What is the veil over the self? In reality there is no veil over the self. It always is the ever-pure-aware-free brahman. But there are several statements that have been fixed in your mind without any understanding. For driving the snake away, you have kept a mongoose in your mind. You must have heard the story in the Panchatantra.
There were several birds living in a tree. There was a snake living under that tree. He used to eat the eggs and babies of the birds. The birds came together. They decided to call a mongoose in order to get rid of the snake. The snake did run away upon seeing the mongoose, but the mongoose continued to stay there. Now that very same mongoose started eating the eggs and babies. You ate chillies but still the disease remains intact! The mongoose did come but the eggs and babies were not spared.
In this manner, the scripture has provided several methods to rid oneself of the arrogation of the body (dehaahimaan), but something else has come in. The disease continues even after the medication!
All you wanted was happiness. Someone told you to seek out sense objects, then you will get happiness. Now you chased objects, you did get some happiness, but "I am an enjoyer of objects and I will be happy when I enjoy objects" - this impression remained in you. Now there started a race for chasing of objects. Less happiness in the enjoyment of the subjects, more happiness in the enjoyment of the king, much more enjoyment in the enjoyment of Indra. We do not know during which inauspicious time did we were made to become an enjoyer and we become one. This is called sin. Abusing someone, hitting someone, stealing, this is called sin, you know this. But knowing that "I am an enjoyer" is also a sin, you forgot about this. This sin of subservience become a veil, a covering (avarana).
Doership-enjoyership is a sin. Thinking of oneself as someone who takes birth and dies is a sin. Thinking of oneself as someone who goes from one realm to another through births and deaths is also a sin.
This is a sin, that is a sin - you were taught this. But thinking that "I am a sinner" is also a sin, you were not taught this. One veil started covering another after another. For removing one snake-like misunderstanding, you brought in another mongoose-like understanding, then another, then another, but the mongoose stayed on even thought the snake left. Oh no! You are neither the doer, nor the enjoyer, nor someone who is born and dies, nor disconnected. You are not fragmented, you are not a drop but a river, not a dot but an ocean.
You are no ordinary object. But you have yourself left the rights to this wealth which is of the nature of supreme bliss. You did not trust the elders, you did not strive for knowledge, you did not pierce the veil, you did not know this to be your own self. You will not gain liberation by mere discussion of liberation.
In order to teach the essence of the self, the scripture conducted some superimposition (adhyaaropa). We took that scripture to be real. Then, some other scripture was created to negate that superimposition. As and when the number of superimposition related scriptures increases, so did the number of their counter scriptures. But in the knowledge of brahman, we have to understand : that which is the witness-substratum of all superimpositions and their negations, it is the self.
That is why, put all your prowess, discrimination and power into the effort to destroy this enemy of ignorance.
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