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

If (one says that the Brahman described in the Vedas is) Saguṇa Brahman (a manifestation of the modes of material nature, and not the original Supreme Lord Himself), Then I say this cannot be true, because Brahman is described in the Vedas as "Atma" (the Supreme Self). Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa The Brahman described in the Vedas is not merely a saguṇa manifestation of the mode of Goodness. Why? Because the Vedas use the word ātmā (the Supreme Self) to describe Him. For example: ātmaivedam agra āsīt puruṣa-vidhaḥ "The Supreme Self (ātmā), who is a transcendental person, existed before this material world was manifested in the beginning." —Vājasaneya-saṁhitā ātmā vā idam eka evāgra āsīt nānyat kiñcana miṣat sa īkṣata lokān nu sṛja "Before the material world was manifest, the Supreme Self (ātmā) alone existed. Nothing else was manifested at that time. The Supreme Self then thought, `Let me create the material planets.'" —Aitareya Āraṇyaka Both these texts clearly refer to the Supreme Self (ātmā) who existed before the creation of the material world. Also, In the commentary on sūtra 1.1.2, I have already explained that the word ātmā primarily refers to the perfect Supreme Brahman, and not to anyone or anything else. For this reason the word ātmā used in the scriptures should be understood to refer to the transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead, and not to any material manifestation of the mode of goodness. The transcendental Supreme Person is described in the following statements of Vedic literature: vadanti tat tattva-vidas

• tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam* brahmeti pāramātmeti
• bhagavān iti śabdyate*