Self-inquiry is not for finding out 'Who AM I?’ but to realize what the 'Self is in actuality?+

If the inquiry does not include the universe then it is incomplete. The universe itself is what God is all about. The totality of the universe is what God is all about.

You just study the nature of the universe with all the seriousness and sincerity to unfold the mystery of the universe. That is all you have to do. The universe is the seeker's school.

Sage Sankara: ~ VC-63- "Without knowing and examining the universe, one can’t know the Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

All the religious scriptures and holy books are irrelevant -- God's greatest book is just in front of you.

That is why Sag Sankara says:~ you must first know what is before you. If you cannot know that, what else can you know or understand? If you give up the external world in your inquiry, you cannot get the whole truth.

Remember:~

The look of an object will depend upon the medium through which the observer views it. In fact, our mental and intellectual conditions determine the three states, observed and experienced. The commoner viewing the three states will see differently from a Gnani viewing the same three states. Each one interprets the three states that they see in terms of their existing knowledge. The commoner sees everything based on the ego, therefore, experiences birth, life, death, and the world as reality whereas a Gnani sees everything as consciousness and he is fully aware of the fact that there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness.

All the egocentric (religious) adulteration has to be bifurcated to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman to know the truth propagated by the ancient sages of the truth. The sages of truth Gnanis. Sages of truth are not religious gurus or saints

Remember:~

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 human thought.

The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. The Soul is the substratum of the universe.

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ “The universe raises from the Soul, the innermost Self like bubbles from the sea. Thus know the Self to be One and in this way enter into the state of dissolution."

You are not the ‘Self’ because you are mortal. You are mortal because you are bound by the experience of birth, life, death, and the world. The ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness and is immortal because it is ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

The one that is in ignorance is the Soul; the one that has to wake up from the sleep of ignorance is the Soul, the Self.

The world in which you exist is the product of ignorance. When ignorance vanishes the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of consciousness. Without the illusion,  the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness alone will prevail as the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth. Thus, consciousness is Brahman or God in truth.

Self-realization is necessary to realize ‘what is the truth? and ‘what is the untruth?

Self-realization is to realize the 'Self' is not you, but the 'Self' is the Soul, which is the substance and witness of the world in which you exist.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the world, in which you exist is merely an illusion. The world in which you exist is created out of single stuff. That single stuff is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

Thus, the 'Self' is not limited to you, but it is the cause of the world in which you exist. Therefore, what is the use of inquiring ‘Who am ‘I’ when the ‘Self’ is not he or she?

Self-inquiry is not for finding out 'Who AM I?’ but to realize what the 'Self is in actuality? 

The Self-inquiry is for finding out the fact that, the ‘Self' is not the ‘I’, but the Self is the Soul, which witnesses the 'I'. The world in which you exist is present only when the 'I' is present. Without the 'I', the world, in which you exist ceases to exist.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the world in which you exist is merely an illusion. If the world is an illusion then the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. In reality, your existence as an individual is non-existent as a reality.

That is why Sage Sankara VC~.61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae), and medicines to such a one?

VC-  v6~ Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity with the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together. 

Sage Sankara goes on to say: ~A sickness of not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine. Liberation does not come by merely saying the word “Brahman.” Brahman must be experienced. Until you allow this apparent universe to dissolve from your consciousness until you have realized Brahman, how can you find liberation just by saying the word Brahman? The result is merely noise. Until a man has destroyed his enemies and taken possession of the splendor and wealth of the kingdom, he cannot become a king by simply saying “I am a king.”

A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely uttering the words: “Come forth.” You must follow the right directions, dig, remove the stones and earth from above it, and then make it, your own. In the same way, the pure truth of the Atman, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be reached by meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines but never by subtle arguments.

Thus, a perfect understanding of ‘what is what' leads to Advaitic Self-awareness. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar