M6:4122 — من نجویم زین سپس راه اثیر / پیر جویم پیر جویم پیر پیر

Translation: Henceforth, I shall not seek the path of the aether on my own; A Master I seek, a Master I seek, a Master of masters.

This verse, inscribed on Rumi's tomb, encapsulates one of the most fundamental tenets of Rumi's mystical thought and worldview: the indispensable necessity of a guide (Pīr) in the spiritual journey. I assert with conviction that Rumi here not only stresses the need for a Master but also deems self-reliance and self-sufficiency a hundred times more ignominious than any other shortcoming.

I have spoken before on how in our daily lives, for any worldly task, from curing an illness to building a house, we seek out experts and entrust ourselves to them. How, then, can we deem ourselves self-sufficient in the most complex and vital journey of existence, the spiritual path? This is where Rumi decisively states: "A blind man with a guide is better than lonely certainty / For that is one shame, but this is a hundredfold." Individual, self-generated certainty, without passing through the channel of a guide, can be mere illusion and fantasy, a mere manifestation of the heart's desires, not absolute reality.

But who is this Pīr? Rumi immediately distinguishes between a "Pīr-e Gardūn" (a master of cycles/time) and a "Pīr-e Rashād" (a master of guidance). A Pīr-e Gardūn is merely someone who has aged, whose beard has turned white; there is no creativity, discovery, or opening within him. But a Pīr-e Rashād is one who has become a true seeker on the path of growth and guidance, who has matured and reached the destination. His outward appearance is of no importance; he might have a black beard and a lion's heart, or a white beard and a heart of tar. What matters is his intuitive knowledge and his experiential understanding of the path.

My statement, "I shall not seek the path of the aether," means I will not traverse the path to the heavens by myself. "Aether" is a Greek word that the ancients used to refer to the sphere of fire or the upper world. Rumi says, "I do not have a self-made ladder to ascend to the sky." This self-reliance is the same fallacy as "Mulla Nasreddin" searching for his lost money in the illuminated street, not in the dark house where he actually lost it. Namrud went to the heavens with vultures to find God, and Yuri Gagarin, upon his return, also famously said he did not see God there. These individuals were searching for something where it does not exist. The path to the heavens is a spiritual, intellectual, and heartfelt journey, not a spatial one that can be traversed by vultures or rockets. Your heart travels from West to East without provisions or mounts, just as a person travels in sleep. This journey is one of the heart, not of the body.

Rumi emphasizes "submission" (taslīm). Submission does not mean the suspension of intellect, but rather the acceptance of guidance from someone who, in their field of expertise, is superior to you. Just as you entrust yourself to a surgeon, so too must you do with a spiritual guide. I used to tell those who sought to "Islamize" the humanities that they were in the position of students, not masters. First, you must learn; only then can you voice opinions. "The condition is submission, not a lengthy path." Without a guide, a person becomes lost and merely blends in with the crowd. In our current age, embodied devils have penetrated our lives through media, and we, without independent judgment, blindly follow fashion, losing our identity. It is at such a time that an anchor, a pillar, a master, becomes essential. A master who provides not only knowledge but also strengthens our resolve and will, preventing us from drifting like a leaf on water.

This choice of a Master and submission to him saves one from "a hundred disgraces": from delusion, from falling into a Yusuf-like pit, from perpetual blindness like the Jews who rejected Jesus, and from endless wandering. The Master is the ladder to heaven, and you are a flying arrow that reaches its target only from the archer's bow.

Key takeaways

• Self-reliance in the spiritual journey is a hundred times more disgraceful than ignorance.
• Self-made certainty without a guide is often illusion and fantasy.
• A 'Pīr-e Rashād' (master of guidance) is essential, not merely a 'Pīr-e Gardūn' (one who is simply old).
• Submission to the Master is not the suspension of intellect, but the acceptance of their superior expertise.
• The path to the heavens is a spiritual and heartfelt journey, not a physical or spatial one.
• The Master serves as an anchor and pillar, preventing conformity and loss of identity.