It is erroneous to judge and reason and conclude the ultimate truth on the base of waking entity and waking world because waking experience itself is an illusion.

 The Self of all makes the senses flow outward,
Therefore one seeks outside of oneself.
Only the wise, seeking the immortal amidst mortality,
Turn their gaze away from the world
And look inward – to find the Self.

- Katha Upanishad

The individual experience within the dream is reality with in the dream. Therefore waking reality is also is reality within the waking. This waking is parallel dream and dream is parallel waking. Only when self-wakes up in waking the dream becomes unreal. When the self, consciously wakes up in its formless non-dual true nature in the midst of waking experience  then all the three states are  mere mirage created out of its formless non-dual true nature.

The form time and space within the dream are falsehood when waking takes place. Similarly the form, time and space of the waking are also falsehood when wisdom dawns. The wisdom dawns only when one realize the self is neither the waking entity nor the dream entity. It is erroneous to judge and reason and conclude the ultimate truth on the base of waking entity and waking world because waking experience itself is an  illusion.

Suppose you were holding the same view in the dream, all your experiences and views are reality within the dream. The dream becomes unreal when waking takes place. Similarly the waking becomes unreal when you become aware the fact that, the self is not an individual.  Thus whatever individual experiences experienced within the waking is as unreal as dream.

 Until one thinks body as body and world as world it is impossible to grasp non-dual truth, because his views and judgments are bases on physical self with the physical existence.  The individuality is reality with the waking experience but the waking experience itself is false hood. Thus holding the view as an individual within the false experience is erroneous on the ultimate point of view.  The waking is parallel dream and dream is parallel waking experience. 

In waking the universe comes: in deep sleep   the waking goes. In waking is one born; in waking one dies. 

In waking one lives, in Waking one suffers. In Waking one earns, in Waking one enjoys. In Waking is one truthful or lies like a liar. In Waking one reflects on Virtue and Sin. In Waking do one lands in Heaven and Hell. In Waking is one happy, in Waking in sorrow. In Waking does one lose the distinctions of caste and creed. In Waking is one wise; in Waking is one unwise.

In Waking one has an urge to know the truth. In Waking one is in the illusion; in Waking is one shadowed by Doubts and confusion, in waking one thinks of reincarnation and rebirth.  In waking one thinks that he is born in this world and world existed prior to him. In waking one is in ignorance of the true self, which is consciousness. If one spots out the true self within the three states, one realizes the way to freedom. 

One is in action in Waking. In Waking one is bound by form, time and space. Waking is in the form of mind. Mind appears and disappears as waking or dream.  If there is no mind then there is no waking or dream. Waking or dream is born out of ignorance of the true self. Getting rid of the ignorance through wisdom is   the way to the release. In Waking or dream, one follows the Writ of habit. Waking or dream is a chronic malady; but within it also is its remedy. 

The true Self is not perceptible to the senses. It is perceived by Reason. It is not perceptible as a thing with form and attributes. To those whose attention is fixed on the body and the world, it is very difficult to attain Self-knowledge. It is also very difficult for them to see the consciousness as self. The attention towards the universe [mind] should be lessened by realizing the self is not the body. The attention has to be focused on the formless substance and witness of the universe [mind] should be increased. So long as the attention is directed towards the universe, the experience of birth, life and death will prevail as reality. But when the attention is directed towards the formless substance and witness of the mind, the ignorance vanishes and the sense of reality of the duality will disappear. Then there is unity in diversity. 

 This subject is vast and it has to be grasped only through deeper self-search. 

Upanishads say:

  This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. [Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20]

Mundaka Upanishad  :-

This Atman cannot be attained through study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature. [3 –page-70 Mundaka Upanishad  Upanishads by Nikilanada]

When the Upanishads say:-

It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals its own form.  Then what is the use of indulging through our intelligence or our accumulated knowledge, when one is not chosen by the self, which is the soul, which is in the form of consciousness.

There is no need for any philosophy in pursuit of truth because they take the seeker nearer to truth but they create more doubts and confusions.

