I took this phrase from Sw. Nisargadatta’s teachings on Consciousness & non-duality. Of all the Indian philosophers and Acharyas, Sw. Nisargadatta and Maharshi Ramana are unique in their teachings and methods in Self-realization. They are both Acharyas – having realized the Truth, they took upon themselves to teach other pilgrims.
In his series of teachings on Meditations & its practice, Sw. Nisargadatta describes the nature of the illusionary world. I quote from Nirupana 116 Sunday July 1, 1979.
Consciousness has no bondage. The only bondage is that our minds identify us with the body. When Prana (air) separates from the body, Consciousness vanishes but does not die. This is Death from the point of view of the Ignorant. For the Jnani it is nothing.
The world is in your mind. We are “not the body” means we are “not the food”. The food for Prana. Consciousness is generated from the essence of food and the Universe is created from Consciousness. The action goes on.
Sw. Nisargadatta
The gross body is made of accumulation of food from the conception of our birth. It consumes the food & grows and eventually perishes. If we imagine that our Consciousness rests on the gross body (the mind is also partly made of gross matter & partly subtle matter) then with the decay & ultimate end of our gross body, the Consciousness that was resting on this body, finds no place to rest on & hence disappears.
The one who observes the coming together of the Consciousness & the gross body and also its separation from the gross body, is called the Atman. It is explained that this Consciousness merges with the Atman, which in turn merges with the Cosmic spirit called Brahman.
It is false when viewed as Brahman, it is false when viewed as Maya. Both are super-impositions on Consciousness. All our dealings are done on the strength of the Word. […] Maya goes on in many forms but not a single one is true. […] Maya is a tragic comedy.
Sw. Nisargadatta
In these teachings, Truth or True refers to the eternal, that which in us but is not a subject of time-space-causation. According to his non-dual view, Consciousness is One and is God. With that philosophy, the Acharya teaches to believe in that Consciousness that is already in us.
I find that a combination of teachings of Ramana Maharshi, who stresses on finding “Who am I” & Sw Nisargadatta, who also tries to answer “Who I am Not”, could provide a very comprehensive approach to the process of Self-identification.