Beyond the Two Worlds: The Hidden Essence of Love

A Mystical Reflection Inspired by a Ghazal of Attar of Nishapur

There are loves that live within the world
and there is Love that births worlds.

Attar begins his ghazal with a declaration that strikes at the root of all human understanding:

“The nature of your love lies beyond both worlds
for whatever they name, it is not that.”

Love, as Attar speaks of it, is not a feeling, not an emotion that stirs the heart for a moment and then fades into memory.
It is the fire beneath creation, a force that precedes heaven and earth, a light that cannot be contained by name, creed, or idea.
Every time the mind says “This is love,” Attar replies: “No, it is not that.”

Because love cannot be described by the language of opposites.
It is not joy or pain, not union or separation.
It is what remains when both have dissolved.

Beyond Mind and Measure

“It is higher than the qualities of mind, knowledge, and reason
beyond the secret chambers of the heart and the thoughts of the soul.”

Here, Attar reminds us that reason is a mirror too small to hold the sun.
The intellect may glimpse the edge of truth, but only the heart that burns can taste its essence.
Knowledge is a boundary; love is the vastness that surrounds it.

In the journey of divine love, the seeker must surrender every map.
Logic becomes useless, memory turns to dust, and even the self, that faithful companion …