M6:3192 — چون درین جو دیدعکس سیب مرد / دامنش را دید آن پر سیب کرد

Translation: When the man in this stream saw the apple's reflection, He found his lap filled with apples.

Meaning: This verse articulates a profound mystical truth: in the realm of the initiated, merely perceiving the reflection or mental image of something can manifest its physical reality, as if imagination itself transmutes into actuality.

This verse is among the Masnavi's pivotal statements, where Mawlana unveils the secret unity between the natural and supranatural worlds. It is not merely poetic imagery but a profound mystical teaching illuminating the role of imagination in the actualization of reality. Mawlana tells us here that imagination and reality, contrary to our perception in the world of multiplicity, are not severed; rather, imagination serves as a bridge to truth, sometimes bringing forth truth itself.

I have often spoken about how we humans, in Mawlana's words, are ahwal — double-sighted. We perceive multiplicity yet remain oblivious to the unity concealed beneath it. This verse, however, lifts the veil from this unity. The discerning and keen-sighted mystic, looking into the jo (stream) — which symbolizes that spiritual observation point where higher realities are reflected — sees the reflection of an apple. Yet, this vision is not merely an imaginative perception; it carries such existential efficacy that it fills the mystic's lap with real apples. This is the turning point: where imagination ceases to be mere imagination and becomes actuality.

This is a mystical truth: the remembrance of God itself precipitates His presence. It echoes the Quranic dictum, "Udhkurūnī adhkurkum" (Remember Me, I will remember you). In a sense, it means: summon Me, and I shall be present. This summoning is not a mere mental recollection but a form of 'presence-bringing.' This verse demonstrates how the reflection of an object, within the mystic's being, can bring forth the object itself, drawing it from the realm of imagination into the realm of concrete reality. It is akin to iron incandescent with fire, becoming one with the flame; or like the handful of dust the Prophet cast in the Battle of Badr, of which the Quran declared: "It was not you who threw when you threw, but God who threw." The action of the perfected mystic becomes the action of God; his sight becomes God's sight.

This insight reveals Mawlana's fundamental divergence from pluralistic philosophy. For Mawlana, this world and its phenomena are not veils separating us from truth but rather apertures to that absolute unity. Nature resides within supernature, time within timelessness, and space within placelessness. All these are one and superimposed upon each other. This verse, in particular, teaches us how unity manifests in this existential overlap, and how a keen and gnostic gaze can transform imagination into reality, bringing multiplicity to unity. Here, we see that even a 'mere image' of that truth, when it fills one's being, is as if the truth itself has become present. This is a real experience, neither a trick of the senses nor a deception of the imagination.

Key takeaways

• Mere imagination can transmute into objective reality: This verse is the pinnacle of expressing the transformative power of gnostic perception.
• The unity of nature and supernature: The visible and invisible worlds are not separate, but intertwined and superimposed.
• The principle of "Udhkurūnī adhkurkum": Remembering the Divine brings forth the Divine's presence; imaginative perception actualizes reality.
• Gnostic insight transcends duality: The mystic moves beyond 'double-sightedness' (ahwalī) towards unitary vision, seeing multiplicity as a manifestation of unity.
• The validity of imagination in mysticism: In the mystical journey, imagination is not merely a mental image but a potent tool for the realization and manifestation of truth.