Once one understands the self is not the waking entity or ego, than he has understood and assimilated the real essence of Advaitic or non-dualistic
truth. One must learn that in the realm of duality, the mind is different from soul (consciousness) but in reality mind and soul are one in essence.
Homogeneity is the natural condition of the soul. Through ignorance one creates dissociation within it. The first dissociation is the sense of ‘I’. The sense of ‘I’ is the inborn samskara or conditioning.
Soul or consciousness, the innermost “self" is not different from mind,
which is in the form of universe. Limiting the soul or consciousness to the
waking entity within the waking experience is cause of the ignorance.
It is the waking entity that thinks
of the “self.”
What is Self?
That which is always aware of the
coming and going of the three states is the soul, which is present in the form
of consciousness. The Self is within the
three states but is ever 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.
The Witness is the subject. The three
states are an object to the formless subject. In reality the subject and object
are one in essence, but in ignorance the subject is hidden within the object. When wisdom dawns than one realizes there is
no object at all because object is mere illusion created out of formless
subject. Thus there is no second thing exist other than the formless subject,
which is consciousness. Thus consciousness alone is real and all the three
states are mere illusion created out of consciousness.
