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

dārāpatya-dhanādayaḥ
yat-samparkāt priyā āsaṁs
tataḥ ko 'nyaḥ paraḥ priyaḥ
"Our life, property, home, wife, children, house, country, society, and all
paraphernalia which are very dear to us are expansions of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. Who is more dear to us than the Supreme Person?"
In this interpretation the word kāma means "happiness" and the dative case is
used in the same sense as the previous interpretation. This interpretation means
that by the will of the Paramātmā, by the nearness of the Paramātmā, or by the
touch of the Paramātmā, even what is ordinarily unpleasant becomes blissful.
Therefore when the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad says ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ (The
Self should be seen), the word ātmā means the dear Lord Hari. It is not possible to
interpret the word ātmā here to mean the jīva because here the primary meaning of
ātmā is the supremely powerful Personality of Godhead. To interpret ātmā in any
other way would contradict the way the word had been used in the previous
passage (vākya-bheda). We do not see how it is possible to interpret ātmā in a way
different from the way it was clearly used in the immediately previous passage. In
this way the word ātmā in ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ must be the Paramātmā. In both
passages (ātmanas tu kāmāya and ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ) the word ātmā cannot
mean the jīva, for in these contexts the word ātmā can only refer to Brahman.
Although Auḍulomi is a nirguṇa-ātmavādī (impersonalist) as will be explained
later on in the words (Vedānta-sūtra 4.4.6) citi tan-mātreṇa tad-ātmakatvād ity
auḍulomiḥ (When he is liberated the jīva enters the Supreme Intelligence, for the
jīva is actually intelligence only. This the the opinion of Auḍulomi.), still
Auḍulomi maintains that in order to dispel ignorance and reveal the true nature of
the self Lord Hari should be worshiped, as will be explained in the following
words (Vedānta-sūtra 3.4.45): ārtvijyam ity auḍulomis tasmai hi parikrīyate (Just
as a Vedic priest is purchased to perform a yajña, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is purchased by His devotees' love). In this way it is proved that pure
devotion to Lord Hari fulfills all desires.
Our opponent may say: So be it. However, in the same Bṛhad-āraṇyaka
Upaniṣad (2.4.12) we find the following words:
sa yathā saindhava-khilya udake prāptam udakam evānulīyate na
hāsyodgrahaṇāyaiva syād yato yatas tv ādīta lavaṇam evaivaṁ vā. are idaṁ mahad
bhūtam anantam apāraṁ vijñāna-ghana evaitebhyo bhūtebhyaḥ samutthāya tāny
evānuvinaśyati
"As a little salt merges into water and cannot be again extracted from it,
although the water itself becomes salty, so does this great being, limitless, endless,
and full of knowledge, rise from these elements and then vanish into them."
How do you reconcile this statement with your interpretation of the word ātmā
in this Upaniṣad? Clearly this passage refers to the jīva described in the Kapila-
tantra because that is the appropriate interpretation.
To answer this doubt he says: