In these recorded teachings, the distinction between mind and pure Self is drawn with great precision. The mind is described as a bundle of thoughts, centered on the “I-thought” or ego-sense that says, “I think, I feel, I do.” It is a movement, a series of mental modifications that arise and subside, creating the appearance of separation, multiplicity, and a world of duality. This mind is temporary and changing, an instrument that depends entirely on something deeper for its seeming existence. It appears in waking and dream, and disappears in deep sleep or when it subsides into its source.

By contrast, the pure Self is presented as the ever-present, unmoving awareness in which all these mental activities occur. It is pure consciousness, the true “I Am” or “I–I,” not mixed with any attribute or thought. This Self does not come and go; it remains constant through waking, dream, and deep sleep, serving as the unchanging substratum upon which the mind’s play appears. While the mind is an object that can be observed—its thoughts, feelings, and identifications can be noticed—the Self is the subject, the knowing principle itself, never an object among other objects.

A further distinction is that the mind is said to have no light of its own; it borrows its apparent consciousness from the Self. The mind is thus likened to a reflection, while the Self is the original light of awareness. The mind’s egoic “I” that identifies with body and world is a superimposition on this pure awareness, obscuring its true nature and generating the illusion of bondage. The Self, however, remains ever untouched, self-existent, and non-dual, not truly affected by the rise and fall of thoughts.

The practical implication of this distinction appears in the method of self-inquiry. The inquiry “Who am I?” is directed toward the mind, specifically toward the egoic “I-thought” that claims doership and individuality. By tracing this “I-thought” back to its source, the mind gradually subsides, and what remains is the silent, self-luminous Self. In that recognition, the difference between mind’s restless movement and the Self’s changeless presence is no longer merely a philosophical distinction but a lived, immediate clarity.