Self - the pure mind?

[Greg Goode]

At 03:12 PM 11/6/97 -0700, Nanda Kumar wrote:
>Recently, on asking a Swami whether holding on to the 'I' feeling or the
>Self, is  the highest level of practice, he questioned me as to how I knew
>if the perceived Self was not the mind itself.

It can't really be the Mind -- the Self is supposed to be there in waking,
sleep, and dreams, but the mind is not.  And the Mind is nothing more than
thoughts/feelings/appearances.

>With the idea of distinguishing the Self from the mind, I came across
>several passages in C Rajagopalochari's book on the Upanishads and
>Talks with Ramana ..., that lays great emphais on the pure mind and in
>some cases even equating the pure mind to the Self.

>So I've lately started having doubts whether in their infinite wisdom, the
>Rishis actually introduced the concept of the Self as a seperate entity
>from the mind, to add greater lure to the process for the aspirants or to
>give it a seperate identity or for whatever reason. Can someone clarify?

I haven't read Rajagopalochari's book on the Upanishads, but I'd venture to
say that the "pure mind" is an introduction for teaching purposes,
something more tangible than the Self.  Lots of teachers say to purify the
mind.  But the Self isn't a teaching point, it's what is Really there.  The
Self is there whether the mind is or is not there, but the mind is never
there without the Self.

--Greg