M6:3456 — در نظر آنچ آوری گردید نیک / بس گش و رعناست این مرکب ولیک

Translation: Whatever you bring into your sight becomes good/beautiful. This steed is very handsome and graceful, but... Meaning: This verse speaks to the power of perception and how our gaze shapes reality. It suggests that whatever we behold takes on goodness in our eyes, then points to a beautiful steed which, despite its appealing form, harbors a hidden flaw revealed by a different kind of vision.

This verse stands at the core of one of Masnavi's most instructive tales: the story of Khwarazmshah and a horse that, initially captivating, lost its allure in the Shah's eyes due to Emad-ol-Molk's insidious whispers about a minor flaw in its head. This beyt demands analysis from two fundamental perspectives.

Firstly, the power of human vision and "naẓar": Rumi declares, "Dar naẓar ānch āvarī gardīd nīk," meaning "Whatever you bring into your sight becomes good/beautiful." This line carries both a literal and a profound meaning. Literally, when you pay attention to something, it somehow becomes good and pleasing. But more deeply, "naẓar"—our perspective, our perceptual apparatus—is itself the creator of good and bad qualities in the object. The external world, raw and colorless, is imbued with hue by our gaze. Western philosophers have also emphasized that reality as it is, in itself, is inaccessible to us; we always encounter "reality as it appears to us." Rumi, in this verse, clearly underscores the role of the mind and the viewer's attitude in shaping qualities. If a person looks at something with a benevolent eye, it will appear good, even if it inherently has flaws. The opposite is equally true: if we look at something with a jaundiced eye, its virtues will be hidden and its flaws revealed.

Secondly, the vulnerability of "naẓar" to "temptation" and "verbal distortion": The second part of the verse, "Bas gush-o ra'nāst īn markab valīk" (This steed is very handsome and graceful, but...), refers to a horse that is undeniably beautiful, yet the "valīk" (but) opens a gateway to distortion. This "valīk" is placed in Khwarazmshah's mouth by Emad-ol-Molk. The key point here is that Emad-ol-Molk does not directly call the horse ugly; rather, he first acknowledges its beauty (bas gush-o ra'nāst īn markab) and then, with a small "valīk," sows the seed of doubt and imperfection. This is the stratagem of the "malicious matchmaker" (dalāla-ye moghreẓ) that Rumi describes in subsequent verses—a matchmaker who, with a mere word, can sell a Joseph for the price of three yards of coarse cloth. This demonstrates how susceptible human "naẓar," however initially resolute and positive, can be to the words of others.

Later in the story, Rumi introduces the distinction between the "eye of the present" (cheshm-e ḥāl) and the "eye of consequence" (cheshm-e ma'āl). Khwarazmshah initially saw the horse as good with his "cheshm-e ḥāl" (a superficial, present-oriented view), but Emad-ol-Molk, with his deceptive words, caused the horse to fall from the Shah's favor. Of course, Emad-ol-Molk himself did not truly possess "cheshm-e ma'āl"; rather, through cunning, he exaggerated a minor flaw to turn the Shah against the horse. The lesson is this: we often sacrifice "our own eye" and borrow "another's eye"; "he abandoned his own awareness and listened to his words." This is the very harm that Rumi emphasizes at the beginning of the Masnavi: that one must hear with one's own ears and see with one's own eyes, not through the eyes and ears of others. This verse warns us not only to view the world with a benevolent eye but also to protect our own perception from external influences and destructive temptations that begin with a "valīk." This story also reflects Rumi's deeper teaching that the world is a mirror of our inner state, and whatever is within us is reflected in the world; thus, if we see a flaw, we should seek its root in our own gaze and heart, not merely in the external object.

Key takeaways

• The quality of phenomena depends on our "naẓar" (gaze and perception); the world is raw, and we color it.
• The power of language to distort perception: a small "valīk" (but) can transform beauty into a flaw.
• Deceivers (the malicious matchmaker) first gain trust by acknowledging goodness, then sow seeds of temptation.
• The distinction between "cheshm-e ḥāl" (superficial view) and "cheshm-e ma'āl" (far-sighted view) in valuing phenomena.
• The danger of surrendering one's own sight and judgment to others; "he abandoned his own awareness and listened to his words."