earthly knowledge...

He who is filled with the knowledge of names and forms has no capacity for the
knowledge of God.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

A man filled with earthly knowledge -- and what he calls learning is often only
the knowledge of names and forms -- has no capacity for the knowledge of truth
or God. It is the innocent and pure soul who has a capacity for learning. When a
person comes to take a lesson on any subject, and he brings his own knowledge
with him, the teacher has little to teach him, for the doors of his heart are
not open. His heart that should be empty in order to receive knowledge is
occupied by the knowledge that he already had acquired.

Intellect is the knowledge of names and forms, their character and nature,
gathered from the external world. It shows in an infant from birth, when he
begins to be curious about all he sees; then, by storing in his mind the various
forms and figures he sees he recognizes them as an addition to his knowledge of
variety. Man thus gathers the knowledge of numberless forms of the whole world
in his mind and holds them... and calls that 'learning'. This becomes his world,
although it neither gives him a sense of unchanging comfort, nor does he thereby
gain an everlasting peace.

Wisdom is contrary to the above-named knowledge. It is the knowledge which is
illumined by the light within; it comes with the maturity of the soul, and opens
up the sight to the similarity of all things and beings, as well as the unity in
names and forms. The wise man penetrates the spirit of all things; he sees the
human in the male and female, and the racial origin which unites nations. He
sees the human in all people and the divine immanence in all things in the
universe, until the vision of the whole being becomes to him the vision of the
One Alone, the most beautiful and beloved God.

Every soul yearns for knowledge, that knowledge which will give exaltation. But
the soul cannot be satisfied by the knowledge one gathers from books, by
learning, or by the study of outside things. For instance the knowledge of
science, the knowledge of art, are outside knowledge. They give one a kind of
strength, a kind of satisfaction, but this does not last. It is another
knowledge that the soul is really seeking. The soul cannot be satisfied unless
it finds that knowledge, but that knowledge does not come by learning names and
forms. ...

We must enrich ourselves with thought, with that happiness which is spiritual
happiness, with that peace which belongs to our soul, with that liberty, that
freedom, for which our soul longs; and attain to that higher knowledge which
breaks all the fetters of life and raises our consciousness to look at life from
a different point of view. Once a person has realized this opportunity he has
fulfilled the purpose of Life