M6:1804 — حمل نبود بی ز مستی و ز لاغ / بی بهاری کی شود زاینده باغ

Translation: No pregnancy (or fruit-bearing) occurs without intoxication (mastī) and pleasure (lāgh); how can a garden become fruitful without spring? Meaning: Rumi asserts that all forms of fertility and fruitfulness, in both humans and nature, stem from joy, pleasure, and vibrancy, just as a garden cannot bear fruit without the arrival of spring.

Here, Rumi alludes to a profound existential secret: all generation, all fruitfulness, and all yield in this world do not stem from mere compulsion or mechanical process, but from intoxication (mastī) and pleasure (lāgh). He begins with a clear analogy: "No pregnancy occurs without intoxication and pleasure." Undoubtedly, whether in the human and animal realms or the vegetal world, the process of generation and fruit-bearing is accompanied by a type of cosmic pleasure and yearning. I interpret this mastī and lāgh as pleasure, devotion, and embrace, the very essence that manifests in the bond between Creator and creation, and between nature and life-giving forces.

He then cites spring as an example: "How can a garden become fruitful without spring?" This fundamental question has an obvious answer and, in fact, serves as a powerful argument. A garden cannot be generative without spring because spring itself is a symbol of the nafas-e Rahmani, the divine breath that blows upon the world and impregnates nature, much like Mary. Spring acts as that divine breath that comes and fertilizes the earth. This fertilization is not merely a physical act; Rumi explicitly states that the tree once "made love and took pleasure" with spring. Had this pleasure and embrace not occurred, the tree would have burned, withered away, and its roots would have been torn out.

This mystical perspective transforms natural phenomena from a neutral state, imbuing them with life and consciousness. Trees, too, like Mary, become pregnant by a "hidden king." This hidden king is God, who manifests and sustains creation through natural agents like spring. Pleasure, yearning, and joy are prerequisite conditions for flourishing and bearing fruit. Anything not rooted in pleasure and yearning will not endure or come to fruition. Therefore, this couplet is not just a description of nature; it articulates a cosmic principle encompassing all creation and life: every act of creation, in its depths, harbors a hidden intoxication and pleasure that brings it into being.

Key takeaways

• All generation and fruitfulness are contingent upon cosmic joy and pleasure.
• Spring symbolizes the 'Breath of the All-Merciful' that impregnates nature, akin to Mary's divine conception.
• Nature's relationship with life-giving forces is one of love and embrace, not merely mechanical.
• The mystic's gaze perceives life, pleasure, and consciousness in all natural phenomena; fruitfulness is a manifestation of this delight.