My foolishness is a very blessed foolishness...

My foolishness is a very blessed foolishness, for my heart is well-furnished (With spiritual graces) and my soul is devout.

[290] Then out of this story Mawlānā arrives at this conclusion: فكر، آن باشد كه بگشايد رهى راه، آن باشد كه پيش آيد شَهى The right thought is that which opens a way: The (right) way is that on which a (spiritual) king advances .[291] From the viewpoint of Mawlānā, it is not the discussion on the root of knowledge and the necessity of knowing; neither does he mean bestowing superiority to ignorance over wisdom.

Instead, his point is that man should benefit from his knowledge and this knowledge should transform his life. Such knowledge stands on top in self-cognition; not knowledge of the horizontal and outer phenomena. Anyone who, without paying attention to this truth, is in pursuit of profusely acquiring knowledge and lets diverse and secondary information fill his memory to the brim is, in fact, overburdening himself and placing insurmountable hurdles in his way.

Those who are like him know so many things about everything. But, this knowledge has no influence on their fate and if all this learning can be taken away from them, they will still pursue their past life. Concerning such type of people, Mawlānā says: ﺻﺩﻫﺰﺍﺭﺍﻥ ﻓﺼﻞﺩﺍﻨﺪ ﺍﺯﻋﻠﻮﻡ ﺟﺎﻥ ﺧﻮﺩ ﺭﺍﻣﻰﻧﺪﺍﻧﺩ ﺁﻥﻇﻠﻮﻡ ﺩﺍﻨﺩ ﺍﻮﺧﺎﺼﻴﺖ ﻫﺭﺟﻮﻫﺭﻯ ﺪﺭ ﺑﻴﺎﻥ ﺟﻮﻫﺭﺧﻮﺪ ﭽﻮﻥ ﺧﺭﻯ He knows a hundred thousand superfluous matters [292] connected with The (various) sciences, (but) that unjust man does not know his own soul.

He knows the special properties of every substance, (but) in elucidating His own substance (essence) he is (as ignorant) as an ass. [293] The approach to the issue of knowledge of one of the two prominent branches of Western contemporary philosophy, i.e. existentialism, is the same. Kierkegaard, the precursor of existentialism, divides truth into exoteric and esoteric, or exact and imaginary. Exoteric truths are those accomplishments of science while esoteric truths are rooted in the soul of man.

These esoteric truths, that he has named as ‘existential truths,’ are interwoven with the destiny of man and determine the trend of his life. Every kind of knowledge should be exploited and utilized while keeping in view its role in determining and nurturing man’s existential truths. As such, according to Kierkegaard, all kinds of knowledge are not equal in rank and worth. Rather, they are classified according to their functions with respect to man.