Reflection by Omer Bajwa, Director of Muslim Life

Date of Publication: 
February 8, 2021
 
"The art of knowing is knowing what to ignore." -Rumi 

This quote by 13th-century Muslim mystic poet, Rumi, can be read in many ways.  On one level, it can be read as speaking about the value of winnowing or 'separating the wheat from the chaff.'  This type of focus can be quite useful in today's information overloaded world, which can sometimes induce anxiety through infoxication, and so developing a discerning intellect is a valuable skill.   

There is also another way of reading Rumi's quote, in today's pandemic-afflicted world, that is apropos to our Yale life.  One of the myriad humbling lessons of the pandemic is about the idea of limits.  The past year has taught, and continues to teach us, the reality that we are limited: in our attention, in our energy, and in our capacity. This can be challenging for some of us to grapple with because our competitive and "elite" institutions sometimes portray false ideals of limitless potential, limitless opportunities, and limitless success.   

"If only I work hard enough...hustle enough...want it badly enough...then I can accomplish it...and achieve acclaim and validation," or so the self-mythologizing often goes.  But truthfully, the pandemic has exposed the fact that we are all limited, and it is disingenuous to pretend that we, as individuals or as societies, can continue to operate as "normal" (or that we can even return to "normal" post-pandemic because so many inequities have been exposed that it is imperative that we not fall into old habits & repeat mistakes, but that is for another time). 

When Rumi talks about "knowing what to ignore," perhaps we might start with ignoring the deceptive and deleterious messages that we are consciously exposed to and sub-consciously internalize, and that he is pushing us to re-examine what the pursuit and production of real knowledge entails.  A portion of that is knowing, and embracing, that we all have limits.  And this reality is essential to existential knowledge and radical honesty.