Know Thyself Quotes

“From all that has been said, we see that real knowledge is not based on the path of reason, but on the spirit and the whole being, for it is non other than the realization of this being in all its states, which is the culmination of knowledge and the attainment of supreme wisdom. In reality, what belongs to the soul, and even to the spirit, represent only degrees on the path toward the intimate essence that is the true self; this self can be found only when the being has reached its own center, all its powers being united and concentrated as in the single point in which all things appear to it, since they are contained in this point as in their first and unique principle; thus the being is able to know everything as in itself and of itself, as the totality of existence in the oneness of its own essence.”
― René Guénon, Know Thyself

“It is important to note that the meaning of the Arabic word
nafs
should not be limited here to the soul, for this word is found in the Arabic translation of the saying in question, while its Greek equivalent
psyche
does not appear in the original.
Nafs
should therefore not be taken in its usual sense, for it is certain that it has another much higher significance, which makes it similar to the word essence, and which refers to the
Self
or to the
real being
; as proof of this, we can cite what has been said in a
ḥadīth
that is like a complement of the Greek saying" 'He who knows himself, knows his Lord'.
When man knows himself in his deepest essence, that is, in the center of his being, then at the same time he knows his Lord. And Knowing his Lord, he at the same time Knows all things, which come from Him and return to Him. He knows all things in the supreme oneness of the Divine Principle, outside of which, according to the words of Muhyi 'd-Din Ibn Al-Arabi 'there is absolutely nothing which exists', for nothing can be outside of the Infinite.”
― René Guénon, Know Thyself

“The saying signifies first and foremost that no exoteric teaching is capable of providing true knowledge, which man must find only within himself, for in fact no knowledge can be acquired except through a personal comprehension. Without this comprehension, no teaching can lead to an
effective result, and the teaching that awakens no personal resonance in the one who receives it cannot give any kind of knowledge. This is why Plato says that 'everything that a man learns is already within him'. All the experiences, all the external things that surround him, are only an occasion to help him become aware of what is within himself. This awakening he calls
anamnesis
, which signifies 'recollection'.”
― René Guénon, Know Thyself

“One may at least surmise that this esoteric teaching had a close and direct connection with wisdom, and that it did not only appeal to reason or to logic, as is the case with philosophy, which for this reason has been called rational knowledge - the philosophers of antiquity maintained that rational knowledge, that is, philosophy, is not the highest degree of knowledge, is not wisdom.”
― René Guénon, Know Thyself

“It is curious to note the widest read belief in antiquity that the omphalos had fallen from the sky, and an accurate idea of the sentiment of the Greeks regarding this stone can be had by saying it was somewhat similar to the sentiment Muslims feel with regard to the sacred black stone of the
Kaaba.”
― René Guénon, Know Thyself

“The similarity which exists between the macrocosm and the microcosm is such that each is the image of the other, and the correspondence of the constitutive elements shows that man must first of all know himself so that he may then know all things, for in truth, he can find all things within himself. It is for this reason that certain sciences, especially those which were a part of ancient knowledge and are now almost unknown to our contemporaries, possess a double meaning. In their outward appearance, these sciences are related to the macrocosm, and can
justly be considered from this point of view. But at the same time they have also a deeper meaning, which is related to man himself and to the inner path through which he can realize knowledge within himself, a realization which is none other than the realization of his own being. Aristotle has said" 'the being is all that it knows', so much so that, where there is real knowledge, and not its appearance or its shadow, knowledge and being are one and the same thing.”
― René Guénon, Know Thyself