Two Parables of Rumi

The meanings of some of the parables one encounters in the writings of Jalaluddin Rumi are relatively straightforward; others may be obscure and challenging, susceptible to various interpretations, and requiring long reflection. Then the meaning will deepen as the comprehension of the enquirer grows through ongoing practice and experience. Here are two examples from Rumi’s Masnavi.

The Man who Befriended a Bear
A man befriended a bear. A sage warned him to renounce such companionship; a bear is no pet, and lacks the intelligence to dwell among men; such a contact can only lead to disaster. But the advice was spurned. One day the man lay dozing beneath a tree, the bear alongside. The bear noticed that the sleeper’s face was troubled by flies, and wished to relieve his friend. Nearby was a large rock, which the bear grasped and hurled down, destroying not only the flies. The moral, which in this instance is spelled out by Rumi in his Masnavi, is ‘do not make friends with a fool’.

The Sea-Cow and the Pearl
Less obvious in meaning is Rumi’s story of the sea-cow and the royal pearl (the ‘sea-cow’ being a dugong—a large amphibious mammal that lives on plants).

At night the sea-cow emerges from the water carrying a bright pearl. So bright is its lustre that it lights up the surroundings, revealing the beautiful plants and flowers that grow alongside the sands.

Leaving the pearl on the ground, the sea-cow grazes on the hyacinths, lilies and other sweet and fragrant flowers. Suddenly it moves some distance from the pearl. A trader then appears on the scene, covers the pearl with earth, and hides up a tree. All is thrown into the darkness of the night. The sea-cow is enraged, hauling itself here and there in order to attack its enemy. It passes near the pearl, but as it is hidden by the earth, does not recognise it.

Rumi states that the pearl is the divine element hidden in the human heart—the ‘spiritual content’ hidden and unrecognised in the ‘clay’ of the body and the senses. But other aspects of the parable are not explained directly.

Superficially it would seem that the trader is there for reasons of gain, and that his role in the episode is therefore not benevolent. But is this really the case? Rumi writes that the trader recognised the true value of the pearl, but the sea-cow did not. What do the sea-cow, the trader and the hiding of the pearl really represent, if anything?

Speculation may suggest that the sea-cow is the seeker who has a partial awareness of the inner light, through frequenting the waters of meditation, and finding pearls therein. But the seeker is not yet yoked to that light, and, through absorption in the outer life—the equivalent of grazing on the plants—easily strays from its influence. In this case, the trader may represent the spiritual adviser, who deliberately causes a veiling of the light, so that the seeker may realise the need to practise more earnestly and transcend angry reactions based on egoism.

Another possible meaning is that the sea-cow represents every human being, who lives and moves in the light of the hidden interior presence of the spirit—the essential Self. But a person is normally unaware of this ultimate source of life and sustenance. Rumi says that just as Iblis (Satan) was ‘blind and deaf to the spiritual content of Adam, how should the cow know that the pearl is in the clay?… The trader knows it but the cow does not: the spiritual know, but not any clay-digger.’

The story of the sea-cow and the pearl may be found in full in book six of the Masnavi, verses 2922-2940. Not every nuance of Rumi’s presentation has been considered in these notes, only enough detail to show it as a parable of the second type: challenging and worthy of deep reflection.