M6:3446 — تو برون رو هم ز افلاک و دوار / وانگهان نَظّاره کن آن کار و بار

Translation: You too, transcend the heavens and their revolutions, Only then will you observe their deeds and workings.

Meaning: To truly grasp the activities and essence of prophets and saints, one must rise beyond the physical world and its constraints; only then can their inner, transcendent realm be perceived.

This verse is a gem that Mevlana offers us to elucidate the kār-o-bār (deeds and workings) of prophets and saints. After describing their outward appearance as being among us, while their inner reality soars in a sublime realm – as he states, "Outwardly he stands before the Sultan / In the gardens of the Unseen, his soul is soaring" – he suddenly invites us to transcend our own limitations to grasp their true nature.

In clear terms, Mevlana says: Do not imagine that prophets and messengers are prisoners of the confines of nature and this sensory world. No, they dwell in this world yet traverse boundless spaces. Just as the moon crosses all constellations in one night, the thoughts and spirits of these great souls can fly beyond the heavens and stars. Thus, this invitation to "transcend the heavens and their revolutions" is an epistemic call. Mevlana tells us that as long as you are imprisoned by nature and bound by the material world, you lack the capacity to see and comprehend their actions beyond matter. It is as if he tells us: You see us with the physical eye, but our true dominion is elsewhere, our realm of sovereignty is elsewhere. This very sentiment is echoed in Divan-e Shams: "I was a bird of divinity, you saw I became human / I saw not its snare suddenly, and therein was caught / See us not with the physical eye, come there and see us / For here I am lightly burdened." This means one must step into another realm to comprehend our true kār-o-bār.

This is the fundamental problem we face: human beings trapped in the material world are incapable of perceiving trans-sensory realms. Mevlana uses the analogy of a chick in an egg, unable to hear the birds in the sky or comprehend their flight. This incapacity is a common failing, particularly among some modern scientists, who reduce everything to sensory and inductive experience, deeming anything that doesn't fit this framework as invisible and unscientific. But Mevlana regards this reductionism as a grave error.

Prophets and saints live in this world, but not like others. Their outward form is among creation, but their inner reality is in the heavens. They are angelic in character, constantly soaring in the realm of sublimity, intoxicated by "fresh drink." Their inner being is joy and delight, though their outward appearance may seem sorrowful. Indeed, within a body that resembles a grave, they possess a delightful and endless world. Their actions transcend matter and operate in another realm, and until the seeker frees themselves from the constraints of this revolving world and its heavens—that is, from the bonds of nature and the senses—they will not see or comprehend those deeds and workings. Mevlana's invitation is to liberate the mind from the grip of the natural world and open the eye of the heart to perceive transcendent realities.

Key takeaways

• To grasp the truth of prophets and saints, one must transcend the limitations of material perception.
• Prophets and saints, though outwardly in this world, inwardly soar in sublime and boundless realms.
• The true 'workings' of these great souls exist beyond the heavens and the cycles of time and space.
• Mevlana rejects reductionism in understanding truth, likening it to a chick confined within an egg.
• This verse is an invitation to liberate oneself from the prison of nature and open the heart's eye to transcendent realities.