In Book 1, Section 95 of the Masnavi, Rumi explores the spiritual destructiveness of public adulation (ta'zim-i khalq) and flattery. He metaphorically compares the world's praise and social validation to a 'sweet morsel full of fire' whose pleasant taste is obvious but whose burning consequences are hidden until the end. Rumi warns that when an individual becomes intoxicated by the admiration of others, they lose their spiritual grounding and fall into arrogance (takabbur). The flatterers, though appearing as confidants and supporters, act as deceptive forces that lead the ego into a state of self-worship, ultimately severing the soul from divine reality and casting it away like a demon throwing victims into a stream.