Until the mystery of the universe is not solved, the Self hidden by the illusory universe will not be realized.+

The universe itself is what God is all about. The totality of the universe is what God is all about. You just study the nature of the universe with all the seriousness and sincerity to unfold the mystery of the universe. That is all you have to do.

Until the mystery of the universe is not solved, the Self hidden by the illusory universe will not be realized.

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 (illusion). He thinks that the world is illusory from one perspective and from the second it is nothing but Brahman, Itself in manifestation.

This apparent world is Maya and has its basis in Brahman, the Eternal. It looks real. It has names and forms and actually, it is not real In the light of true knowledge, it disappears and Self-alone shines as real. However, Sage Sankar’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 and the formless soul (consciousness) is real. Therefore, only Atman is real because there is no second thing that exists other than Atman, which is in the form of consciousness.

Remember:~

The look of an object will depend upon the medium through which the observer views it. In fact, our mental and intellectual conditions determine the object (three states), observed and experienced. The commoner viewing the world will see differently from a Gnani viewing the same world. Each one interprets the world that they see in terms of their existing knowledge. The commoner sees everything based on the ego, therefore, he sees the universe in which he exists as a reality, whereas a Gnani sees everything as consciousness and he is fully aware of the fact that, there is no second thing that exists other than the Soul or, consciousness (subject).

Thus, all the objective observation has to be bifurcated to realize the ultimate truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Only from the dualistic perspective, the changes take place. From a non-dualistic perspective, there are no changes. 

Those who believe in the dualistic universe as a reality feel the knowledge changes from time to time, but they must realize their knowledge is limited to the form, time, and space whereas Self-knowledge is the knowledge of the beyond the form, time, and space.

Atmic path is the path without a physical Guru. Consciousness is the cause of the world in which we exist and it is uncaused.

The universe in which we exist is dependent on consciousness for its existence but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is independent. From the standpoint of the Soul, the  Self, the world in which we exist is merely an illusion.

Only within the illusion, the changes take place, the illusory changes within the illusion is bound to be an illusion. In reality, consciousness alone is real and eternal.

Thus, the knowledge of the eternal will be always eternal. The intellectual knowledge based on form, time, and space are bound to change from time to time as science progresses in its dualistic inventions.

Consciousness is ever changeless because it is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar