M6:1854 — تا خم یک‌رنگی عیسی ما / بشکند نرخ خم صدرنگ را

Translation: So that the vat of oneness of our Jesus May break the price of the hundred-colored vat. Meaning: Rumi alludes to a legend of Jesus as a dyer who could produce any color from a single vat. This symbolizes how spiritual unity and colorlessness (lack of distinguishing forms) transcends and devalues the multiplicity and superficial allure of this world's diverse forms.

I contend that this verse is not merely a beautiful mystical image, but a profound articulation of Rumi's existential philosophy. He tells us that the inner reality of this world is not multiplicity and division, but unity and oneness. Rumi here alludes to a well-known story about Jesus, which, though not in the Gospels, was prevalent in Persian mystical traditions: that before he became a carpenter, Jesus worked for a time as a dyer. Customers would entrust their clothes to him, requesting specific colors. And Jesus would immerse all those garments into a single vat, and from that very vat, he would retrieve them in the diverse and desired colors for each customer. This 'vat of oneness of our Jesus' is a metaphor for a truth that, in its absolute colorlessness and unity, is the source and origin of all colors and forms.

In this parable, Rumi contrasts the vat of our Jesus with the 'hundred-colored vat' of this world. The 'hundred-colored vat' symbolizes the endless multiplicity and variety of the world of forms and appearances; a world where everything has its own distinct color and hue, and differences are highlighted. Yet, from Rumi's perspective, this multiplicity is a superficial manifestation, its roots lying in that very 'colorlessness' and 'formlessness' (bi-ṣūratī). As he says elsewhere, 'Colors, and these peaces, and these wars / Their principles are those colorlessnesses.' This means the principles of all colors and forms lie in absolute colorlessness, and this is a central point of Rumi's epistemology.

This 'colorless world' is the same 'salt-marsh' (namaksar) that Rumi refers to in subsequent verses. A salt-marsh is a place where everything that falls into it loses its color and becomes 'colorless' (bi-talvin). A dead body falling into a salt-marsh is 'neither a donkey nor dead; it is salt.' This transfiguration is a tangible image of the attainment of unity in the realm of meaning. Our world, though outwardly full of colorful distinctions, ultimately sees the earth of the grave render all diverse beings as one. This is the 'salt-marsh of outer bodies,' but Rumi, with his profound insight, also points to a 'salt-marsh of meanings' (namaksar-i maʿāni), which he calls 'spiritual' (maʿnavī).

This spiritual salt-marsh of meanings is that higher realm which, from eternity to eternity, is 'ever-new' (andar novīst) and never ages. Oldness comes from time; whatever is exposed to the passage of time ages and brings forth weariness. But in that realm beyond time, in the 'Dahr,' everything is perpetually new. This continuous renewal of existence is one of Rumi's most crucial teachings: 'This world is renewed every day, yet we are unaware / Of its renewal within permanence.' He believes that weariness and sorrow are the fruit of our misunderstanding of this world and our failure to perceive its constant 'newness.' Mystics, seeing this renewal with the eye of insight, do not harbor lasting weariness within them; 'Grief does not abide in the minds of the Gnostics' (ʿārifān), and with every breath, they celebrate two Eids. This renewal pertains not only to the outer world but also to one's inner world; one must renew oneself, one's thoughts and habits, break the cage of habit, and with one's own free will, bring a fresh color to life to be freed from weariness. This oneness, this colorlessness, and this newness are the aim and culmination of the spiritual journey in the Mathnawi.

Key takeaways

• The truth of the world lies in unity and oneness, not in apparent multiplicity and differences.
• Colorlessness and formlessness are the origin and source of all the diverse colors and forms of the world.
• The world of meaning, like a salt-marsh, dissolves all differences into sameness and colorlessness.
• That realm of meanings transcends time, remaining perpetually new, where oldness and weariness have no sway.
• Weariness and sorrow stem from a failure to perceive the world's continuous renewal; Gnostics see this newness with the eye of insight.
• True freedom comes from breaking the cage of habits and constantly renewing ourselves and our inner world.