The Paradox of Inquiry

Shankara does not use immediate knowledge of one's own existence to refute global skepticism. He just wants to show that the inquiry into brāhmaṇa promised at the beginning of the sutra is indeed possible. As he says, everyone knows of the existence of his own self and does not think I am not. If we have immediate knowledge of the self what would be the point of inquiry? But there is no danger of that. Our intimate awareness of brāhmaḉa does not include an understanding of its true nature.