M6:3342 — بی ز تقلیدی نظر را پیشه کن / هم برای عقل خود اندیشه کن

Translation: Without imitation, make insight your profession; And for your own intellect, engage in deep reflection. Meaning: In this couplet, Rumi invites the reader to cultivate intellectual independence, warning against blind imitation and urging each individual to perceive and reflect upon truth using their own faculties of mind and sight.

This couplet, unequivocally, presents one of the most fundamental and profound messages of the Masnavi: a call to intellectual independence – independence in thought, perception, and judgment. Rumi tells us that our eyes and ears are trusts from God, so why should we allow them to be held hostage by the views and judgments of others? This seemingly simple instruction, however, is prone to misinterpretation and intellectual pitfalls.

Rumi first lays the groundwork: "You have an eye; look with your own eye; / Do not look through the eye of an ignorant fool." Do not look through another's eyes; let your own perception be the medium, not that of a simpleton who might obscure the truth. Similarly, regarding hearing, he states: "You have an ear; listen with your own ear; / Why should your ear be held captive by fools?" Do not surrender your hearing to those who would inject falsehoods disguised as truths. This sets the stage for our beyt, which explicitly declares: "Without imitation, make insight your profession; / And for your own intellect, engage in deep reflection."

The critical point to grasp here is the meaning of "your own intellect" (ʿaql-i khwud). Rumi never advocates reliance on the partial intellect (ʿaql-i juzwī), the intellect enslaved by desires and fleeting passions. He refers to this partial intellect with expressions like "The partial intellect brought disgrace upon intellect." His intended meaning for "your own intellect" is a liberated intellect, purified from attachments and freed from the captivity of fleeting fashions and emotions. This is not to suggest that any passing thought that enters one's mind should be taken as the absolute truth; such an approach is a dangerous trap leading to self-deception. Rather, it implies free thinking with an intellect that knows its path and the proper tools for truth-seeking. This free intellect is capable of seeing beyond the superficial chaff and foam of the world, refusing to be fixated on the transient and oblivious to the underlying 'water.' This is an invitation to remove the blindfolds that hold human reason captive – highwaymen who, day after day, through various pretexts ranging from myths to propaganda, steal away intellects. The danger posed by these intellectual brigands might even exceed that of external enemies, as Rumi himself states elsewhere: "O kings, we have slain the outer foe; / But a worse foe remains within." This "inner foe" can very well be blind imitation and an enslaved intellect.

We are advised not to "borrow glasses"; that is, not to let others see and think on our behalf. This intellectual independence is a prerequisite for attaining self-knowledge, which, in Rumi's view, is the "root of the root of the root of religion." If one seeks truth, one must pursue it personally with a pure heart and a discerning ear, taking only what one genuinely discovers, rather than merely hearing a story to retell. Rumi even recounts the story of Khwarazmshah and the Amir's horse to illustrate the danger of entrusting one's intellect to another, even though in that specific narrative, the king trusts a wise and pious individual. Rumi's overarching point, however, regardless of the outcome of that particular story, concerns the fundamental act of surrendering one's intellect and allowing it to be held captive, which he deems extremely perilous. Humans must think and perceive with their own free, God-given intellect; only then will they see "creation with the Creator," and even perceive creation as "effaced within the Creator."

Key takeaways

• Spiritual and mystical journey is fundamentally built on intellectual independence and freedom from blind imitation.
• "One's own intellect" refers to a liberated intellect, purified from desires, not every raw and incomplete thought.
• Rumi explicitly advises against borrowing one's vision and judgment from others.
• Eyes and ears are personal tools for perceiving truth and should not be held captive by others.
• This call is a means to combat the "inner foe," which is the enslaved and submissive intellect.