Bhagavad Gita · Akshara Brahma YogaChapter 8, Shloka 13 (8.13)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन् मामनुस्मरन्
यः प्रयाति त्यजन् देहं स याति परमां गतिम्
॥ 8.13 ॥
omityekākṣaraṃ brahma vyāharan māmanusmaran
yaḥ prayāti tyajan dehaṃ sa yāti paramāṃ gatim
Translation
"(Together with 8.12) — whoever departs, leaving the body while uttering 'Om', this single syllable that is Brahman, and remembering me, attains the supreme goal."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. Om iti ekākṣaraṃ brahma brahmaṇaḥ abhidhāna-bhūtam oṃkāraṃ vyāharan uccārayan tad-artha-bhūtaṃ mām īśvaram anusmaran — uttering Om (the name of Brahman), and remembering what it means — me, Ishvara. Importantly: tyajan deham iti prayāṇa-viśeṣaṇārtham, deha-tyāgena prayāṇam ātmanaḥ na svarūpa-nāśena — "leaving the body" — the departure is the leaving of the body, not the destruction of the self.
Acharya Ramanuja (8.12–8.13 combined). Om iti ekākṣaraṃ brahma mad-vācakaṃ vyāharan vācyaṃ mām anusmaran — uttering Om, the word that names me, and remembering me, the one named; the fruit: yāti paramāṃ gatiṃ prakṛti-viyuktaṃ mat-samānākāram apunarāvṛttim ātmānaṃ prāpnoti — he attains the self freed from prakriti, of a form like mine, from which there is no return (kaivalya). Then: atha jñānino bhagavad-upāsana-prakāraṃ — now the method of the wise one (8.14).
The difference: "The supreme goal" — Shankara: attaining Ishvara / liberation; Ramanuja: for the seeker of kaivalya, attaining the pure nature of the self.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.