The first step is to realize the true ‘Self’ is not ‘I’ but the Soul, the witness of the ‘I’.+

Bhagvad Gita: ~ “You must first see the ‘I’ as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16

The first step is to realize the true ‘Self’ is not ‘I’ but the Soul, the witness of the ‘I’.  Without realizing ‘what is this ‘I’ supposed to be an actuality it is not possible to realize the truth, which is hidden by the ‘I’.

I am highlighting all the obstacles in the inner journey and how to overcome these obstacles. All accumulated knowledge is of no use in the Atmic path. 

A deeper self-search reveals the fact that the ‘I’ is present in the form of mind. And the mind is in the form of the universe. And the universe appears as the waking or the dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).

Realize, ‘what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality and what is hidden by the ‘I’ will be revealed.

If you realize the ‘Self ‘is not the ‘I’ but the Soul then whatever is hidden by the ‘I’   will be revealed.

Realizing the Soul is not the ‘I’ but the Soul is the Self, is Self –realization.

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 or God in truth.

Remember:~

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 in order to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space

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, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

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.

People are stuck with the reality of the ‘I’, which they take it as real because some Gurus have propagated the Self is the ‘I’. There is no need to convince such a mindset. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth nothing but the truth.

That is why 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.

People refuse to accept anything other than their Gurus words. For them, their Gurus words are the ultimate truth. They do not accept anything else other than their accepted truth. There is no need to convince such a mindset.

Such a mindset is not fit to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. The seekers of truth accept only the truth nothing but the uncontradictable truth. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Until Scientists discover the how the form, time and space came in to existence, the mystery of the universe will not be unfolded.+

Whatever Scientists can monitor the pattern of brain activity through modern scientific equipment are based on the physical Self.   The physical Self and physical activities are limited to physical existence.  The physical existence is nothing to do with the ultimate truth.  The universe is the physical existence  

The scientists and their inventions are based on believing the physical Self and its experience world as reality, whereas, the truth lies beyond physical existence.

Scientists discover how the form, time, and space came to existence,   the mystery of the universe will not be unfolded.

Max Planck ~Father of quantum physics says: ~ Science has no answer to it. Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.

Until and unless scientists investigate the nature of the ‘I’ without scientific equipment their experiments will not yield any fruit. 

The experiment on the physical body and trying to find the truth is like trying to drain the ocean drop by drop.    

Until scientists realize the fact that, the gross world is merged into the mental experience in the sense that when it is analyzed, it is found to exist inseparably in and as the consciousness alone.

Remember:~

All "spiritual" planes are really mental: those who regard them as different or higher are taking the physical body and the world as a reality. 

Scientists take birth, life, and death as a reality, their scientific inventions are based on physical awareness, and they will not be able to go deeper into this subject because they cannot cross the threshold of form, time, and space.   

Modern equipment can investigate objects within the physical universe but it is impossible to investigate the physical universe as a whole i.e. man and the world together.  The whole universe cannot be investigated with laboratory conditions.  Only through deeper self-search, the truth of the whole has to be investigated.  

One has to reach beyond the physical existence, mentally, and discovers, grasps the fact that, the universe is merely an illusion created out of single stuff and that single stuff is the consciousness otherwise he will remain the conviction believing the universe is a reality.  

The consciousness is the cause of the universe and it itself is uncaused.  The universe is nothing but consciousness. Modern science has yet to discover that consciousness is the cause of the universe, which was discovered and declared by Sage Sankara in the 8^th century. 

Advaitic Gnana here is knowledge uncontradictable truth or scientific truth. Thus their scientific truth of the whole, not part is declared by Sage Sankara

The consciousness is the cause of the universe in which we exist and it itself is uncaused. The consciousness alone is real and eternal, and the universe in which we exist is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

Sage Sankara says:~ Atman is Brahman. The Atman alone is real is not religious truth.  Sage Sankara declared this Advaitic truth, which the ultimate truth to the whole world, many centuries back is the rational truth, scientific truth, and ultimate truth.

Thus, the Atman (Soul) is present in the form of the consciousness is real and eternal, the world in which we exist is merely an illusion.  

Then there is no need for the scriptures, religion, and the idea of God.  One has to be more rational to realize the Advaitic truth, which is the ultimate truth or scientific truth.

The Advaitic truth declared by the Sage Scientist Sankara is a scientific truth, the ultimate truth and universal truth cannot be contradicted.

When the matter is an illusion created out of the Spirit then Spirit alone is real.

When the object is created out of the subject then the subject alone is real.

When the universe in which you exist is created out of the consciousness then the consciousness alone is real.

Reality and unreality are created out of single stuff because the unreality (the world in which we exist) is experienced as a reality we are unaware of the reality hidden by the unreality.   There is no second thing that exists other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The dualistic illusion, which is present in the form of the ‘I’, hides the truth. Stick to reality by mentally dropping the unreality.  :~Santthosh Kumaar 

The seeker must first realize the ‘Self’ is not the ‘I’ but the Soul.+

The Soul is not an object of vision; no one beholds the Soul, the Self with the physical eyes. One can know the Soul when it is revealed by the intellect. Those who realize the Soul as the 'Self 'achieve immortality.

The seeker must first realize the ‘Self’ is not the ‘I’ but the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.   Consciousness is the cause; consciousness is the support of all that exists in this universe.

The seeker should never turn his attention from the Soul, the Self. Never accept anything else as truth other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.   There is no place for two in the domain of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The Soul is realized as the existence free of the illusory form, time and space lead to Self-awareness. In Self-awareness, there is unity in diversity in the midst of diversity.

