M6:1780 — گفت نه من پیش ازو زاییده‌ام / بی ز ریشی بس جهان را دیده‌ام

Translation: He said, "No, I was born before it, I have seen much of the world without a beard." Meaning: This verse captures the old priest's witty retort to Mawlana's playful inquiry about who is older, he or his beard, emphasizing his existence long before his beard grew.

I discern that Mawlana, within this seemingly simple verse, has concealed a profound and universal lesson behind a playful dialogue. He recounts an encounter he had with an old Christian priest. Mawlana's question to the priest is, "Are you older, or is your beard?" And the priest, with keen wit, utters this very verse, stating that he was born before his beard and has seen much of the world without it. This reply, without doubt, signals an alert and quick-witted nature. But that is not the whole story. Mawlana, in his subsequent commentary, extends this question to all of us: "Your beard has turned white, it has changed, matured—but why haven't you changed?"

It is here that the verse reveals its true meaning. This is no longer a mere question posed to an old priest; this is an address to "everyone," to every human being who has lived through years. The whitened beard and the aging body are signs of the passage of time and physical changes. But alongside these external transformations, has an inner transformation, a spiritual ripening, and a genuine growth occurred? Have we merely passed through time, or have we learned from it? Mawlana reminds us that self-knowledge, the very "root of the root of the root of religion" as I have previously noted, manifests itself precisely here. To observe the change in one's beard yet overlook the change within oneself is a sign of neglecting this most crucial journey. This verse is a summons not only to listen to the tale of our external limbs—each an "archive of stories" in its own right—but also to attend to the narrative of our soul, and to see whether this narrative speaks of growth and evolution or of stagnation and arrest. Mawlana's aim is to rouse us to this inner transformation, not merely to the passage of life.

Key takeaways

• The mere passage of time and physical changes do not necessarily equate to inner maturity and spiritual transformation.
• Through a subtle anecdote, Mawlana invites the reader to self-knowledge and to question the extent of their spiritual growth.
• A whitened beard symbolizes time's external changes; the core question concerns the inner transformation of its owner.
• This verse serves as a jolt, urging us to move beyond observing the passage of time and to reflect on the quality of our inner life.
• One must constantly ask whether, alongside the body's decay, the soul has also evolved or remained stagnant.