M6:3754 — لیک بعضی رو سوی دم کرده‌اند / گرچه سر اصلست سر گم کرده‌اند

Translation: But some have turned their face towards the tail Though the head is the essence, they have lost the head.

Meaning: Mawlana suggests that some individuals mistakenly focus on the peripheral or superficial aspects ('tail') of a reality, thereby missing its true origin and essence ('head').

This verse follows Mawlana's profound invitation to abandon seeking perfection from 'forms' ( ṣūrat ) and begging from other needy beings, urging us instead to turn towards the 'Formless' ( bī-ṣūrat ). I have often emphasized that creation operates on the principle of 'grace' ( karam ), not 'justice' ( ʿadl ). This is because capacities and aptitudes themselves emerge without any prior merit. When the Formless conceals its face, forms begin to beg from one another, and this, in Mawlana's words, is 'the very essence of error' ( ʿayn-i ḍalāl ): a needy person asking from another needy, a blind person guiding another blind person.

Mawlana insists that God should not be sought in conceptual forms or ideas; discursive thought only generates more forms. Rather, He must be found in 'self-annihilation' ( ifnā-yi khīsh ). You must efface yourself for Him to enter. Just as, in traditional narratives, a prophet was instructed by God to tell his community to dig empty basins for rain to fall, so too, 'seek less water, bring forth thirst' ( āb kam jo, tishnagī āvar ba dast ). Empty yourself to be filled. This is an undeniable truth.

As I have noted before, 'formlessness' is one of the most pivotal insights in the Masnavi, revealing that this world of forms emerged from the Formless. Mawlana uses symbols like water (which takes the shape of any vessel), light (which is colorless yet reveals all colors), and breath (which has no melody itself yet gives rise to all melodies) to represent the Formless. Even when we pursue things with 'form' (for instance, a city for pleasure or a friend for companionship), what truly draws us is the 'formless delight' ( dhawq-i bī-ṣūrat ) they promise. Thus, in this world of forms, all of us are, in fact, implicitly and unconsciously 'God-seekers' ( khudā-jū ), moving from grosser forms to more subtle ones until we reach the 'Most Subtle of Subtleties' ( alṭaf al-laṭāʾif ), the absolute Formless.

This particular verse concludes by stating that when a reality transitions from a formless state into a formed one, it acquires both a 'head' ( sar, signifying essence and origin) and a 'tail' ( dum, signifying consequence and derivative aspects). Some people focus on the 'head' of that reality, while others focus on its 'tail.' Although both ultimately originate from the same single source, those who turn towards the 'tail' have, in effect, 'lost the head.'

I have illustrated this with a political anecdote from a Japanese diplomat who once told a friend of ours: 'We know America is a wild cow, but we grab its udders and milk it, while you grab its horns and fight it.' This highlights the wisdom required, even within the realm of forms and sensory experience, to discern which aspect to engage with.

However, Mawlana continues, the grace and beneficence of that lost 'head' still reaches these individuals through the 'tail,' not leaving them entirely deprived. Yet, there is another group who have lost both the 'head' and 'tail' of this formed reality, turning entirely towards the absolute Formless. These are the ones who, when they lose everything, gain everything. It is here that the formed drop merges with the formless ocean, becoming formless itself. Then, from utter abasement ( kamāmat ), they rush towards the 'Whole' ( kull ) and embrace it. This is the culmination and peak of this gnosis.

Key takeaways

• Truth resides beyond forms and concepts; its apprehension requires 'self-annihilation'.
• All humans, consciously or unconsciously, are ultimately seeking the 'Formless' (God).
• Every reality possesses a 'head' (essence) and a 'tail' (derivative aspect); wisdom lies in discerning and focusing on the primary source.
• Those who fixate on superficialities ('tail') inadvertently lose sight of the essence ('head').
• Divine grace, even for those who have lost the 'head', still reaches them through the 'tail'.
• The pinnacle of gnosis is to transcend both 'head' and 'tail' and merge with the absolute Formless; this ultimate loss is, in fact, the gaining of everything.