M6:3704 — زان هزاران صورت و نقش و نگار / می‌شدند از سو به سو خوش بی‌قرار

Translation: Because of those thousands of forms and designs, / They moved from side to side, joyfully restless. Meaning: This verse describes the seekers' utter enchantment and intoxication within a castle filled with captivating forms and designs, which draw their souls into a joyful restlessness.

This verse paints a vivid picture of the 'Castle of Forms' (qalʿa-ye dhāt al-ṣuwar), that 'castle full of forms and designs' where the spiritual wayfarers have entered. Mowlana offers a brief description of this castle, noting its 'ten doors': 'five doors into the sea and five onto the land.' This signifies five doors opening to the sensible world of colors and scents (the outer senses) and another five leading to the inner senses and the realm of secrets. This castle is, in the precise terminology of Shaykh Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi, none other than the 'Imaginal World' (ʿālam-e khayāl-e munfaṣil); a realm that possesses form but is divested of matter, an intermediary world between pure nature and pure meta-nature.

Upon encountering these thousands of forms and designs, the wayfarers become 'intoxicated' (mast); an intoxication where each form appears more 'captivating' than the last. This restlessness is not of an anxious sort, but a 'joyful' (khosh) restlessness. It is a fervor and attraction arising from observing the multiplicity of divine manifestations. Here, Mowlana opens the discourse on one of his most central teachings: 'Form and Formlessness' (ṣūrat o bi-ṣūratī). As he states elsewhere: 'Form emerged from formlessness / And returned as: Verily, to Him we return.'

Our world was not initially a realm of forms, but a realm of meanings (maʿānī); and these meanings were formless. Forms are garments draped over meaning, precisely as words and language are the vestments of thoughts and mental meanings. A single meaning can assume various forms, just as one idea can be expressed in ten different ways, or different words can be coined for it in various languages. Therefore, what transpires in the 'Castle of Forms' is an enchantment with the countless manifestations of that singular, formless meaning. The restlessness these wayfarers experience is an amorous longing for the singular Truth that has unveiled itself in a thousand forms and designs.

Key takeaways

• Restlessness within the world of manifold forms can be a 'joyful' and commendable experience, not a sign of deviation.
• Mowlana's 'Castle of Forms' is akin to Suhrawardi's 'Imaginal World,' which possesses form but no matter.
• Every form within this castle is a manifestation of the Truth, drawing the seeker deeper into its embrace.
• The multiplicity and restlessness in the world of forms stem from the emergence of 'formlessness' and eternal meanings into existence.