Sage Sankara says:~ ‘He who knows the Brahman (God in truth) is one and the Soul, the Self is another, does not know Brahman.+

Sage Sankara says:~ ‘He who knows the Brahman (God in truth) is one and the Soul, the Self is another, does not know Brahman.

The Atman or the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the Self.

Consciousness is the witness that experiences the action, the actor, and the world of separate things. It is like a light that illuminates everything in a theatre, revealing the master of ceremonies, the guests, and the dancers with complete impartiality. Even when they all depart, the light shines to reveal their absence.

What is not consciousness (formless) in waking, dream, or deep sleep? The waking and the dream states cease to exist without consciousness. The invisible Soul (witness and the three states (witnessed) are one in essence. That essence is consciousness.

Thus, the seeker, seeking, and his destination are all one in essence.

There is only a need to realize that the whole universe in which we exist is created out of the invisible Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Remember:~

The ‘I’ is not different from the mind. The mind is not different from the universe. The universe is not different from the waking state. Without the ‘I’, there is neither the mind nor the universe nor the waking state.

The universe is verily consciousness. Without realizing what is the mind, it is impossible to get Self-realization. The universe is not different from the mind because the mind itself is the universe.

The mind is not different from the invisible Soul because the mind is the dualistic illusion created out of the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Thus, the universe is nothing but consciousness. The universe is unreal because it is not absolute and eternal like consciousness.

It is impossible for any human being to challenge successfully the Advaitic position, as Sage Sankara says.

Sage Sankara asks his opponents, "How do you know there are separate individual Souls? Have you seen the Soul of a Man? You can only say that you have seen different bodies. To say more is to misuse language. Therefore, I call you liars unless you give proof, which is impossible.

A man who describes Sage Sankara's philosophy as negative (because of his Neti, Neti) does not know that this is applied only to the world of the Seen; the critic ignorantly believes that it is also applied to the Seer. Vedanta never negates the Seer, only the Seen.  : ~  Santthosh Kumaar