M6:4046 — هم‌چو طفلست او ز پستان شیرگیر / او نداند در دو عالم غیر شیر

Translation: Like a child, he takes milk from the breast; / He knows naught but milk in both worlds. Meaning: This verse illustrates that the gnostic, much like an infant whose entire focus is on its mother's milk, is utterly immersed in God, recognizing nothing else and clinging to no other attachment.

This verse follows the metaphor of the fish and water, which Rumi previously employed to describe the state of the gnostic. I believe Rumi here unveils a profound truth: the gnostic, like a child whose conceptual faculty has not yet developed, confronts the reality of existence – God – not through mental constructs. Adults, when they eat, understand that this is 'food' that will alleviate 'hunger'; concepts parade through their minds. But a child? It encounters 'milk' directly, without any mental or intellectual mediation. This is precisely the 'emptying of the mind and thought' that I have frequently spoken of, considering it the gateway to intuitive knowledge.

The child's aspiration is singular. It knows but one thing in this world, and that is its mother's breast, which embodies all its needs and desires. This metaphor of the child has deep roots in religious literature, as Jesus (PBUH) stated in the Gospel: 'Unless you become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.' Gospel commentators have extensively discussed the desirable qualities of childhood that one must acquire to enter the divine kingdom.

One of the most important of these qualities is the child's simplicity and purity. An infant is not cunning, not deceitful, not fawning, not a trickster, not a liar. These virtues stem not from avoidance or self-restraint, but from its 'natural spontaneity' and 'untaintedness.' It does not even know what deceit is to shun it. This simplicity, this clarity, this unsullied state is what Rumi considers desirable. Children, until they have 'developed hands and feet' and acquired a 'mind,' possess this primal purity. When the mind becomes active, concepts of truth and falsehood, good and evil, trickery and honesty enter the arena, and one falls into 'distress' and 'bruises,' unless one is fortunate enough to preserve that initial simplicity and clarity.

I call this 'existential knowledge.' The child is 'existentially' drawn to milk and connected with it, but 'mentally' does not know what milk is. The gnostic is similar. He is immersed in God and breathes from Him, but does not necessarily need to be a philosopher to define God or present philosophical arguments for His existence. He knows God through 'state' (hāl), not through 'words' (qāl) and abstract concepts. Just like the shepherd in the story of Moses, who spoke to God with simple, unadorned language but with a heart full of presence, and God chastised Moses: 'Did you separate Our servant from Us?' This is the apex of unmediated connection, where everything that emanates from such a person bears a divine hue, and no intermediary stands between him and God. This is why Rumi said: 'We look not at the outward form and words; / We look at the inward essence and state,' and the true gnostic possesses precisely this 'state'.

Key takeaways

• The true knowledge of the gnostic, like a child's understanding of milk, is direct, unmediated, and non-conceptual.
• The child's mindlessness and natural spontaneity symbolize the gnostic's liberation from intellectual and mental constraints in perceiving truth.
• Drawing from Christian teachings, Rumi emphasizes the importance of returning to childlike innocence and simplicity to enter the Divine realm.
• The gnostic connects with God not through 'words' (qāl) or definitions, but through 'state' (hāl) and direct experience.
• The child's singular attachment and absolute focus on milk represent the gnostic's unified aspiration and complete immersion in the One Truth.