This verse restates the identity of the Self with formless, guṇa-less Brahman as the foundation for the sage’s effortless life in chapter 16. Where there is no second thing, no transaction between subject and object is possible; therefore nothing can be known, renounced, accepted, or rejected. This is not a denial of activity but the recognition that the Self is never involved in the transactions it witnesses. The sage acts in the world while remaining kevala, one alone.