M6:1706 — گفت مولع گشت این مفتون درین / بی‌خبر کین چه خسارست و غبین

Translation: Someone said this infatuated one became deeply engrossed in this [game], Unaware of what great loss and deception this was. Meaning: This verse speaks to a person's complete enthrallment by trivial amusements and tales, rendering them utterly oblivious to the significant losses and deceptions they are incurring.

Here, in this allegorical tale of the cunning tailor and the oblivious customer, Mevlana unveils a profound psychological and ontological truth. This specific couplet, positioned at a crucial juncture in the narrative, depicts the state of the simple-minded Turk from the city of Khatā; a Turk who, upon encountering the tailor's smooth talk, jokes, and fables, becomes so infatuated and spellbound that it seems his very self-awareness has begun to slip away. The phrase "this infatuated one became deeply engrossed in this [game]" points to his intense and involuntary attachment to the tailor's garrulous chatter. He no longer thinks of his fabric, nor the wager he has placed, nor the loss that is steadily diminishing his capital.

I firmly believe that Mevlana, in this anecdote, narrates the condition of most human beings—those of us who, in his own words, "have grown fat on diversion and jest." We have taken life as a joke, squandering our precious and irreplaceable energy on trivialities, constantly imploring others to entertain us with new fables and anecdotes, lest we become aware of our true existence and the capital we are so recklessly losing. Just as the Turk's narrow eyes would close from excessive laughter, and his intellect would flee, we too become intoxicated by the "laughter" and "jest" of time, forgetting our "former claims," our initial aspirations, and our fundamental responsibilities.

This "loss" (khesārat) and "deception" (ghabīn) that Mevlana speaks of is not merely the loss of a few spans of cloth. It is the loss of life itself, the forfeiture of spiritual wakefulness, and a surrender to a heedlessness that envelops one's entire being. The cunning tailor is an allegory for the deceits of time, or the inner and outer Satan, who "carried away the honor of hundreds of thousands like you." This thief, in silence and while distracting us with "fable and magic," steals from us, and we, "unaware of what great loss and deception this was," continue to play the game. Mevlana repeatedly warns that this revolving sphere, with all its delights and joys, ultimately scatters what it has bestowed, turning gifts into dust. The only difference between the tailor and God, in this context, is that the tailor steals, while God is "He who conceals faults" (sattār khūst). However, if we transgress limits, that same Concealer of faults will become our informer. This allegory reminds me of those "elders with childlike minds" who, despite their hundred years, have learned nothing from the world and sit begging for more jokes and amusements.

Key takeaways

• Worldly amusements and 'jest' can make one oblivious to existential realities and hidden losses.
• Infatuation with trivial jokes and fables leads to the squandering of life's capital and spiritual wakefulness.
• Mevlana sees this 'infatuation' as the general condition of most people, who fall into the trap of 'loss and deception' through heedlessness.
• The allegory serves as a profound warning about the deceptive role of the world and carnal desires that alienate us from ourselves.
• Neglecting one's existential capital due to frivolous laughter results in belated awakening and empty-handedness.