Lord Krishna says: The adepts give prasad, blessing, initiations, mantrams, etc. only to confer temporary peace of mind, to help you to get rid of worries, but not to confer Gnana.+

A Gnani will not show off nor boast; for he wants to appear a normal man, not an extraordinary one. A Gnani does not consider himself as wise and others are less wise. No one is wise or less wise in pursuit of truth. The inner revolution starts within and ends within. A Gnani is neither a scriptural scholar nor he is a philosopher. A  Gnani is neither a teacher nor he has any teaching.  He silently works and helps the fellow seekers inspiring them guiding them towards inner reality in his own way. The scholar will remain as scholars and philosophers will remain as philosophers and intellectual remains as intellectuals arguing on their point of view. Gnani never propagates any philosophy because philosophy is nothing to do with the pursuit of truth but he points out, the obstacles, which are blocking everyone’s realization.  

The ordinary person thinks "this is a world "; "that is a man" etc. whereas the Gnani thinks "this is Brahman, he is Brahman." etc.

It is said in Manduka that even the Gods cannot find out who is a Gnani because he bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the yellow robe has anything to do with him.

Sri Krishna himself says that he can do nothing to make a man intelligent straight away. The adepts give Prasad, blessing, initiations, mantrams, etc. only to confer temporary peace of mind, to help you to get rid of worries, but not to confer Gnana. The capacity to receive it must first be inborn in man by evolutionary degree.

The teachers leave their experience behind in scriptures and books, as a legacy to posterity. They know that books are illusory, but they also know they will be useful as a means of progress from lower to higher ideas of truth. Sahaja-Samadhi is for the Gnani, yoga-samadhi is for the mystic.

Sage Sankara's commentary:~ "The knower of Brahman wears no signs.  Page 500 asks in effect "Tell us what you know, show it, and let us examine it under the mental microscope." It means we must bring notions and beliefs out of vagueness into clearness. It also criticizes the mystics who claim superior knowledge but who cannot communicate it for purposes of verification. ~Page 489

 On Gnani: "The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life,…his signs are not manifest, nor his behavior." On page 482: 

Eradicating ignorance completely is necessary. And this is possible only through self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   Thus, there is no other road to freedom other than Gnana.  There is no other entrance other than Gnana.  The ignorance will vanish only when the nondual wisdom dawns.

That is why Sage Sankara, indicated in Bhaja Govindam says: - (Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena) - one without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

Then it is no use going a roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance, and witness of the universe, which is in the form of mind.  By tracing the source of the mind or universe, one will be able to realize the Brahman.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is meant only for those who have intense urge, and courage to accept the truth with humility and reject the untruth. Since people start comparing with their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth.   Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our own selves to get the firm conviction.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Even 1% people will not show interest in the Atmic path.+

Even 1% of people will not show interest in the Atmic path. And the Atmic path is for those who found the path of religion, The path of yoga, and all theoretical philosophy and scriptural studies inadequate and useless in quenching their inner thirst.

People are searching for remedies for their problems of practical life within the practical world. The path of love is very valuable in the practical world. 

A Gnani follows the path of love in the practical world and he loves the whole of humanity but he inwardly he is fully aware of the fact that the practical life within the practical world is part of the dualistic illusion. 

Upanishads: - They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom who are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of Atman The ordinary man does not understand their way. (Chapter IV — Alatasanti Prakarana 95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada)

Thus, Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is meant only for those who have intense urge, and courage to accept the truth with humility and reject the untruth. Since people start comparing with their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the non-dual truth. Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our own selves to get the firm conviction. 

Seeing God implies duality. Mind or universe or waking, which appears and disappears is not permanent. There is no use in placing faith in the belief of an individualized god, which is part of the falsehood, and it is impermanent. It is better to abide in formless Soul or consciousness, which is the Self and eternal by realizing the experience of diversity is created out of single stuff, which is consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth and the only ultimate truth or Brahman is GOD. Self-awareness is what one should seek, not visions of individualized God. It is only when the mind is merged in its source, the soul or consciousness that true knowledge of one's identity with ultimate truth or Brahman will dawn.

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.

Sage Sankara says: - VC63- 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.

In Brahma Sutras Sage Sankara says: Brahman is the cause of the world, whereas in Mandukya he denies it.

This may be because, at the lower stage of understanding, the former teaching must be given, for people will get frightened as they cannot understand how the world can be without a cause, but to those in a higher stage, the truth of non-causality can be revealed.

As one goes deeper investigation he finds:~

Sage Sankara founded his Advaita Vedanta either on reason independent of Sruti or on Sruti confirmed by reason." 

Sage Sankara's commentary on the Manduka Upanishad, II, 1: This [the unreality of duality] is borne out by the Srutis ... But it is possible also to show the unreality of the object world even from pure reasoning, and this second chapter is undertaken for that purpose.

Sage Sankara himself had often said that his philosophy was based on Sruti, or revealed scripture. This may be because Sage Sri, Sankara addressed the ordinary man, who finds security in the idea of causality and thus in the idea of God—and Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter. He believed that those of superior intelligence, have no need for this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore, dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Non-Dualism by pure reason. 

Those who lack the intelligence to discriminate between formless witness [subject] and three states (object) will not be able to grasp what is real and what is unreal. Both subject and object are consciousness, not subject alone.

The truth can never change. The nature of the truth is, it can never be changed under any circumstances. It may be misrepresented. It must apply to the whole of existence, to the whole of the universe. It is in the object [three states] alone that one has all changes, as deeper analysis points out.

The subject [formless witness] remains unchanged. The subject [formless witness], as such remains immortal. It can never die for it never changes. The body and world are an object and go, but the subject or knower of the body and the universe can never go. Seeker has to take this principle as his guiding thread and non-dual truth becomes easy to grasp. The formless witness can never be subject to the changes of the object; it is unchanged. The mistake usually made is that subject becomes an object, or that object is a subject.

If one wants to have an absence of contradictions, the absence of duality, there must be one entity, one being. If one has experience which is an object [mind], there is a contradiction between subject and object, for "mind” is an object.

The duality is a reality from the standpoint of the false self [ego or body as Self]. The duality is the mere illusion on the base of the true self, which is formless consciousness. This understanding comes only to the serious seeker, who has a real urge to know the ultimate truth, which is beyond all the teachings and teachers. There is neither teaching, nor a teacher, nor student in the realm of truth. 

Different paths will not converge to the same Ultimate Reality because they are based on the false self. They are not different stages in the same path. People fight about the differences and greatness of their chosen paths but only through wisdom one can realize the Ultimate Reality.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Knowledge of both object and subject is ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+

Without knowing ‘what mind is in actuality how you can know the consciousness? Playing with words is not spirituality. Consciousness is the cause of the mind and it, itself is uncaused. 

Preaching teaching is not wisdom. only through perfect understanding and realization of ‘what is what' leads to the realization of the truth, which is hidden within the form, time, and space and it is without the form, time, and space. 

Consciousness is not an object but it’s the subject. Knowledge of both object and subject is  Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

The Soul is the ‘Self’. ‘I’ is not the Soul. Holding 'I' as the Self is holding the falsehood as a reality.  There is a need to know what is ‘I’ before indulging in the pursuit of truth. 

Dualist Sages including many sages and thinkers could not distinguish between ‘I’ and  Self’.  They hold 'I' as the Self. Their highest was the Jiva.  They are so much attached to the 'I' that they do not want to think that 'I' does not exist. Again they are unable to detach the ‘I’ from the Real  Self’.

The dualist object: - If everything else is false then the statement I am   Brahman is itself false, but when one says non-duality is false, there must be the awareness, consciousness, behind the very statement. You will also go, die. One has to rely upon that which is permanent.  The formless witness of the ‘I’ alone is permanent. Anything that one says is a witnessed (waking), but there is the formless witness (consciousness) there before any statement could be made.

They mean the body by 'I', but it is the formless witness which is the real  Self’. Theists dualists did not, or could not analyze further than ‘I’   on this point because they thought the ‘I’ without the body as ‘Self’.

WHAT IS ‘I’?

The ‘I’ disappears as deep sleep, so what is the use of being attached to it? It is impermanent and illusory.

