This concept explores the theme of spiritual realization as depicted in Poem 24, Chapter 12 of Attar's Mokhtar Nameh. The poem contrasts a superficial, boundless outward journey (spanning 'from the moon to the fish') with the profoundly more valuable inward journey of guiding the ego (nafs) toward awareness. It employs the metaphor of the 'fountain of life' (سرچشمه حیوان) hidden in darkness, which is a well-known Sufi allusion to the myth of Khidr. Attar suggests that true, eternal spiritual life can only be attained by successfully navigating and overcoming the 'darkness of the self' (ظلمات نفس).