All there is, is consciousness. It means that whatever is perceived is because of consciousness and is a content of consciousness. The contents of consciousness cannot be anything other than consciousness. There can be no world without the body. There can be no body without the mind. The mind is nothing but a bundle of thoughts. The mind creates the idea of individuality. Because of this creation of individuality or the first Person, the "I-thought", there is an idea of separation of the individual from the rest of creation. Because, there is a first Person, there is the idea of a second person, and third person and so on and so forth. There cannot be a mind without consciousness. Consciousness is the source of the mind. Finally, there cannot be consciousness without the Absolute. The Absolute is the Ultimate Truth or Reality.
When the great Sages of the past talked about individual or personal consciousness versus universal consciousness, they were trying to make it easier for the seeker to understand the essence of the teaching of Advaita or non-duality from the perspective of the relative since the seeker thinks everything is relative to him or her. Actually, there is no such thing as individual or personal consciousness. Consciousness is consciousness. So, what creates the idea of individuality? The consciousness (which is the same everywhere) identifies with the body and this identity is established through the ego or the I-thought. By creation of the ego, the unlimited consciousness now believes itself to be a limited entity, the body and creates the idea of being a person, a first person -"I". Thereby, begins all the miseries for this so called individual. Now, this individual, the first person, which is nothing but a thought (the "I-thought"), pretends to be the doer of actions and the reaper of the fruits of the actions and in doing so wants to avoid unhappiness and believes that eternal or unending happiness can be achieved by pursuing a course of right action. And thinking that the body is the form representing him or her, this individual goes through the repeated cycles of misery and suffering. This non-entity called "I", now wants to seek out the Real Self. Really? Now, how can there be two selves? It is amazing indeed that being the Reality, you want to seek out the Reality! Strange is this world indeed! The Guru comes along and advises careful inquiry into the nature and source of this very individual by the individual, and then it becomes clear that there is actually no individual at all in the first place. The ego is like a ghost which vanishes upon searching for it. The mind has created the idea of being an individual entity where none exists. Then this individual believing itself to be suffering wants to pursue sadhana (or spiritual practice) to get out of this suffering and misery by seeking out the Reality. Is it not clear that the whole idea of a seeker and seeking is just playing out in the mind. No mind, no seeker, no seeking- just being.
In self-inquiry, one is looking for the source of the ego. In doing so, the ego vanishes and is replaced by the unlimited, expanse of consciousness which takes over and there is immediate realization of the Real Self as the cause of this universe. There is no sense of an "I' when the mind is turned inwards to its Source. The mind, in turning inwards to the Source, actually disappears in favor of the Real Self or the consciousness. If all is consciousness, who are you?
