M6:2434 — آن یکی شاخ که آمد سوی یم / گشت شیرین آب تلخ هم‌چو سم

Translation: That one branch which came towards the sea, Turned the bitter water sweet, like nectar. Meaning: This verse recounts a fundamental transformation in nature, illustrating how a divine manifestation can turn bitterness into sweetness and transmute the very elements of the world.

This verse emerges from the heart of a profound and enigmatic narrative: the dream of the Jewish man in Rumi's story of the three travelers. Here, Rumi, without any symbolic interpretation, adheres to the literal unfolding of the tale, setting aside the allegorical readings of Mullah Hadi Sabzevari who interprets the 'branch' as prophecy or divine authority. For us, the essence lies in the experience and transformation that arises from the very core of the story itself.

The branch, which sprouts from a mountain fractured into three by 'the Light of Truth' (noor-e haq), symbolizes the astonishing impact of divine manifestation on nature and external reality. Rumi frequently alludes to how such a manifestation shatters and disperses a mountain, just as the Quran recounts God's epiphany to Mount Sinai and Moses' subsequent swoon (saʿqā). This 'heavy word' (qawlan thaqīlan) of revelation is so potent that it shatters any existence, even a colossal mountain, yet simultaneously empowers it with the capacity for transformation. It is here that we witness one of these mountain branches, upon reaching the sea, transforming its bitter and poisonous waters into sweetness.

This miraculous transformation is not merely a tale; rather, it is a reflection of a deep mystical knowledge. A knowledge that asserts how nature, when confronted by 'auspicious and blessed revelation' (waḥy-e homāyūn-e mostaṭāb), undergoes a profound change. Revelation is not merely 'speaking'; it is a 'subtle hint' (eshāra-ye khafiya) and 'commanding without language' (bī-zabān amr kardan). Just as thirst and hunger wordlessly command our bodies to satisfy their needs, divine manifestation, without mediation or speech, transforms the very truth of things. This is the point where the boundaries between inner and outer, and between the natural and the transcendent, dissolve.

Although this experience is recounted within the dream of a Jewish man, Rumi himself acknowledges that in narrating such dreams, he is, in effect, recounting his own experiences and those of mystics akin to him. It is here that Rumi's 'own life,' replete with discovery, intuition, and the attainment of certainty (yaqīn), flows into the narratives of the Masnavi. This transformation from bitterness to sweetness also hints at the 'polish of griefs' (jalā-al-aḥzān) within the Masnavi, where the sorrows and bitterness of separation are, through the light of love, transmuted into the joy and nectar of reunion. The Masnavi teaches us that the world, with all its bitterness, if viewed in the light of divine truth, can acquire a sweet and healing taste.

Key takeaways

• Divine manifestation possesses the power to transform the bitterest aspects of the world into sweetness and healing.
• Encountering the Light of Truth transforms and transmutes even the grandest natural entities, such as mountains.
• Divine revelation is not always linguistic; it can transform reality through the wordless signs of nature.
• Rumi utilizes dream narratives to convey his profoundest mystical experiences and those of other mystics.
• This verse symbolizes the Masnavi's 'polish of griefs' (jalā-al-aḥzān), where suffering and separation ultimately lead to the nectar of reunion.