If one thinks: "I know Ataman well," then surely he knows but little of its form; he knows only its form as conditioned by man or by the concept of gods. Therefore Ataman has to be grasped through inquiry, analysis and reasoning on the true base.
Ataman is not known by those who know it; it is known by those who do not know it. That is when one says he knows Ataman; he is saying it as a person. The Ataman cannot be applied only to the individuality but to the whole experience [three states]. But in reality the person and world created out of Ataman, thus nothing exits other then Ataman. Thus if one says he knows Ataman as a person, he is making a wrong statement. One must know Ataman as the formless clay of the three states [whole].
Ataman is known when it is realized in every state of mind; for by such Knowledge one attains Immortality. By Ataman one obtains strength; by Knowledge, Immortality
If a man knows Ataman here, he then attains the non dual goal of his mission. If he does not know it here, he remains ignorance experiencing the cycle of birth, life and death as reality. Having realized the Self in every being, the wise relinquish the world and become immortal.