8.1 Superimposition At The Root Of Means-And-Object-driven Worldly Dealings

This is an original statement of Bhagavaan Shreeshankaraachaaryajee Mahaaraaja : All worldly dealings of means and object of knowledge (pramaanaa prameya vyavahaara), be they wordly or Vedic, happen while keeping the superimposition of the self and not-self in front, not otherwise. Not just this but scriptures of positive and negative commands (vidhi nishedha) as well as liberation-related scriptures also engage a person in those topics through superimposition.
 
Eating-drinking, waking-sleeping, coming-going, commerce etc. - all these are worldly dealings. Worship, rituals, scriptural study, meditation and samaadhi - all these are scriptural dealings. In all these dealings, the self first becomes associated with the dealings (vyavahaara vaala), and then becomes the doer that is qualified to perform the dealings, only then do the dealings happen, not otherwise. Without superimposing the "I mine"-ness upon the self, no dealings are possible. In other words, superimposition alone is the root of all dealings.
 
In the shruti, wherever there is description of the nature of the self as a hearer, contemplater, understander, all that is superimposed alone. For knowledge of the essence, we need to understand the self as different from that nature of the knower (pramaataa). Only by identification with the means of knowledge (pramaana) does the name of the self become a knower, and it is the knower alone that engages in the dealings of the means of knowledge. Therefore, the means and object of knowledge-driven dealings are the play of superimposition.
 
Dealings only are the realm of superimposition, and the supreme (paramaartha) is beyond any dealings.
 
Superimposition is ignorance. It proves that all scripture is for the ignorant person alone. There is no need to be startled by this. It is written in the Vedas itself that the Veda was created along with the Viraata Purusha (Purusha Sooktam). In the Taittireeya Upanishad, the Vedas have been considered a part of the obstructed mental sheath. And in the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad, the absence of the Vedas in deep sleep is mentioned.
 
When the Vedas posit doership, superimposition is clear. In this manner, all Vedas that cover positive and negative commands to establish moral conduct, do so with superimposition. What is left is liberation-related scripture. For that, the qualification is an he ignorant person. This liberation-scripture does not have any use for the wise great person. Whenever such people are seen to engage in scripture, it is either for making use of time, or is the continuation of prior habits. For the sake of a seeker, such people make scripture the topic of their speech.