The waking is a parallel dream and dream is a parallel waking experience. The waking and dreams are the dualistic illusion or Maya.
All the confusion is because of identifying the ‘Self’ as the ‘I’. Holding the ‘Self’ as ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ without realizing what ‘I’ is in actuality.
Holding the ‘Self’ ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ is blocking the realization of the ‘Soul, the innermost Self, which is without the form, time, and space.
The ‘I’ is an object to the formless subject. Thus, it is necessary to realize ‘what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality.
The ‘I’ exists only when the mind exists. The mind exists only when the universe exists. The universe is present only in the waking experience. If there is no waking experience then there is no ‘I’.
If there is no ‘I’ then there is no mind.
If there is no mind then there is no universe.
If there is no universe then there is no waking.
If there is no waking then you do not exist.
Your existence as an individual is dependent on the waking experience. The waking experience is dependent on the universe. The universe is dependent on the mind. The mind is dependent on the Soul. Thus the Soul, the ‘Self’ is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God.
If the ‘I’ is the universe then it is necessary to include the universe in the inquiry to realize the unreal nature of the ‘I’, which is present in the form of the universe.
Sage Sri Sankara: ~ “This entire universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms is nothing else but Brahman which is absolutely free from all the limitations of human thought.
The universe is real because it is a manifestation of consciousness but is unreal, in the sense, that it is not absolute and eternal like consciousness itself.
From the standpoint of the Soul, the ‘Self’, the universe is unreal. Therefore, whatever seen, known, believed and experienced as a person within the practical world is bound to be unreal.
There is no impermanence of the ‘I’ which comes and goes. The Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness, is the formless substance and witness of the ‘I’, which comes and goes.
That is why Bhagavad Gita: ~ “The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)”
The ‘I’ hides the truth of the whole.
People think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to understand the fact that ‘I’ is not the Self, but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true Self, which is eternal.
That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say "I," If you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, You are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers.
Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of the form, time, and space.:~Santthosh Kumaar
