M6:3557 — گفت مهمان در چه سوداهاستی / پای‌مردا مست و خوش بر خاستی

Translation: The guest asked: "O faithful one, in what profound thoughts are you, that you have risen drunk and joyful?" Meaning: The guest, seeing the servant's ecstatic state upon waking, asks what profound experience has made him so joyful and intoxicated.

This verse marks one of those pure moments in the Mathnawi where Mawlana, in his unique style, delves into the depths of gnosis through a seemingly mundane, even financial, narrative. The guest, in the story, observes the pāy-mard (faithful servant) waking from a profound sleep in a state of ecstasy, intoxication, and joy, and asks him: "Dar chey sawdāhā-sti?" This word, sawdā, is a key term; it doesn't merely signify thought or contemplation, but rather an infatuation, a fervent passion, or even a hidden spiritual 'transaction' that has transpired inwardly. The pāy-mard, who "arose drunk and joyful" (mast-o khosh bar khāstī), is a clear sign of a tremendous inner reception.

Mawlana does not interpret this joy and intoxication as a simple awakening from sleep. He likens it to an "elephant dreaming of Hindustan" (khwāb-e Hindustan dīdan-e pīl); just as an elephant, in its dreams, envisions its original homeland, India, and is stirred, so too does the human soul, in the slumber of this world's heedlessness, glimpse its own "Hindustan"—the realm of spirits, its primordial homeland—and is thence estranged and restless. This state of the pāy-mard is a manifestation of the very longing, "Bāz juyad rūzgār-e waṣl-e khwīsh" (It seeks once more the days of its reunion), that the reed laments at the Mathnawi's opening.

Here, Mawlana points to a deeper philosophical and mystical truth: "Ey nehādeh hūsh-hā dar bī-hūshī" (O You who have placed awareness within unconsciousness). This truth, that God has situated consciousness and wakefulness within the heart of unconsciousness (sleep and unawareness), and places solace within disconsolation, are all manifestations of "opposites" (azdad) within the order of creation. The natural world, due to the conflicts and interactions within it, is in constant motion and effervescence; these very oppositions are the source of divine emanation and new creations. As Avicenna and Mulla Sadra stated: "Lawlā al-taḍādd mā ṣaḥḥa dawām al-fayḍ ʿan al-mabdaʾ al-jawwād" (Were it not for opposition, the continuous emanation from the Generous Source would not be valid). These oppositions are internal and inherent to the cosmos, like night within day, the dead within the living, or prosperity within poverty. And here, wakefulness and awareness are found within the heart of sleep and unawareness. The pāy-mard, through his dream, has seemingly unveiled this great secret of creation: that even in the deepest unconsciousness, one can reach the "sun of the heart" and be filled by it. This is not merely a personal unveiling, but an example of how divine grace flows through oppositions, achieving the 'heart' from 'heartlessness'.

Key takeaways

• The servant's joy and intoxication stem not from an ordinary dream, but from seeing the soul's "Hindustan" in sleep.
• The guest inquires about the servant's "sawdāhā" (profound thoughts/passions), hinting at the deep inner ecstasy or spiritual transaction that has taken place.
• The servant's intoxication signifies the awakening of awareness within unconsciousness and solace within disconsolation, a manifestation of opposites (azdad) in creation.
• Mawlana compares this state to an "elephant dreaming of Hindustan," symbolizing the soul's remembrance of its primordial homeland and the spiritual realm.
• The concepts of azdad (opposites) and conflict in existence, according to Mawlana and philosophers, are the drivers of divine emanation and new creations.