Integrity of mind leads it to right discrimination called Viveka. When this stokes the fire of consciousness within, the individual realises that himself (Jeeva) and the divine being (Brahman) are one. Once this has been accomplished, is there any need to worry about getting into a delusory thinking that the physical body is the Self? No, because the very seeds of this delusion have been burnt up in the forest fire of consciousness that destroys ignorance into ash. That individual is left with nothing but the reality of non-dual oneness.
The Vivekachoodamani of Sri Adisankaracharya says when this delusion that I am the body ends, the veiling of ignorance that hides the truth is no more. This end happens when the reality is perceived well. Along with the veil ends the erroneous perceptions too and so also the sorrow that has been generated by these wrong perceptions.
When it is raining, the roads are dark and pot-holed, and the child hasn’t returned home, the mother has many erroneous perceptions of mishaps. That generates a lot of sorrow. When she sees the child, the wild imaginative thoughts are gone and gone along with it is the sorrow generated.
Delving into this theme a bit, the Acharya gives an example of how the veiling, the false perception and the resultant sorrow caused by a disturbance in mind go away. When the true nature of a rope on the dark pathway is ascertained, the veil on true knowledge of the rope, the false perception that it is a snake, the fear and hence sorrow caused because the mind has been thrown into many waves, are completely gone. If the wise individual chooses to be free from being bound to misperceptions and sorrow-causing wrong understanding, then the nature of reality should be known.
Just as a cold grey ball of iron getting heated in fire seems to be a ball of glowing orange fire, the body, mind and intellect appear to be sentient as they are filled with the glow of consciousness. Just as in a dream or in fanciful imagination, whatever is actually seen is not real, every thought in the mind, every sense perception in the body and every understanding by the intellect have no permanence. The images, thoughts and understanding are fleeting.
In the same way, the modifications of nature which include our individuality are impermanent. The consciousness that enlivens them all is changeless.
What is the ‘I’ or the Self that needs to be realised? It is eternal, it is unbroken by time, place and things, it is consciousness and the form of oneness. It perceives the intellect, memories and all movements of the mind. It is different from what exists and what does not exist. The implied meaning of this word ‘I’ is that it is that eternally blissful Supreme self within.