The fool who knows his folly is, in that respect, wise. But the fool who thinks himself wise is truly a fool.

Yo bālo maññati bālyaṃ — the fool who knows his folly: the paradox of this verse is the heart of Socratic and Buddhist epistemology combined. The “I know that I do not know” of Socrates finds its Pāli equivalent here.

Paṇḍito vāpi tena so — is wise by that very fact. Honest recognition of one’s own ignorance is an act of wisdom. It requires humility and the capacity to see beyond the ego that wants to believe it already knows.

Bālo ca paṇḍitamānī — the fool who thinks himself wise: māna is pride, presumption. One is doubly blocked: by real ignorance and by the pride that prevents recognizing it.

In yoga practice, viveka (discernment) begins by distinguishing between what one knows and what one thinks one knows. The genuine sādhaka maintains an attitude of perpetual beginner — not through performative modesty but because reality is always vaster than current comprehension.