M1:155 — کس به زیر دُمِِّ خر خاری نهد / خر نداند دفع آن، برمی‌جهد

Translation: When someone places a thorn beneath a donkey's tail, the donkey, unable to remove it, merely leaps about in distress. Meaning: This verse illustrates how an ignorant being, confronted with an unseen and unknown source of pain, can only react with futile emotional responses, thereby causing itself further harm.

This seemingly simple verse, in fact, reflects the profound depths of the soul's pain and its remedies, as depicted by Rumi. In the story of the ailing slave girl, Rumi presents us with the truth that sometimes pains are so hidden, and their roots so obscure, that the sufferer herself is unaware of them and errs in their treatment.

I have always regarded this verse as a testament to the fact that spiritual and psychological afflictions are more arduous than physical pains. If a thorn pricks the foot, it can be found with difficulty and removed with the tip of a needle. But what of the 'thorn in the heart' (khār-i dil)? A thorn that has penetrated the depths of one's soul and psyche, how is it to be seen, and how is it to be extracted? It is here that Rumi speaks of the Hakeem Khārchīn – the 'thorn-remover sage'. One who, not with surgical instruments, but with insight and wisdom, can identify and remove these hidden thorns.

Consider the plight of the poor donkey: when it feels the thorn beneath its tail, out of ignorance and unawareness, it begins to kick and leap. It cannot see where the thorn is, nor can its hooves reach to extract it. The more it leaps, the deeper the thorn embeds itself, and its pain intensifies. This is a clear analogy for us humans. When we encounter a hidden pain within us, a pain whose root we do not recognize, we may exhibit precisely these same misguided reactions, born of anger or despair. Through aggression, evasion of reality, addiction, or any method we deem palliative, we are, in fact, only driving the thorn deeper.

Rumi emphasizes that such sufferings are neither assuaged by anger nor by suppression. They require a Hakeem – a sage. A sage who, with calmness, knowledge, and attentiveness, places their hand on the 'pulse of the soul' and, by listening to 'stories' and 'narrations', finds the exact location of the thorn. Just as the Divine Physician, in seeking the root of the slave girl's ailment, inquired about her cities and friends one by one, awaiting a surge in her pulse to uncover the hidden truth. This is a precise and time-consuming process that demands both 'intellect' (hūsh) and 'ear' (gūsh): an intellect that observes the inner pulse and an ear that listens to the narrated tales, not with the physical ear, but with the ear of the soul.

This narrative demonstrates that true knowledge is not solely found in rational intellect; it resides in rāz-shenāsī – the knowing of secrets, in smelling the truth. Humanity must transcend the state of the 'leaping donkey' and move towards self-awareness and self-knowledge to diagnose the thorn in the heart and, with the aid of wisdom, extract it. Otherwise, this hidden thorn, like an old wound, will torment one's entire being and, with every unconscious action, add to the inner wound. Only a Hakeem Khārchīn knows how to 'test by touch, repeatedly'. This inner probing and subtle sensing is a task only accessible to those with spiritual insight and experience.

Key takeaways

• Spiritual pains are more hidden and challenging to diagnose than physical ailments.
• Blind and emotional reactions to inner suffering only deepen it, rather than alleviating it.
• The remedy for hidden pains requires a Hakeem Khārchīn (thorn-remover sage) who, with insight and wisdom, uncovers the root of the pain.
• Like the Divine Physician, listening to 'stories' and 'narrations' with care and subtlety is a path to discovering the heart's thorn.
• Self-knowledge is an essential step to move beyond 'donkey-like reactions' and achieve effective healing.