“ The eye sees what it brings with it to see; it can see nothing but what it has gained the faculty of seeing. ”
Rumi, Masnavi (1273). copy citation
| Author | Rumi |
|---|---|
| Source | Masnavi |
| Topic | gain eyes |
| Date | 1273 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | Masnavi, Book V |
| Note | Translated by Edward Henry Whinfield |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Masnavi_I_Ma'navi/Book_V |
Context
“The king inquired of Ayaz what made him continually visit his old shoes and garments, as Majnun used to visit his Laila, or as a Christian regularly visits his priest to obtain absolution for his sins. Why should he call to these dead things, like a fond mother calling to her dead infant, were it not that faith and love made them, as it were, living beings to him? The eye sees what it brings with it to see; it can see nothing but what it has gained the faculty of seeing. Thus the face of Laila, which seemed so lovely to the eyes of Majnun, made clairvoyant by love, seemed to strangers to have no claims to beauty. The earthly forms which here surround us are, as it were, vessels fraught with spiritual wine, only visible to those who have learnt to discern the deep things of the Spirit.”
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