When ignorance vanishes through Advaitic wisdom, the dualistic illusion ceases to exist as a reality, and then the Soul, the Self remains in its own awareness in the midst of the dualistic illusion, the mortal becomes immortal and attains Brahman or God in truth.

 The ultimate truth or Brahman or God cannot be attained by speech, by intellectual speculation, or by vision. It is attained except by realizing the Soul as the Self.

When ignorance is severed through Advaitic wisdom, then the mortal becomes immortal.

 The Soul, the Self is hidden by the ‘I’.  The seeker must separate himself from the ‘I’ as one separates the tender stalk from a blade of grass.  The seeker must know that the Soul, the Self as the immortal, and the mortal is an illusion.  :~Santthosh Kumaar 

In waking, the Soul sleeps in ignorance therefore the universe (I) rises.+

In waking, the Soul sleeps in ignorance, therefore, the universe (I) rises.  In deep sleep the Soul is awake, the ignorance vanishes, and the Soul, the 'Self' remains in its own awareness.

The ‘I’ becomes ‘I’-less in deep sleep and the ‘I’-less appear as waking or dream (duality).   In ignorance, the Soul appears as the ‘I’ and the Soul disappear ‘I-less when the ignorance vanishes.

The ‘I’ (mind) and ‘I-less (Soul) both are one in essence. From the standpoint of the Soul, the  Self, the three states are merely an illusion. The ‘I’ never exists in reality.

"The ‘I’ is impermanent. The ‘I’ comes and goes as waking or dream, and disappears as deep sleep. There must be something permanent, to register the coming and going, of the ‘I’. 

The ‘I’ itself is an illusion. The Soul is the witness of the ‘I’ is permanent and eternal.

The Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness pervades in everything and everywhere in all three states. 

Thus, the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana has to be acquired to unfold the mystery of the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion. :~Santthosh Kumaaar 

The universe in which you exist itself is an illusion.+

The universe in which you exist itself is an illusion.  You are not the Self. You are part and parcel of the illusion.  The Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. 

The Soul is the witness of the illusion (the universe in which you exist).  The universe appears as the waking or the dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).  From the standpoint of the Soul, the three states are one in essence.  

The man is blind because he is part of the dualistic illusion. None can see the Soul, the  Self in the dualistic illusion. Very few will be able to grasp the truth beyond the form, time, and space, the rest are immersed in the illusory experience of the birth, life, death and the world.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world, is an illusion because the Soul is not an individual.    The birth, life, death and the world exist only in the domain of the form, time, and space.

The form, time and space are an illusion created out of single clay. That single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Thus, it is very much necessary to realize the Self is not the ‘I’ but the Soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the ‘I’. 

The Soul is permanent and eternal truth or Brahman or God in truth.  The birth, life, death and the world are a reality within the waking experience but the waking experience is itself is the dualistic illusion. The dualistic illusion appears as ‘I’ and disappears as the Soul, the Self.

The Soul is unborn and deathless because it is the ever formless, timeless and spaceless existence.

Those who think the birth, life, and death as a reality are unaware of the fact that their existence is a reality within the dualistic illusion. 

A person, who stamped his foot on the ground to refute to show the world, is real, ignores that in the dream he would do exactly the same ~ stamp his dream foot on the ground and assert it to be real. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar  

A Gnani’s attention is fixed on the Soul.+

Just as rainwater falling on a mountain peak runs down the rocks in all directions, even so, is the dispersed who sees only the diversity and manyness of the world and does not grasp the Oneness of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  The nature of the Soul is the fullness of consciousness.

As pure water poured into pure water becomes one with it, so also the one who knows ‘Self is not ‘I’ but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness become one with the  Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness along with the world in which he existed.  

He who realizes Soul as the Self-liberated from the bonds of ignorance, he becomes free from experiencing the illusory form, time, and space as a reality.

A Gnani’s attention is fixed on the Soul. He is free of ignorance.  He is in solitude in the midst of the dualistic illusion. His quest is over.  He has reached the highest goal. 

When the Soul is mentally separated from the illusion by realizing the illusion too is nothing but consciousness then there is no second thing that exists other than consciousness.

Chandogya Upanishad: ~   sarvam khalvidam brahma - all this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all of the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the non-dual reality.

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.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

A Gnani has turned away his attention from the world in which he exist and fixes his attention of the Soul alone enters the awareness of the Soul.+

A Gnani has turned away his attention from the world in which he exists and fixes his attention of the Soul alone enters the awareness of the Soul.

The yogis who think the practice of Yoga and meditation as final will not be able to enter self-awareness.  The intellectual who is busy with his intellectual speculation cannot attain self-awareness

The ego is the individual self. The ego is the false self within the dualistic illusion.  The ego is not the Soul, the universal Self.  The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness pervades in everything and everywhere in the dualistic illusion or Maya.

The Soul is light and the ‘I’ is the shade. 

The Soul is the subject and ‘I’ is an object.

The Soul is the seer and the ‘I’ is the Seen.

The Soul is the witness and the ‘I’ is the witnesses.

The Soul is real and ‘I’ is an illusion.

The Soul is wisdom and the ‘I’ is ignorance.

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 ‘I’, observed and experienced.  The commoner viewing the ‘I’ will see differently from a Gnani viewing the same ‘I’. Each one interprets the ‘I’ that they see in terms of their existing knowledge. The commoner sees everything based on the ‘I’  therefore experience of the birth, life,  death and the world as a reality, whereas a Gnani sees everything as  the Soul as the Self   and he is fully aware of the fact that there is no second thing exists other than  the Soul, which is present  in the form of consciousness. Thus, all the ‘I’-centric (religious) adulteration has to be bifurcated to realize the ultimate truth, which is beyond the ‘I’.  :~Santthosh Kumaar