Sutra 2.6
Pure consciousness is the power of seeing, but the ego is confused,
thinking the body/mind (the instrument of seeing) is the seer.
Let’s look at who is looking. From Sutra 2 in the first book we know that the ego is the “I” sense, and Buddhi is the intellect that synthesizes knowledge of objects, thoughts and feelings. Thus Buddhi is the instrument of knowing. Because of this role as the knower, Buddhi is commonly thought of as the seer; but this is not so. Immersed in the inner stillness of meditation, the impartial witness observes the Buddhi apprehending and digesting objects, subtle and tangible. If this is the case, then Buddhi is an object of awareness, and not the subject. Here we discern the fundamental error of our identity. The ego would like to be top dog, but it is being watched by our true Self.
Look at your thumb. You know the thumb, but the thumb does not know you. Similarly, the Self knows the mind, but the mind can never know consciousness (chaitanyam); because consciousness is the subject, not an object.
Now, what can we do to correct this stupefying error of identity? Standing in the great Self, looking out from the impartial witness reasserts our true identity and conditions us to the truth of our being. Since the mind/ego is not different than the thoughts it thinks, the more time we spend in thought-free equipoise, the more we become our authentic Self. We have spent our life identified with the contents of awareness (thoughts, feelings and personal history); it is time to know ourselves as awareness itself.
~Dennis Hill
Patanjali Yoga Sutras
Awesome!