Steve,
I don't want to presume to teach you anything, but you've raise an interesting point that hits close to home because I have struggled with it (I guess everyone does). I hope this answer will do it justice. The Sages have given the answer already, so I will merely repeat it here. This question is taking the Self to be an object when it is the subject. Instead of sitting and saying "I will now meditate on...such and such[object]...", etc. we should simply abstain from more thoughts. Ordinary knowledge is objective. It requires a knower and something to be known. Instead, true Jnana is to be the Self. To be the Self is to 'know' the Self. It is no use to try and imagine God or the Self, rather it is better to simply try to be in that state.
As Paramahansa Yogananda says said in his poem Samadhi,
Knower, knowing, known, as One!
And as Sri Ramana Maharshi says in his Ulladu Narpadu,
Is it not, rather, ignorance to know all else without knowing oneself, the knower? As soon as one knows the Self, which is the substratum of knowledge and ignorance, knowledge and ignorance perish.
I don't
really want to pretend that I am qualified to answer such lofty questions, but you asked so I answered to the best of my understanding and provided some authoritative quotes to support what I said. I hope it is helpful and clear.
All the best.
yes....it is clear. I see u have etched out a path for yourself and focus is directed towards that path. If u do not mind I would like to go one step further by asking this: how do we abstain from more thoughts as u have put it? This is one of the most challenging and problematic issues of meditation. How to abstain from thoughts?
