Prior to the appearance of the mind, what was the mind? It did not exist as waking or dream. What was it? What prevail without waking or dream? What is it that is aware of all the three states, which appears and disappears in succession? Only when one is able to know the existence of this formless knower of the three states then he will be able to to realize the self is neither the waking entity nor the self is dream entity but the self is formless witness of the three states which come and go in succession.
Only when one realizes the the three states are and object to formless subject than only he will have the mental yardstick to judge what is real and what is unreal.
Without the knower, there is no such thing as known. The knower is formless and known is the form. Therefore, until one takes the form as the knower, he remains ignorant of the true self. Without realizing the fact that, the body or mind is not the self, it is impossible to assimilate the Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.
The witness of the three states can remain with or without the waking or dream. When it remains with the waking or dream, it is called deep sleep in ignorance. Consciously becoming aware of the true self is the soul and learns to view and judge the worldview on the base of the soul, will lead to the freedom from duality in the midst of duality.
The individual experiences within the waking or dream are noting to do with the witness. The individuality is part of the illusion. The soul or consciousness, the innermost self pervades everywhere and in everything in all the three states.
The birth, life and death are part of the individual experiences with in the waking or dream. Individual experiences are reality within the waking or dream. The waking or dream appears and disappears hence they are not permanent. The witness of the three states is permanent and eternal. Thus, it is necessary to view, analyze and judge, and conclude the truth on the base of the formless witness, which is the soul or consciousness, the innermost self, in order to realize the ultimate truth. The ultimate truth is no second thing exists other then the soul or consciousness, the innermost self hence it is non-dual.
