In Chapter 13, Poem 1 of Attar's Mokhtar Nameh, the poet explores the spiritual tragedy of failing to attain divine union due to the ego (نفس, nafs). The poem employs the well-known Sufi metaphor of the 'drop' (قطره) and the 'ocean' (دریا) to illustrate the soul's limited, individuated state versus the infinite Divine. When afflicted by the 'misfortune of the ego,' the individual remains isolated and earthbound as a mere drop, unable to ascend to the spiritual heights and merge into the vast ocean of divine mystery. This highlights the necessity of overcoming selfhood (annihilation of the ego) to achieve spiritual realization and union.