Excellence of knowledge - PROOF OF REASON

Book 1. THE BOOK OF WORSHIP

Part I. Knowledge 

Ch 1. Knowledge, learning and teaching

Excellence of knowledge - PROOF OF REASON

All precious things fall into one of three groups - 1) what is sought for its own intrinsic value, 2) what is sought as a means to an end, 3) and what is sought for both. 

The affairs of this world do not become orderly except through activities, but the human activities are divided into three categories. 1) The first category includes four fundamental activities without which the world can not go on in order. (i) Agriculture for raising food stuffs for maintaining lives, weaving for manufacturing clothes, architecture for building houses and government for regulating human relations for living in peace and harmony. 2) The second category includes such activities as are helpful to the above mentioned activities, such as iron crafts or ploughs for cultivation, instruments for spinning and weaving clothes and other implements. 3) The third category includes such activities as are supplementary to the principal industries previously mentioned, such as eating, drinking, making dresses, sewing clothes.

Administration is divided into four classes. (1) The first class is the highest as it is the government of the prophets and their jurisdiction spread over the public and private mattes of the people. (2) Next is the administration of temporal rulers over the public matters of the people and not their private matters. (3) Next is the administration of the learned and the wise over the people in the matter of the religion of God as they are the heirs of the prophets. It involves thoughts of the privileged few. (4) Next is the administration of the preachers which involves the thoughts of the common men. After the administration of the prophets, the most noble is the diffusion of knowledge whereby the people are saved from evil and destructive habits and are led towards fortune and constructive virtues. This is the goal of knowledge and education.