Why do you destroy this verse of mine?
November 5, 2015
I recited a verse but my Beloved became offended by me.
It said, “Do you weigh Me by the measure of your verse?”
I said, “Why do you destroy this verse of mine?”
It said, “By what verse will I be contained?”
(adapted from The Quatrains of Rumi,
translated by Ibrahim Gamard and Rawan Farhadi, p. 202)
* * *
I will use the above quatrain to explore some dynamics of praising the Beloved.
Among the most important elements of praise are the questions: what is its source and origin, and what is its driving motivation? From the perspective of the mystic, the most eloquent and stirring composition holds little weigh if it emanates from selfishness or ego. The first line of the quatrain suggests the source and motivation of the mentioned verse: I recited a verse but my Beloved became offended by me. Granted, with the way we use language, “I,” “my,” and “me” may be used in a general sense by one who was a selfless vessel for the verse. But the mention of offense is an indication of ego: egos get offended and personalize their reactions to phenomena, not the Beloved who may be displeased yet unaffected and undisturbed by the things we do that are contrary to Divine Will. And it is not uncommon an offended ego to be so disturbed that it projects this offense on another, in this case: my Beloved became offended by me.
This dynamic of the source, origin, and motivation of praise is not always direct. Neither is it possible to construct a series of measures to consistently determine (by use of the mind) whether another’s praise emanates from selfishness and ego, or something beyond. It is a matter of examining the heart. Note these words of the Beloved as It corrects the prophet Muusaa (a.s.), also known as Moses, for chastising a shepherd for what Muusaa deemed to be an inappropriate prayer:
I regard not the outside and the words,
I regard the inside and the state of heart.
I look at the heart if it be humble,
Though the words may be the reverse of humble.
Because the heart is substance, and words accidents,
Accidents are only a means, substance is the final
cause.
How long wilt thou dwell on words and
superficialities?
A burning heart is what I want; consort with burning!
(Masnavi i Ma’navi, translated by E.H. Whinfield, p.
123)
**Note: I’ll address this classic story in the next post.
Many caution that only those who reach the station of sainthood and beyond can consistently read the heart of others. But everyone is capable of reading if their own “I” is acting on the level of the mind and ego or is being moved by the (spiritual) heart. One clear measure of this is humility, but it’s not a measure defined by external things since sometimes genuine humility seems arrogant. To determine if you’re being humble requires complete, unrelenting honesty; it is a surrender of the ego, even if the actions that emanate from such are bold. And for the Sufi, the basis of such humility is the heart since the Beloved dwells therein.
In humility of heart, we simply become a vessel for the verse -- without any expectation or preference regarding what becomes of it. Within this humility, “I” offer (or allow to be offered through me) the verse and am just as content if the Beloved accepts, cherishes, rejects, or destroys it. But if “I” look for even a mere acknowledgment regarding the verse I have moved beyond humility of heart into the realm of the mind. Even if the mind is restrained by a mental effort at humility, by holding to the “I,” I make myself an entity in the presence of the Beloved. Jalaal ud- Diin Rumi regards this “self existence” an error since one of the Divine intentions of praise is to disappear into the Beloved:
Can I explain ‘The Friend’ to one to whom It is no Friend?
[Or: Can I explain ‘The Friend’ to one who is not a friend of The Friend?]
Verily my singing Its praise were dispraise,
For ‘twould prove me existent, and existence is error.
(Masnavi p. 10)
The allure of the mind is such that even prophets and saints can slip into its realm, although they usually return (sometimes after Divine correction) to humility of heart. Noticing the “offense” of the Beloved and asking why It destroyed the verse suggests one is in the realm of the mind. Humility of heart would not be moved the slightest by the Beloved destroying the verse: in its selflessness, it would merely offer the verse welcoming the Beloved to do with it what It wishes. Yet in this case, there is a beneficent reason why the Beloved destroys the verse.
And let me state before continuing,