M6:345 — توبه می‌آرند هم پروانه‌وار / باز نسیان می‌کشدشان سوی کار

Translation: They bring repentance like a moth, yet again forgetfulness draws them to the fire. Meaning: This verse describes individuals who undertake repentance without firm resolve; however, due to their forgetfulness and insatiate desire, they repeatedly break their vows, returning to their former errors and making no true spiritual progress.

This verse from the Masnavi offers a precise and poignant depiction of insincere seekers and unseeing wayfarers; those whose steps on the path of truth are not firm, and who have not made a decisive resolution. Mowlana states that such individuals perpetually mark time, caught in an unending oscillation between advancing and retreating. They repent, but before long, they break their repentance, and this futile cycle repeats endlessly.

The analogy of the moth is central here. The moth, according to ancient belief, is a creature without memory. It beholds the fire and mistakes it for light. With eager desire and greed, it flutters towards it. Yet, as soon as it draws near and its wings are scorched, it recoils, wailing and weeping, like a child pouring salt on a wound. But what prompts its return? Nisyan (forgetfulness)! The amnesia of past pain and burning, coupled with raw desire and the false promise of gain, draws it back to the very same fire.

This cycle continues until the moth's immature intellect and sluggish memory, after repeated scorchings, finally begin to function. It is then that it 'gives ten' to the fire; that is, it repudiates it with all its might, finally understanding that the deceptive light was nothing but nar (fire) and searing pain. This parable elucidates the condition of a seeker caught between aspiration and action, between resolve and vacillation. Ultimately, such a person must attain a deeper insight to distinguish between the light of truth and the deceptive fire of illusions and egoistic desires. Otherwise, they will remain trapped in this cycle of repentance and broken vows. This is not merely the moth's struggle with an external fire; it is humanity's struggle with an inner fire, with forgetfulness, with avarice, and with the lack of sidq (sincerity) that prevents repentance from enduring and steps from becoming firm. Here, Mowlana speaks of a heart that is nāsi (forgetful) and mast (intoxicated by heedlessness).

Key takeaways

• Forgetfulness and lack of insight trap individuals in a futile cycle of repentance and relapse.
• Greed and heedless desire blind one to the distinction between true light and destructive fire.
• Without firm resolve and steadfast steps, acts of repentance remain temporary and fruitless.
• The experience of pain and suffering, if accompanied by wakefulness, can lead to genuine insight and the abandonment of detrimental habits.
• This verse critiques seekers who are caught in stagnation between their aspirations and their actions, between will and weakness.