When Rumi met Shams and Shams took all of Rumi’s books that he was carrying with him and threw them in the river, at that time Rumi was considered the penultimate scholar of his region. He knew more than anyone at that time or at least that was how the people viewed him. And he was the one that people came to as the authority on things, yet he was now confronted with this semi-mad-appearing Afghani who indicated to him that his knowledge was without a lot of value and that the extent of it was extremely limited.
So, what are we to take from that? We need to understand that all the stories and all the examples are for us. So, here’s a man who is an authority on things, not a kid anymore. He’s aged. He’s been through marriage, children, titles. He’s been through being in charge of things. He’s been through being the one who puts the stamp on the finality of decisions and things. And all of a sudden he is put in a place where he doesn’t know anything. And within a short period of time, he understands that. And he accepts that he doesn’t know anything or at least doesn’t know certain things and has to move forward.