The individual soul, free from bondage, and thus possessing the
qualities of freedom from sin, &c., cannot be the small ether, i.e. the
highest Brahman, because it is stated to 'imitate,' i.e. to be equal to
that Brahman. The text making that statement is Mu. Up. III, 1, 3, 'When
the seer (i.e. the individual soul) sees the brilliant maker, the Lord,
the Person who has his source in Brahman; then becoming wise and shaking
off good and evil, he reaches the highest equality, free from passions.'
The being to which the teaching of Prajâpati refers is the 'imitator,' i.
e. the individual soul; the Brahman which is 'imitated' is the small
ether.