Ma`rifat Adyan

The importance and necessity of self-knowledge has been emphasized by all saints and scholars of the great traditions. Catherine Siena, a mystic of the 14th century AD and one of the prominent characters of the history of the Church, who had a great impact on the Italian literature and the Catholic Church, has discussed this important issue as well. The questions discussed in this article are as follows: What is the necessity of achieving self-knowledge? How should one get to this point? What are the obstacles on the way to self-knowledge? And what are the results of self-knowledge? Catherine, in fact, based her theology on self-knowledge. She believes self-knowledge leads to knowledge of God, to complete love for God, and the disappearance of human ignorance and human awakening. One of the ways to achieve self-knowledge is to be favored by God and to be satisfied with God's will and to harmonize one's will with God's will. Another way to reach self-knowledge is to be humble and pray and keep vigil. One of the obstacles to self-knowledge, in Catherine's opinion, is self-love and pride, which are the source of all illnesses. Some of the results of self-knowledge are as follows: understanding the need for God and considering oneself as nothing, hating our sins and mistakes and recognizing the goodness and kindness of God, knowing God, loving God, loving our neighbor, and finally – its best result - unity and connection to God.