Three fundamental aspects of self-knowledge

Willpower, Comprehension and Discipline

Self-knowledge is the core wisdom that every man and woman needs to develop if he or she really wants to succeed in life. All the wisdom in the world is worth nothing if man does not advance in the knowledge of his own inner universe. It is there that the keys to true success and fulfilment in the life of every human being are to be found.

This kind of knowledge cannot be achieved by intellectual capacity alone, but rather involves other elements that we all possess, but have to learn to use to our advantage. Three fundamental elements of self-knowledge are: willpower, comprehension and discipline.

Our starting point: the questions that come from within us.

Have you ever considered what you most dislike? Have you ever thought about the role played within nature by humans? Have you ever reflected on why you want a nice house so badly? Some have already pondered such matters, others never will awaken from their lethargy. Is self-knowledge for everyone? What are the keys to achieving it?

The V.M. Samael Aun Weor in the book ‘Treatise on Revolutionary Psychology’ puts forward the following questions:

“Why do you want to have the latest model of car? Why do you always want to be up-to-date with the latest fashion? Why do you covet to not be covetous? What offended you the most at a given moment? What pleased you most yesterday? Why did you feel superior to a certain person at a given moment? At what moment did you feel superior to someone? Why were you so vain when you were talking about your triumphs? Couldn’t you stay silent when others were gossiping about someone you knew? Did you drink that glass of liquor out of politeness? Did you smoke, possibly without having the addiction, because of your concept of sophistication or masculinity? Are you sure you were sincere in that conversation? And when you justify yourself, when you praise yourself, and when you recount your triumphs and relate them by repeating what you told others before, did you understand that you were being vain?”

V.M. Samael Aun Weor

All these reflections are part of the process of self-knowledge for anyone who chooses to undertake it. They call into question the mechanics of daily life where our inner world is revealed. Understanding what motivates our actions, our thoughts, our emotions is extremely important for those who want to know themselves. To help us in this personal quest for self-knowledge, it is important that we develop three characteristics: WILL POWER, COMPREHENSION AND DISCIPLINE.

Free will

WILL is the force that makes us take action and pursue our goals. However, many times our will is conditioned by the ego or the psychological defects and flaws that we carry within us.  Each of these defects such as greed, lust, laziness and so many others, have trapped a small portion of our will. But as we advance in self-knowledge we will be able to eliminate these defects and increase our conscious will. It is that free will which will lead us to true triumph, guided by our inner Real Being and not by a collection of vices and defects.

“We need with the utmost urgency, without delay, to disintegrate all those “I’s” that live within us if we really want the perfect emancipation of the Will. (…)

The Essence is “Will-Consciousness”, unfortunately suffering under our own conditioning.

When the Will is liberated, then it merges or becomes functional, thus integrating itself with the Universal Will, and thereby becoming sovereign. (…)

He who possesses truly free Will can originate new circumstances; he who has his Will bottled up in the “Pluralised Self” is a victim of circumstances. (…)

Unfortunately, since people have their Will bottled up amongst each “I”, it is obviously divided into multiple Wills, each of which operates according to its own conditioning.

It is clear to understand that each “I” therefore possesses its own particular, unconscious will”.

V.M. Samael Aun Weor – Treatise on Revolutionary Psychology

Comprehension in self-knowledge

COMPREHENSION is the ability to grasp the meaning of something without the interference of reasoning. Therefore, it is important to note that understanding and comprehension are different: one is of the mind and the other of the heart.

” To evidence, experience and comprehend is what is essential, only in this way is it possible to work consciously to achieve a radical change.

To affirm is one thing and to comprehend is another. (…)

Knowledge and Comprehension are different. The first of these is of the mind, the second of the heart.” (…)

” Comprehension comes with self-observation and hard work on oneself”.

V.M. Samael Aun Weor – Treatise on Revolutionary Psychology

Comprehension comes through experience and observation, besides which one needs to develop intuition, which is a faculty of the heart. We could never understand our own inner workings just by studying theories and reading books. What is needed is experience, self-observation and an integration with the divine principle that we all carry within us, in other words, its guidance.

Discipline is the bridge between targets and achievements.

DISCIPLINE refers to determined and consistent behaviour. We must be willing to observe ourselves daily. In the literature left by V.M. Samael Aun Weor and V.M. Lakhsmi Daimon we find several practices that help us in the process of self-knowledge but it is essential to develop a discipline in order to do them.

The discipline we are talking about is absolutely not something imposed from outside. Rather, it is about developing a self-discipline that allows us to reach our goal, moving forward with firmness and perseverance. A conscious discipline so that we do not give in to weaknesses, excuses and self-consideration. These are negative aspects that lurk in the background and can result in us being left with only our good intentions. For this not to happen we need strength, endurance and self-discipline.

Will, comprehension and discipline are three fundamental aspects for anyone who wants to embark on a journey along the path of self-knowledge. This is a process that takes place on a day-to-day basis, in the everyday life of each one of us. It is a process that allows us to see how we function internally and how this impacts on our lives, and how external events are a reflection of our inner world. By understanding this whole mechanism, we are able to modify the causes of what happens to us and achieve a radical change in our lives. In short, we can achieve the inner peace and altruism we need to continue moving forward in each stage that we go through.

Gnostic techniques for self-knowledge are concrete and precise. Learn more about them in our self-knowledge courses.