गोविन्द भाष्य (श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण - अचिन्त्यभेदाभेद वेदान्त ब्रह्मसूत्र भाष्य सटीक)

Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
Āśmarathya maintains that the promise ātmano vijñānena sarvaṁ viditam (By
knowledge of the Self everything is known) indicates that the Self referred to here
is the Paramātmā. It is not taught here that by knowledge of the jīva everything
becomes known. On the other hand by knowledge of the cause of all causes
everything becomes known. It is not possible to interpret these words in a
figurative way because after promising that by knowing the Self everything
becomes known, in the passage beginning brahma taṁ parādāt (One who thinks
the brāhmaṇas rest in a place other than the Self is spurned by the brāhmaṇas. One
who thinks the kṣatriyas rest in a place other than the Self is spurned by the
kṣatriyas. One who thinks the worlds rest in a place other than the self is spurned
by the worlds) he affirms that the Paramātmā is the form of everything and the
resting place of the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and world. For these reasons it is not
possible that the Self here can be any other than the Paramātmā. It is also not
possible for the individual living entity who remains under the control of karma to
be the original cause of all causes decsribed in the passage beginning tasya vā
etasya mahato bhūtasya niḥśvasitam (transcendental he Vedas were manifested
from the breathing of this Supreme Being). It is also not possible for (the sage
Yājñavalkya) to have taught his wife, who had renounced all wealth and material
benefits to attain liberation, only about the jīva and not about the Supreme
Brahman. It is also not possible that the Self referred to here is the jīva because on
cannot attain liberation simply by knowing the jīva. That liberation is attained
only by understanding the Supreme Brahman is confirmed in the following
statement of Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.8 and 6.15: tam eva viditvāti mṛtyum eti (By
understanding the Supreme Brahman one is able to transcend death). For all these
reasons it should be understood that the Self described in this passage is the
Paramātmā.
Pūrvapakṣa: The objection may be raised: Because the Self in this passage is
described as the object of love for the husband and other persons, this self must be
the jīva bound to the cycle of repeated birth and death and not the Paramātmā. It
cannot be said that the Self described here must be the Paramātmā because that
interpretation answers the promise (of Yājñavalkya to speak certain words), nor
can it be said that the Self here must be the Paramātmā because this Self is the
shelter of the devotees, the creator of everything, all-powerful, and the origin of
transcendental bliss. The jīva may also be these things, as the Padma Purāṇa
explains: yenārcito haris tena tarpitāni jaganty api rajyanti jantavas tatra sthāvarā
jaṅgamā api (One who worships Lord Hari pleases all the worlds. All moving and
non-moving creatures love the devotee). In this way the Self described here is not
the Paramātmā.
Siddhānta: Fearing that the opponent may speak these words, he says:
Sūtra 21