Sage Sankara:~By removing the veil of ignorance through Advaitic wisdom, the pure truth of the Atman, which is buried under Maya can be discovered.+

Sage Sankara's Advaitic wisdom is a buried treasure that has to be uncovered.  The seeker must follow the right directions by discriminating between 'what is real?' and 'what is unreal?'. By removing all the obstacles with a perfect understanding of 'what is what'. By removing the veil of ignorance through Advaitic wisdom,  the pure truth of the Atman, which is buried under Maya can be discovered. 

Sage Sankara says:~There is no liberation for a person of mere bookish knowledge, howsoever well-read the Vedanta philosophy.

Advaita is not any type of teaching. It is the knowledge of the Atman, the God in truth. Atman, Brahman, God, ultimate truth ‘Self’, Soul, awareness, and consciousness are different names for the one and the same truth hidden by the ‘I’, which is the inborn ignorance.

When the ignorance vanishes through Advaitic wisdom then the Soul, the Self alone prevails in its own awareness.

The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul is the witness-consciousness that experiences the action, the actor, and the world of separate things. It is like a light that illuminates everything in a theatre, revealing the master of ceremonies, the guests, and the dancers with complete impartiality. Even when they all depart, the light shines to reveal their absence.

Advaitic wisdom is crystal clear. You won't be able to add even a small bit of your own interpretation to it.

Sage Sankara’s whole wisdom can be summed up in one sentence, ‘There is nothing else but Brahma. He says that the Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge, and Absolute Bliss is Real. The universe is not real. He says that Brahma and Atman are one. The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many in different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Self is real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances.

In fact, Sage Sankara states a paradox- the world is and is not. It is neither real nor unreal. It leads us to recognize the existence of Maya. He thinks that the world is illusory from one perspective and from the second it is nothing but Brahma, Itself in manifestation. This apparent world is Maya and has its basis in Brahman, the Eternal. It looks as real. It has names and forms and actually, it is not real In the light of true knowledge, it disappears, and the Soul, the 'Self' alone shines as real. However, Sage Sankara’s Mayavada has not been accepted by many preachers and philosophers.

When Sage Sankara says clearly, the universe is not real. He says that Brahman and Atman are one. The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many in different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Self is Real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances, then it indicates the form (waking/duality/mind) is unreal the formless is real (Soul/Spirit/Witness). Therefore, only Atman is real because there

Sage Sankara also clearly mentions that: ~ The path of religion, the path of yoga, and the path of wisdom were intended for different classes of people. The wisdom is for the advanced seekers of truth. It deals with the nature of the ultimate Truth and Reality. It is meant for superior aspirants who have an inner urge to know the truth and it is not for those who are immersed in earthly desires.

Remember:~

The ultimate truth cannot be written the truth. Only one can indicate the Advaitic truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

There is no way to distort or twist the ultimate truth and also there is no chance to add anything. Sage Sri, Sankara has given such an expression that no one has been able to add or take anything from the Advaitic truth, even though centuries have passed. It is not easy to give such a perfect expression. Such skill with words to indicate the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space, is very difficult to come by.

The Atmic path is a rare journey to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. If there is no form, then there is no time and space.

The populace has no interest in the Atmic oath. All the saints, all the Gurus all the religious heads, all the Godmen, none of them has any interest because, with the Advaitic wisdom, they cannot go on playing their dualistic games.

All the Gurus and Saints' interest was to inspire the populace. They wanted the whole country to get involved in religion and the mythology was helpful.

Advaita has nothing to do with the emotions and sentiments of the populace. The Gurus are not interested, the politicians are not interested, and the yogis have nothing to do with the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space because they cannot impose anything. There is no room for the duality in Advaitic reality.

The sense of ‘I’ itself is ignorance. In reality, the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the ‘Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Those Gurus hold the ‘I’ as the ‘Self’ only propagating the half-baked knowledge as the ultimate truth. And those who follow such Gurus will remain like stagnant water in the muddy pond.

Those Gurus who say “You are not this, there is nothing of yours in this, except the 'I am', which is the bridge between the watcher and his dream. ‘I AM THIS; I AM THAT' is a dream, while pure 'I AM' has the stamp of reality on it. 

You have tasted so many things -- all came to naught. Only the sense 'I am' persisted -- unchanged. Stay with the changeless among the changeful, until you can go beyond”. ~ Such a declaration keeps you permanently in ignorance because it is based on form alone. 

These gurus think the ‘Self’ is within you whereas you and your experience of the world are within the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Remember:~

When the Self is not you then what is the use of saying ‘I am not this ‘I am that without realizing what the ‘Self’ is in actuality.    

You have to make sure what is this ‘I’ supposed to be?  You have to make sure of the unreal nature of the ‘I’ which comes and goes to realize the truth, which is hidden by the ‘I’.  the  ‘I’ is present in the form of 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, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

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 as real because some Gurus have propagated that the Self is the ‘I’.  there is no need to convince such a mindset. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth nothing but the truth.

Without knowing what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality it is impossible to grasp the truth, which is hidden by the ‘I’.

You and your world are within the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion.  The ‘Self’ is not ‘I’ but the Soul, a witness of the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion. You and your experience of the world are nothing to do with the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion.

Thus, you and your individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world have nothing to do with the Soul, the Self. When ignorance vanishes, then the Soul, the Self, remains in its own awareness.

Our bodies and the world in which we exist are made out of single clay. That single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Thus, the whole universe in which we exist is nothing but consciousness.  

Consciousness alone is real and the universe in which we exist is merely an illusion. Thus, all the contents of the universe are merely an illusion.

You are bound by birth, life and death, and the world. You are born within the world, which is merely an illusion. You are living within the illusory world, and you are going to die within the illusory world. Whatever is born, lives, and dies within the illusory world is not the Self.

Only in illusion, there is form, time, and space. The form, time, and space within the illusory world, is nothing to do with the Soul, the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.  From the standpoint of the Soul, the  Self, there is no scope form, time, or space. In the real nature of the Soul, there is no duality.

All the years you have passed are within the illusion. Billions of past and future years belong to the illusion.  The things that happened billions of years ago and the things that are to happen billions of years from now are happening within the illusion.   

The illusion is an illusion that has nothing to do with the Soul, the Self. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman. The practical life within the practical world has nothing to do with the Soul, the Self.  

The Soul is the formless substance and the witness of the illusion.  In the realm of the truth, the substance and the witness of the illusion are one in essence. That essence is the Soul or consciousness.  Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.   : ~ Santthosh Kumaar