There is really no ‘I’. The ‘I’ is present in the form of mind. And the mind is in the form of the universe. The universe appears as the waking or dream. The ‘I’ or mind or universe or waking or dream dies disappears as deep sleep. 

One that appears as ‘I’ or the mind or universe or waking or dream is nothing but consciousness and it disappears as deep sleep is also consciousness.  In deep sleep, it is in its formless nondual true nature.  The one, which witnesses the coming and going, of the three states, is also the consciousness.   Thus, the witness and the witnessed are one, in essence.   

Thus, the universe is a reality on the base of the ego. You are the ego. The ego is the false ‘Self’ within the false experience (waking).  

The universe is unreal on the base of the Soul, the  Self’. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The seeker gradually will grasp and realize the unreal nature of the universe (‘I’ or mind).

Individuality is illusory because the ‘Self’ is not an individual because ‘Self’ is formless and it pervades in everything and everywhere in all the three states.

Remember:~

Dualist’ Gurus have written big volumes about the soul. Yet they are quite ignorant of the fact that the ‘I’ about which they write itself’ comes and goes and has no permanent existence, is only an idea after all.

What is it that appears as the ‘I’ and disappears as the ‘I-less? It is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Do not make the mistake of holding the ‘I’ as the Self because it is not permanent. ‘I’ disappears and becomes ‘I’-less.

 ‘I’ is an illusion and the ‘I-LESS’ is real and eternal. The ‘I-LESS ‘appears as ‘I’ and ‘I ’‘disappears as I-LESS.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)

The ‘I’ hides the truth of the whole.

 Gurus and Yogis think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to understand the fact that ‘I’ is not the Self, but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true Self, which is eternal. 

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say "I," if you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, you are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara says: ~ “The exercise in discrimination between real and unreal and renunciation of the false is real meditation.+

Sage Sankara says: ~ “The exercise in discrimination between real and unreal and renunciation of the false is real meditation, then why you are indulging in other types of meditation.

When one puts aside the imagination and has the thinker-- what does he get with thinking—he can get only thoughts. Meditation is only an effort; it is imagination, an idea; the Soul (consciousness), the Self, remaining the same with or without ideas.

Meditation will not help to get rid of ignorance. Without Advaitic wisdom, ignorance will not vanish.  Thus, Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana alone leads to Self-awareness. 

Ashtavakra says: ~ “This is your bondage, that you practice Samadhi or meditation.”

Meditation is an individual act.  The Soul the innermost Self, is not an individual because it is ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. And Meditation is possible within the domain of form, time, and space. The form, time, and space are the product of ignorance.  When the ignorance vanishes, then only the reality appears.

A Gnani does not spend his life sitting in meditation as a sanyasi or giving sermons,  but he shares Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to the seeking world.  A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work. 

Chandogya Upanishad:~ “One who meditates upon and realizes the ”Self’ discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantram and meditation--all come from the “Self’”.

So, it clearly says the one who meditates upon the “Self’ (consciousness) discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantrams and meditation--all come from the “Self’. Therefore, there is a need to know the fact that, the true “Self’ is not physical but the Soul in order to realize the fact that:  the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantrams and meditation--all come from the “Self’, which is in the form of consciousness. 

Atman is Brahman. Brahman the Absolute is alone real; this waking is unreal and the three states are non-different from Brahman. 

The body, the ego, the world are one,  in essence.  The essence is consciousness. Therefore the body, the ego, and the world are created out of single stuff.  That single stuff is the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness.  The “Soul is the fullness of consciousness. Therefore, there is nothing apart from it. 

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad- The “Self’ is indeed Brahman (Consciousness), but through ignorance, people identify it with intellect, mind, senses, passions, and the elements of earth, water, air, space, and fire. This is why the 'Self’ is said to consist of this and that and appears to be everything. 

Consciousness is within, consciousness is without; consciousness is before,  consciousness is behind;  consciousness is on the right, consciousness is on the left;   consciousness is above and consciousness is below.  Consciousness is not an object, as it is invisible, beyond the reach of the physical eyes.  Consciousness is the ultimate truth. And the ultimate truth is Brahman or God in truth.

The world in which we exist is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.  Therefore, hold on to consciousness which is real and eternal, and mentally negate the world in which we exist by realizing the world in which we exist is nothing but consciousness.  

