Moksha only means knowing the ultimate truth or Brahman.+

The real Moksha or freedom is to realize the fact that ‘I’-awareness is merely a physical awareness. Physical awareness is not Self-awareness. The Self –awareness is when the formless Soul, the  Self remains aware of its own awareness.

The world in which you exist is nothing but an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

When you realize the ‘Self ‘ is not you but the ‘Self’ is the Soul then you will realize the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Thus, you, your experience of birth, life, death, and the world are merely an illusion created out of the consciousness, the consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

The world is both real and unreal. It is real because it is a manifestation of consciousness, but is unreal, in the sense, that it is not absolute and eternal like consciousness itself.

People's approach is more practical, and they stuck with the reality of the world, they take it as real. That is why all the confusion.

In Self-awareness-- the witness and witnessed are one in essence. That essence is consciousness. There is no second thing that exists other than consciousness.

Thus, whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced as a person is a reality within the waking experience (duality) but the waking experience (duality) itself is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

A person who refuses to accept the world is an illusion ~ and he stamped his foot on the ground to refute to show the world is real ignores that in the dream he would do exactly the same--stamp his dream foot on the ground and assert it to be real.

A Gnani is fully aware of the fact that the world in which he exists is a passing show. The witness of the passing show is the Soul; the  Self is real and eternal. A Gnani vision is based on the Soul, not on his body.

In Self-awareness, the body is not the body, but it is the consciousness, the ego is not the ego, but it is consciousness, and the world is not the world, but it is consciousness even though they exist but their unreal nature is exposed.

Just as the dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place, the waking also becomes unreal when Advaitic wisdom dawns.

Gnani and Illusion:~

A King who was greatly incensed at the wisdom taught by Gnani that everything here below is an illusion? He wanted to teach the exponent of this doctrine a lesson. So he invited the then Gnani to his palace. That Gnani went there and stoutly maintained that everything in this world is an illusion.

The king had arranged to let loose a hungry lion against Gnani. The beast rushed at Gnani who took to a precipitate flight to save himself.

'Oh, Venerable Sir,' shouted the king, 'why do you run so fast seeing that the lion is only an illusion?'

'Oh, king,' said Gnani in the course of his flight, 'my running too is an illusion. Everything in this world is an illusion.’

Similarly, we all are searching for truth within the illusory universe or Maya not being aware of the fact that the illusion is created out of single stuff. That single stuff is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Thus, searching for the truth in the illusion with the illusory Self, within the illusory experience, has to be an illusion. The illusion is created and sustained, and finally, dissolves as the Soul or the consciousness. There is no second thing other than consciousness. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

The wisdom dawns in the midst of duality (falsehood or waking). When wisdom dawns the universe (waking) will not disappear, but its unreal nature is exposed. And one realizes the unity in diversity in the consciousness because consciousness pervades everything and everywhere in the universe. Thus everything is consciousness.

Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. Brahman is God. Thus God is the whole, not part.

To get Self-realization or God-realization the seeker has to drop all the accumulated knowledge and start afresh. 

Remember 

The Duality and the non-duality are philosophic terms but in perfect perception one never perceives the real and the unreal at the same time.

Till you think the mind is within the body you will not be able to realize the truth beyond the form, time, and space. A deeper self-search reveals the fact that. The mind is the universe in which you exist. 

When the mind (I) is there the universe in which you exist is there. If the mind disappears the universe in which you exist also disappears. 

You and your senses and your experience of the world are made of the same stuff. That stuff is the Soul, which is present in the form of the Spirit. From the standpoint of the Soul or the Spirit, you and your senses and your experience of the world are nothing but the spirit. Thus, the Spirit alone is real and you and your senses and your experience of the world are merely an illusion.

Moksha is interpreted in various ways. It means the dispelling of ignorance, freeing the Soul, the Self from the bondage of the illusory experience of birth, life, death, and the world--all other meanings regarding heaven, etc. are all imagination. Moksha only means knowing the ultimate truth or Brahman. That is why they have coined the word Jivanmukta.

The Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.   Consciousness pervades everything and everywhere in all three states.  The three states are nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness.  Thus, consciousness is all-pervading.

Remember:~

The seeker should realize that the Soul is the cause of the form, time, and space and it itself is uncaused. The form is consciousness. Time is consciousness and space is also consciousness. Therefore, there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness. Thus,  consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. 

The universe is the product of ignorance. The five senses (body) are nothing to do with the Soul, the Self because the Soul, the Self is ever formless. From the standpoint, the Soul, the Self, and the universe in which the body (you) exists are merely an illusion.

The dream universe and the five senses (dream body) become unreal when the waking takes place. Similarly, the waking experience in which you and the waking world exist becomes unreal when wisdom dawns. The wisdom dawns when the soul remains in its own awareness in the midst of the duality. 

The Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul is the witness-consciousness that experiences the action, the actor, and the world of separate things. It is like a light that illuminates everything in a theatre, revealing the master of ceremonies, the guests, and the dancers with complete impartiality. Even when they all depart, the light shines to reveal their absence.

The Soul, the Self. The Soul or consciousness is Self-illumined. So how can the body which is inert (insentient) and illumined by an external agent be consciousness, which is present only within the waking or dream?

The Soul or consciousness is apart from the three states and permanent, as it endures even after the death of the body and the world within the waking or dream.

Even the subtle body consists of many parts and is unstable. It is also an object of perception and is changeable, limited, and non-existent by nature. So how can this be the true self, when the body exists only within the duality (universe)?

The immutable Soul, the substratum of the ego, is thus different from these two bodies and is the true Self. The Soul or consciousness is the formless witness of the three states.  And it is present in everything and everywhere in all the three states and yet transcends them all.:~Santthosh Kumaar