M6:2003 — لیک داند هر که او را منظر‌ست / که فغان این سری هم زان سرست

Translation: But everyone for whom He is the object of gaze, / knows that the lament from this end is also from that end. Meaning: A person of true insight recognizes that the human cry and lament, seemingly originating from this world, is in fact an echo of the divine breath emanating from the Beloved's hidden realm.

In this profound verse, Mawlana paints the image of humanity as a reed (ney) with two mouths. This is one of his most evocative and meaningful metaphors, speaking to the very essence of human existence. We are, as it were, like a reed: one of our mouths is hidden in the lips of the Reed-Player, from whom we receive divine breath and spirit. The other mouth is manifest, crying out to the world, its lament filling the air for all to hear. Everything a human being gives forth must, by necessity, have been received from elsewhere; we are merely a conduit, a passage for the flow of divine grace.

The 'gaze' (manzar) mentioned in this verse refers to an observer who looks beyond the surface, pushing aside the veils to understand that this apparent lament, seemingly originating from the distressed servant, actually has a celestial and divine root. The reed's lament is the lament of the player, not solely of the reed itself. This resonates with Mawlana's opening lines of the Masnavi: 'Listen to this reed, how it complains / Telling a tale of separations.' The complaint is superficial; its essence is a narration originating from the fundamental source. This lament is a cry of separation from the reed-bed, but even this separation is part of a larger divine plan, whose origin is the very essence of God.

This concept intertwines with another of Mawlana's profound statements: 'The breath that the piper blows into the reed / Is commensurate with the reed, not with the piper.' This implies that while the divine breath is immense and boundless, it manifests through human existence, through its nothingness, only to the extent that the reed's capacity and dimensions allow. The human being, as a reed, receives and transmits divine grace according to the opening of its own being. Therefore, the lament and words emanating from us are not merely products of our nature, but are shaped by the breath blown from that hidden end. This perspective transmutes any simple complaint about the world or the self, transforming it into a manifestation of a divine current. This insight liberates humanity from absolute loneliness, as it constantly sees us connected to an ever-flowing source; even in our laments, this connection remains intact.

Key takeaways

• Humanity, like the reed, serves as a conduit for divine grace; one 'mouth' remains hidden, connected to the Divine, while the other is manifest, voicing secrets.
• The apparent laments and cries of human beings are merely echoes of the divine breath, blown into them from a hidden, transcendent source.
• A discerning ear and insightful perspective are capable of grasping the truth that every sound in the world carries a supramundane origin.
• Divine messages and inspirations manifest through human existence, shaped and expressed in accordance with one's unique capacity and receptivity.
• This insight distinguishes separation and lament from absolute loneliness, as every cry maintains a connection to the Eternal Beloved.