Volume
Vol. 11, Mysticism in Life
| Heading
13. Self-Knowledge
|
Sub-Heading
Self-Consiousness
|
Vol. 11, Mysticism in Life
13. Self-Knowledge
Self-Consiousness
The knowledge that the mystic seeks after is self knowledge, the knowledge of one's self, within and without, the only knowledge that is worth attaining. It is contrary to the general tendency of man; man always wants to know what is before him, and that is why he sees more faults in another and less in himself. He think that if anyone is wrong it is the other, because he is less conscious of his own mistakes.
Self-consciousness is something quite different from self- knowledge. The self-conscious one is never conscious of his real self; he is only conscious of the reflection he receives from others. "Does this person hate me?" "Does that person speak against me?" That is the thought of the self-conscious. If it is not that then he pities himself: "I am poor," "I am so wretched," "I am so miserable."
|