Without inquiring into the nature of the universe the Self hidden by the universe will not be unfolded.+

Who am I? - inquiry is not Self-inquiry,  because the Self is not 'I'.  Self-inquiry is finding out the ‘Self’ which is hidden by the ‘I’. Who am 'I' ?- inquiry based on the individual. Induvidual is part and parcel f the illusory universe. If the inquiry does not include the universe then it is incomplete.

The ‘I’ itself is ignorance. Ignorance is the cause of the dualistic illusion or Maya or the universe.

By inquiring ‘Who am I?’-    ignorance will not vanish. Without getting rid of ignorance, the Advaitic wisdom will not dawn. Without inquiring into the nature of the universe the Self hidden by the universe will not be unfolded. Only by an inquiry into the nature of the universe, the truth of the Self will be revealed. 

Without the Advaitic wisdom, it is not possible to realize the Self, which is the Soul. The Soul, the Self is hidden by the universe, which is a dualistic illusion or Maya. 

If the inquiry does not include the universe then it is incomplete.  The universe itself is what God is all about. The totality of the universe is what God is all about. You just study the nature of the universe with all the seriousness and sincerity to unfold the mystery of the universe. That is all you have to do. The universe is the seeker's school.

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.

All the religious scriptures and Holy books are irrelevant -- God's greatest book is just in front of you.

That is why Sage  Sankara says you must first know what is before you. If you cannot know that, what else can you know or understand? If you give up the external world in your inquiry, you cannot get the whole truth.

You must study the book of the universe carefully and find and realize God hidden in it.  

All religions claim that their books are not man-made? Hindus claim that the Vedas are Aporsheya: not made by man but revealed by God himself; and Sanskrit is the divine language, not human.

All religions have the same type of claim. Muslims say the Koran has descended from God, and so with Jews and Christians. Everybody is trying to claim that their book is the sacred book and nobody bothers to look at the real divine book.

This is what the real Veda, the real Koran, the real Bible is. This is the book, and all other books are man-made. Only this universe is the book that is authored by God, because, God in truth is hidden by the universe. 

The universe is the real Veda, the real Koran, the real Bible is.  The universe is the book, and all other books are man-made.

Only when you open the book of the universe the God hidden in the book will be revealed.  When you finish reading the book of the universe then the universe will become an illusion and God alone prevails as the ultimate reality.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress. 

You are also part of the divine book of the universe! And whatever you have seen, known, believed, and experienced as an individual is part of it. 

Remember:~  

To understand the false nature of the ‘I’, Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary. 

The Self is not ‘I’, but the Self is the Soul which is the witness of the ‘I’.  Holding the ‘I as the Self leads to hallucination based on the imagination. 

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 is 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.

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 a 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 birth, life, and 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 to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space

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 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 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. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar