In Book 5, Section 123 of the Masnavi, Rumi uses the parable of a man eating coarse millet bread to illustrate the spiritual value of hunger. When questioned by a beggar about his appetite for such simple food, the man explains that hunger, combined with patience, transforms even the most basic barley bread into a sweet delicacy. Beyond physical appetite, the parable conveys a deeper spiritual metaphor: true, spiritual hunger is a divine gift reserved for God's chosen ones (the elect). Rather than being a worldly deprivation, this hunger provides spiritual strength and elevates them above ordinary material anxieties.