By Swami Chidananda
Our own mind has to be the instrument with which we can realize the Self, our true nature. Generally, the mind has been much blamed for all the suffering and bondage in life. The Upanishads also admit that the fundamental error or wrong seeing has taken place in our mind. They however insist that the very same mind is the valuable tool to see rightly.
manasā eva idam āptavyam
neha nānā asti kinchana
We have to attain this (Self) by the mind alone and (discover that) there is no plurality here (in this creation) whatsoever!
Kathopanishad 2.1.11
(Chapter 2, Valli 1, mantra 11)
The central job of the Vedānta is to eliminate the error in seeing, called avidyā or adhyāsa. When the Upanishadic statements, being essentially a means of knowledge, remove the error, the very same mind becomes the seat of the liberating wisdom.