Bhagavad Gita · Akshara Brahma YogaChapter 8, Shloka 22 (8.22)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
पुरुषः स परः पार्थ भक्त्या लभ्यस्त्वनन्यया
यस्यान्तःस्थानि भूतानि येन सर्वमिदं ततम्
॥ 8.22 ॥
puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha bhaktyā labhyastvananyayā
yasyāntaḥsthāni bhūtāni yena sarvamidaṃ tatam
Translation
"O Partha, that supreme Person — within whom all beings dwell, and by whom this whole world is pervaded — is reached only through undivided devotion."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya — devotion in the form of knowledge. Puruṣaḥ puri śayanāt pūrṇatvād vā — "Purusha" means the one who dwells (lies) in the city (of the body), or the one who is full; bhaktyā labhyas tu jñāna-lakṣaṇayā ananyayā ātma-viṣayayā — by devotion whose mark is knowledge, undivided, directed to the self; yena … sarvaṃ idaṃ jagat tataṃ vyāptam ākāśeneva ghaṭādi — just as space pervades pots and the like.
Acharya Ramanuja — the wise one's goal is different. The Supreme Person of 7.7 and 7.13 — yasyāntaḥ-sthāni sarvāṇi bhūtāni yena ca pareṇa puruṣeṇa sarvam idaṃ tataṃ sa para-puruṣaḥ … ananyayā bhaktyā labhyaḥ — that Supreme Person is reached through undivided devotion (8.14 ananya-cetāḥ satatam). And further on: ātma-yāthātmya-vidaḥ parama-puruṣa-niṣṭhasya ca sādhāraṇīm arcir-ādikāṃ gatim āha — he describes the path of light (archir-adi) common to both the knower of the self (the seeker of kaivalya) and the one devoted to the Supreme Person (the wise one) (8.23–8.26) — evidence Chhandogya 5.10.1, 4.15.5.
The difference: "Devotion" — Shankara: devotion whose mark is knowledge; Ramanuja: undivided devotion in the form of love, whose goal is the Supreme Person, distinct from kaivalya.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.