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It is not for nothing that one of the main tasks of epistemology was the task of knowing oneself, and the result of these efforts is reduced to another lexeme “I know that I know nothing”(Socrates), in addition, the tools of the process of knowledge are bound by the anthropomorphism of thinking and all images and symbols that arise in our brain are somehow connected with our human being.
The very division between the observer and what we observe is an illusion. It is very persistent, and connected with the Ego, and is based on our idea of duality. The root is ignorance, a not quite correct understanding of what everything really is. This becomes especially relevant when the conversation starts from the so-called absolute level of perception.
Duality, concepts, and the dual approach are very clingy and seem absolutely real to us. However, this is not entirely true.
In fact, it is not so difficult to observe yourself. It is quite possible to draw conclusions about your qualities and behavioral characteristics, if this is not hindered by personal attitudes of exaltation or self-abasement. Sometimes an objective analysis of one's own qualities does not even require comparison with others, the human mind is quite capable of solving this problem independently, which is proved to us by various teachers who have delved into self-knowledge in their long insights and closures. Objective reality can exist without an observer. It is unlikely that in the Andromeda galaxy, planets in some system that have not been discovered or studied by anyone lose something and become less real. In order to know reality, perhaps it is just necessary to discard the personal observer in your head, and observe everything simply as it is, without being clouded by personal associations and interpretations.
27 The lamp of the LORD is the spirit of man, testing all the depths of the heart.
(Prov.20:27)
11 For who among men knows what is in a man, except the spirit of man that dwells in him? So no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
(1 Corinthians 2: 11)
From these verses of Scripture, it can be concluded that only a person who lives according to the spirit, and not mentally, physically, or carnally, can judge himself. Thanks to the pure spirit, which is the Divine “instrument”, a person can know himself.�
But it should be added that you can still understand yourself and who you are only to a certain extent:
13 Who will see his faults? Purify me from my secret
ways, 14 and withhold your servant from the wilful ones, so that they may not prevail over me. Then I will be blameless and pure from the great corruption.
(Psalm 18: 13,14)
18 My children! let us love not in word or tongue, but in deed and truth.
19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and we give our hearts rest before him;
20 For if our heart condemns us, God is the greater, for God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
(1John.3:18-20)
From the Buddhist point of view, there is no observer as something eternal and unchangeable in reality. Something can appear for no more than one instant, and in the next instant something else appears in its place. There may be illusory connections between these states, which create the appearance of being something permanent. Constructions in samsara are made up of impermanent elements. Just like an ice cube is made up of water molecules that can manifest in different aggregate states. The ice may melt, then the water may evaporate. Connections can be found between these states, but in reality, the qualities of an ice cube disappear along with the change in the interactions of its non-permanent elements. In the same way, parts of the human mind are constantly “melting”, “evaporating”, “freezing”, “condensing”at every new moment…If an ice cube is a conditional flow of water molecules, then the mind is a flow of five groups of elements (skandhas): elements of matter, elements of perception, elements of emotional reaction, elements of will formation, elements of experience and knowledge.
The observer can observe the appearance and disappearance of these elements. It can monitor which elements are useful and which are harmful. This way, it can make it clear which elements to discard. For example, if the elements gather in hatred, greed, or stupidity, then the observer can neutralize this process in time and prevent harm and possible worries. It is as if a person was rafting on a river in a boat, saw rocks ahead and skirted them in time.
Eventually, all streams of the mind flow into the ocean of nirvana. There are no impermanent elements in nirvana. Nothing appears there, nothing disappears, and no distinguishable constructs are made up. This is such an eternal state of freedom from anxiety, a state of perception of reality and happiness.