M6:3154 — کین ستارهٔ نحس در آب آمدست / تا کند او سعد ما را زیردست

Translation: This ill-fated star has appeared in the water / So that it may overpower our good fortune. Meaning: The verse warns that we often mistake the reflection of an ominous influence in the world for its true source, fearing it can diminish our felicity, when the real origin of both the reflection and our perceived misfortune lies beyond.

Mowlana, within the narrative frame of the Lion and Rabbit tale, delves into the profound errors of human perception in this beyt. The story of the ambitious lion that sees its own reflection in a well and fights it, believing it to be another lion, is a monumental allegory for the projection of flaws and the battle against one’s own shadows. This verse functions as a psychological and mystical warning about how we often mistake the 'reflection' for the 'original.'

I have emphasized for years that a vast portion of our suffering stems from this fundamental perceptual error. The ominous star appearing in the water is nothing but a reflection—a reflection of misfortune whose source might be ourselves, or at least originates from a realm beyond mere forms. Mowlana asks: What good is it to throw dust upon this reflection? Will obscuring the water make the star vanish from the sky? Unquestionably not. We merely lose sight of the image, while the principal source of the misfortune remains in its place. The true remedy must be directed at the origin.

This is the 'crooked-sightedness' (کژنگری) that Mowlana condemns elsewhere. We become 'crooked-sighted' when we perceive our own defects in others, believing the root of animosity lies in them, not in ourselves. Many of the difficulties we experience from others are, in fact, shadows of our own inner struggles. This parallels what modern psychoanalysts call 'projection.' Mowlana discovered this not through contemporary theories, but through profound introspection and meditation on himself and humanity. 'The flaw you see in others, that is you.' This perspective teaches us that if we wish to dry up the roots of hostility and pessimism, we must seek and eradicate them within ourselves, rather than attacking others.

It is here that Mowlana calls us to 'original-seeing' (اصل‌بینی). Instead of dwelling on and fighting with the 'reflection' (صورت) and the 'form,' we must fix our gaze upon the 'origin' (اصل). If a star is indeed ominous, its source is not in the water, but in the sky; and if we go further, the source of these celestial bodies' auspiciousness or inauspiciousness lies in the 'placeless' (بی‌سو). One must bind the heart to the placeless. 'The placeless' signifies a realm without direction or location—the world of meaning and truth that lies beyond these deceptive forms. This is the journey from 'form' to 'meaning' that permeates the entire Masnavi.

Through this analogy, Mowlana intends to convey that the world, in his view, is not a 'crooked-sighted world' but is full of 'beauty' and perfection. If we perceive the world as crooked, the fault lies in our own vision. As he stated: 'One crooked hair can veil the heavens / If all your parts are crooked, what then?' So, if we see a star as ominous and fear it will subjugate our good fortune, we must re-examine our own perception. This outlook not only deters us from futile struggles with shadows but guides us towards 'self-knowledge' and inner purification; a knowledge which, according to the Prophet's hadith, is the prelude to knowing God.

Key takeaways

• Much of the suffering and ill-fortune we perceive in the world is not the 'original' but merely a 'reflection' of our own inner imperfections and flaws.
• Fighting with 'reflections' and 'forms' (like throwing dust in water to remove a star's image) is a futile endeavor that only obscures our vision, without eradicating the true source.
• Mowlana invites us to 'original-seeing' (اصل‌بینی): we must seek the true source of auspiciousness and ill-fortune in the 'placeless' (the realm of meaning) or within ourselves, rather than in worldly appearances.
• Projecting our flaws onto others hinders self-knowledge; what we condemn in others is often a reflection of our own undesirable qualities.
• In Mowlana's view, the world is perfect and flawless; it is our 'crooked-sightedness' that perceives it as flawed, leading to battles with shadows.