Verse 15.5

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 15.5:

निर्मान-मोहा जित-सङ्ग-दोषा अध्यात्म-नित्या विनिवृत्त-कामाः ।
द्वन्द्वैर् विमुक्ताः सुख-दुःख-संज्ञैर्-गच्छन्त्य् अमूढाः पदम् अव्ययं तत् ॥ ५ ॥

nirmāna-mohā jita-saṅga-doṣā adhyātma-nityā vinivṛtta-kāmāḥ |
dvandvair vimuktāḥ sukha-duḥkha-saṃjñair-gacchanty amūḍhāḥ padam avyayaṃ tat || 5 ||

nirmāna-mohāḥ–who are free from absorption in pride and delusion; jita-saṅga-doṣāḥ–free from the fault of (degrading) attachments; adhyātma-nityāḥ–always engaged in spiritual practices; vinivṛtta-kāmāḥ–free from sensual hankerings; dvandvaiḥ–from the dualities; vimuktāḥ–fully liberated; sukha-duḥkha-saṃjñaiḥ–known as happiness and distress; gacchanti–they attain; amūḍhāḥ–unbewildered (liberated persons); padam–abode; avyayam–imperishable; tat–that.

Only liberated personalities–who are free from pride and delusion, who have overcome the degradation of false attachment, who are engaged in searching for Paramātmā and who are free from sensual hankerings and from the dualities of happiness and distress–attain that unchangeable, eternal abode.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

“How do those people who perform bhakti to Him attain His abode?” In response, Śrī Bhagavān speaks this verse beginning with nirmāna-mohā. Adhyātma-nityāḥ means that those whose concern is to discriminate between what is eternal and what is temporary remain engaged in deliberating on Paramātmā.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

Here the words padam avyayam mean ‘the eternal abode’. Only loving service to the lotus feet of Śrī Bhagavān is an eternal position. To obtain service to the lotus feet of Śrī Bhagavān in His abode, in any one of the rasas, one must first surrender to His lotus feet. But it is not easy to surrender to Him, for as long as a living entity remains intoxicated by the false ego, which is related to the subtle and gross body, he thinks he is the controller of material nature. In this condition, he neglects Śrī Bhagavān and His devotees and does not accept their instructions.

When, however, material nature punishes the living entity by giving him various miseries, he begins to realize, by the mercy of Bhagavān or His devotee, that the Supreme Lord (Parameśvara) is the master of material nature, and that he, the living entity, is completely powerless and helpless. Birth and death, loss and gain, fame and infamy are all controlled by Parameśvara alone, and the jīva is just like a puppet in His hands. When the jīva realizes this fact, he surrenders to the feet of Bhagavān, and the path of bhakti becomes wide open for him. Śaraṇāgati (surrender) is the sole doorway to spiritual life, the realm of bhakti. The present day non-devotee thinks that the land, country and Earth belong to him and also that he is controlled by human society, but this is a complete misconception and the root cause of all miseries and bondage.