The Upanishads

Superimposition - Adhyasa

The mental process of wrongly attributing qualities.

Adhyasa is the superimposition of properties of one thing onto another - like seeing mother-of-pearl as silver. We superimpose limitations onto the unlimited Self.

Superimposition is the apparent presentation of the attributes of one thing in another thing.

Shankaracharya, Brahma Sutra Bhashya

Understanding adhyasa is key to the Advaita method.

Vedantic Tradition