In Book Two of the Masnavi, Jalaluddin Rumi shares an anecdote about an ascetic whose friend warns him that his excessive weeping for God might cause blindness. The ascetic replies that physical sight is inconsequential: if he is destined to see the divine beauty, the loss of physical eyes does not matter, and if he is not, eyes that cannot perceive God might as well be blind.

Rumi uses this exchange to introduce the profound metaphor of the 'Jesus of the Spirit' (عیسی روح). He reassures the reader not to grieve over physical limitations or losses, because an inner, spiritual Jesus resides within every person, capable of restoring true inner vision and life, just as the prophet Jesus healed the blind. However, Rumi cautions against burdening this pure spiritual essence with the selfish desires of the physical body. This connects the inner metaphor directly back to the broader framing story, in which a foolish companion vainly asks the historical Jesus to resurrect dead physical b...