Page 166 - The Book of Rumi

Ants and Calligraphy

he ants left their colony late one morning and, uncharacteristically, took
Ta left turn instead of continuing along their usual route straight ahead.
Soon they found themselves walking on a white sheet of paper that someone
was writing on. Astonished by the beauty of the script, a young ant, who could
not see the fi ngers holding the pen, turned to the older ones and exclaimed:
“Look at this beauty! See how breathtaking these incredible shapes are that
this pen is creating! I never knew that forms could look so astonishing!”
An older ant, who had seen a little more of the world, replied knowingly:
“This beauty is the work of the fi ngers that are holding the pen. The pen isn’t
the originator of this masterpiece, the hand is.”
“You are both wrong!” a third ant interrupted. “This is the work of the
arm. Just look at those skinny, bony fi ngers. How could they ever create such
a chef d’oeuvre?”
Gradually more ants joined them, all eager to offer their opinions. Their
leader, who was known for his superior intelligence, fi nally declared: “Don’t
believe that this work belongs to the realm of matter, because all matter van-
ishes with age like a dream. Material things are meant for physical life, but
forms are originally created out of intelligence and spirit.”
Unbeknown to even the wise leader, beyond intelligence and spirit, ulti-
mately an act of God is necessary for anything to become manifest.

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