M6:68 — فرجه کن چندانک اندر هر نفس / مثنوی را معنوی بینی و بس

Translation: Stroll on this island of the Mathnawī, so that in every breath You perceive the Mathnawī as nothing but meaning. Meaning: Here, Mawlana describes his Mathnawi as an island within the sea of spirituality, inviting the reader to wander through it, transcend its words, and perceive its pure, spiritual essence.

I have often emphasized that Mawlana was a sea-like personality; he was himself a surging ocean of spiritual knowledge (ma'ārif). This pivotal verse, in which Mawlana speaks of his own work, perfectly elucidates this image. He refers to the Mathnawi as an "island" (jazīre) in the "spiritual sea" (bahr-e ma'nawī). This metaphor is profound and highly significant. The sea itself is the boundless truth, the realm where every seeker is ultimately subsumed. But the island is a habitable, walkable land, a place where one can sit and gaze upon the sea, or from which one can venture into it. The Mathnawi, for us, is not the sea itself but a safe, tangible station within that infinite ocean of meaning. It is through this island that we can learn the language of the sea, without being overwhelmed by its depths from the very outset.

Mawlana's invitation is: "Furje kon," which means "take a stroll," "wander," "pause and contemplate." This is not merely an invitation to read; it is an invitation to experience, to live, to embark on a spiritual journey (sulūk). And the destination of this journey? "Such that in every breath / You perceive the Mathnawi as nothing but meaning." This implies that in every moment, every inhale and exhale, you should become so immersed in the Mathnawi that you no longer see mere words and phrases. These words, these letters and sounds, are all like "chaff and debris" (kāh-o khāshāk) resting on the surface of the water. A "wind" (bād) must blow to clear this debris, revealing the "uniform water" (āb-e yekrang) hidden beneath.

This is the very lesson Mawlana explicitly states elsewhere in the first book of the Mathnawi: "I will shatter letters, words, and sounds / So that without these three, I may converse with You." He wishes us to transcend the superficial shell and reach the kernel. This does not mean the words are unimportant; rather, it shows that the function of words in the Mathnawi is to carry us beyond themselves. Words here are like a bridge for crossing, not a destination for stopping. Once this crossing occurs, then the Mathnawi is no longer an island; it becomes the "sea itself." "When it becomes one with letter, sound, and breath / It leaves all those behind and becomes the sea." This is the ultimate experience of reading the Mathnawi: the annihilation of words in meaning, and the unification of the island with the sea. Here, there are no longer words or forms; everything converges into "formlessness" (bī-ṣūratī), which is the fount from which the water of life for the soul springs.

Key takeaways

• The Mathnawi is an island in the boundless sea of spirituality, offering a safe harbor to contemplate infinite truth.
• Mawlana's invitation to furje kon (stroll/wander) implies an active, contemplative reading, not mere information reception.
• The primary goal of reading the Mathnawi is to transcend the surface of words and delve into the depths of hidden meanings.
• The Mathnawi's words are akin to 'chaff and debris' on water, merely a veil for the clear water of meaning that must be pushed aside.
• In the sublime reading experience, words dissolve, and the Mathnawi itself transforms into the sea of meaning.
• This experience culminates in 'formlessness' (bī-ṣūratī), where forms and images recede, revealing the essence of the soul.