Sage Sankara says:~ All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge.+

Sage Sankara said:~ VC-63- Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation.  

The universe in which we exist will not remain as reality until ignorance is present. When Advaitic wisdom dawns the unreal nature of the universe is exposed. The universe is a mere illusion created out of consciousness. 

In Self-awareness, there is conscious awareness of unity in diversity because there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness.

The Soul is indeed the supreme Self but due to its association with ignorance, it finds itself under the bondage of the illusory form, time, and space which is the sole cause of experiencing birth,  life,  death, and the world as a reality.

Sage Sankara says:~ VC-47   All the effects of ignorance, root,  and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the not-Self.

Sage Sankara says ~ VC-162-  There is no liberation for a person of mere book knowledge, howsoever well-read in the philosophy of Vedanta, so long as one does not give up the false identification with the body, sense organs, etc., which are unreal.

The false identification of the Self with the non-Self is considered to be the root cause of the universe. When through deeper Self-search this false identification is removed, it is called liberation.

The Soul, the Self is of the nature of objectless awareness. This truth is Self-existent and cannot be denied, to deny one‘s Self is to actually prove its existence! The realization of this truth is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space is the goal of the seeker of truth.

There is no difference between Self-knowledge and Self-realization, for to know the true Self is to realize the true Self is not the waking entity (ego) but the formless Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Since the ultimate goal of the seeker is to attain liberation from experiencing the duality as reality. Self-Knowledge leads to liberating the Soul, the Self from experiencing the illusory form, time, and space as reality.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana has been explored since time immemorial attests to its perennial interest and universal value.

Long before Socrates’ injunction: - “Know “Thy Self”, Indian sages have been exploring for long the question of the truth of the man and his experience of the universe. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is fundamental since all other knowledge is dependent upon this knowledge. One needs to know “what is truth” to realize “what is untruth”.

Without first knowing the true Self, one can never understand truly where he stands in the cosmic scheme of things. Ignorance of the Self is seen as the root cause of experiencing birth, life, death, and the world as a reality.

Due to the ignorance of our true Self and consequent lack of correct valuation of things, one is stuck with the illusory reality of the universe because they take it as real.

Without knowing the true Self —the truth of one’s existence—one can never overcome ignorance. :~Santthosh Kumaar