All things in the world that are born — both the world of inert matter (unmoving) and the world of conscious beings (moving) — arise neither from the “Field” (Prakriti) nor from the “Knower-of-the-Field” (Purusha). The source is from the marriage of Prakriti and Purusha. This combination of Matter and Spirit is not an accomplished union but is only a mutual super-imposition.

In every super-imposition, a delusion is recognised upon a substratum: the ghost in the post. Not only the form and all attributes of the ghost come to be projected upon the post, but the post also lends its existence to the non-existent ghost. As a result of their mutual exchange, we find that the non-existent ghost comes to exist in our experience, while the existing post becomes a non-existent ghost with illusions of physical limbs and ghastly behaviour. This process, which is a trick of the human mind, is called mutual super-imposition. In the Pure Consciousness there is no Field-of-Matter. The Field-of-Matter has neither existence, nor sentiency. But the spirit plays in the “Field” (Prakriti), and becomes the “Knower-of-the-Field” (Purusha), and when this Purusha works in Prakriti the combination breeds the entire phenomenal Universe constituted of the moving and the unmoving.

When, through careful discrimination, we successfully discover this play in ourselves, the vision of plurality recedes and we understand that the ultimate Truth is the substratum on which both Prakriti and Purusha play.

Ordinarily, I am a quiet man. But sometimes my heart’s passion is endless. When I identify myself with the passion in my heart, I play in the world as the passionate man and perform deeds for which I myself might later on regret! Now in this example, the regret, and the regretting person, the passion and passionate entity — all of them revel in me. They all belong to me but I am not they! Yet, when I identify myself with them, I become the perpetrator of the regrettable actions and the passionate actor in me comes to brood over what has happened, and so it suffers. Similarly, the Self contains matter possibilities — the Self being Paripoorna. To project matter and to identify with it, is to become the Purusha, and the Purusha, maintaining Itself in the Field-of-Matter so projected, becomes the source of the entire samsara. To analyse closely with discrimination, to detach courageously with vitality, to carefully and heroically live as an observer of all that is happening within, not allowing ourselves to be misled by our own imaginations — is the method of realising the Perfection in ourselves.

THIS SELF, WHICH IS THE SUBSTRATUM OF A GIVEN ‘PURUSHA’ AND ‘PRAKRITI,’ IS ITSELF THE ONE SELF EVERYWHERE AS INDICATED BELOW:

Bharatarsabha, O scion of the Bharata dynasty; yavat kincit, whatever; sattvam, object;-as to whether they are without exception the Lord says-sthavara-jangamam, moving or non-moving; sanjayate, comes into being; viddhi, know; tat, that; as originating ksetra-ksetrajna-samyogat, from the association of the field and the Knower of the field.

Objection: What, again, is meant by this ‘association of the field and the Knower of the field’? Since the Knower of the field is partless like space, therefore Its conjunction with the field cannot be a kind of relationship like coming together of a rope and a pot through the contact of their parts. Nor can it be an intimate and inseparable relation as between a thread and a cloth, since it is not admitted that the field and the Knower of the field are mutually related by way of being cause and effect.

Reply: The answer is: The association of the field and the Knower of the field-which are the object and the subject, respectively, and are of different natures-is in the form of superimposition of each on the other an also of their qualities, as a consequence of the absence of discrimination between the real natures of the field and the Knower of the field. This is like the association of a rope, nacre, etc. with the superimposed snake, silver, etc. owing to the absence of discrimination between them. This association of the field and the Knower of the field in the form of superimposition is described as false knowledge. After having known the distinction between and the characteristics of the field and the Knower of the field according to the scriptures, and having separated, like a stalk from the Munjagrass, the above-described Knower of the field from the field whose characteristics have been shown earlier, he who realizes the Knowable (i.e. the Knower of the field)-which, in accordance with ‘That is neither called being nor non-being’ (12), is devoid of all distinctions created by adjuncts- as identical with Brahman; and he who has the firm realization that the field is surely unreal like an elephant created by magic, a thing seen in a dream, an imaginary city seen in the sky, etc., and it appears as though real-for him false knowledge becomes eradicated, since it is opposed to the right knowledge described above. Since the cause of his rebirth has been eliminated. therefore what was said in, ‘He who knows thus the Person and Nature along with the qualities…’, that the man of realization is not born again (23), has been a reasonable statement. In ‘He…will not be born again’ (23) has been stated the result of right knowledge, which is the absence of birth owing to the destruction of ignorance etc., the seeds of worldly existence. The cause of birth, viz the association of the field and the Knower of the field brought about by ignorance, has also been stated. Hence, although right knowledge, which is the remover of that ignorance, has been spoken of, still it is being stated over again in other words: