So long as one is egocentric he only believes in experience of birth,life,death and the world as reality.

From the standpoint of the waking entity the universe is a reality from the standpoint of the soul, the innermost self, the universe is mere illusion created out of consciousness. When wisdom dawns then one realizes the whole universe is consciousness. The dualistic view is possible only in ignorance. At the dawn of Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana there is only non-dualistic view in the midst of duality because the whole universe is consciousness. Thus all the contents of the universe are also consciousness. Thus form, time and space are mere illusion created out of consciousness. If the form time and space are consciousness than the experience birth, life and death also consciousness.  --FORMLESS PATH 

  

So long as one is egocentric  he only believes in experience of birth,life,death and the world as reality.  But his unaware of the fact that his individual experience of birth,life,death and the world are reality within the waking experience,  but waking experience itself is impermanent and unreal. he remains ignorant of his true existence because he is fully immersed himself in practical life within the practical world.

 common people have  no time for him  to investigate about the truth of his true existence. because the truth of his true existence is not priority in the practical life in the practical life.  people are   engrossed  themselves in their inherited belief system and belief of  god and their  own accepted truth  and also the circumstances  of their practical life. 

Only few people have the inner urge to know and realize the truth.  Upanishads says that the truth will be revealed to those whom it choses.  To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. Therefore,  the one who is seeking truth is chosen one.

 

Katha Upanishad:-  This Ataman 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 Ataman reveals Its own form.(Ch-II -23-P-20)

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

The scriptures indicate that Atman is Brahman, and Brahman is ultimate truth. Therefore the soul, which is in the form of consciousness, is ultimate truth.  Thus to realize the ultimate truth is the prime goal.   A well-directed inquiry, analysis and reasoning will lead one to his non-dual destination. 

Self-Realization is direct realization of the ultimate truth or real god, in contrast with traditional paths, which are indirect. And the other paths cannot lead to the ultimate destination because they are based on the false self, which they hold as real self and false experience as reality. 

Until and unless one overcomes physical shackle it is impossible to understand and assimilate the non-dual truth, which is beyond the physical existence or the universe.  Consciousness itself is lord of itself though not of the universe. And having nothing it has all.

Gaudapada quotes from the Upanishads: "There's no plurality here"; "The Lord (Atman)through his powers appears to be many"; "those who are attached to creation or production or origination go to utter darkness"; "the unborn is never reborn, for who can produce him (Atman)?”

It is only who base on ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ as self, argue and quarrel amongst themselves. The people who are fully aware of the fact that, the form, time and space are mere mirage created out of consciousness have no reason to quarrel, because for them everything is consciousness and no second thing exist other than consciousness.

The Soul in illusion is called mind! When illusion ceases, the mind  sinks back as soul,which is in the form of consciousness. The essence, the substance or material of the three states it is consciousness.   The formless Soul or Consciousness is the innermost self and witness of the three states. 

One does not perceive an object as it really is in truth, but only as it appears through the screen of imagination within the illusion. because the subject and object are one in essence in the realm of truth.  that essence is consciousness.  Consciousness is cause of the illusion and it itself is uncaused.

 Illusion means that one knows the unreality of a thing only when it disappears. When one knows these three states are continuously appearing and disappearing, he may perceive its unreality. As one goes deeper inquiry he becomes aware the consciousness is in process of changing every moment, to moment. 

The experience of birth,life Death and the world are reality within the waking or dream.   birth,life and death  are  connected to the waking or dream entity . Waking or dream comes and goes. But that which witnesses  the waking or dream is the neither the waking entity nor the dream entity but the formless soul or consciousness, the innermost self. , the true self. The true self is immortal.

Knowledge does not destroy the world within the waking; it only destroys the ignorance and exposes the unreal nature of the mind or universe or waking. —because the form,time and space are one in essence in the realm of truth.

 Knowledge of the dream world, which does not destroy the dream world; it shows that everything is mental or unreal.

Because of one’s attachment to the body, and his identification with it, he does not   feel this waking to be unreal. Not having inquired one is unaware of the fact that,  the body and the world are within the waking or dream and waking or dream are of constantly changing in their nature. One has to take the Witness-attitude to see the three states as fleeting appearance. 

Waking experience is continuously presenting with changing conditions. Whatever is within the waking experience may appear to be real and existent. It is a mistake to think that mental creations are seen to be unreal and non-existent. 

One knows most intimately and directly of his waking experience; whatever seen, known, believed, experienced of the world are within the waking experience. One is first aware of the existence of his body and the world within waking experience. but he is unaware of the fact that the waking experience itself is mere illusion. only when the wisdom dawns he becomes aware of the fact that, all the three states are mere illusion, because all the three states are one in essence.   

People mistake and have impression that how can external world be illusion, when they are experiencing it.  They say they are born and living and they are going to die in it.  Suppose one is born, living and going to die in dream world, which is as real as the waking world, he will find it as reality until waking takes place.  Same way the waking world in which man exits is reality until wisdom dawns. One can call it illusion only when the non dual wisdom dawns. Until then he experiences the duality as reality.

 The world does exist as reality, but it exits within the waking or dream. But the existence of waking or dream is mental. The waking is illusion on the standpoint of its formless witness or soul or consciousness, the innermost self   

As nobody has ever seen the beginning of the three states, nobody can ever see its end, and hence it cannot be mortal. This does not refer to things in the waking or dream, those one does see have a beginning and an end; it refers to the waking or dream as a whole.

The idea of time is within the waking or dream; of seeing this at one time and that at another; time does not touch the perceiver. It is mirage. 

It is impossible to get to the knower, the formless witness, before it is understood that the three states are mere mirage.

The soul or consciousness  itself is the Formless Witness: it can never be seen. One knows nothing of it directly.  The three states come and mind goes; they do not really exist. Nothing external to the formless witness exists. The three states come and goes are external to the Formless witness.  That which saw knows this is the real self: the Formless Witness; the rest is mirage. To perceive this requires a special sharpness and receptiveness.