The formless soul is the true self. The soul is in the form
of consciousness. Consciousness cannot become what it already is. And what self
already is, is what it wants to become.
Within the illusion, which appears as mind or universe, the
self is in ignorance, so it does not know its own formless nondual true nature.
However, that 'ignorance' can end.
In waking experience
or dream soul or true self is not aware of itself due to ignorance. Thus there is no self-awareness in waking or
dream. ‘I’ and ‘I AM’ is the seed of ignorance. Thus one will not get self-awareness until
they stick to ‘I’ or ‘I am’ and think it as self. The self-awareness is conscious existence of
without ‘I’ or ‘I AM’.
Self has to know itself
by dropping the seed of ignorance, which is ‘I’ or ‘I AM’. It exists with or
without the ‘I’ or ‘I AM’. Thus it is necessary
to realize the formless substance and witness of the ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ is the
self. The formless substance and witness
are one in essence and that essence is consciousness. Consciousness is the true
self and ultimate truth or Brahman. One has to
know that his existence is
dependent on consciousness.
Mind is form.
Mind is time. Mind is space. The knower of the mind is not mind but
consciousness. All feeling, revolving, growing are within the mind ,which is
mere illusion from the standpoint of the formless knower of the mind, which is
consciousness. The mind is dependent on consciousness for its existence whereas
the consciousness is independent. It can exist with or without the mind.
Physical awareness is not self-awareness, because the self
is not physical. The physical awareness is mere illusion from the ultimate
standpoint. The physical awareness is present when the universe is present. The
universe is present when the mind is present. The
mind is present only in waking or dream. And mind is absent in deep sleep. The
knower of the coming and going of the three states is neither the waking entity
nor the dream entity, therefore it is not physical. The true self is within the
three states but it is without the three states. Thus mentally tracing the
formless knower of the three states and realizing it as the self, leads one to
self-awareness.
When the self is in intoxication of ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ it is in
physical awareness, which is in the form of mind. The mind is in the form of
universe. The universe appears as waking or dream. Thus it is necessary to realize
the fact that, ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ is not the self.
Some sages in the past
have prescribed ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ as self in the past, to help the seekers to realise the
illusoriness of the ego or physical self.
But ‘I’ or I AM’ will reveal only half-truth and the inner journey is incomplete.
People who are stuck with ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ concept
are like stagnant water in the pond. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate “What
is mind?” and “What is the substance of the mind?” in order to understand, assimilate and realize the nondual truth.
‘I know’ attitude blocks one from realizing the nondual
reality. Seeker has to know consciousness as true self, and then only the truth
will be revealed. Thus bookish knowledge, intellectual speculation, scriptural
mastery, logical conclusion are not the means to acquire self-knowledge. Academic
merits, virtues, love, service are valuable in practical life within the
practical world. But they are not
qualification in acquiring Self-Knowledge.
One is aware of his body and his experience of the world
because of consciousness but he is unaware of the consciousness because he
thinks his body and the world as reality within the illusion. But as he goes in
deeper self-search he becomes aware of the fact that there is neither body nor
the world but everything is consciousness. Thus consciousness alone is all else
is mere mirage created out of consciousness. Thus it is necessary for the
seeker to sure his body and his experience of the world is mere mirage created
out of the consciousness. The consciousness is the cause of everything and it
itself is uncaused.
The individual experiences within
the waking experience are as real as dream. The dream is parallel waking experience
and waking experience is parallel dream. Thus judging the truth on the base of
waking entity is erroneous, because waking entity is not the self. Thus realization
of true self is necessary in order to get freedom from experiencing the duality
as reality. The clarity of understanding
and assimilation of nondual arises only when one drops all inherited
conditioning of reasoning on the base of ego or false self.
