M6:2729 — آمدن در آب بر من بسته شد / زانک ترکیبم ز خاکی رسته شد

Translation: Coming into the water became closed to me, Because my composition is sprung from earth.

Meaning: This verse, spoken by the 'Mouse' in the tale of the Mouse and the Frog, articulates the inherent limitation of the earthly body in entering the spiritual realm – the watery domain to which the soul truly belongs.

This verse, articulated by the 'Mouse' in the allegorical tale of the Mouse and the Frog, offers a precise portrayal of the relationship between the earthly body and the watery soul of humanity. With utmost subtlety, Mawlana expresses the state of the soul imprisoned in the body through the voice of an earthy creature, standing by the water's edge yet finding no access to it: "Coming into the water became closed to me." Why? "Because my composition is sprung from earth." This very earthiness is the body's inherent limitation and confinement.

As I have often emphasized, Mawlana perceives this world as an 'exile' for the human soul. The soul, in his view, is meant for flight and possesses a light essence, yet the 'body' hangs upon it like a heavy 'weight.' The soul yearns to soar and ascend, but this weight prevents it. This verse illustrates precisely this struggle through allegory. The mouse-like body, sprung from the earth, is naturally unable to step into the frog-like water, which symbolizes the realm of the soul and meaning.

This bodily limitation allows us a deeper understanding of 'separation' (judāʾī). The separation that the Masnavi narrates is not merely a separation from an absent beloved, but an intrinsic separation of the earthy realm from the pure realm. The earthy mouse sits by the riverbank, calling to the watery soul (the frog), yet a natural veil exists between them. It is here that the need for a 'mediator' or a 'rope' arises – that subtle thread that connects the body to the soul, without either dissolving the body into the soul or imprisoning the soul within the body. Mawlana later likens this rope to the relationship between body and spirit: The body is like a rope around the soul's foot / Drawing it to the earth from the heavens [M6:2737].

This perspective of Mawlana must be contrasted with the viewpoint of those who consider this very world to be the true homeland. Hafez, in a verse, says: Since my wayward heart went to the curl of her locks / It resolves not to return from that long journey to its homeland. That is, my heart has made such a home in the Beloved's tresses that it no longer intends to return to its original homeland. Mawlana, however, speaks constantly of the original homeland, of the 'reed-bed' (neyestān) from which the reed was cut. For him, this world is not a homeland but a 'place of exile,' and the entire Masnavi is a travelogue of return to that lost home. Even when Sheikh Bahaei interprets the hadith 'Love of homeland is part of faith,' he emphasizes that the Prophet's intention for 'homeland' is not 'Egypt and Iraq and Syria,' but rather that 'city which has no name' – that primordial, spiritual homeland from which the soul originated. This verse, in a concise manner, reflects the essence of this ontological estrangement and separation, crying out the soul's perpetual desire to return to its origin, even if the earthy body's path is barred.

Key takeaways

• The earthy body inherently limits access to the spiritual realm of the soul and meaning.
• This verse articulates the existential separation of the soul from its origin due to bodily constraints.
• The body acts as a weight and a rope, preventing the light-souled spirit from ascending to the angelic realm.
• Contrary to some perspectives, for Mawlana, this world is a place of exile, and the soul is perpetually seeking its true homeland.
• Bodily limitations intensify the soul's spiritual yearning and longing for reunion with its source.