Bhagavad Gita · Karma Sannyasa YogaChapter 5, Shloka 25 (5.25)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
लभन्ते ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृषयः क्षीणकल्मषाः
छिन्नद्वैधा यतात्मानः सर्वभूतहिते रताः
॥ 5.25 ॥
labhante brahmanirvāṇamṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇakalmaṣāḥ
chinnadvaidhā yatātmānaḥ sarvabhūtahite ratāḥ
Translation
"Those whose faults are worn away, whose duality is cut off, who are self-controlled and devoted to the welfare of all beings — those rishis attain brahma-nirvana."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. Ṛṣayaḥ samyag-darśinaḥ saṃnyāsinaḥ — rishis means renunciates of right vision; chinna-dvaidhāḥ chinna-saṃśayāḥ — those whose doubts have been cut off; sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ … sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ hite ānukūlye ratāḥ ahiṃsakā ity arthaḥ — devoted to the welfare and good of all beings, that is, non-violent.
Acharya Ramanuja. Chinna-dvaidhāḥ śītoṣṇādi-dvandvaiḥ vimuktāḥ — freed from pairs of opposites like cold and heat; sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ ātmavat sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ hiteṣu niratāḥ — devoted to the welfare of all beings as to their own; ṛṣayaḥ draṣṭāraḥ ātmāvalokana-parāḥ — rishis means seers engaged in the vision of the self. They attain brahma-nirvana when kṣīṇāśeṣātma-prāpti-virodhi-kalmaṣāḥ — all faults opposed to attaining the self are worn away. And further: ukta-guṇānāṃ brahma atyanta-sulabham — for those with these qualities, Brahman is extremely easy to reach.
The difference: "Duality" — Shankara: doubt; Ramanuja: the pairs of opposites. "Welfare" — Shankara: non-violence (a negative safeguard); Ramanuja: ātmavat — active welfare, regarding others as oneself.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.