Self means existence. The real existence is without the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is merely an illusion. The Soul, the Self is all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material then nothing has to be accepted as the 'Self' other than consciousness.
The Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness is the real existence. And the ‘I’ is the dualistic illusion, which appears and disappears.
Bhagavad Gita: ~ “The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)
Do not make the mistake of holding the Self as ‘I’ because it is not permanent. ‘I’ appears and disappears.
Bhagavad Gita: ~ “You must first see the ‘I’ as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16
‘I’ is an illusion and the Soul, the witness of the ‘I’ is real and eternal. The Soul ‘appears as ‘I’ and ‘I ’‘disappear as the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.
The ‘I’ hides Soul.
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.
Self is not Selfless 'Self'.
The Self is the Soul, which is without the ‘I’. The Self is not within you because the Self is not the body. The ‘self is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness pervades in everything and everywhere in the universe
Remember:~
Yourself is nothing to do with the Soul, which is the real Self. Yourself means the ego and the real Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.
If you consider yourself the real Self then you will never be able to get rid of ignorance.
Remember:~
The Soul is one but individuals are many. There are no separate individual Souls. No one has seen the Soul of a man. You can only say that you have seen different bodies.
The Soul is one but individuals are many. Many souls' idea is a religious idea.
People believe the Soul is within the physical body but in reality, the Soul is hidden by the universe because the universe is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.
Advaita means the Soul, the one without the second. There is no scope for the second Soul. Advaita is ekathma vada.
Sage Sankara asks his opponents "How do you know there are separate individual Souls? Have you seen the Soul of a man? You can only say that you have seen different bodies. To say more is to misuse language. Therefore, I call you liars unless you give proof, which is impossible.
Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe.
So, it proves the Soul is not an individual but it is the support of all that exists in this universe.
The Soul is not limited to an individual. The individuals are many but the Soul is one. The individual exists within the universe. The Soul is the cause of the universe and it itself is uncaused.
The Soul is not within the human body. The universe is created out of single stuff. That single stuff is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Thus, whatever the universe contains is bound to be the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.
All the Gurus propagated the Soul is within the human body or heart this is the great mistake.
People think the Athma or the Soul or ‘Self’ is limited to an individual but it is not so because the Athma or the Soul or ‘Self’ pervades everywhere and everything in the universe.
The universe is merely an illusion created out of the Athma or the Soul or ‘Self’, which is present in the form of the consciousness.:~Santthosh Kumaar
