Discourses of Rumi

FIHI MA FIHI V 275heavens,” and “O Creator of intelligence.” So thisdistinction, although general, is an indication ofchoiceness and value.The upshot is that the bowls travel on the surfaceof the water, and the water carries one bowlso that every other bowl gazes upon it. The watercarries another bowl so that every bowl runsaway instinctively, and feels ashamed seeing it.The water inspires them to run away andimplants in them the power to move away, saying,“O God, take us farther away.” But in the firstcase they say, “O God, bring us closer to thisone.”The person who thinks this is a general situationsays, “Both bowls are equally controlled bythe water.” We say, “If only you saw the grace,beauty and pretty sauntering of this bowl on thewater, you would have no desire to call suchmovement general.” In the same way, it wouldnever occur to a lover to say, “My beloved and Iare co-partners in the work and filth that resultsfrom two people sharing a certain space with bodiesthat decay.” How could anyone apply such acold description to their beloved?