In Book 6 of Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, the story of the poor man and the hidden treasure serves as an allegory for the spiritual seeker's journey and the misinterpretation of divine guidance. The treasure map instructs the man to place an arrow on his bow and dig where the arrow falls. Relying on his own effort and strength, the man draws the bowstring forcefully and shoots the arrow into the distance, but repeatedly finds nothing upon digging. Rumi uses this narrative to illustrate that profound spiritual truth cannot be attained through the forceful exertion of the ego or a merely literal interpretation of signs. The man's continuous failure highlights the necessity of surrendering personal agency; he was meant to simply let the arrow drop without applying his own strength. The treasure, symbolizing the divine, is found only when the seeker abandons self-directed striving.