Gnothi Seauton

Essay written by Alya

Whether we are old and gray or young and full of life, we have all heard the phrase "know thyself." Gnothi Seauton (or γνῶθι σεαυτόν), the Ancient Greek maxim of the aforementioned adage, was a precept inscribed in golden dialect over the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. This is according to Pausanias, a Greek writer, and its authorship is under much question. Many believe it to have been written by one of several wise men in Greece (including Socrates, teacher of Plato; and Pythagoras of Samos, the "father of numbers.") Others insist Phemonoe, a mythical Greek poetess, is at fault. Temet Nosce, a Latin derivative of 'Gnothi Seauton,' is emblazoned above the Oracle's kitchen entrance in the 1999 film, The Matrix, pointed out by the Oracle to Neo when he goes to her for advice.

So, what does it mean? How exactly does one go about "knowing" one's own self? The answer is simpler than you think.

Throughout our lives, we always wonder who we are, why we are, and generally, what makes us who we are. Do we ever find out? No: sometimes we don't. Sometimes we just live with whatever life throws at us and deal with it as it comes. Sometimes we never bother to ask why we live in the first place. Does destiny actually exist? Does fate? Does knowledge -- all that information and little, useless tidbits of data based on our experiences and our belief in and of that which is fact -- truly exist, or is it merely all in our heads; a very widely agreed upon consensus of mankind?

No. The answer to all of the above is "no." Why? Because the only thing that ontologically exists are two things: our own belief and the idea in which we place it. You may ask, "Why doesn't anyone else's belief count?" Think of it in this way: you ask someone what time it is and they tell you, but their watch is an hour off (of course, you don't find this out until much later, when you are late for an important meeting.) Who is at fault? You for believing the person, or them for unknowingly being a little bit off the mark? The answer: you are, because you believed what they believed to be true. Certainly, the situation was beyond your ultimate control, but your unquestioning belief is what led you to be late. Why didn't you look at another clock afterward? Why not ask someone else just to make absolutely sure?

I'm not saying that you shouldn't listen to your friends when they try to tell you what time it is, I'm just trying to make a point. In any case, this belief -- or faith, if you will -- is what you base everything in your life upon. You can be the hardest rock star in the world and believe with all your heart that you're a folk artist. You can be holding a cup of steaming coffee in your hands and believe with everything that you've got that it's an ice-cold smoothie (you'll still get burnt; but that's a reality that you may or may not believe exists.) Others may try to convince and influence you otherwise, but it's only your thought that counts in the end. Essentially, knowing one's own self is as simple as actually just believing in yourself, your existence, your personality, and the environment around you.

Of course, the universe may or may not revolve around one single individual, but again; that depends also on whatever it is you believe. Personally, I think that what I see is what I get (and so forth), but I also try to delve deeper when can. Hence, this essay.

Meditation -- particularly transcendental, though it requires an instructor -- helps with everything in your mind. It broadens your horizons, opens your mind, and expands the innate capacity for learning that all humans have. I myself have only just skimmed the surface of what it can do, and can definitely say that if you really want to intimately know yourself (please keep you heads out of the gutter on that one), meditation is the way to go. The only negative effect is that it takes a few minutes out of your day. I think of it as sitting around doing nothing and thinking about everything and anything you possibly can until it just sort of...fades away, like background noise on a hot summer afternoon on the beach.

Advertising meditation is not my goal. Informing you of the simplicity Gnothi Seauton, on the other hand; is. Simple though it may be, it could take all of your life to answer whatever questions you have about yourself. But don't let that discourage you: it could just as easily take all of five minutes. Or, as mentioned before, you may never find out at all and just leave the matter be. It's all up to you.

Good or bad, it doesn't matter: just tell me what you think! (And see my off-shoot, "Belief" for a little more detail.)