If you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’ then You are not a wise seeker.***

The Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness  is the  cause of the world in which you exist and it itself is uncaused.

 The ‘I’ implies the duality.   The ‘I’  is present in the form of  the mind.  The mind is present in the form of  the universe. The universe appears as  the waking or dream(duality)  and diapers as deep sleep nonduality.  The one that becomes duality and the one that becomes nonduality is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness. the ‘I’ is mere an illusion created out of the consciousness.

The one which is aware of the coming and going,  of the ‘I’,   is the formless Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

 When the Soul  wakes up from its sleep of the ignorance  the midst of duality it is called “Self–awareness". It is foolish to limit the consciousness only to  the physical body because the consciousness pervades  in everything and everywhere in all the  world in which you exist.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad- The “Self’ is indeed Brahman (consciousness) , but through ignorance people identify it with intellect, mind, senses, passions, and the elements of earth, water, air, space, and fire. This is why the 'Self’'  is said to consist of this and that and appears to be everything. 

If the Self is not ‘I’ but the Self is the Soul then on the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost Self:

 ~ 
Where is the ‘I’? 

Where is the ego? 

Where is the body? 

Where is the mind?

Where is the world in which you exist?

Where is the form, time,  and space? 

Where is the waking experience?

Where is the duality? 

Where is void?

They are or have become one with the Soul which is present in the form of the consciousness. The consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The ‘I’ is present only when the mind is present. The mind is present only when the world is present. The world is present only when there is the waking experience. 

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that, the waking experience is not considered different from the world. The world is not considered different from the mind. The mind is not considered different from the’ I’. This truth has to be assimilated. 

The ‘I’ is mere an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness. ‘I’ is not the subject. The ‘I’ is an object to the Soul, which is the formless, timeless and spaceless subject. 

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the world in which you exist is bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then three states, are bound to be an illusion. 

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the form, time, and space are bound to be an illusion. 

If the 'I’ is an illusion then the individual experience of the birth, life, death is bound to be an illusion. 

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the words and thoughts are bound to be an illusion.

If the ‘I’ is an illusion then the duality is bound to be an illusion. 

The seeker has to make sure what is this ‘I’ supposed to be? The seeker has to make sure the unreal nature 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 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. 

Sri Krishna himself says that he can do nothing to make a man intelligent straight away***.

A Gnani will not show off nor boast; for he wants to appear a normal man, not an extraordinary one. A Gnani does not consider himself as wise and others are less wise. No one is wise or less wise in pursuit of truth. The inner revolution starts within and ends within. A Gnani is neither a scriptural scholar nor he is a philosopher. A  Gnani neither a teacher nor he has any teaching.  He silently works and helps the fellow seekers inspiring them guiding them towards inner reality in his own way. The scholar will remain as scholars and philosophers will remain as philosophers and intellectual remains as intellectuals arguing on their point of view. Gnani never propagates any philosophy because philosophy is nothing to do with the pursuit of truth but he points out, the obstacles, which is blocking everyone’s realization.  

The ordinary person thinks "this is a world "; "that is a man" etc. whereas the Gnani thinks "this is Brahman, he is Brahman." etc.

It is said in Manduka that even the Gods cannot find out who is a Gnani because he bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the yellow robe has anything to do with him.

Sri Krishna himself says that he can do nothing to make a man intelligent straight away. The adepts give prasad, blessing, initiations, mantrams, etc. only to confer temporary peace of mind, to help you to get rid of worries, but not to confer Gnana. The capacity to receive it must first be inborn in man by evolutionary degree.

The teachers leave their experience behind in scriptures and books, as a legacy to posterity. They know that books are illusory, but they also know they will be useful as a means of progress from lower to higher ideas of truth.

Sahaja-Samadhi is for the Gnani, yoga-samadhi is for the mystic.

Sage Sri Sankara's commentary:~ "The knower of Brahman wears no signs.  Page 500 asks in effect "Tell us what you know, show it, and let us examine it under the mental microscope." It means we must bring notions and beliefs out of vagueness into clearness. It also criticizes the mystics who claim superior knowledge but who cannot communicate it for purposes of verification. ~Page 489

 On Gnani: "The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life,…his signs are not manifest, nor his behavior." On page 482: 

Eradicating the ignorance completely is necessary. And this is possible only through self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   Thus, there is no other road to freedom other than Gnana.  There is no other entrance other than except Gnana.  The ignorance will vanish only when the non-dual wisdom dawns.

That is why Sri Sankara, indicated  in Bhaja Govindam says: - (Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena) - one without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

Then it is no use going a roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and witness of the universe, which is in the form of mind.  By tracing the source of the mind or universe, one will be able to realize the Brahman.

Thus, Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is meant only for those who have intense urge, and courage to accept the truth with humility and reject the untruth. Since people start comparing with their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the non-dualistic or Advaitic  truth.   Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our own selves to get the firm conviction.

The emptiness is the nature of the soul or consciousness, which Buddhist called as nothingness or emptiness and Sage Sri, Sankara called it as Brahman, Meher Baba called it as I AM GOD STATE, and Christens called it Christ consciousness.

The pleasure and pain are individual experiences happening within the waking experience. Therefore their reality is limited to the waking experience because the waking experience itself is illusion. Until one become aware of the fact that: how the waking experience is illusion, he is bound to experience the duality as reality. The individuality and individual experiences happening with in the waking experience, is nothing to do with the formless Soul, which is witness of the three states.

 The pleasure and pain of the dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place. Same way for a Gnani the waking experience becomes mere an object of experience because he is soul-centric. Most of the god men are pretending to be Gnani but they are egocentric. When one becomes soul-centric for him body and world are also consciousness.   Because people think the body is born, lives and dies they feel the pleasure and pain as reality. But it is not body alone that dies, the world also dies together, because they appeared together and they disappear together as deep sleep or death.   The one which is aware of the appearance disappearance of the three states is birth- less and deathless soul, which people call it as as emptiness. 

The emptiness is the nature of the soul or consciousness, which Buddhist called as nothingness or emptiness and Sage  Sri, Sankara called it as Brahman, Meher Baba called it as I AM GOD STATE, and Christens called it Christ consciousness.  When one consciously becomes aware of the emptiness s is the true self, then there is no physical apparatus and world to experience, because a Gnani is aware his body and the world are also consciousness.   To get this conviction one has understand the fact that, the birth, life, death and world are mere mirage created out of consciousness. Whatever prevails without the mirage is ultimate truth, which is consciousness.

 If the self is formless   then diversity is mere illusion. One has  to know this fact intellectually first, then gradually as conviction becomes firm then  he becomes soul-centric and he sees the sameness in everything and the mind reaches the stillness and he  becomes aware of the fact that,  the soul itself is the ultimate truth.  

We all including the world exist in waking or dream. We experience different experiences as individuals. When we consider we are individual separate from the world, we will think whatever is happening within the waking experience as reality, because we are judging the truth on the waking entity, which is erroneous. The waking entity is limited to the waking experience alone. We have to learn to judge truth on the base of the formless knower of the three states.    Therefore, the individuality and individual experience is nothing to do with the self, which is formless.  Until one includes the world in his realization to grasp the ultimate truth is impossibility.

We have to realize Individual experience of birth, life and death is nothing to do with the true self which is the soul, because the soul is our eternal identity. On the base of soul as self-there is neither witness nor witnessed, there is only oneness.