In Book 3 of Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, during the tale of the hospitable townsman's ill-fated journey to the village, the narrative transitions into a profound spiritual discourse on the nature of love and attachment. Rumi observes that people gladly endure severe hardships—such as carrying heavy loads or burning in the sun—for the sake of worldly beloveds or transient goals. However, he reveals that human affection for any physical or worldly object exists only because it is temporarily 'gilded' with a ray of God's divine attributes. When this divine light inevitably returns to its source, leaving behind only the base 'copper' of the material form, human nature becomes satiated and discards the object. Through this metaphor, Rumi urges the spiritual seeker to abandon reliance on transient, borrowed companionships and instead strive for intimacy with the eternal, living God, whose divine light never fades.