coreSelf Location

Some questions:

Is the coreSelf localized in the center of the skull or is it spread throughout the subtle body? Is it the same as the Upanishadic Self, "not larger than a thumb that dwells in the heart, and if so, is the heart chakra also a valid place to concentrate on the coreSelf? What would be the difference between concentrating on the coreSelf in the heart center vs. in the center of the skull?

MiBeloved’s Response:

It is not a good idea to compare or contrast ideas about the coreSelf from one author to another. It is better to let each clarification stand on its own. If however the authors are physically present and can better explain their definitions, then there may be a healthy debate.

The Upanishads for all they are acclaimed to be, are in many statements vague, confusing and not clearly enumerated by the specific writer of each part. Different rishis wrote different ones or parts of some. Even though there is an attempt to prove and present them as a whole cohesive thesis, that is not the fact.

One major concern is that a translator of the Upanishads should take into account the context of technical terms, otherwise there will be an assumption that the writer of that verse used the same meanings which the modern reader assumes, and that may be erroneous. Hence how the word self or atma is used in one part of the Upanishads may be different in how it is used in another part, and certainly it may deviate from how atma is used by a modern writer.

There is also the word purusha but again that must be understood in terms of the context. If the writer was cryptic, then it is near impossible to clarify the meaning.

That verse where the thumb sized factor is mentioned is difficult to explain because not much is given in the surrounding verses which would give a qualifying detailed meaning.

Your questions are reduced when we consider that we do not have the clarity from that verse in the Katha Upanishad. That question would be this:

Is the coreSelf localized in the center of the skull or is it spread throughout the subtle body?

The coreSelf or atma is localized in the center of the skull but its influence is spread through the subtle body. It is centralized in the center of the skull. As for the heart chakra, there would have to be clarity about that as to if it is a chakra on the spine or a chakra at the place of the physical heart or a chakra at the center of the chest?