लभन्ते ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृषय: क्षीणकल्मषा: |
छिन्नद्वैधा यतात्मान: सर्वभूतहिते रता: || 25||
labhante brahma-nirvāṇam ṛiṣhayaḥ kṣhīṇa-kalmaṣhāḥ
chhinna-dvaidhā yatātmānaḥ sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ
labhante brahma-nirvanam rishayah kshina-kalmashah
chhinna-dvaidha yatatmanah sarva-bhuta-hite ratah
Translation
BG 5.25: Those holy persons, whose sins have been purged, whose doubts are annihilated, whose minds are disciplined, and who are devoted to the welfare of all beings, attain God and are liberated from material existence.
Commentary
In the preceding verse, Shree Krishna explained the state of the sages who experience the pleasure of God within themselves. In this verse, He describes the state of the sages who are actively engaged in the welfare of all beings. The Ramayan states:
para upakāra bachana mana kāyā, santa sahaja subhāu khagarāyā
“The trait of compassion is the intrinsic nature of saints. Motivated by it, they use their words, mind, and body for the welfare of others.”
Human welfare is a praiseworthy endeavor. However, welfare schemes that are only committed to bodily care only result in temporary welfare. A person is hungry; he is given food, and his hunger is satiated. But after four hours, he is hungry again. Spiritual welfare goes right to the root of all material suffering, and endeavors to revive the God-consciousness of the soul. Hence, the highest welfare activity is to help a person unite his or her consciousness with God. This is the kind of welfare work that elevated souls with purified minds engage in. Such welfare activity further attracts God’s grace, which elevates them even further on the path. Finally, when they have achieved complete purification of the mind and perfected their surrender to God, they are liberated to the spiritual realm and the divine Abode.
Thus far in this chapter, Shree Krishna has extolled the path of karm-yog. He now speaks the remaining verses for the karm sanyāsīs, revealing that they too attain the final goal.
