Remember this:~ You are not the witness because the Self is not you.+

The ‘Self is not in you, but the ‘Self’ is hidden by the ‘I’. Realize what this ‘I’ in actuality, then you will never use the word ‘I’ for the ‘Self’.

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.

‘I’ is not the reality. Whenever the ‘I’ is there, the dualistic illusion is present. Whenever dualistic illusion is present, the world in which you exist is present. The world in which you exist appears and disappears.

Thus, The ‘I’ appears and disappears. The ‘I’ is not a permanent. The Soul, the Self, is the witness of the coming and going, of the ‘I’. It is erroneous to identify the Soul, the Self, as the ‘I'. The ‘I’ represents ignorance. How can you watch the ‘I’ the truth which is hidden by the ‘I’?

Remember this:~

You are not the witness because you are not the Self. The witness is the Soul, which witnesses the coming and going, of the ‘I’.

The ‘I’ appears on its own, it perishes on its own. The ‘I’ is not the cause of the appearance and disappearance because the ‘I’ itself is the appearance.

The ‘Self’ not ‘I’, but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The one which witnesses the appearance and disappearance is not ‘I’ because the ‘I’ appears and disappears.

The one which is aware of the appearance and disappearance ‘I’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Realize, ‘what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality’ and what is hidden by the ‘I’ will be revealed.

If you realize the ‘Self ‘not the ‘I’ but the Self is the Soul, then whatever hidden by the ‘I’ will be revealed.

Realizing the Soul is not the ‘I’ but the Soul is the Self, is Self –realization.

That is why Bhagavad Gita: ~ The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self, which is the cause of the 'I'.

People think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to understand that the Self is not 'I', but the Self is the witness of the ‘I’, which is the Soul. The Soul, the Self, is unborn and 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’.

There is no need to convince such mind sets. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth, nothing but the truth.

Perfect understanding and assimilation of ‘what is what’ lead to Advaitic Self-awareness. Santthosh Kumaar