Bhāṣya
। ? ; ; ; ; ; , ॥
In plain words
Depending on that Self whose very essence is eternal awareness, the mind, the eyes, and all the senses perform their functions. The intended meaning of the text is 'I am that Self.' But wait—how can awareness be eternal? Awareness is merely knowledge, and knowledge arises when the senses come into contact with their objects. Once produced, this knowledge is destroyed either by its own resulting memory-trace, by a conflicting force, or by a subsequent thought. Because it is subject to birth and death, it cannot possibly be eternal. Nor can the Self be defined as having awareness as its essence, since the Self is eternal while ordinary awareness is transient. Between the eternal and the transient there can be no shared identity, because their natures are mutually exclusive.
Close to the Sanskrit
Depending on which Self whose nature is eternal consciousness, mind, eyes, and the rest operate, 'I am that Self' is the connection. Now, how is consciousness eternal? For consciousness is indeed named knowledge; and that is produced through the contact of sense organs and objects, etc.; and produced knowledge is destroyed by its own effect, by a mental imprint, by a contradictory force, or by another knowledge. Therefore, possessing the property of birth and destruction, it is not fit to be eternal. Nor does the nature of consciousness belong to the Self, because the Self is eternal and consciousness is impermanent. For there is not a single nature for the eternal and the impermanent, because of contradiction, thus.