The spirit is like an ant (1)

The spirit is like an ant, and the body like a grain of wheat
which the ant carries to and fro continually.
The ant knows that the grains of which it has taken charge
will change and become assimilated.

One ant picks up a grain of barley on the road;
another ant picks up a grain of wheat and runs away.
The barley doesn't hurry to the wheat,
but the ant comes to the ant, yes it does.

The going of the barley to the wheat is merely consequential:
it's the ant that returns to its own kind.
Don't say, "Why did the wheat go to the barley?"
Fix your eye on the holder, not on that which is held.

As when a black ant moves along on a black felt cloth:
the ant is hidden from view; only the grain is visible on its way.
But Reason says: "Look well to your eye:
when does a grain ever move along without a carrier?"

* * * * *

roh seumpama seekor semut, dan jasad seperti sebutir gandum
yang dipikul semut ke sana ke mari terus-menerus.
sang semut tahu bahawa gandum yang dijagainya itu
akan berubah dan melarut.

seekor semut mengutip sebutir barli di jalan,
semut lain mengutip sebutir gandum lalu berlari pergi.
butir barli tidak bersegera pergi kepada butir gandum,
tetapi sang semut pergi kepada semut yang satu lagi, ya begitulah.

pertemuan barli dengan gandum adalah kebetulan cuma,
ia adalah kepulangan semut kepada bangsanya sendiri.
jangan berkata, “kenapa gandum pergi kepada barli?”
halakan mata tuan kepada si pemegang, bukan apa yang dipegangnya.

seperti seekor semut hitam melintasi kain baldu yang hitam;
sang semut terlindung daripada pandangan; hanya bijiran itu yang nampak;
tapi akal berkata: “perhatikan dengan mata tuan betul-betul,
bilakah bijirin boleh bergerak melintas tanpa pembawa?”

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(1) Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance (Mathnawi VI: 2955-2962), Camille and Kabir Helminski, Threshold Books, 1996