Until a man is ripe to receive Self-knowledge, it is fatal to ask him to give up meditation.

The novice seekers must understand that yoga is all right in its places and that it is good at the beginning of the pursuit of truth, but when yoga is made ends in itself and not means to acquire the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Yoga and meditation are not useless, they are useful to bring the restless ego under control.  Yoga and meditation are not final. Indulging in yoga and meditation will lead not lead to the ultimate end of understanding. Yoga cannot remove ignorance. It is only a step. It removes obstructions.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self: ~ Where is the ‘I’? +

The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the cause of the world in which you exist and it itself is uncaused.

 The ‘I’ implies duality.   The ‘I’  is present in the form of the mind.  The mind is present in the form of the universe. The universe appears as the waking or dream(duality)  and diapers as deep sleep nonduality.  The one that becomes duality and the one that becomes nonduality is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. the ‘I’ is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

The one which is aware of the coming and going,  of the ‘I’,   is the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

 When the Soul wakes up from its sleep of ignorance in the midst of duality it is called “Self–awareness". It is foolish to limit consciousness only to the physical body because consciousness pervades everything and everywhere in all the world in which you exist.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad- The “Self’ is indeed Brahman (Consciousness), but through ignorance, people identify it with intellect, mind, senses, passions, and the elements of earth, water, air, space, and fire. This is why the 'Self’'  is said to consist of this and that and appears to be everything. 

If the Self is not ‘I’ but the Self is the Soul then from the standpoint of the Soul, the  Self:~

Where is the ‘I’? 

Where is the ego? 

Where is the body? 

Where is the mind?

Where is the world in which you exist?

Where are the form, time, and space? 

Where is the waking experience?

Where is the duality? 

Where is void?

They are or have become one with the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The ‘I’ is present only when the mind is present. The mind is present only when the world is present. The world is present only when there is the waking experience. 

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the waking experience is not considered different from the world. The world is not considered different from the mind. The mind is not considered different from the’ I’. This truth has to be assimilated. 

The ‘I’ is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. ‘I’ is not the subject. The ‘I’ is an object to the Soul, which is the formless, timeless, and spaceless subject. 

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the world in which you exist is bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then three states, are bound to be an illusion. 

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the form, time, and space are bound to be an illusion. 

If I’ is an illusion then the individual experience of birth, life, death is bound to be an illusion. 

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the words and thoughts are bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the duality is bound to be an illusion. 

The seeker has to make sure what is this ‘I’ supposed to be? The seeker has to make sure the unreal nature of the ‘I’ which comes and goes. 

That is why Bhagavad Gita: ~ The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self. 

People think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to understand the fact that ‘I’ is not the Self, but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true Self, which is eternal. 

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say "I," if you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, you are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

It is impossible the seeker to discard the ‘I’ because they are stuck up with the idea that ‘I’ itself is the Self.+

Only your intense urge to know the truth will take you to the ultimate end,  but your accumulated knowledge will block you from realizing the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

It is impossible for the seeker to discard the ‘I’ because they are stuck up with the idea that ‘I’ itself is the Self.  In the past,  some famous Gurus and their teachings glorified the ‘I’, and people take it as a final and accepted it as the ultimate truth. Such acceptance without verifying the fact about the ‘I’, their journey is incomplete.  Blind acceptance and reverence to the physical Guru will not help the seeker to get rid of ignorance.

Firstly, doubt about this ‘I’, how it came into existence.   There are no other means to the final goal is the realization of the source of the ‘I’.  There is a need to understand, assimilate, and realize the nature of this ‘I’, which appears and disappears. 

It is erroneous to use the word ‘I’ for the Self, because ‘I’ represents the form, time, and space whereas the Soul, the  Self is formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. 

Bhagavad Gita: ~ “The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes.” (2.18)

To understand the false nature of the ‘I’, the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary. 

The Self is not ‘I’, but the Self is the Soul which is the witness of the ‘I’. Holding the’ Self’  ‘I' leads to hallucination based on the imagination.

Those who are stuck with the ‘I’ based teaching never be able to cross the domain of the form, time and space.   

