In the 15th chapter of the Bh.Gita we have this verse:
उत्क्रामन्तं स्थितं वापि भुञ्जानं वा गुणान्वितम् ।
विमूढा नानुपश्यन्ति पश्यन्ति ज्ञानचक्षुषः ॥ १० ॥ 15.10
Persons who are diversely deluded do not see It even when It is leaving or residing (in this body), or experiencing, or in association with the qualities. Those with the eye of knowledge see.
The verse occurs in the context of the jiva experiencing the outside objects and thereby, samsara (verse 9). The verse prior to that is about the jiva exiting this body to take up another body, after death (verse 8). In the 7th verse Bhagavan says that the jiva is an ‘amsha’ of Brahman and is endowed with sense, motor organs and the mind (inner organ). Bhagavatpada in the Bhashyam has clarified that the ‘amsha – part’ is not to be literally taken as Brahman does not have parts and hence is to be seen as ‘imagined’ to be a jiva, owing to the body-mind-complex upadhis, as a part of Brahman.
Shankara says in the 10th verse commentary:
And the Lord regrets this saying, ‘Alas! How sorrowful this is!’
Now, in this 10th verse cited above, Bhagavan explicitly says: When this Consciousness is so explicitly experienced as the one that – 1. exits the body upon death, 2. as obtaining in the body while the person is alive, 3.experiencing the objects of the world and thereby going through sukha, duhkha, etc. samsara as endowed with gunas, effects of sattva, rajas and tamas -Alas! yet those who are extroverted do not recognize this, their own true self. Those who have developed the eye of wisdom, however, succeed in realizing this Entity.
In the next verse the Lord says:
यतन्तो योगिनश्चैनं पश्यन्त्यात्मन्यवस्थितम् ।
यतन्तोऽप्यकृतात्मानो नैनं पश्यन्त्यचेतसः ॥ ११ ॥
And the yogis who are diligent see this one as existing in themselves. The non-discriminating ones who lack self-control do not see this one-though (they be) diligent.
This means: Brahman, that is to be realized for liberation, is available in our own body as undergoing the samsara stated in the earlier verses. This is nothing but ‘jīvo Brahmaiva’, the transmigrating jiva consciousness is Brahman consciousness alone.
The logic, yukti, here is: only a sentient entity can experience samsara and not an insentient entity. The Gita teaches that a sentient entity undergoes samsara, the indicatory marks, linga-s are: exiting the body upon death, remaining in the body experiencing sukha, duhkha, etc. by contacting the outside world of objects. This chetana-lakshanas can be there only for a chaitanya vastu and the verse says: this chetana vastu is recognized by the wise as such. From the linga that ‘knowing this is praised and not knowing this is criticized’ also we come to know that this Chaitanya vastu is Brahman and the Vedanta shaastra teaches that knowing Brahman is the means for moksha.
Thus, the Bh.Gita explicitly holds the samsari jiva to be none other than Brahman. We have many statements in the Gita itself to this effect, the most popular one being:क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत।
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत्तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम।।13.2।।
And, O scion of the Bharata dynasty, under-stand Me to be the ‘Knower of the field’ in all the fields. In My opinion, that is Knowledge which is the knowledge of the field and the knower of the field.
This is the Mahavakya, Tattvamasi, in the Gita. In fact Shankara has said in the commentary to the 15.7 bhashya:
अविद्याकृतोपाधिपरिच्छिन्नः एकदेशः अंश इव कल्पितो यतः । दर्शितश्च अयमर्थः क्षेत्राध्याये विस्तरशः । He says: We have explained this in great detail in the 13th chapter.
The 13th chapter itself is a fine exposition of the Adhyasa bhashya. In the bhashya for the this chapter we can see the Adhyasa bhashya re-stated.
In the Vishnu Sahasranama bhashya Shankara has cited a verse, source of which is not found:
स्वमायया स्वमात्मानं मोहयन्द्वैतमायया ।
गुणाहितं स्वमात्मानं लभते च स्वयं हरिः ॥
[By his own Māyā, deluding himself with the illusion of dvaita, Hari Himself comes to see himself endowed with guṇas.]
This is in tune with the Nrisimha Tapini Upanishat:
स वा एष भूतानीन्द्रियाणि विराजं देवताः कोशांश्च सृष्ट्वा प्रविश्यामूढो मूढ इव व्यवहरन्नास्ते माययैव तस्मादद्वय एवायमात्मा सन्मात्रो नित्यः शुद्धो बुद्धः सत्यो मुक्तो निरञ्जनो विभुरद्वयानन्दः परः प्रत्यगेकरसः प्रमाणैरेतैरवगतः सत्तामात्रं हीदं सर्वं सदेव पुरस्तात्सिद्धं हि ब्रह्म
From the above it is clear that that Brahman which has created the entire world, has also ‘entered’ every body as the jiva and is displaying jiva-dharma-s – अमूढो मूढ इव मायया एव. Since this jiva is Brahman alone, there is nothing wrong in the Shruti showing all the Brahma-dharmas as applicable to the jiva too. So, nityatva, shuddhatva, satyatva, muktatva, etc. all apply to the jiva in his true state of Brahman.
Sayana cites this passage while commenting on the Purusha Sukta statement: सर्वाणि रूपाणि विचित्य धीरः नामानि कृत्वा अभिवदन् यदास्ते..which is what is meant by the above passage. Brahman alone appears as the Jiva.
In fact the Chandogya Upanishad very explicitly says that the jiva in samsara is none other than Brahman: Cited below is the shruti passage along with Shankara’s words in the Brahmasutra bhashya 2.1.36: The shruti itself says that ‘ ‘सेयं देवतैक्षत हन्ताहमिमास्तिस्रो देवता अनेन जीवेनात्मनानुप्रविश्य नामरूपे व्याकरवाणि’ (छा. उ. 6.3.2.) (2. That Brahman [Existence] decided: ‘Entering into these three deities [fire, water, and earth], as the individual self, I shall manifest myself in many names and forms’.
Shankara cites this passage dozens of times across his bhashyas. Here he cites this to show that samsara is anādi, without a beginning:
श्रुतौ तावत् — ‘अनेन जीवेनात्मना’ (छा. उ. ६ । ३ । २) इति सर्गप्रमुखे शारीरमात्मानं जीवशब्देन प्राणधारणनिमित्तेनाभिलपन्ननादिः संसार इति दर्शयति ।
Thus, we have the Shruti and Smriti (Bh.Gita) pramana for the concept ‘jīvo brahmaiva’, the jiva is verily brahman, or Brahman alone appears as the transmigrating jiva.
Om tat sat