Sage Sankara says: If you gives up the external world in your inquiry,you cannot get the whole truth.+

There is no second thing other than the Spirit (the Soul or the consciousness) because everything is made of the same stuff.   Whatever splits and multiplies are part of the illusion. From the non-dualistic perspective, the illusion has no value.

The Soul is present in the form of consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. The universe is not real.  There is no difference between Brahman and the universe because the universe is merely an illusion created out of consciousness, which is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

First one has to know ‘what is the mind” What is the substance of the mind? And ‘what is the source of the mind? , to realize ‘what is what’?  The ego is the physical mind, whereas the mind is present in the form of the universe. 

The universe appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep(nonduality).  Thus, a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is necessary to realize that form, time, and space are merely an illusion created out of single stuff. 

The Atman or the Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The consciousness is the witness that experiences the action, the actor, and the world of separate things. It is like a light that illuminates everything in a theater, 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.

What is not the consciousness (formless) in waking, dream or deep sleep?  The waking and the dream cease to exist without consciousness.    The soul (witness and the three states (witnessed) are one in essence.  That essence is consciousness.  Thus, The seeker, seeking and his destination all are one in essence.

There is only a need to realize the whole universe in which we exist is created out of the consciousness (Soul), the innermost self.  From the standpoint, the Soul, the Self, the universe is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.  Thus, on the ultimate standpoint, no second thing exists other than consciousness. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

The unreal cannot be discarded without realizing ‘what is the real. Playing with words will not lead to Self-awareness. 

Remember:~

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).  

Even 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 come 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).

2. According to Clement of Alexandria (150-215 CE): ‘Mark’ preached three different gospels. The New Testament version was intended for ‘beginners’, but there was also a Secret Gospel of Mark for those who were ‘perfected’, i.e. initiated. Clement advised one of his students that the existence of this secret gospel should be denied ‘even under oath’, for ‘the light of the truth should be hidden from those who are mentally blind’. The third gospel was so mystical that it was not written down but was imparted orally to the chosen few. (JM 120-1).

3. The fragments that remain of The Secret Gospel of Mark include an account of Jesus raising a young man from the dead, which may be an early version of the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John’s Gospel. In the Secret Gospel, the risen young man is then initiated by Jesus, who ‘taught him the mystery of the Kingdom of God. This indicates that for the Gnostics, being raised from the dead is an allegory for spiritual rebirth through initiation.

When the seeker indulges in deeper self-search than he realizes the fact that, the experience of the form, time and space are one in essence. And that essence is the Spirit or consciousness. 

Thus, form, time, and space are merely an illusion created out of a single, stuff,   which is the Spirit or consciousness.   The Spirit or consciousness is the Self.  The Spirit or consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. :~Santthosh Kumaar