The Distrust of Inner Knowledge: Payten Gary

 A reflection of Rumi


    Rūmī's poem, “In Baghdad, Dreaming of Cairo,” presents a stark, almost humorous paradox: the treasure the protagonist seeks in the faraway city of Cairo is ultimately located under his own doorstep in Baghdad. When I first read this poem and got to its conclusion I laughed aloud, thinking of all the times that I had lost something for it to be the first place I looked all along. The core philosophical idea here is that the object of our quest, be it meaning, happiness, or spiritual wealth is often found in the place we began. What I find most reflective about this is not the ultimate answer (that the treasure is at home), but the sheer distrust of inner or immediate knowledge that the character exhibits. Why do we feel compelled to undertake a vast, difficult journey before we can accept the value of what is already here? Why can we never be satisfied by what we have? We tend to only validate knowledge and experiences as meaningful after it has been certified or proven to be externally present. This leads me to a certain question.

    Is Rūmī’s poem actually about the treasure being within, or is it about the necessity of the journey, the act of external searching and disappointment, to prepare the soul to recognize the truth of the internal answer? I feel that if the treasure had been found in Baghdad without the journey to Cairo, it wouldn't have been a treasure at all. It would have just been a buried object without philosophical weight.

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