Living in the present is just an intellectual theory based on individuality.

Form ,time and space are part of the illusion. The past, present and future  are based on the form,time and space.  The ultimate truth or Brahman  is beyond form,time and space  because it is formless,timeless and space less existence. Without the form there is no past ,present and future. the form belongs to the past ,therefore how can it experience the present without its past identity .  Thus to live in the present  without the past is impossible. 

Living in the present is just an  intellectual theory based on individuality. The one which witnesses,  the past,  present and future is not the form but the soul or   formless consciousness,which is the innermost self. On the standpoint of the innermost self,  the past present and future are mere illusion. Therefore it is necessary to realize the fact that,  the past, present and future are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. Thus no second thing exists other than consciousness. Consciousness alone is real and all else is illusion.

Living in the present means living in the myth and experiencing the myth as reality. The past, present and future is based on the ego which is the false self within the false experience. There is neither past nor present, nor future in reality. Thus the seeker of truth has to realize the fact that the past, present and future is part and parcel of the illusion, which comes and goes as waking or dream. The one which is aware of the coming and going of the three states is apart and eternal. Thus, it is necessary to overcome the myth that we must live in the present.

Living in the past and living in the present and living in future means living in duality. Duality is mere illusion on the standpoint of the true self, which is the soul.

There is a necessary to understand what mind is, and then only it is possible to assimilate the self-knowledge. If one limits the mind to the physical entity then he will remain believing in the idea that mind is bundle of thoughts. This mind is bundle of thoughts idea keeps one in the grip of duality and makes one experience duality as reality. 

The thoughts are part of the myth. The thoughts, memory and experience have no relevance in pursuit of truth, because the individuality itself is myth. Thus, individual experiences’ happening within the waking is as real as dream. The waking is parallel dream and dream is parallel waking experience. 

Thus, the truth is not based on individuality but the totality of the three states, which appear and disappear in succession. Thus the intellectuality, which is based on the physicality, will yield only the understanding based on the ego, which is the false self. The non-dual wisdom will not dawn by studying the scriptures, or intellectual arguments but it will dawn only indulge in deeper inquiry, analysis and reasoning. 

The true self is not the ego. Basing one-self on the ego and trying to understand and assimilate the self-knowledge is impossibility. The true self is the soul, which is within the three states but it is apart from the three states. It is within the three states as their formless substance and it is apart from the three states as their formless witness. It is apart because it is not an entity or identity within the three states. This formless witness has to be grasped mentally by constant reflecting on the subject, which is formless soul and realize the fact that the true “Self” is not an individual. Thus, it is necessary to rectify the seeking base from form to formless to understand, assimilate and realize the non-dual truth.