The self-preservation instinct makes an exception of each physical, illusory self or ego. Accepting that we're each exceptional would be inconsistent with the Hindu or Buddhist view of the conditions of moksha. The goal is supposed to be freedom from the shadow world, in deference to the hidden unity or underlying consciousness.

As in Plato's cave analogy, the "shadows" form the multiplicity of samsara by the illusory play of maya. Maya is the series of tricks of independence that form our attachments to the false, fallen material world. Enlightenment is an awakening to a more fundamental reality, together with a shifting of loyalties away from the tricks of multiplicity, from our genetically determined instincts, social conventions, and tribal prejudices.