Bhagavad Gita · Raja Vidya Raja Guhya YogaChapter 9, Shloka 6 (9.6)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
यथाऽऽकाशस्थितो नित्यं वायुः सर्वत्रगो महान्
तथा सर्वाणि भूतानि मत्स्थानीत्युपधारय
॥ 9.6 ॥
yathā''kāśasthito nityaṃ vāyuḥ sarvatrago mahān
tathā sarvāṇi bhūtāni matsthānītyupadhāraya
Translation
"Just as the great wind, moving everywhere, always dwells in space (without clinging to it), so all beings dwell in me — understand it so."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya — without clinging. yathā loke ākāśa-sthitaḥ … nityaṃ sadā vāyuḥ sarvatra gacchatīti sarvatragaḥ mahān … tathā ākāśavat sarvagate mayi asaṃśleṣeṇaiva sthitāni — just as the wind dwells in space, so all beings dwell without clinging in me, who am all-pervading like space.
Acharya Ramanuja — who holds the wind? Yathā ākāśe anālambane mahān vāyuḥ sthitaḥ … sa tu vāyuḥ nirālambano mad-āyatta-sthitiḥ iti avaśyābhyupagamanīyo mayā eva dhṛta iti — the wind stays in space with no support — someone must be holding it — I am; in the same way all beings are held tair adṛṣṭe mayi — in me, whom they cannot see. Evidence: Brihadaranyaka 3.8.9 (etasya vā akṣarasya praśāsane gārgi sūryā-candramasau vidhṛtau tiṣṭhataḥ), Taittiriya 2.8.1 (bhīṣāsmād vātaḥ pavate); and a famous verse — meghodayaḥ sāgara-sannivṛttiḥ … viṣṇor vicitrāḥ prabhavanti māyāḥ — the rising of clouds, the ocean keeping to its bounds, the phases of the moon… all are the wondrous maya of Vishnu.
The difference: Shankara's analogy shows being untouched; Ramanuja's, the power to sustain.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.