First, know ‘what is the truth’ and ‘what is untruth’ for sure. Without realizing what untruth truth is, it is difficult to know what truth is.*****

To know the ‘’Self’ is not to know ‘who you are’ but the to realize the ‘Self’ hidden by the ‘I’. To realize the ‘Self’ one must realize what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality. No Guru or the spiritual books can be of any help; one needs to realize it himself.

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

That which appears and disappears is the ‘I’ and the ‘I’ is not the Self. That which is always present is hidden by the ‘I’.

The ‘I’ hides the truth of the whole. The realization of ultimate truth or Brahman is possible only when the seeker inquiries into the nature of the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is present in the form of the Mind.   The Mind is present in the form of the universe and the universe appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality). The one which appears as the duality and disappears as nonduality is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness. 

Do not try to know who you are? By inquiring ‘Who am ‘I’, you will never reach the ultimate end of understanding. ‘Who am ‘I’? is only helpful in the beginning on later stages it is inadequate to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time and space.   

Try to find out what is this ‘I’ which appears and disappears. What is it that knows this appearance and disappearance of the ‘I’?

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.

Remember: ~

One who is born, lives and dies in the world is not the Self.  One who is born, lives and dies in the world is the dualistic illusion. The dualistic illusion hides the Soul, the Self, because, the dualistic illusion is created out of the Soul, the Self.

Perfect understanding ‘what is what’ leads to nondualistic or Advaitic self-awareness in the midst of the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ “The universe raises from the Soul, the innermost Self like bubbles from the sea. Thus know the Self to be One and in this way enter into the state of dissolution."

Sage Sri, Sankara says the transparent Truth of the Self, which is hidden by the illusion, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, (Gnani).

First, know ‘what is the truth’ and ‘what is untruth’ for sure. Without realizing what untruth truth is, it is difficult to know what truth is.

When the sky, clouds and the world in which you exist are made of single clay then there is no second thing exists, other than that clay. That clay is the Soul, which formless, timeless and spaceless existence.

Reality is hidden by the unreality. The world in which we exist hides the truth.  Whatever belongs to you is unreal. The words and thought belong to you, not to the Soul, which is the Self.

Whatever has name and form and attributes and whatever belongs to form, time and space is an illusion. The illusion hides the Spirit, which is God.  The illusion and Spirit are one in essence.  Spirit, God alone is real and eternal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar