Do you know who you really are?

Source: Daily Inquirer
By Jaime T. Licauco
Philippine Daily Inquirer
WE ARE TOLD THAT IN ANCIENT Greece, there was an Oracle in Delphi dedicated to Apollo, the God of Prophecy and Healing. The Oracle at Delphi became so famous for its accuracy in foretelling the future or the fate of people that even kings, princes and other heads of state would pay it regular visits to know what’s in store for them. The God Apollo was believed to speak through a high priestess while she was in a trance.

It has been said that the Oracle at Delphi declared the philosopher, Socrates, “the wisest man on earth.” When Socrates was told about this, he said in great seriousness: “The Oracle called me the wisest man on earth because I am the only one who knows that I know nothing.”

According to classic stories that have come down to us, at the gate of the Oracle of Delphi was written the cryptic statement, “Know Thyself,” before one is allowed entry to its inner chamber. Next to it is another inscription which says: “Nothing to excess.”

For so long, during my early collegiate schooling in Philosophy, I was both intrigued and fascinated by these two inscriptions, especially the first admonition to “know thyself.” “Why? Don’t we know who we are?” I asked myself innocently.

I never really understood the meaning or intent of that Delphic inscription until after five decades later. And even now, I still cannot be sure if I had really grasped its full meaning.

When I began thinking more deeply about why the ancient Greek Oracle required anyone who sought entry into its inner chamber to first know himself, I began to realize the reason. The awesome fact is: No one can tell that he really knows himself.

Let me see if I can make this clear with the following illustration:

If I asked you (or anyone) “Who are you?”, what would be your most likely answer?

First, you will most likely give your name, say, “Juan de la Cruz.”

Then, to further describe who you are, you may give your father’s and mother’s name, as the son of so and so. Then you may give your home address, school or office, or even your SSS or GSIS ID number. And so on and so forth.

But if you think more deeply about your answers, you will notice that none of them really tells who you are, because you are not your name, nor the fact that you are the son of so and so. Neither are you your school or company, nor even your SSS or GSIS number.

All these answers are outside of you. They do not tell anything about your real self. So who are you really? Can we honestly answer this question?

Disconcerting

It was then I realized, to my great horror and complete disappointment, that I do not really know who I am. And that realization is, to say the least, very disconcerting. Our parents could have given us another name and that would be how people would refer to us or call us. We could have been the child of some other parents, so naming our parents doesn’t tell us who we are. We are still describing things outside of us, but not about us. If your name, address, parents’ names, school or company affiliation, SSS, GSIS or tax account number, etc., is erased, will you know who you are?

This realization leads to further questions, like, if I don’t even know who I really am, how do I know where I come from or what I am doing here on earth? There’s no one who can answer that question except ourselves. To be able to answer the question requires that we look deeply at our essence and not what others have made of us. That’s quite a formidable task, indeed.

The other inscription at the gates of the Oracle at Delphi is much easier to understand: “Nothing to excess.” It simply means we should never think or act in excess or in any extreme. It admonishes us to choose the safe middle path. This is sometimes referred to as the “Golden Mean of Aristotle.” We should neither act too little or too much; nor sleep too little or too much; nor work too little nor too much; nor be too good or too bad, etc. Everything we do should be done in moderation.

I can just imagine the high priestess smiling mysteriously after a candidate or visitor has answered both these questions. Only then would he be qualified or fit to enter her innermost chambers to partake of the wisdom of the gods. Then no answer need be given by her, the candidate has answered it himself. This reminds me of the old Chinese saying: “He who knows others is knowledgeable, but he who knows himself is wise.”