Self-inquiry is to know ‘what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality.+

Who am I?" this question was boldly taken up by the great Advaitic Sage  Sankara who wrote commentaries on some of the spiritual treatises known as the Upanishads, which form the latter part of the Vedas, the holy scriptures. Sage  Sankara addressed to the scholars, philosophers, and monks of his day. 

The deep inquiry into the nature of the ‘I’ frees the Soul from the illusory bondage of the ‘I’. 

‘Who Am ‘I’- inquiry is for the beginners to expose the unreal nature of the ‘I’. 

'Who am I?' has no dynamic, direct, universal appeal it is just a starter in the Atmic Path. 

 Self-inquiry is to know ‘what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality. It is erroneous to limit the ‘I’ is within the body. Thinking the ‘I’ is within the body and inquiring ‘Who Am ‘I’ will not help to unfold the mystery of the ‘I’. 

The ‘I’ hides the reality of existence. The nature of existence is the formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. There is no ‘I’ in reality. The ‘I’ is merely an illusion. Whatever belongs to the ‘I’ is merely an illusion. 

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 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.

That is why Sage Sankara says: - VC-65- As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the Self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

People refuse to accept anything other than their Gurus words. For them, their Gurus words are the ultimate truth. They do not accept anything else other than their accepted truth. There is no need to convince such a mindset.

Such a mindset is not fit to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. The seekers of truth accept only the truth nothing but the uncontradictable truth. 

That is why Sage  Sankara says: ~ VC-63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

Sage  Sankara says: - VC 65- As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it, and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent truth of the Self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

The Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara has dynamic, direct, universal appeal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar