M6:1624 — پس چنان بحری که در هر قطر آن / از بدن ناشی‌تر آمد عقل و جان

Translation: So, such a Sea that in every drop of it, Intellect and Soul arose as more fundamental than the body.

Meaning: This verse refers to the boundless Sea of Divine Being and Truth, the ultimate source of all existence; within this infinite sea, intellect and soul possess a nobler and more fundamental nature than the material body, having emerged directly from the very essence of that Sea.

We are here, in the sixth book of the Masnavi, in the presence of Mowlana, and I must admit that in this section of his discourse, as he himself implies and as I discern, Mowlana's language is somewhat agitated. This is not due to any failing on his part, but rather to the sheer grandeur of the meanings he seeks to convey within the confining garment of words. Mowlana himself once lamented that poetic meter, 'Mofa'elon Mofa'elon kills me,' yet it is precisely this framework that preserves his words and keeps them alive.

Our particular verse continues the description of the 'Bahr-i Bī-Chūn' (the Unconditioned Sea), that Sea of Being which is the very essence of the Divine. Prior to this verse, Mowlana refers to our soul, stating that 'Your soul is His least plaything (or creation),' meaning the human soul is the smallest and most readily formed product of that Sea of Existence. Yet, even this soul possesses no 'chigūnegi va chūn' (no quality or 'how-ness'), implying it cannot be confined within the categories of time, space, or physicality. This very point is the key to understanding our verse.

I firmly believe that Mowlana here emphasizes the existential superiority and originality of the intellect (ʿaql) and soul (jān) over the material body. He states that the 'Bahr-i Vujūd' (Sea of Being) is so infinite and singular that in every 'drop' of it—meaning in every manifestation or emergence of existence—'intellect and soul' possess a nature that is 'nāshi-tar' (more emergent, more original, more foundational) than the 'body.' The term 'nāshi-tar āmad' signifies that intellect and soul are more deeply rooted, more fundamental, and closer to the origin and source of existence (that very Sea) than the body. The body here is positioned as a shadow and a derivative; as he states elsewhere, 'The forms of the world are but sea-foam / Pass beyond the foam if you are pure of heart'—these worldly forms, including the body, are merely froth upon the primordial sea of the soul.

This originality of intellect and soul over the body is a metaphysical truth that Mowlana reiterates frequently. The soul is neither within the body nor merely connected to it; its relationship with the body is non-spatial and non-physical, much like the relationship of time to the entire cosmos. One cannot dissect the 'spirit' with a surgeon's knife, as physiologists like Claude Bernard could not, because spirit and intellect transcend the realm of materiality and physical 'how-ness' and 'what-ness.' As Mowlana asks, 'Who asks intellect, 'where art thou?'—these have no physical place.

The subsequent verses further illuminate this meaning. Intellect addresses the body, asking: 'O inert one, did you ever catch a scent of that Sea of Return (or Origin)?' And the body replies: 'I am certainly your shadow; who seeks help from a shadow, O dear soul?' This dialogue highlights the ontological hierarchy: the body is merely a shadow of the intellect and soul, dependent upon and needing them. Thus, there is no question as to how intellect and soul are more original and foundational to that primordial Sea, for they are the closest manifestations to the unconditioned essence of that Sea, and the body is but a faint, subsequent reflection of them.

Despite the difficulty of his language in this section, Mowlana endeavors to tell us that the truth of the world and its source is a place where essential matters reside in their proper station; not like this world where sometimes 'the worthy appear more audacious than the unworthy' and secondary matters seem to dominate the primary ones. In that Sea of Being, intellect and soul, by virtue of their closer proximity to the Origin, hold precedence and originality.

Key takeaways

• Intellect (ʿaql) and Soul (jān) are more fundamental and original than the body; the body is a derivative and shadow of these foundational realities.
• The Sea of Being (the Divine Essence) is the unconditioned source of all existence, from which everything originates.
• Intellect and soul, being without qualities or 'how-ness' themselves, are closer to the unconditioned essence of the 'Sea of Being'.
• Even in Mowlana's language in Book Six, the weight of difficult meanings can lead to 'agitation of language'.
• Mowlana perceives the world as having an ontological hierarchy, wherein spiritual matters precede material ones.
• Soul and intellect transcend the categories of space and time and cannot be measured by material criteria.