M6:322 — چون بپیوستی بدان ای زینهار / چند نالی در ندامت زار زار

Translation: Chun bapīwastī bedān, ay zenhār / Chand nālī dar nadāmat zār zār Since you joined with it, O beware / How much will you wail in bitter remorse? Meaning: This verse warns those who have been deceived by the world's false allure and have attached themselves to it, asking how long they will lament their misjudgment in bitter regret.

This verse, undoubtedly, is linked to the story of the eunuch who deceives the groom, presenting a beautiful youth as his bride, only for the true, less appealing bride to be revealed later. Mevlana utilizes this narrative as an allegory for the world and its deceptions. I contend that this parable offers one of Mevlana's clearest portrayals of the world's deceptive nature.

Mevlana likens the world to an "old hag" (gandeh pīr) who adorns herself like a "new bride" (now ʿarūs). This cosmetic "roughening" (golguneh) that the world applies to its face appears alluring from afar, much like a mirage appearing as water. Yet, as one approaches, its true nature is revealed. This deception is what Mevlana terms ghurūr. In contemporary Persian, ghurūr often signifies arrogance, but in Mevlana's profound usage, it means to be fooled or deceived. It is here that Mevlana, through a precise linguistic clarification, opens the path to understanding his deeper intent: the maghrūr (proud person) is one who has been taken in by the world.

Thus, this verse addresses precisely such a deceived individual. "Chun bapīwastī bedān" means: O you who were deceived by this adorned "old hag" and joined with her, "ay zenhār"! This itself is a warning, a cry of "Beware!" But this warning stems from profound compassion for one whose mistake is already made. For the consequence of such a deceptive union is "nadāmat zār zār" (bitter, sorrowful remorse). That is to say, when the truth is revealed to you, and you realize that instead of union, you are entangled in separation, instead of ease, you are in hardship, then you will weep bitterly in regret.

This lamentation and remorse differ fundamentally from the reed's lament that Mevlana describes at the Masnavi's opening. The reed's cry is from "separation from its origin" (ferāq az asl-i khwīsh), and it is itself a path towards reunion. However, this nadāmat and weeping is the lament of one who has taken the wrong path, attached their heart to a mirage, and now has nothing left but regret. This is sterile suffering that does not open a path to perfection. This verse demonstrates that while Mevlana emphasizes our existential and inherent separations from our origin, and considers lamentation as the narrative of this separation, in the case of being deceived by the world, he speaks of a remorse that burdens the human being and prevents them from flight.

Key takeaways

• The world, like a deceptive bride, possesses a beautiful exterior but a destructive interior.
• In Mevlana's lexicon, ghurūr signifies being fooled or deceived, not arrogance.
• Attachment to the world's false allure inevitably leads to profound regret and remorse.
• This remorse differs from the 'green sorrow' Mevlana describes for divine separation; it is a barren suffering that does not lead to spiritual ascent.