I AMNESS is dualistic awareness, the dualistic awareness is illusory awareness. Self-awareness is non-dualistic awareness.+

It is foolish to say ‘I AM GOD’ when the Self is not you, but the Self is the Soul. Therefore, the Soul, the Self, is God.

People say Aham Brahmasmi ~ I AM GOD, I AM BRAHMAN. But when Brahman is, how can "I" remain? Only Brahman remains, not the ‘I’.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman.

‘I AM’ refers to gender. The Soul, the Self is genderless because it is formless, timeless and spaceless existence.

I AM’ is not God because the Soul, the Self, is not ‘I AM’ because it is genderless existence

‘The Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ ‘Brahmano hi pratisthaham’ ~ Brahman (God in truth) is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27).

When Bhagavad Gita says, God is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material then nothing has to be accepted as God other than consciousness.

Remember: ~

I AMNESS is physical awareness. Physical awareness is not Self-awareness.

I AMNESS is dualistic awareness, the dualistic awareness is illusory awareness. Self-awareness is non-dualistic awareness.

When the Soul, the Self consciously remains in its own awareness in the midst of dualistic awareness, it is non-dualistic awareness or Advaitic awareness.

Nondualistic awareness is the nature of the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Remember:~

The Self is not you, but the Self is the one which witnesses you and the world together. Therefore, it is erroneous to say ‘I AM THIS’ or ‘I AM THAT’ because the ‘I’ itself is an illusion. Thus, it is necessary to know ‘What is ‘I’? - to realize the truth hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

If you are caught in the grip of the ‘I’ then you will remain permanently in the grip of the ignorance. If you hold the Self as ‘I’ you will never be able to cross the dualistic illusion. If you follow the ‘I-cenric’ teaching, it is like the blind leading the blind.

If you inquire, “Who am ‘I’? - ‘I’ will not disappear. You must know the nature of the ‘I’, which appears and disappears.

Sage Sankara: ~ VC-63- "Without knowing and examining the universe, one can’t know the Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

If the inquiry does not include the universe, then it is incomplete.

The Soul is the witness of the ‘I’ which is permeant and eternal. The Soul is the subject and the ‘I’ is an object.

The ‘I’ hides the Soul. Therefore, the seeker has to realize ‘what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality.

If the Self is not ‘I’ but the Self is the Soul then from the standpoint of the Soul, the 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 are 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 consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

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 merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of 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 in order to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

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 Soul, the Self.

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.

People are stuck with the reality of the ‘I’, which they take it as real because some Gurus have propagated the Self is the ‘I’. Is no need to convince such a mindset. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth, nothing but the truth.

For Self-realization, you must first know what this ‘Self’ is in actuality.

Remember this: the ‘I’-centric and you-centric Gurus and their teaching is not Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Unless you discard the ‘I’-centric and you-centric Gurus and their teaching, it is impossible to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Remember first know What is this Self?

If something is true, is real, is constant, is a foundation of a nature that is unchanging, this can be called the Self.

The Soul, the Self, is the fullness of the consciousness without the illusory division of the form, time, and space. The Soul is formless, timeless, and spaceless and eternal existence.

People have not penetrated the meaning of the ‘Self’. The meaning is that the ultimate truth is the Self, which is eternal is existence.

You are impermanent because the ‘Self’ is not you but the ‘Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

People have not penetrated the meaning of the ‘Self’. The meaning is that the ultimate truth is the Self, which is eternal is existence.

You should not hold anything of the dualistic illusion (universe), which is impermanence. The world in which you exist makes you feel as though they are real, but ultimately they are merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is permanent.

You must cultivate to see the permanence (Soul) hidden by the impermanence (universe) as it is.

If you do this, you will be like one who sees a gem in the muddied water among the stones and rocks and waits for the water to settle before he skillfully plucks it out.

It is the same with cultivating the idea of the Soul, the Self hidden by the dualistic illusion (universe).: ~ Santthosh Kumaar