Self-Realization

Q. If there is only Self, then who is the one who realizes the Self?
T. Self is the source from where the mind arises and in the mind arises, a thought of separation. Self-realization is nothing but removing of this ignorance.
Q. So what happens is that the thought of separation gets dropped. Right?
T. Yes
Q. Does the thought gets dropped or does it gets replaced by another thought that “I am not separate”?
T. When the mind enquires into the reality, the search leads the mind to the source from where it originates. The direct experience of the pure consciousness gets registered in the mind and depending on the level of conditioning that the mind has received previously, it either gets completely emptied instantly or the process of un-conditioning might take some time.
Q. So till the time mind is not emptied, realization is not complete?
T. Realization is as illusory as the thought of separation in the mind. Thought of separation does not make it separate. My dad asked me a riddle once. Let me share it with you, may be it will answer your question. There are three monkeys sitting on the branch of a tree. One monkey thought of jumping off. Now how many are still left on the tree?
Q. Three
T. Precisely. Thinking of jumping does not imply the monkey has jumped.
Q. So if the thought of separation does not make us separate then why there is a need to get rid of this thought?
T. Who is saying there is a need to get rid of this thought?
Q. All sages say.
T. They say a lot of things. Do you follow everything they say?
Q. No.
T. Then why this? Ignore it as you ignore the rest of their sayings. You are interested in it not because the sages say so but because the thought of separation has led the mind to wandering and therefore a feeling of fear, anxiety, uneasiness, and sorrow.
These feelings are as unreal as the thought of separation. Let the mind enquire into the reality, the real will annihilate the unreal.

Source - www.knowi.org/article_selfrealization.html