WHAT IS THIS ‘I’ suppose to be in actuality. +

Bhagavad Gita: ~ “You must first see the ‘I’ as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16

What is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality?

The 'I' is the whole universe. Without the 'I' the universe ceases to exist.  The ‘I’ hides the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

All the Gurus of the East and West think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to realize that, the ‘I’ is not the ‘Self’, but the Self is the witness of the ‘I’, which comes and goes.

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

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.

The ‘I’ disappears as deep sleep, so what is the use of being attached to it? It is impermanent and illusory.

There is really no ‘I’. The ‘I’ is present in the form of the mind. And the mind is in the form of the universe. And the universe appears as the waking or the dream. The ‘I’ (duality) disappears as deep sleep (nonduality). 

Thus, one that appears as ‘I’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness and it disappears as deep sleep is also consciousness. In deep sleep, the Soul remains in its own awareness. 

The Soul witnesses the coming and going, of the ‘I’. From the standpoint of the Soul, the witness and witnessed are one, in essence.

The universe is a reality on the base of individuality and the universe is unreal on the base of the Soul, the Self. 

The seeker gradually will grasp and realize the unreal nature of the universe. Individuality is illusory because the ‘Self’ is not an individual because the ‘Self’, is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. 

The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness pervades everything and everywhere in all three states. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar