M6:3148 — تو هم از دشمن چو کینی می‌کشی / ای زبون شش غلط در هر ششی

Translation: You too, when you bear enmity towards an foe, / O you, subservient to the six (directions), mistaken in every one of your shash (directions/aspects). Meaning: This verse asserts that our animosity towards others often stems from a projection of our own faults, and any attempt to address it externally is a misguided effort by a perception trapped within the material world's six directions.

Mowlana, in this beyt and preceding verses, recounts the tale of the lion and the rabbit, where the lion attacks its own reflection in a well and perishes. This allegory forms the bedrock for understanding the present verse. Mowlana, with absolute certainty, regards this beyt as a profound psychological and mystical lesson pointing to the phenomenon of 'projection.' Many of us, in perceiving flaws in others and harboring enmity, are in reality witnessing shadows and reflections of our own imperfections, cast upon the mirror of another's being.

Specifically, the phrase 'O you, subservient to the six, mistaken in every one of your shash' is, for Mowlana, profoundly significant, and he offers an interpretation distinct from some other commentators. Some have construed 'shash' (six) as referring to the five senses plus an additional one. However, I am unequivocally convinced that 'shash' here denotes the 'six directions of the world'—east, west, north, south, up, and down. This material world, with all its directions, is the prison of our perception. As long as our gaze remains confined to these six directions and does not transcend them, any judgment or animosity we hold towards an enemy will be accompanied by 'mistake in every shash.' This means we are erroneous in every perceptual and existential aspect, for the foundation of our outlook rests upon the world of forms and appearances, rather than upon ultimate reality.

The enmity we perceive in an enemy is, on one level, an 'ʿaks-i Haqq' (reflection of God's attribute of wrath or Qahr), a manifestation of divine attributes in this world. But on another, simultaneous level, that enmity is an 'ʿaks-i to' (a reflection of you); meaning, it is a mirroring of our own traits and transgressions. Mowlana here superimposes two types of reflection. What you perceive as wrath and enmity has a root in the glorious manifestations of the Divine and also a root in your own crookedness. You, like the lion attacking its own image in the well, are in truth battling yourself. Your enemy, in this sense, 'was a mirror'—a surface for revealing your own ugliness. Mowlana states, 'When you saw your own ugliness, O beauty / Do not strike the mirror in the mirror.' Instead of blaming the mirror, you must strive for self-correction.

This insight is also illustrated by the simile of a star reflecting in water. If you deem a star in the water to be inauspicious, scattering dust on the water will not eliminate the star; it will merely obscure it from view. The inauspiciousness of the star, if it exists, is in the sky, and its remedy lies in the transcendental realm, not in the water. Similarly, the flaw or enmity you perceive in another, if it has roots in your own deficiency, must be 'washed from your own nature,' and you must apply yourself to self-amendment, rather than attacking the enemy. This approach shifts human beings from 'complaining' about the world to 'narrating' their own inner state, compelling them to take responsibility for their own perception and ethics.

Key takeaways

• Much of our animosity towards others is, in reality, a projection of our own flaws and shortcomings.
• Being 'subservient to the six' means being trapped within the six directions of the material world, leading to persistent erroneous perception.
• Your enemy acts as a mirror reflecting your own ugliness; instead of attacking the mirror, strive to rectify yourself.
• The enmity we perceive in others is both a reflection of God's wrathful attributes and a mirroring of our own internal faults.
• Attempting to change an enemy is like throwing dust on water to erase a star in the sky; the true root lies in the 'placeless' realm and within our own being.