M6:1873 — پس برون آیند آن شیران ز مرج / بی‌حجابی حق نماید دخل و خرج

Translation: Then those lions shall emerge from the thicket; / Without a veil, the Truth shall manage all affairs. Meaning: When the divine command is issued and unity triumphs over multiplicity, spiritual lions (gnostics) emerge, and God directly and unveiledly oversees all cosmic transactions.

In this verse, Mowlana presents a sublime and stirring vision of the end of the era of multiplicity and the advent of unity. To grasp its depth, we must revisit his understanding of the present world. This world, as Mowlana describes it, is the "realm of multiplicity" (ʿālam-e kasrat), a place characterized by "a hundred hues and a hundred hearts" (sad rangī o sad dilī). It is the arena for "wolves" and "dogs," where "Joseph is in the well" and "Pharaoh is king." It is a tumultuous and "chaotic world" (jahān-e sholūgh polūgh) where each is left to their own devices, and "this one tears that one, that one tears this one." This multiplicity and multi-coloredness, whether in the "spindle of speech spinning a hundred religions" (dok-e nutq andar milal sad rang rīs) or in the "piebald cows" (pīs-gāvān), symbolizes the current state of existence where truth remains hidden behind veils.

Yet, this condition is not eternal. Mowlana speaks of "lions awaiting within the thicket" (darūn-e bīshe shīrān montazir). These "lions" (shīrān) are the "bearers of unity" (hāmelān-e vahdat) and "divine gnostics" (ʿārefān-e elāhī), the "saints of God" (awliyā-ye Khodāvand) and "guardians of the divine command" (pāsbānān-e amr-e elāhī), who await the command "Come forth!" (taʿālovā). This is the divine call to rise and manifest. With the issuance of this command, these lions emerge from the marj – the meadow or thicket of multiplicity. This emergence marks a turning point where "without a veil, the Truth shall manage all affairs" (bī-hejābī Haqq namāyad dakhl o kharj). No longer is there a curtain between; God, the absolute Truth, emerges from "eclipse," and the "sun of divinity shines upon history and upon time." The management of affairs is no longer through intermediaries and veils; Truth itself directly "enters the market and manages all transactions."

A profound and novel point in this verse lies in connecting this manifestation with the "essence of humanity" (jawhar-e ensān). Mowlana states: "The essence of humanity shall encompass land and sea" (jawhar-e ensān begīrad barr o baḥr). This "human" is not ordinary humanity; it is the "Perfect Man" (Ensān-e Kāmil), whom gnostics consider the kawn-e jāmeʿ (all-encompassing cosmos) and the embodiment of all divine attributes. When the "sun of unity" (āftāb-e vahdat) rises and "annihilates multiplicities," condemning them to perish, the "essence of humanity" prevails over all heavens and earth. It is as if the highest creation of God, the Perfect Man, ascends to the throne and cosmic summit, and the entire world becomes "human" and, consequently, "divine." This reflects the gnostic view that humanity is created in "God's image" (ṣūrat-e Khodā) and is the only being in whom all divine attributes of majesty and beauty are manifested.

On that day, "the piebald cows shall be sacrificed and slaughtered" (pīs-gāvān basmalān ān rūz naḥr). The "piebald cows" (pīs-gāvān) symbolize the purveyors of multiplicity and its bearers, who, in this resurrection of unity, are "sacrificed" (basmal) and "slaughtered" (naḥr). This is a "formidable resurrection" (rastākhīz-e sahm-nāk), a "feast" (ʿīd) for the unity-seeking believers, and "destruction" (halāk) for the wolves of multiplicity. This unveiled manifestation of Truth and the triumph of the Perfect Man signify the pinnacle of cosmic union and oneness, which Mowlana portrays with unparalleled imagery in this verse.

Key takeaways

• The present world is one of multiplicity and chaos, where truth is veiled and affairs are obscured.
• Gnostics and bearers of unity (the "lions") await the divine command to emerge and overcome multiplicity.
• Upon their emergence, God directly and unveiledly takes charge of all cosmic affairs, without any intermediaries.
• The essence of the Perfect Man, representing humanity at its zenith, transcends and governs all dimensions of existence (land and sea), making the world human and divine.
• This event is a formidable resurrection, leading to the annihilation and dissolution of all forms of multiplicity, establishing absolute unity.