All the Gurus glorified the ‘I’. Thus, it becomes very difficult to discard the ‘I’. Those who have accepted the ‘I’ based teaching refuse to accept anything other than their accepted truth. Till you hold the ‘Self’ as the ‘I’, your knowledge remains skin deep.

The world in which you exist came into existence because of the ‘I’. The world, in which you exist ceases to exist without the ‘I’.

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”.

The ‘I’ is what the seeker begins his investigation. A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ will help the seeker to reach the Soul, which is the Self.

Sage Sankara: ~VC- If the universe is true, let it then be perceived in the state of deep sleep also. As it is not at all perceived, it must be unreal and false like dreams. 

This universe is nothing but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  From the Soul, the universe appears and when the universe disappears from the consciousness, the consciousness still remains without any division of the form, time and space. 

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ The universe rises 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." 

To enable the seeker to steer clear of any possible doubt, the seeker should take the Atmic path.  The ‘I’ is the clue and study the nature of the ‘I’ and discover its source.:~ Santthosh Kumaar  

Indian sages of truth have been exploring for long the question of the truth of the man and his experience of the universe.+

Even in Christianity Self-knowledge or truth was hidden.  And it is imparted only to a few. 

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).

Long before Socrates’ injunction: - “Know Thyself”, Indian sages of truth 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. It is important for one to know “what is the truth” to realize “what is the untruth.

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

An ignorant is always egocentric. He thinks what he knows is the truth. He always indulges in an argument. The Ignorant is sentimentalized to his belief system. An ignorant person just to prove that he is correct and others are wrong because the ignorant presumes he already knows and wants to see whether others know or not.

The ignorant person provokes others to snub them. Ignorant accumulates knowledge and tries to show his intellectual wealth. Such intellectual sharing of knowledge is mere garbage. It is of no use in pursuit of truth. Because they are egocentric based on ignorance thus they will not yield any truth.

Thus, the belief, actions, conducts, love, virtue, scriptural mastery, religion, rituals, prayers which are mere theories based on the 'False Self' are great hindrances in realizing the non-dual truth, which is the ultimate truth.

All religious theories are meant for those who believe in the practical life within the practical world as a reality because they are unable to verify the truth of their true existence.

Religion is based on the birth entity (you).  The birth entity is the false self within the false experience (waking). Thus, religion is based on falsehood, because religion accepts the experience of birth, life, death, and the world as a reality.  It is very much necessary to realize the self is the Soul, which is birthless and deathless because it is ever formless. The Soul, the innermost Self has no religion.  All religious theories are based on the birth entity is bound to be a  falsehood. 

The seeker has to verify the fact about his true existence through deeper Self-search to realize, the Self is not the form, but the Self is formless Soul (consciousness).

When he realizes the Self is the Soul, then he becomes aware of the fact that the practical life within the practical world is merely an illusion created out of the Soul or the consciousness.

The practical life within the practical world is nothing to do with the formless Soul, the innermost Self. The practical knowledge within the practical world is not wisdom, but it is knowledge based on ignorance. The real wisdom is non-dual wisdom, which arises only when ignorance vanishes.

All are seeing the world that confronts them due to ignorance.  When ignorance vanishes there is neither the seer nor the seen because they have become one in essence. That essence is consciousness (Soul). 

That is why Jesus said: ~ “Know what is in front of your face and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you.

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 or consciousness (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.

In Self-awareness,  the Soul will as objectless –awareness in the midst of the duality and then the duality will cease to exist as reality.

The mind is nothing but an objective existence.   The seeker has to eliminate all the objective knowledge through wisdom and then objectless knowledge will alone remain. This is the nature of the Soul, the  Self.

As for the well-known example of the hallucination of a snake in a coil of rope, the rope is real and the snake is unreal. There is neither the snake nor the rope in Self-awareness.  Even after the truth of the snake is realized and the hallucination of a snake dismissed, there is still the reality of the rope persists.  

Until the rope is recognized to be the Self, the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is an impossibility. The universe is like the snake, because, it is merely an illusion.  

Deeper Self-search reveals the fact that the universe is neither the snake nor the rope but is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The true nature of the Soul is objectless awareness.:~Santthosh Kumaar