, too, like this?

Mowlana addresses someone whose life has been long, who has 'boiled much' (bas bejūshīdī), meaning they have strived and been amidst the vicissitudes of time, yet 'you have not even become semi-cooked, O dried meat' (tark-jūsh ham nageshtī ay qadīd). Like old, dried meat that has boiled endlessly but neither cooked through nor even partially softened. You are 'rawer than those who have seen nothing' (az nādīdegān nāshītarī) – a profoundly severe indictment.

In this particular couplet, Mowlana points to two fundamental sources of gaining experience and counsel, both of which the addressee has neglected:

1. Parents and Ancestors (vāledeynat ikhtibār): Ikhtibār here means experience and learning. Mowlana states that you have not learned lessons or gained experience from your parents and preceding generations. Those who have walked the path and accumulated experiences could have been your teachers, but you have not drunk from this spring. This is a deep allusion to the importance of intergenerational transmission of wisdom; if neglected, each generation is condemned to repeat the errors of the past.

2. The Cycle of Night and Day (ʿibrat az leyl-o nahār): The second source of wisdom is nature itself and the revolving cycle of night and day – the passage of time and the world's transformations. Every day and night that comes and goes carries lessons and signs of evanescence and permanence, of change and constancy, and of the wisdom inherent in creation. One who fails to take ʿibrat (heed) from these – meaning, one who does not pass through them to grasp their profound message – how can they claim understanding? This immaturity stems from an inability to read the book of creation and the signs in the cosmos and in the self.

Immediately following this verse, Mowlana narrates the tale of a mystic (ʿārif) who asks an old priest: 'Are you older, Master, or your beard?' The priest replies: 'I was born before it.' The mystic retorts: 'Your beard turned white by change / But your ill nature did not turn, it did not become good.' That is, your beard matured and achieved its perfection, but your inner disposition did not change for the better. 'It was born after you and surpassed you / You are so dry because of your desire for tharīd (worldly comforts).' The beard that grew after you, surpassed you and changed, but you, clinging to worldly goods, have remained dry and unfruitful. 'You are of the same hue you were born with / You have not taken a single step beyond it.' You are still the raw dough placed in the 'oven of time' (tannūr-e rūzegār), yet 'you are still sour buttermilk in a mine / From which no pure butter will emerge.' In other words, you have never transformed into pure, unadulterated essence. It is here that Mowlana, with a biting tone, says: 'You are still dough, still clay-mortar / Though you've been in the fire's oven for ages.' This is the story of one who spends their life in the crucible of events but never ripens.

This verse and the following ones serve as a warning against superficiality and spiritual inertia on the path of self-perfection. Gaining experience and taking heed is not merely observing events; it is contemplating them and allowing their imprint to be left upon the soul. This is the 'boiling' and 'ripening' in Mowlana's school, where many boil but are never truly cooked.

Key takeaways

• The mere passage of time and witnessing events does not, in itself, guarantee experience or spiritual maturity.
• Deep comprehension of lessons from parents and ancestors is a fundamental way to transcend immaturity.
• The cycles of night and day, and natural transformations, contain divine wisdom from which one must take heed.
• Disregarding sources of counsel and experience leads to stagnation in spiritual growth, even after years of striving.
• The unripe individual is like dough placed in the world's oven, yet never transforming into bread.