All is consciousness. The whole universe is consciousness in its essence.+

All is consciousness.  The whole universe is consciousness. From consciousness, the universe comes. When the universe disappears, consciousness still remains without form, time, and space.

 People never accept the universe is an illusion it is because they are part and parcel of that illusion. The reality of the illusory universe often confuses people.

The universe is a reality on the base of the false entity (ego) within the false experience (waking).  The universe is an illusion from the standpoint of the Soul, which is the Self.  The Soul is in the form of consciousness.  This is because of some logical reasons. First, analyze the definition of the truth, and hence why the universe is not considered true.

The wisdom consists in knowing the truth, that everything (the mind or physical existence) is consciousness. Freedom(ultimate truth) is always there yet one does not know it.  But to those whose reason is turned away from physicality and who have attained the serenity of the Soul, the Self,  are quite near to the ultimate truth. 

To think your own body and your experience of the world is an illusion is a difficult matter unless you realize the Self is not physical, but it is Soul it is difficult to have a glimpse of truth. When you realize the fact that, the Self is not physical,  but the  Soul, naturally the body and the universe become an illusion.

Remember:~

The Mind (universe) is emanating from the Soul or consciousness means ~  the mind is being the effect of consciousness is not different from it. A deeper analysis shows it. Analysis needs deeper thinking and reasoning. The mind is the whole universe thus it has a form. But where is the form in consciousness (Soul) because consciousness is like an ocean and the mind is like a wave?  The universe is the same consciousness, as the ocean produces the wave, so consciousness produces the mind(universe).

The moment one knows the mind or universe is consciousness, and then there is no ignorance. If one knows consciousness as the Self then everything is consciousness, the consciousness is second to none.  

The mind is consciousness in its essence but due to ignorance one mistakes it for something else. One thinks the Self is within the body,  but the Self is without the body and the world.

The mind ceases to exist without the matter. Without the matter, the mind ceases to exist as the mind but it exists as the matter- less awareness or consciousness. Without the mind, neither the world nor its perceiver can exist.

Without the matter, there is no duality. Without duality, there is no experience. Without the experience, it is the non-dual reality. Therefore, whatever prevails without the mind is the ultimate reality.

The true nature of the Soul (consciousness) is camouflaged by the illusion (universe or duality).  To know the truth,  one has to discover and realize the formless substance of the mind or illusion. One has to learn to view and judge the three states from the standpoint of the  Soul, the Self.  

Acquiring Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the prime goal of the truth seeker. This goal is hidden by the mind as its formless substance and witness. Therefore, it is necessary to inquire into the nature of the mind( duality or illusion) in order to unfold the mystery of mind or duality or illusion.

The person, who stamped their foot on the ground to refute to show the world, is real, ignores that in a dream he would do exactly the same--stamp his dream foot on the ground and assert it to be real.

John 8:32: ~ You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus said:~  "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. (THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS- Saying 5)

It means one has to know the world which confronts him confronts to realize his body and world are made of the same essence and that essence is Spirit (father).  

Sage Sankara says:~  One must first know what is before him. If he cannot know that, what else can he know or understand? If he gives up the external world in his inquiry, he cannot get the whole truth.

 VC- 63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

Sage Sankara says:~VC -65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the Self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

Jesus said:~ "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all." (Gospel of Thomas 2)

"The Kingdom of God is inside you and all around you, Not in a mansion of wood and stone.  Split a piece of wood and God is there, Lift a stone, and you will find God." (Gospel of Thomas)

1. According to the New Testament, Jesus said to his disciples:~ ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God,  but for others, they are in parables so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand (Luke, 8:10). While speaking to the multitude in a veiled manner, ‘privately to his own disciples he explained everything (Mark, 4:34), and advised them not to ‘throw your pearls before swine (Matthew, 7:6).

Sage Sankara:~ VC~ "All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else, but Brahman which is absolutely free from all the limitations of Maya.

It is this Supreme Oneness that alone is real since there is nothing else but the Self. Verily, there remains no other independent entity in the state of realization of the highest Truth." 

A permanent view of the world as unreal can come only after soul-centric reasoning; such knowledge cannot change. Were the seeker who is sufficiently sharp he could grasp the unreal nature of the world by soul-centric reasoning alone.  To know the whole truth, one must know the whole universe, otherwise, he gets only a half-truth. 

The real Moksha or freedom is to realize the fact that ‘I’ consciousness is mere physical awareness. Physical awareness is not Self-awareness. The Self –awareness is when the  Soul or consciousness remains aware of its own non-dual   true nature.:~Santthosh Kumaar