Bhashya
सहेतुकौ बन्धमोक्षौ अभिहितौ मन्त्रब्राह्मणाभ्याम् ;श्लोकैश्च पुनः मोक्षस्वरूपं विस्तरेण प्रतिपादितम् ; एवम्एतस्मिन् आत्मविषये सर्वो वेदः यथा उपयुक्तो भवति,प्रतिवचनत्वेन ।स च सर्वस्य ब्रह्मेन्द्रादेः वशी ; सर्वो हिअस्य वशे वर्तते ; उक्तं च ' एतस्य वा अक्षरस्य प्रशासने 'इति ।न केवलं वशी, सर्वस्य ईशानः ईशिता च ब्रह्मेन्द्र-प्रभृतीनाम् ।ईशितृत्वं च कदाचित् जातिकृतम् , यथा राज-कुमारस्य बलवत्तरानपि भृत्यान्प्रति, तद्वन्मा भूदित्याह-सर्वस्याधिपतिः अधिष्ठाय पालयिता, स्वतन्त्र इत्यर्थः ; नराजपुत्रवत् अमात्यादिभृत्यतन्त्रः ।त्रयमप्येतत् वशित्वादिहेतुहेतुमद्रूपम्- यस्मात् सर्वस्याधिपतिः, ततोऽसौ सर्वस्ये-शानः ; यो हि यमधिष्ठाय पालयति, स तं प्रतीष्ट एवेतिप्रसिद्धम्, यस्माच्च सर्वस्येशानः, तस्मात् सर्वस्य व-शीति ।किंचान्यत् स एवंभूतो हृद्यन्तर्ज्योतिः पुरुषोविज्ञानमयः न साधुना शास्त्रविहितेन कर्मणा भूयान्भवति,न वर्धते पूर्वावस्थातः केनचिद्धर्मेण ; नो एव शास्त्रप्रतिषि-द्धेन असाधुना कर्मणा कनीयान् अल्पतरो भवति, पूर्वाव-स्थातो न हीयत इत्यर्थः ।किं च सर्वो हि अधिष्ठानपाल-नादि कुर्वन् परानुग्रहपीडाकृतेन धर्माधर्माख्येन युज्यते ;अस्यैव तु कथं तदभाव इत्युच्यते- यस्मात् एष सर्वेश्वरःसन् कर्मणोऽपीशितुं भवत्येव शीलमस्य, तस्मात् न कर्मणासंबध्यते ।किं च एष भूताधिपतिः ब्रह्मादिस्तम्बपर्यन्तानांभूतानामधिपतिरित्युक्तार्थं पदम् ।एष भूतानां तेषामेव पा-र्लायिता रक्षिता ।एष सेतुः ; किंविशिष्ट इत्याह- विधारणः वर्णाश्रमादिव्यवस्थाया विधारयिता ; तदाह- एषां भूरादीनां ब्रह्मलोकान्तानां लोकानाम् असंभेदाय असंभिन्नमर्यादायै ; परमेश्वरेण सेतुवद्विधार्यमाणा लोकाः संभिन्नमर्यादाः स्युः ; अतो लोकानामसंभेदाय सेतुभूतोऽयं परमेश्वरः, यः स्वयं ज्योतिरात्मैव एवंवित् सर्वस्य वशी- इत्यादि ब्रह्मविद्यायाः फलमेतन्निर्दिष्टम् ।'किंज्योतिरयं पुरुषः' इत्येवमादिषष्ठप्रपाठकविहितायामेतस्यां ब्रह्मविद्यायाम् एवंफलायाम् काम्यैकदेशवर्जितं कृत्स्नं कर्मकाण्डं तादर्थ्येन विनियुज्यते ; तत् कथमित्युच्यते- तमेतम् एवंभूतमौपनिषदं पुरुषम्, वेदानुवचनेन मन्त्रब्राह्मणाध्ययनेन नित्यस्वाध्यायलक्षणेन, विविदिषन्ति वेदितुमिच्छन्ति ; के ? ब्राह्मणाः ; ब्राह्मणग्रहणमुपलक्षणार्थम् ; अविशिष्टो हि अधिकारः त्रयाणां वर्णानाम् ; अथवा कर्मकाण्डेन मन्त्रब्राह्मणेन वेदानुवचनेन विविदिषन्ति ; कथं विविदिषन्तीत्युच्यते- यज्ञेनेत्यादि ॥
In plain words
The causes of bondage and of freedom have already been named, and the true shape of freedom has already been drawn out at length. This is what makes the whole Veda matter here: every part of it is finally an answer to one question, the question of who you are. He is the one who holds everything -- Brahma, Indra, every power there is -- under his rule, for everything moves inside his control. Scripture itself says it: under the rule of this Imperishable one. But he is not merely in control the way a ruler holds subjects. He is the ruling power itself, the sovereignty behind every lesser sovereign. A prince rules his servants by accident of birth, even servants stronger than he is -- but do not read it that way here. 'Overlord of all' means independent: he governs and protects because that is simply what he is, not because ministers and attendants prop him up the way they prop up a prince. And these three -- being in control, being ruler, being sovereign power -- are not three separate facts about him; each is the reason for the next. Because he governs all, he rules all; because whoever governs and protects something is, by that very fact, its ruler; and because he rules all, he controls all. Here is something more: he is the light inside your heart, awareness itself, and no good deed done in line with scripture makes him any larger than he already is, and no bad deed forbidden by scripture makes him any smaller. He simply does not move from what he already is. Everyone else, in the act of ruling and protecting, gets entangled in the merit and harm that comes of helping or hurting others. Why does none of that touch him? Because being the Lord of everything, controlling even action is simply his nature -- so action cannot bind him. He is called lord of beings, and that phrase already says what it means: lord of every being from Brahma down to a single blade of grass. He protects them, all of them, and guards them. He is a bridge. What kind of bridge? He holds things apart the way a dike holds back water -- he is what keeps the order of the castes and the stages of life standing. He holds these worlds, from the earth up to the world of Brahma, so that their boundaries never blur into one another; without the Supreme Lord holding them the way a dike holds a river, their limits would collapse into each other. That is why he stands as a bridge, keeping the worlds distinct -- he who is himself the light, the Self, and who, known in this way, rules everything. This is the fruit that this whole teaching about Brahman has pointed to. It is in the service of this very knowledge -- taught from the question 'by what light does a person live' onward, in the sixth chapter, a knowledge with exactly this fruit -- that the entire body of ritual, apart from the portion done for private gain, is put to work. How does it work? Those who wish to know this very person, described here in the Upanishad, seek him through their daily recitation of the Veda -- through studying mantra and the explanatory prose that goes with it. Who seeks him this way? Brahmins -- though naming brahmins is only an example, since this pursuit belongs equally to all three twice-born classes. Or, put differently, they seek to know him through the ritual portion itself, through that same recitation. And how do they seek him? Through sacrifice, and so on.
Close to the Sanskrit
The two, bondage and liberation, together with their causes, have been declared by the mantra and brāhmaṇa portions; and again, by the verses, the nature of liberation has been set forth at length. Thus, in this matter of the Self, the entire Veda turns out to be useful in this way, by way of being an answer. And he is the controller of all, beginning with Brahmā and Indra; for everything exists under his control; and it has been said, 'under the rule of this Imperishable' -- thus. Not merely the controller: he is the ruler and the sovereign power of Brahmā, Indra and all such beings. Now lordship is sometimes a mere accident of birth, as with a king's son toward servants who are even stronger than he; lest it be thought to be like that, he says: 'the overlord of all' means one who, having taken charge, then protects -- that is, one who is independent; not, like a prince, dependent on ministers and other servants. All three of these -- being in control, and so on -- stand to one another as cause and effect: because he is the overlord of all, therefore he is the ruler of all; for it is well known that whoever presides over and protects someone is thereby recognized as ruler in relation to that one; and because he is the ruler of all, therefore he is the controller of all. Moreover, he, being of this nature -- the light within the heart, the person consisting of consciousness -- does not become greater through a good action enjoined by scripture, nor does he increase from his prior state through any merit; nor indeed does he become smaller, more diminished, through a bad action forbidden by scripture -- that is, he does not fall short of his prior state. Moreover, everyone, in performing acts of ruling, protecting and the like, becomes bound up with what is called merit and demerit, produced by benefiting or harming others; but how is it said that this is absent in his case alone? Because this one, being the lord of all, has it as his very nature to be able to control even action itself, therefore he is not bound by action. Moreover, this term 'lord of beings' -- lord of beings ranging from Brahmā down to a tuft of grass -- is a term whose meaning has already been stated. He is the protector, the guardian, of those very beings. He is a bridge. Of what distinguishing kind? He says: the sustainer -- the one who upholds the order of the classes and stages of life. He explains further: for the non-confounding, that is, for the unconfounded boundary, of these worlds beginning with the earth and ending in the world of Brahmā; for if the worlds were not being upheld like a dike by the Supreme Lord, their boundaries would become confounded; therefore this Supreme Lord exists as a bridge for the non-confounding of the worlds -- he who is himself the Self of light, who, knowing thus, is the controller of all -- this and the rest of that passage has indicated the fruit of the knowledge of Brahman. In this very knowledge of Brahman, taught beginning with 'by what light does this person live', and so on, in the sixth chapter, and having such a fruit, the entire body of ritual action, excluding the portion prompted by desire, is employed for the sake of that knowledge. How so? It is explained: this very person, of this nature, described in the Upaniṣad, they wish to know -- desire to come to know -- through recitation of the Veda, that is, through the study of mantra and brāhmaṇa, characterized as permanent daily recitation. Who? Brahmins. The mention of 'brahmins' is merely illustrative; for the qualification is undifferentiated among the three classes. Or alternatively, they seek to know through the ritual section, the mantra and brāhmaṇa, that is, through recitation of the Veda. How do they seek to know? It is explained: 'by sacrifice', and so on.