You belong to the universe, which is the dualistic illusion or Maya. Identifying the ‘Self as 'you' is a great error. the Self is not you but the Self is the Soul, which is the cause of the illusory universe.
Your existence is limited to the domain of form, time, and space. You are bound by the experience of birth, life, death, and the world whereas the Soul, the ‘Self’ is birthless and deathless because the Soul, the Self is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.
Remember:~ Yourself is the ego. Yourself is not the Self because the Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.
Many Gurus hold 'yourself' as the Self. They are not even aware of the difference between yourself and the real Self.
Holding yourself as the Self your quest for truth is misdirected.
The seeker has to drop all his egocentric accumulated knowledge and only then he is fit to grasp Self-knowledge.
You are not separate from the ego because you are the ego.
Without the ego you and the world in which you exist cease to exist. In the awareness of the ego, the world in which you exist is a reality.
In the awareness of the ego, your individual experience of the birth, life, death, and the world experienced as reality.
In the awareness of the ego, the form, time, and space prevail as a reality.
In the awareness of the ego, the dualistic illusion or Maya prevails as reality.
In the awareness of the ego, the three states prevail as reality.
In the awareness of the ego, the ‘I’ prevails as a reality.
If ‘I’ prevails as reality the ignorance prevails as reality.
Self-knowledge or Advaitic wisdom is necessary to get rid of ignorance.
Without Self-awareness, the universe prevails as reality. Self-awareness means the conscious awareness of the Soul hidden by the ‘I’. In Self-awareness, the reality of the universe fades away. :~
Santthosh Kumaar
