The Self is pure consciousness—it is beyond the characteristics of the mind. Pleasure, pain, anger, hate, attachement, anxiety, are within the mind, and they are expressed by sensory responses in the body.
The mind controls the gross body, which is simply matter, composed of five elements. Nevertheless, this gross body is the mark of a living being. All of the labels worn by this body—such as black, white, Christian, Jew, man, woman—take birth and die.
The Self is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and beyond all forms. When the Self is trapped within the body, the indicator of the Self, “I,” starts identifying with the body. This wrong identification is called ignorance. The real “I” is not the body, mind, or life force (prana). It is pure consciousness and can’t wear the same labels worn by the gross body.
—Baba Hari Dass, Fire Without Fuel
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