 

The scriptures and theories and teaching based on the ego are not the yardstick. Using them as yardstick to understand and assimilate the truth will lead one towards pursuit of arguments. Seeker of truth has to discover on his own, the truth of his true existence by inquiring “what is mind?” and “what is substance of the mind?” and move forward.   

The ultimate truth is one without the second, the one is not in the sense half or two, but the one that remain forever One, without the second.  The consciousness is all pervading. There is no place where consciousness is not. 

Consciousness is in everyone, consciousness is in everything .consciousness is one behind many. Consciousness alone is. It means the universe and its contents are the visible form of consciousness. And consciousness in turn is invisible form of the universe, which appears as mind.   

 Since people all are not aware of the fact that, they are an experience within another experience (waking or dream). The mind is an experience, which contains everyone and everything and the universe. Since one limits the mind to the physical entity, he forgets the fact that, his body and the universe is an experience, within waking or dream experience. It is impossible to unfold the mystery of his true existence without realizing the fact that, the self is not physical but the self is consciousness.   If the self is not physical then it is erroneous to judge and conclude the truth on the base of the physical self or ego. Thus the truth has to be judges on the base of the true self, which is consciousness which is not an individual but it pervades all the three states as their formless substance and witness. 

 Until and unless one rectifies the reasoning base from form to formless, the ultimate truth  or Brahman  will not be revealed. 

On the standpoint of the formless soul/consciousness

"There is nothing to accept,
Nothing to reject,
Nothing to hold on to,
Nothing to let go of,
Nothing to grasp,
Nothing to spurn,
Nothing to embrace,
Nothing to relinquish,
Nothing to dissolve.

This is the truth.

~ From Ashtavakra-Gita

It is better if one drops the tradition Advaita because it   leads nowhere to understand and assimilate the non-dualistic truth. 

The path of religion, path of yoga and the path of wisdom were intended for different classes of people. The wisdom is for the advanced seekers of truth. It deals with the nature of the ultimate Truth and Reality. It is meant for superior aspirants who have inner urge to know the truth and it is not for those who are immersed in earthly desires.

When the Upanishads says:  the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge and they indicate the personal gods, scriptures, worship and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge, then why anyone should indulge in it. The religion, concept of individualized god and scriptures are greatest obstacle to realize non-dual truth or self-realization, because they are based on false self.  Therefore, one has to search the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, he should indulge in deeper, inquiry, analysis and reasoning and assimilate and realize it.  

Sri, Sankara says in VivekaChudamani   :- 

56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by work, nor by learning, but by the realisation of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means. 

58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar, but are no good for Liberation.

59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.

60. The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest which merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.

61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae) and medicines to such a one?

62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utter the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realization one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.

63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman ? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

64. Without killing one’s enemies, and possessing oneself of the splendour of the entire surrounding region, one cannot claim to be an emperor by merely saying, ‘I am an emperor’.

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.

66. Therefore the wise should, as in the case of disease and the like, personally strive by all the means in their power to be free from the bondage of repeated births and deaths.

67. The question that thou hast asked today is excellent, approved by those versed in the Scriptures, aphoristic, pregnant with meaning and fit to be known by the seekers after Liberation.

Chandogya Upanishad

"When a person is sleeping soundly, free from dreams, with a still mind, that is the Self, fearless and deathless. That is Brahman, the supreme."

Panchadashi:- The Atman is the witness-consciousness that experiences the action, the actor, and the world of separate things. It is like a light that illuminates everything in a theater, revealing the master of ceremonies, the guests, and the dancers with complete impartiality. Even when they all depart, the light shines to reveal their absence.

Everything exists when wisdom dawns but there unreal nature is revealed.   There is self-awareness that is A Gnani is fully aware that, his own body and his experience of the universe is mere mirage created out of consciousness. Thus the form and names has no value because they are part of the mirage. 

The real is the consciousness from which the whole universe is made.   Thus through wisdom one reaches the stillness of the self, which is formless non-dual in its nature. Thus the one is aware of the material (consciousness) not the things(mirage)  made out of the material. 

As gold is important material in making ornaments, so, consciousness is the material is essential for the three states to arise. Without the gold remains as gold when it is not ornaments. In self- awareness the consciousness remains in its formless non-dual true  nature in the midst of duality.