Reality can be experienced only with the eye of understanding, not just by a scholar.
Atman is not born, nor does It die. It is not killed nor is It the killer. It is not bound nor does It cause anyone's bondage. It is neither liberated nor the giver of Liberation. The jiva, in reality, is the Supreme Self; all else besides is unreal.
Like the appearance of silver in mother of pearl, the world seems real until the Self, the underlying reality, is realized.
As gold purified in a furnace loses its impurities and achieves its own true nature, the mind gets rid of the impurities of the attributes of delusion, attachment and purity through meditation and attains Reality.