Bhashya
अस्या ब्रह्मविद्यायाः सर्वभावापत्तिः फलमित्येतस्या-र्थस्य द्रढिम्ने मन्त्रानुदाहरति श्रुतिः ।कथम्?— तत् ब्रह्मएतत् आत्मानमेव अहमस्मीति पश्यन् एतस्मादेव ब्रह्मणोदर्शनात् ऋषिर्वामदेवाख्यः प्रतिपेदे ह प्रतिपन्नवान्किल ;स एतस्मिन्ब्रह्मात्मदर्शनेऽवस्थितः एतान्मन्त्रान्ददर्श— अहंमनुरभवं सूर्यश्चेत्यादीन् ।तदेतद्ब्रह्म पश्यन्निति ब्रह्मविद्यापरामृश्यते ; अहं मनुरभवं सूर्यश्चेत्यादिना सर्वभावापत्तिंब्रह्मविद्याफलं परामृशति ; पश्यन्सर्वात्मभावं फलं प्रतिपेदेइत्यस्मात्प्रयोगात् ब्रह्मविद्यासहायसाधनसाध्यं मोक्षं दर्श-यति—भुञ्जानस्तृप्यतीति यद्वत् ।सेयं ब्रह्मविद्यया सर्वभा-वापत्तिरासीन्महतां देवादीनां वीर्यातिशयात् , नेदानीमैदंयु-गीनां विशेषतो मनुष्याणाम् , अल्पवीर्यत्वात्— इतिस्यात्कस्यचिद्बुद्धिः, तद्व्युत्थापनायाह— तदिदं प्रकृतं ब्रह्मयत्सर्वभूतानुप्रविष्टं दृष्टिक्रियादिलिङ्गम् , एतर्हि एतस्मिन्नपिवर्तमानकाले यः कश्चित् व्यावृत्तबाह्यौत्सुक्य आत्मानमेवएवं वेद अहं ब्रह्मास्मीति— अपोह्य उपाधिजनितभ्रान्तिवि-ज्ञानाध्यारोपितान्विशेषान् संसारधर्मानागन्धितमनन्तरम-बाह्यं ब्रह्मैवाहमस्मि केवलमिति— सः अविद्याकृतासर्वत्वनि-वृत्तेर्ब्रह्मविज्ञानादिदं सर्वं भवति ।न हि महावीर्येषु वाम-प्राप्ताविति केचित्; दैवमेवेत्यपरे; काल इत्येके; द्रव्यादिस्व-भाव इति केचित्; सर्व एते संहता एवेत्यपरे ।तत्र कर्मणःप्राधान्यमङ्गीकृत्य वेदस्मृतिवादाः- 'पुण्यो वै पुण्येन कर्मणाभवति पापः पापेन' इत्याद्याः ।यद्यपि एषां स्वविषयेकस्यचित्प्राधान्योद्भवः इतरेषां तत्कालीनप्राधान्यशक्तिस्तम्भः,तथापि न कर्मणः फलप्राप्तिं प्रति अनैकान्तिकत्वम्, शास्त्र-न्यायनिर्धारितत्वात्कर्मप्राधान्यस्य ॥
In plain words
To establish the certainty that attaining all states of being is the true fruit of this knowledge of Brahman, the scripture cites a mantra. How so? Seeing that 'This very Brahman is the Self, I am,' the sage Vamadeva attained this vision and realized it. Abiding firmly in that direct realization of Brahman as the Self, he beheld these verses: 'I became Manu, and I became the sun.' When the text says 'seeing that Brahman,' it points directly to the knowledge of Brahman. When it says 'I became Manu, and the sun,' it reveals that becoming all of existence is the fruit of that knowledge. The expression 'seeing, he attained the state of being the self of all' shows that liberation is attained through the auxiliary power of knowledge, just as a hungry person eating becomes satisfied. Someone might object: 'This universal attainment was possible for ancient beings and gods because of their extraordinary spiritual power, but it is not possible for ordinary human beings today, whose capacities are so small.' To dispel this doubt, the text declares: Even now, in our own present time, any seeker whose cravings for external things have turned away, knowing the innermost Self directly as 'I am Brahman'—having cast away all the limitations and worldly attributes falsely projected by ignorance and mental adjuncts, standing as pure Brahman, interiorless and exteriorless—that person, because ignorance and its sense of limitation are destroyed by the knowledge of Brahman, becomes this entire universe.
Close to the Sanskrit
To establish the firmness of this meaning that the fruit of this knowledge of Brahman is the attainment of all states of being, the Shruti cites mantras. How? Seeing 'That Brahman is this very Self, I am' - seeing from this very vision of Brahman, the sage named Vamadeva attained, indeed achieved; abiding in this vision of Brahman as the Self, he saw these mantras: 'I became Manu, the sun, and so forth.' 'Seeing that Brahman' - by this knowledge of Brahman is referred to; 'I became Manu, the sun, and so forth' - by this it refers to the attainment of all states of being as the fruit of the knowledge of Brahman; by the expression 'seeing, he attained the state of being the self of all,' it shows that liberation is accomplished by the auxiliary means of the knowledge of Brahman, just as one eating becomes satisfied. Now, someone might think: 'This attainment of all states of being through the knowledge of Brahman pertained only to great beings like gods due to their extraordinary power, not to modern human beings especially, because of their small power.' To dispel that, [the text] says: This Brahman under discussion, which is immanent in all beings and characterized by acts of seeing and so forth, even now in this present time, any person whose external desires have turned away, knowing the self alone thus: 'I am Brahman' - casting off the particular characteristics and transmigratory attributes superimposed by illusion and cognition born of adjuncts, as Brahman alone which is interiorless, exteriorless, pure, and 'I am' - he, because of the cessation of non-allness caused by ignorance through the knowledge of Brahman, becomes all this. Not indeed [that this attainment belongs] only to those of great power...