M6:2732 — که به دست آرند یک رشتهٔ دراز / تا ز جذب رشته گردد کشف راز

Translation: That they (the mouse and the frog) may procure a long thread, so that by the string's pull, the secret may be revealed. Meaning: This verse refers to the mouse and the frog devising a concrete method of communication, symbolizing the discovery of a tangible way to unveil a hidden truth or connect two beings from distinct realms.

In this verse, Rumi narrates an allegorical tale that carries profound mystical roots. The story of the mouse and the frog represents the relationship between the soul (jān) and the body (tan). The mouse symbolizes the earthy body, residing on the riverbank of the perceptible world, while the frog embodies the watery soul, immersed in the sea of spiritual realities. The mouse seeks to communicate with the frog, but the earthly mouse cannot enter the water, and the aquatic frog cannot hear the mouse's call from the dry land. Thus, they devise a plan: to tie a string between them, so that by its pull, one may alert the other of its presence, and the 'secret' (rāz) may be revealed.

I interpret this story as Rumi's perennial narrative, the tale of separations (judā'ī) and the yearning for reunion (waṣl). The body, like a string, is tied to the foot of the soul, hindering its flight towards the heavens: "The body is like a rope tied to the soul's foot / dragging it to earth from heaven" (M6:2733). The soaring soul is trapped in this earthly cage, and until this weight is lifted from its foot, it cannot lightly ascend to the celestial realm. As Rumi states elsewhere, "All heaviness and lethargy come from the body / The soul, by its very lightness, is meant for flight." This verse and the subsequent ones (e.g., "The body-mouse pulls it back by that string / How many bitter tastes the soul endures from this pull") narrate the bitterness of this perpetual tug-of-war between the soul and the body.

However, the 'revelation of the secret' in this verse carries a meaning beyond simple communication. This revelation is a secret of immediate, experiential knowledge (maʿrifat-e ḥuḍūrī), not acquired knowledge (ḥuṣūlī). True gnosis (ʿirfān), or rāz-shenāsī (secret-knowing), is about entering into reality rather than solving unknowns. This string serves as an intermediary tool for an unmediated experience. As we emphasize in naqd-i ḥāl (the 'cash' of the present moment), this pull of the string is a 'cash transaction,' an immediate and direct experience, not a 'credit' (nasī'a) or future promise. It is precisely what modern philosophers, particularly Kant, have lost: certainty (yaqīn). Rumi promises us certainty and union, not doubt and ambiguity. This pull and attraction of the string is itself the 'cash' of this certainty and presence.

This string also functions as a simā (sign or mark). Just as the green grass by the riverbank is a 'tell-tale' (ghammāz) of the presence of water, the pulling of the string is a tangible sign of another's presence and yearning. This sign becomes a language for communication between two worlds that appear separate: the material world of the body and the spiritual world of the soul. This strategy aims to overcome the soul's ghurbat (alienation) in this world, so that the soul may realize that though it is separated, it is not alone. An invisible string always connects it to its 'original source' (aṣl-e khwīsh) and to the Eternal Beloved. This string symbolizes the unbreakable 'thread of connection' that liberates humanity from existential loneliness, giving meaning to a separation destined to culminate in reunion.

Key takeaways

• The mouse and the frog symbolize the soul (jān) and the body (tan): the body as earthy and confined, the soul as watery and free.
• The string represents a tangible connection or intermediary that establishes a perceptible link between the two realms of soul and body.
• The 'revelation of the secret' points to experiential knowledge (maʿrifat-e ḥuḍūrī) and immediate contact with truth, not mere intellectual apprehension.
• This 'pull of the string' symbolizes naqd-i ḥāl (cash-of-the-present), an immediate and direct experience of divine presence, as opposed to future, deferred promises.
• The pulling of the string serves as a tangible sign of another's presence and yearning, guiding separation towards eventual reunion.