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

pūrva-vikalpaḥ prakaraṇāt syāt kriyā-mānasa-vat
pūrva—previous; vikalpaḥ—concept; prakaraṇāt—from the context; syāt—may
be; kriyā—actions; mānasa—mind; vat—like.
Because of the context it is like what goes before. It is like the thoughts and
deeds.
Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
The declaration "so 'ham" (I am He) in the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad should be
understood according to the passages that precede it. Why is that? The sūtra
declares: "prakaraṇāt" (because of the context). In the beginning of Gopāla-tāpanī
Upaniṣad (1.14) it is said:
bhaktir asya bhajanaṁ tad ihāmutropādhi-nairāśyenāmusmin manaḥ kalpanam
etad eva naiṣkarmyam.
"Without any desire for material benefit in this life or the next one should
engage in devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa. That will bring freedom from the
bonds of karma."
Devotional service is also described at the end of the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad in
these words:
sac-cid-ānandaika-rase bhakti-yoge tiṣṭhati.
"One should engage in devotional service, which is eternal and full of
knowledge and bliss."
The middle portion of the Upaniṣad cannot deal with a topic different from
what is discussed in the beginning and end. Here the sūtra gives an example:
"kriyā-mānasa-vat" (It is like the thoughts and deeds). The deeds here are the
activities of devotional service, which begin with worship of the Lord. The
thoughts here are meditation on the Lord.
Devotional service was described in the beginning and end of the Upaniṣad.
Therefore the declaration "so 'ham" (I am He) should be understood as a
description of some feature of the same devotional service already described in the
preceding passages.
Pushed by intense love or fear, a person may sometimes call out, "I am he!" In