Know thyself
To Know Thyself can mean a lot of things to man and woman. When one begins to explore this state, it leads to profound understandings about all of creation. To know thyself can make things such as unhappiness, fear, sadness, doubt, and all the negative emotions meaningless. Knowing thyself is a lifelong journey. It is a voyage which should be looked upon with total trust in your personal interpretation and personal experiences to judge. Truth is only known in relation to an individual’s perception of thyself, by which is reality. There is only one reality, and your personal observation of it contributes to only one of many. However, who is the actual perceiver? ”Who are you, really?” Are you actually who u think u are? Or are u someone who u think you are but really aren’t? Reflect upon the following considerations to have an idea of to why it’s important to know thyself, as a part of reality, as well as to view your awareness as somewhat of a mirror of reality, such that to describe that of which you are aware to the truth about an aspect of thyself.
“Gnothi seauton“
This quote was inscribed in gold at the entrance to the temple of Apollo at Delphi. The Oracle of Delphi changed the destiny of nations. She was not just consulted by leaders of various Greek city states, but also by king Amasis of Egypt, Solon of Athens, and king Croessus from Lydia. All visited Delphi, in search of her divine guidance. Or rather that of the god Apollo, who spoke through her body. The earliest reference to the Oracle is in Homer, whereas ancient stories say how on the side of Mount Parnassos. There was a crack where goats suddenly began crying and leaping about. When the goatherds approached, they experienced the same, both, the man and animal acting as if they were possessed. Some reported visions, others foretold the future. Some even apparently disappeared into the cleft by overwhelming of the fumes and the losing sense of this reality and suffering the fatal consequences.
Delphi as located in the exact center of the Greek world, it is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. The word “Delphi” is Greek for “hollow”, derived from the word “delphis”, which means “womb”, by which is closely linked with the navel and the umbilical cord, and is so vital for the bond between child and mother, and hence said to be instrumental in our relationship with the world of the gods. Delphi was the sanctuary of Apollo. Delphi became the site of a major temple to Phoebus Apollo, as well as the Pythian Games. Even in Roman times, hundreds of votive statues remained, described by Pliny the Younger and seen by Pausanias. Supposedly carved into the temple were three phrases “know thyself”, “nothing in excess”, and also “make a pledge and mischief is nigh”, as well as a large letter “E”. Among other things, epsilon signifies the number 5. Delphi’s other name, Pytho, means “to rot”, a reference to the decay of the snake’s body that Apollo killed there. The oracle was known as the Pythia. It is clear that mythological speaking, it was considered to be the “rotting corpse” that provided the fumes that put the Pythia in contact with the gods. In The center of Delphi temple was a chamber where the Pythia worked. “Adyton” literally means “do not enter” or “inaccessible” and was thus the Holy of Holies. Inside, only the Pythia and the priest were allowed, with the pilgrims required to wait nearby, where some reported that they could occasionally smell a whiff of a sweet odor, believed to have been the vapors rising from the chasm. Some decades ago, geologist Jelle de Boer trekked around Greece. While in Delphi, he noticed the presence of a fault line. Several years later, de Boer was astonished to find that archaeologists were not aware of this. He teamed up with John Hale in an effort to substantiate whether or not the fault line ran underneath the temple. If this were the case, then it would mean that the ancient authors were almost certainly right and the French archaeologist wrong. After a few years of research, the team learned that the French team had contradicted themselves and had actually found evidence of a chasm but which for some reason was not accurately reported in their final analysis. De Boer and Hale found that there were two fault lines that crossed exactly at the location of the “Adyton” and that rocks in its immediate surrounding area showed clear signs of ethylene, a product used in the early 20th century in operations. So it was now proven that there was a chasm and that there were intoxicating fumes. The ancient authors were right and the French archaeologists very wrong. And the legacy of Delphi could slowly be restored again.
Delphi had two important sayings: “Know Thyself” and “Nothing to excess”. But once de Boer’s research was public knowledge, media and fellow scholars went to excess in their interpretations of the findings this to the dissatisfaction of de Boer himself. The preferred interpretation was now that the priests had not invented everything but had nevertheless rephrased the meaningless utterances of the Pythia into prophecies. Though the Pythia was no longer deemed to be a fraud, Delphi was still seen as a ploy to exploit the desire to believe. Nonetheless, though it was known as the most important religious centre of Antiquity, for scholars, there was nothing special or divine about it. This trend was not new. People like Robert Temple tackled Delphi before de Boer’s research came out, suggesting that the eagles were doves and that the priests had an entire network of informants across the Mediterranean. If one nation was defeated in some battle somewhere in Turkey, a carrier pigeon would be sent from that region, with news for the priests of Delphi, which could then pretend to prophesize an event. It bypasses the central issue that normally, the Pythia would have to predict this event long before the battle began, so at best, what the priests gained was to be kept up to date about whether they were wrong or right and as already mentioned, it is known the Oracle quite often got it wrong. Today, we have hence once again opted for the safe haven, letting ourselves believe that the entire spectacle of Delphi was a show, with no genuine mystical core. De Boer suggested this was highly unlikely, suggesting the prolonged fame and importance of the site and generally, we do not seem to heed that other warning of Delphi “Know Thyself”.
I believe that the Greeks really meant that in order to know one’s self, means that one has to know one’s True Identity, and True Identity means the Distinct Fact of Being one. But it is next to “Impossible” to know who we are by means of the Rational, or the Empirical, or the Philosophical point of view. The Physiologist, the Psychologist, the Nuclear Physicist, the Historian, the Dramatist, the King, the Slave, the Men, the Women, the Transvestites, the Gays, the Lesbians, and, the Chemist, the Botanist, the Genius, the Idiot, the Mythologist, the Realist, The Fanatic, the Extremist, the Racist, the This and the That, and etc, will all have their own Definitive’s and Concepts of what they “Think” we are, but such thinking is not the Truth defining our Existential Reality. Those who are to Believe, shall Believe, upon knowing this far of their True Identity.
Jesus has said in a scripture, “He who has not known himself has known nothing, but he who has known himself has at the same time already achieved knowledge about the depth of all.” He who isn’t true to himself is the prisoner of their life and fears and desires or emotions. He who is true to himself is the successor of life and can experience it to the fullest, with no restraints. I believe that the Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge. Why? Well because I feel that without knowing these things, will cheat you out of life , and make u blind to who u really are. I also feel that what you desire and what your emotions are the keys to unlocking the knowledge to know who u really are. For example, in my last two years of high school, I became in interested in playing basketball for my school, but all my friends and teachers in my school felt that it was impossible to do, because of how small and skinny I was. So, I went to a school basketball tryout and showed them what I had. Sad to say, the school coach didn’t pick me for neither JV nor Varsity. The coach of our schools team was also the dean of students. I was a good student in high school and never got in trouble. I did things without getting caught. So, by him not liking me, because I wasn’t a trouble maker really made him not pick me for the team. This really took a toll on me. So much of a toll, that I didn’t make it and I knew I could play the game that I loved so well. So I didn’t hang my head for long, I went back to the lab and that whole summer after my 11th grade year of high school I practiced my game every day and even joined an AAU basketball team to better myself.
The beginning of my last year of school has come and, it was tryout day, and when it was my turn to play, I played. And when I say “I played”? I played my heart out with every inch and every muscle and every breath, I played my game. By me using my passion and desire to play basketball, I made the team weighting only 123 lbs, yup the smallest in weight and height on the team. Then, just then, I knew I could do anything. That year, the Freire Charter high school basketball team was the best team the school ever had by receiving numerous awards and division championship and almost winning the state championship. After experiencing that, I believed that I was just so misunderstood and looked down upon that it fed my need to keep going and trying, and then I knew who I was. I was Julian Yvon Renwrick-Chapolini, who is so misunderstood by so many people that, I developed such a killer instinct and valor that nothing will stand in the way of what I want in life, by which is to just be happy and loved by all because Courage is knowing what not to fear, and I fear no one but GOD.r
Nonetheless, to answer the question to why is it important to “Know Thyself”, it is important to know thyself to know about everything. The main purpose of humans coming into this world is to know thyself and to avoid the further cycle of birth and death as per the internal eastern philosophy. That’s why to know thyself, is the supreme command into spiritual practices. If you know all about the world without knowing thyself, it would be a simple waste of energy and time. The creation what we see outside of you is in you also. When you finally know thyself, clearly, completely, then this truth would be revealed. Nothing is outside of what is not in you, that’s why it’s important to know thyself.
