Consciousness is the immortal Self.

 All the three states are directly rooted in the formless soul, the innermost Self. The formless soul the innermost self  which is present in the form of consciousness.  The ego is individual self and the soul is the universal self. Ego is the false self within the false experience.  When through wisdom all   this is truly known, the ignorance ceases.  Gnani identifies self as  the soul ,which is  consciousness.

Consciousness transcends all illusion. Consciousness is the immortal Self. Only within the physical existence one thinks that he is poor, wealthy, powerful individual separate from the world. And he also thinks that the world existed prior to him and he is born in it later on. 

Till  this conviction is there he will not become aware of the fact that, his body and the world are also made of consciousness. Till  he thinks he is born in this world, he is in the shackles of physicality.   Till he is in the shackle of physicality he will never accept the truth that the universe is mere illusion.  Without realizing the fact that the universe is unreal, it is impossible to understand and assimilate non dual truth.  

That is why Sage Sri, Sankara says in 63- Viveka Chudamani: - 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.

 

Gaudapada’s rational exposition of Advaita: - that whatever is seen, whether external or internal, whether by the ordinary persons or yogis, is unreal.

 

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the, self is neither the waking entity nor the self is the dream entity but the self is formless soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states in succession without the physical apparatus.  This has to be mentally grasped and assimilated to realize the formless soul, the innermost   self is nothing to do with the three states. On the standpoint of the three states, the three states are mere illusion.

The practical life within the practical world, which is present as waking experience, is mere illusion. If waking experience is mere illusion than the individual experience of birth, life, death and world are mere illusion.   If the experience birth, life death and the world are mere illusion, it means the form; time and space are mere illusion.  If form, time and space are mere illusion, it means the past, present and future is mere illusion. Thus it is necessary for the seeker to realize the fact that,   form, time and space are one in essence, in order to realize the three states are one in essence. That essence is consciousness. Thus all the diversity is created out of   formless consciousness. Thus no second thing exist other than consciousness, the innermost self. Seeker of truth has to constantly reflect on the subject in order to get firm conviction of the truth.  Seeker has to reflect on the same truth again and again until it becomes reality. One needs to constant reflect on the subject until he gets firm conviction of what is what.

 

The individual experiences and circumstance totally beyond individuals control, which appear and disappear spontaneously.  It is wrong to think individual is the masters of past, present and future because the time exist only in illusion. All our fear comes from unawareness the fact that self is formless. By turning inward and discovering the fact that the self is beyond form, time and space.  By realizing this fact one will pass beyond illusion. Yoga is inseparably bound up with the necessity for physical based practices of regulating the vital force or breath; therefore they are not means to self realization. All theoretical understands are egocentric. Therefore, they are more than dead words on a dead page.
 

He who has grasped the fact that the consciousness is the true self- will become aware of the fact that, consciousness exists prior to the appearance of the three states.  The consciousness is the source of the three states. 
 

The knower of the source is the knower of the truth.  Without knowing the source one is in ignorance of the source, which is the consciousness.  The source is the true self. 
 

The consciousness rises as “mind” and subsides back as “consciousness”. When one turn within, to the core of his being, there he will not find the ego, but he will find its source, the consciousness, which is second to none the ultimate reality.  Consciousness alone is all else is mere mirage created out of consciousness. 
 

This is the true understanding of the self–that in which the two are seen to be one, although their distinction is eternal. The word “born” is misleading, for the Self is never born. There does come a time when it becomes manifest in the illusion, but it existed prior to the   illusion. There was never a time when consciousness did not exist, even   the illusion of form, time and space it existed as its formless substance and witness.  

Consciousness is not only is within the mind but it is without the mind. Consciousness is the power of all powers.
 

Everything is consciousness. In the final sense there is second thing at all. Yet, at the moment on e find him-self in the seemingly manifold condition that is necessary for his evolution in understanding and ultimate freedom. 

Mind is in the form of universe. Universe appears as waking or dream and disappears as deep sleep.  The individual experiences of birth, life, death and the world are within the waking experience.  The dream is parallel waking experience and waking is parallel dream.

Consciousness is the substance and witness of the duality.  The duality is present in the form of mind. Mind is present in the form of universe. The universe appears as waking or dream and diapers as deep sleep. The one which is aware of the coming and going of the three states is neither the waking entity nor the dream entity but the formless soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  When the soul becomes aware of its formless non-dual true nature in the midst of duality it is called self –awareness. It is foolish to limit the consciousness only to duality because the consciousness pervades all the three states