Chapter 5, Verse 25
लभन्ते ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृषयः क्षीणकल्मषाः | छिन्नद्वैधा यतात्मानः सर्वभूतहिते रताः ||५-२५||
labhante brahmanirvāṇamṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇakalmaṣāḥ . chinnadvaidhā yatātmānaḥ sarvabhūtahite ratāḥ ||5-25||
Meaning
5.25 The sages (Rishis) obtain absolute freedom or Moksha they whose sins have been destroyed, whose dualities (perception of dualities or experience of the pairs of opposites) are torn asunder, who are self-controlled, and intent on the welfare of all beings.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna lists the qualities of the sages (rishis) who attain brahma-nirvana, the highest freedom. Their impurities are exhausted (kshina-kalmasha); their inner dualities are torn apart (chinna-dvaidha) — they no longer waver between conflicting pulls or perceive the world through divisive opposites; they are self-controlled (yata-atmanah); and, crucially, they delight in the welfare of all beings (sarva-bhuta-hite ratah).
This last quality is striking and important. The realized sage is not a self-absorbed recluse indifferent to the world. Having dissolved the ego's divisions and seen the one Self everywhere, compassion and active goodwill for all beings flow naturally. Inner liberation and outer service are not opposed but joined: the one who is truly free spontaneously works for the good of all. Spiritual freedom, in the Gita's vision, blossoms into universal love.
💡 Key Takeaway
True freedom isn't withdrawal from the world — the liberated sage naturally delights in the welfare of all beings.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच | संन्यासः कर्मयोगश्च निःश्रेयसकरावुभौ | तयोस्तु कर्मसंन्यासात्कर्मयोगो विशिष्यते ||५-२||
śrībhagavānuvāca . saṃnyāsaḥ karmayogaśca niḥśreyasakarāvubhau . tayostu karmasaṃnyāsātkarmayogo viśiṣyate ||5-2||
5.2 The Blessed Lord said Renunciation and the Yoga of action both lead to the highest bliss; but of the two, the Yoga of action is superior to the renunciation of action.
सर्वकर्माणि मनसा संन्यस्यास्ते सुखं वशी | नवद्वारे पुरे देही नैव कुर्वन्न कारयन् ||५-१३||
sarvakarmāṇi manasā saṃnyasyāste sukhaṃ vaśī . navadvāre pure dehī naiva kurvanna kārayan ||5-13||
5.13 Mentally renouncing all actions and self-controlled, the embodied one rests happily in the nine-gated city, neither acting nor causing others (body and senses) to act.
तद्बुद्धयस्तदात्मानस्तन्निष्ठास्तत्परायणाः | गच्छन्त्यपुनरावृत्तिं ज्ञाननिर्धूतकल्मषाः ||५-१७||
tadbuddhayastadātmānastanniṣṭhāstatparāyaṇāḥ . gacchantyapunarāvṛttiṃ jñānanirdhūtakalmaṣāḥ ||5-17||
5.17 Their intellect absorbed in That, their self being That, established in That, with That for their supreme goal, they go whence there is no return, their sins dispelled by knowledge.