The concept of Advaita or non-duality is always confusing.
So a man once asked Adi Shankaracharya himself, the foremost proponent of the field. “You say we are all the same deep within, the same Brahman. Then why are we not all equal? We all have the same blood flowing through our bodies do we not?”
To which Adi Shankara replied that advaita needed to be practiced at the level of one’s attitude and thoughts.
The man wasn’t convinced, and proceeded to argue further.
Adi Shankara replied, “Your mother, sister, mother-in-law, daughter – they are all women aren’t they? Yet, can you treat your mother as your wife, and your wife as your daughter, your daughter as your mother?”
The man understood.