M6:766 — ور غرضها زین نظر گردد حجیب / این غرضها را برون افکن ز جیب

Translation: If worldly aims (gharaz-hā) become a veil (ḥājib) for this perspective, Cast these aims out of your pocket (jīb). Meaning: If your worldly ambitions or desires prevent you from gaining the sobering perspective of mortality and impermanence, then you must shed these obstructive aims immediately.

I interpret this couplet within the crucial context where Mowlana implores us to view life through the lens of death. As he suggested in the preceding verses, every breath should be considered one's last, every word a final testament, and every encounter a farewell. This perspective, without doubt, withers the roots of malice, envy, and greed, allowing the shoots of spiritual insight and compassion to flourish.

Mowlana, in this beyt, emphasizes the principle that "Kullu ātīnin ātun, ān-rā naqd dān" (Whatever is coming, consider it already here). This means perceiving death as a present reality. This expression resonates deeply with the sayings of Imam Ali (AS) in Nahj al-Balagha, indicating Mowlana's profound familiarity with that esteemed text. Mowlana instructs us to regard even our friends and relatives as "dar nazʿ o andar faqd dān" (in the throes of passing and on the verge of absence). This is not a morbid outlook, but a profound approach to shedding the veils of heedlessness.

Now, if "gharaz-hā zin nazar gardad ḥājib," meaning if worldly aims, ambitions, desires, envies, covetousness, and attachments become an impediment to this deep insight, then one must "īn gharaz-hā rā barūn afkan ze jīb." Here, "jīb" (pocket) is not merely a piece of clothing; it's a metaphor for our inner self, our conscience, our very being. It means these aims and desires must be cast out from the core of our heart and soul, decisively discarded, for they act as veils obstructing the vision of truth.

Yet, Mowlana consistently takes us a step further. What if you cannot cast out these "gharaz-hā"? "Var nayārī, khushk bar ʿajzī mayest / zānke bā ʿājez gozīdeh muʿjizīst." This means, if you are unable, if you lack the power to abandon these attachments, do not simply stand there, paralyzed by your helplessness! Learn a lesson from this very incapacity. Realize that your helplessness itself implies a "muʿjiz"—here understood as an 'enabler' or 'disabler.' This inability is a sign of another power, an unseen force that has rendered you helpless or deprived you of the ability to free yourself. It echoes Mowlana's anecdote to his son, who complained of few visitors: "You see them not coming, but you don't see me driving them away." This illustrates that behind every apparent outcome, there is a hidden hand.

Ultimately, Mowlana concludes: "ʿAjz zanjīrīst, zanjīrat nihād / chashm dar zanjīr-nihādeh bāyad goshād." Your helplessness is a chain, and someone has placed this chain upon you. Now, instead of despairing over your inability, open your eyes and look toward the "chain-setter." Here, the gaze shifts from self-blame to a transcendent power. This helplessness is not meant for despair, but to guide you to understand and seek who or what will has bound you with this chain, and why. This itself is a path toward a deeper understanding of the divine will and one's own place in the cosmos.

Key takeaways

• Cultivating constant awareness of death purges inner malice and envy, opening the path for compassion and spiritual insight.
• Worldly desires and ambitions act as veils, obscuring the truth-seeing perspective of impermanence.
• Mowlana demands that these 'aims' be decisively cast out from the 'pocket' of one's being (heart and conscience).
• If one is unable to discard these desires, this very inability is a sign of a 'disabler' or 'enabler' (muʿjiz) at play.
• Helplessness is presented as a chain that should lead us to seek the one who placed it, fostering a deeper understanding of a higher will.