Bhad upanishd- 8-p- -211 :- This Self is dearer than a son, dearer than wealth, dearer than everything else, because It is innermost

The soul is the real  self. The soul is in the form of consciousness. The formless substance and witness of the three states is consciousness.  The three states are one in essence.  Thus the three states are mere mirage created out of consciousness.  

One has to realize the fact that, it is not the waking entity (you) which witnesses the three states.  The formless soul is the witness of the coming and going of the three states. The soul is immutable. The soul is unaffected by the happening within the three states because the three states are mere mirage created out of the formless soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The soul or consciousness is the innermost self. 

The self is neither the waking entity nor the self is dream entity but the self is the formless soul. The on the standpoint of the soul, the innermost self the three states are non-existent as reality.    

In the cloud there is nothing other than water, so too consciousness is nothing other than itself. It is the absolute without a second.

The moon reflecting on water and appearing as many, the self is just like the reflection of the moon on water which increases with the volume of water and decreases with its reduction, which moves when the water moves, and which differs as the water differs. The moon seems to conform to the characteristics of water, but in reality the moon never has these increasing or decreasing qualities. So also, from the highest point of view, consciousness always retains its sameness; it seems to conform to such characteristics as increase and decrease of the limiting adjunct, owing to its entry into such an adjunct as a universe. 

Thread is drawn from cotton and is woven into cloth. But the reality of cotton is in both of these forms, viz., thread and cloth. Similarly, the projections of names and forms of this material universe on consciousness do not alter the nature of consciousness. It remains as it is without any change.

 One can also illustrate the uniqueness of consciousness by analyzing the phenomenon of dreams. Dream is parallel waking experience. And waking experience is parallel. The three states are an object to the subject, which is formless consciousness. The consciousness is the formless substance and witness of the three states one is unaware of the subject because he considers the waking entity as self and views and judges the three states, which is erroneous.

The waking entity is limited to the waking experience, and the dream entity is limited to the dream experience. In deep sleep the waking or dream experiences are absent, thus the witness remains in its formless non-dual true nature, but due to ignorance of the true self, which is the substance and witness of the three states, one experiences the three states as reality. When one becomes aware of the formless witness of the three states then one becomes aware of the fact that, the three states are mere mirage on the standpoint of the true self, which is consciousness.  

Thus whatever seen, known, believed and experienced within the waking experience is falsehood.  Thus the experience of universe and birth, life and death are myth. Thus the belief of god, heaven, hell, paradise, sin, karma, rebirth, reincarnation is myth.  

Thus by worshiping individualized god and following religion studying scriptures are for those who are incapable of realizing the truth of their true existence.     

Bhad upanishd- 8-p- -211 :- This Self is dearer than a son, dearer than wealth, dearer than everything else, because It is innermost. If one holding the Self dear were to say to a person who speaks of anything other than the Self as dear, that he, the latter, will lose what he holds dear—and the former is certainly competent to do so—it will indeed come true. One should meditate upon the Self alone as dear. He who meditates upon the Self alone as dear—what he holds dear will not perish.

The true existence is consciousness without the form, time and space. Therefore the self is nothing other than the consciousness. However, this consciousness is not the flux of states, a stream of consciousness.

A permanent view of world as unreal can come only after soul centric reasoning; such knowledge cannot change. Were the seeker who is sufficiently sharpness he could grasp the unreal nature of the world by soul-centric reasoning alone.  To know whole truth, one must know the whole universe, otherwise he gets only half-truth. 

Renouncing the worldly life and accepting sanyasa or monk-hood means incapacity to think deeper, an impotency to inquire and reason. 

People speak of getting rid of conditioning or samskara but they themselves are unaware of the fact that, the universe in which they exist is product of the inborn samskara or conditioning.  The ignorance is cause of the inborn samskara or conditioning which present as ‘I’ or ‘I AM’. 

The real Moksha or freedom is   to realize the fact that ‘I’ consciousness is mere physical awareness. Physical awareness is not self-awareness. The self –awareness is when the formless soul or consciousness remains aware of its own non-dual   true nature.

Waking and dream emerge from consciousness.

 Sage Sri Ramana Maharishi Says: The self is fullness of consciousness. Therefore, there is nothing apart from it. (Page-8 – Practical Guide To Know Yourself).

Waking and dream emerge from consciousness. The emergence of the waking or dreams does not make any difference to the consciousness. The consciousness remains unchanged and unaffected by the waking or dream, even though both the waking or dream objects and the waking or dreams are aspects of the consciousness. 

The dreamer would not realize that dream objects and the dreams are simply aspects of the consciousness unless he wakes up from the dream. Once the waking takes place the dream becomes unreal, same way when wisdom dawns the waking becomes unreal.  The unchanging reality behind the waking or dream experience is the consciousness. 

Consciousness (soul) is the substance and witness of the duality.  The duality is present in the form of mind. Mind is present in the form of universe. The universe appears as waking or dream and diapers as deep sleep. The one which is aware of the coming and going of the three states is neither the waking entity nor the dream entity but the formless soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  When the soul becomes aware of its formless non-dual true nature in the midst of duality it is called self –awareness. It is foolish to limit the consciousness only to duality because the consciousness pervades all the three states

The waking or dream experiences are external manifestation of consciousness. As long as a person is caught up in the phenomenal existence, he does not see the unity behind the multiplicity. When one wakes up to the consciousness as it is in itself, not perceived or interpreted, or noumenal   level he becomes aware of the one, non-dual consciousness, which was the cause of the three states.  

Thus, consciousness is supreme. It is the reality. It has no beginning and end. It is eternal and beyond the reach of pain and pleasure. Consciousness is indivisible, immeasurable, without names and forms. It cannot be avoided, as it is present everywhere. Consciousness cannot be grasped, as it is transcendent. It cannot be contained in anything, as it contains everything. Consciousness is indefinable, for it is beyond the range of action and speech. Thus, consciousness is reality itself, pure and absolute consciousness.

Consciousness is ultimate reality is defined as that which persists. Consciousness exists in all periods of time and remains the same in the past, present and future.

Consciousness is ultimate reality exists both in the manifest and the unmanifested. The mind, which is in the form of universe arises out of the consciousness .The consciousness exists in all the three states. The mind rises from it and Merges back into consciousness. 

Consciousness is the substratum and the three states. Consciousness is like the ocean and mind is like wave. Wave exists in ocean and Merges back into ocean. Similarly the mind or universe is nothing but consciousness. Everything is consciousness.

Therefore, consciousness is a principle of utter simplicity. There is no duality in consciousness for no qualities are found in the concept of consciousness. It is also simple in the sense that it is not subject to inner contradictions, which would make it changeable and transitory. To understand the nature of consciousness and to speak of it, consciousness in its reality, is not a metaphysical postulate that can be proved logically, but it must be grasped and realized mentally not through argument or logical conclusions but perfect reasoning. Thus, consciousness is one: It is not a `He or She ', a personal being; nor is it an `It', an impersonal concept. It is that state which comes about when all subject-object distinctions are obliterated.