This (self) was verily Brahman at first. It knew only itself as, ‘I am Brahman’. Because of that it became all (the universe) And whosoever among the gods realised It became Brahman. Similarly among the sages, and among men. The sage Vāmadeva, realising his own self as That (Brahman), knew, ‘I was Manu, and the sun’. And even now whoever knows That in a similar way, viz., as ‘I am Brahman’, becomes this universe. Even the gods are powerless to prevent his becoming the universe, for he becomes then self. On the other hand, he who adores another god thinking, ‘He is different from me, and I am different from him’, does not know. As is an animal (to man), so is he to the gods. As many animals serve a man, so does each man serve the gods. If even one animal is taken away, it causes unpleasantness, what should one say of many animals? Therefore it is not pleasant to the gods that men should realise this Self.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ. The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: With the Commentary of Śaṅkarācārya. Translated by Swāmī Mādhavānanda, Advaita Ashrama, 1950.
2. Brahma. circa 1700. Watercolor on paper. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.