Yoga Vasistha: ~ “Even as particles of sand floating in water settle down when the water is absolutely steady, the mind of the man who has gained the knowledge of truth settles down in total peace.
Yoga Vasistha: ~ “The sun and the worlds become non-objects of perception, to those who have gone beyond the realm of objective perception and knowledge, even as lamps lose their luminosity while the mid-day sun shines.
From the standpoint of the formless Soul, the ‘Self’, the effect is non-different from the cause. However, in the realm of duality cause is different from the effect. The non-difference of the effect from the cause has to be grasped perfectly to realize from the ultimate standpoint there is neither the cause nor the effect because the cause and effect are one, in essence. That essence is consciousness.
Sage Sankara says:~ If the cause is destroyed, the effect will no longer exist. For example, if from the effect, cotton cloth, the cause, threads, are removed, there will be no cloth, i.e., the cloth is destroyed. Similarly if in the effect, thread, the cause, cotton, is removed, there will be no thread, i.e., the thread is destroyed. (Brahmasūtra Bhashya, commentary on the Brahma-sutra- (9) 2.1.9)
Despite the non-difference between cause and effect, the effect has its ‘Self’ in the cause but not the cause in the effect. The effect is of the nature of the cause and not the cause, the nature of the effect. Therefore the qualities of the effect cannot touch the cause because the cause and effect are present only when the duality is present.
The duality is present only when there is an illusion. The illusion is there only when there is ignorance. When there is no ignorance then there is no illusion. When there is no illusion then there is no duality. When there is no duality then there is no cause and effect. When there is no cause and effect then there is a non-dualistic reality.
Sage Sankara says:~ During the time of its existence, one can easily grasp that the effect is not different from the cause. However, the cause is different from the effect which is not readily understood. As to this, it is not possible to separate cause from effect. But this is possible by imagining so. For example, the reflection of the gold ornament seen in the mirror is only the form of the ornament but is not the ornament itself as it (the reflection) has no gold in it at all. All names and forms are real when seen with the Brahman but are false when seen independent of Brahman (Soul). This way the seeker of truth establishes the non-difference of the effect from the cause.
In the context of Advaita Vedanta: ~ Jagat (the world) is not different from Brahman (Soul); however, Brahman (Soul) is different from Jagat.
It has not been possible to preach Advaitic Truth entirely free from the settings of dualistic weakness it has not been more operative and useful to mankind at large because only a few will be able to grasp and realize it.
'To realize the Advaitic Truth a freer and fuller scope the seeker has to realize the form, time and space are one in essence. And that essence is consciousness. And the Soul the innermost ‘Self’ is present in the form of consciousness.
To realize the Advaitic truth the seeker has to be free from all superstitions and orthodox contaminations. The seeker has to be dedicated to acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana alone.'
A Gnani will easily appreciate the high flights of Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is one of the 'most majestic structures and valuable products of the Genius of man in his search for Truth.
The ‘Self ‘ is not the ‘I’. the 'Self' is not within the body. The ‘Self is hidden by the ‘I’. the ‘I’ is ignorance. the ‘I’ is an illusion.
Remember:~
Bhagavad Gita: ~ “You must first see the ‘I’ as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16
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’ comes and goes to realize the truth, which is hidden by the illusory 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, which is Brahman or God in truth.
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 'I' as real because some Gurus have propagated that 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 Guru's words. For them, their Guru's 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. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar