Bhagavad Gita 15.5

nirmāna-mohā jita-sańga-doṣā
adhyātma-nityā vinivṛtta-kāmāḥ
dvandvair vimuktāḥ sukha-duḥkha-saḿjñair
gacchanty amūḍhāḥ padam avyayaḿ tat

Translation of Bhagavad Gita 15.5

Those who are free from false prestige, illusion and false association, who understand the eternal, who are done with material lust, who are freed from the dualities of happiness and distress, and who, unbewildered, know how to surrender unto the Supreme Person attain to that eternal kingdom.

Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:

The surrendering process is described here very nicely. The first qualification is that one should not be deluded by pride. Because the conditioned soul is puffed up, thinking himself the lord of material nature, it is very difficult for him to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should know by the cultivation of real knowledge that he is not lord of material nature; the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Lord. When one is free from delusion caused by pride, he can begin the process of surrender. For one who is always expecting some honor in this material world, it is not possible to surrender to the Supreme Person. Pride is due to illusion, for although one comes here, stays for a brief time and then goes away, he has the foolish notion that he is the lord of the world. He thus makes all things complicated, and he is always in trouble. The whole world moves under this impression. People are considering the land, this earth, to belong to human society, and they have divided the land under the false impression that they are the proprietors. One has to get out of this false notion that human society is the proprietor of this world. When one is freed from such a false notion, he becomes free from all the false associations caused by familial, social and national affections. These faulty associations bind one to this material world. After this stage, one has to develop spiritual knowledge. One has to cultivate knowledge of what is actually his own and what is actually not his own. And when one has an understanding of things as they are, he becomes free from all dual conceptions such as happiness and distress, pleasure and pain. He becomes full in knowledge; then it is possible for him to surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Commentary by Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur of Gaudiya Sampradaya:

Performing bhakti, what qualities do the people attain, so they can attain that goal? This verse explains. Adhyatma nitya means “those who make a rule of constantly considering about adhyatma; those who are absorbed in reflecting on paramatma.”

Commentary by Sri Ramanuja of Sri Sampradaya:

15.3 – 15.4 The form of this tree, having its origin above, i.e., in the four-faced Brahma and branches below in the sense that man forms the crest through continual lineage therefrom, and also having its branches extended above and below by actions done in the human state and forming secondary roots — that form of the tree is not understood by people immersed in Samsara. Only this much is perceived: ‘I am a man, the son of Devadatta, the father of Yajnadatta; I have property appropriate to these conditions’. Likewise, it is not understood that its destruction can be brought about by detachment from enjoyments which are based on Gunas. Similarly it is not perceived that attachment to the Gunas alone is the beginning of this (tree). Again, it is not perceived that the basis of this tree is founded on ignorance which is the misconception of self as non-self. Ignorance alone is the basis of this tree, since in it alone the tree is fixed. This Asvattha, described above, firm-rooted, i.e., the roots of which are firm and manifold, is to be cut off by the strong axe of detachment, namely, detachment from the sense objects composed of the three Gunas. This can be forged through perfect knowledge. As one gains detachment from sense-objects, one should seek and find out the goal from which nobody ever returns. How does this attachment to sense-objects, which consists of the Gunas and erroneous knowledge forming its cause, cease to exist? Sri Krsna now answers: One should seek ‘refuge (Prapadyet) in the Primal Person’ alone in order to overcome this ignorance. One should seek refuge (Prapadyeta) in Him who is primal, namely, the beginning of all entities, as stated in the following text: ‘With Me as the Lord, the Prakrti gives birth to all that which moves, and that which does not move’ (9.10), ‘I am the origin of all; from Me proceed everything’ (10.8), and ‘There is nothing higher than Me, O Arjuna’ (7.7). From Me, the creator of everything, has streamed forth this ancient activity, continuing from time immermorial, of attachment to sense-objects consisting of Gunas. This has been declared already by Me: ‘For this divine Maya of Mine consisting of the Gunas is hard to break through. But those who take refuge in me alone shall pass beyond this Maya’ (7.14). Or a variant of this stanza is ‘prapadya iyatah pravrttih’ (in place of ‘prapadyet yatah pravrittih’). This gives the sense that this discipline of taking refuge in the Supreme Person for dispelling of ignorance has continued from a distant past. The tendencies of ancient persons seeking liberation are also ancient. The purport is this: The ancient liberation-seekers, taking refuge in Me alone, were released from bondage. [This can be taken to mean that Prapatti or taking refuge in the Lord had originated in the Bhakti tradition of the Sri-Vaisnavites from ancient sages i.e., from the Alvars who preceded Ramanuja by several centuries. It is not a creation of Ramanuja].

Commentary by Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya:

Here Lord Krishna describes other means of attaining the Supreme goal. The absence of pride, delusion and false identification of the ego. The cessation of illusionary attachments to sons, family, dynasty, species, planet, etc. Enthusiasm for spiritual pursuits and knowledge of the atma the immortal soul. Free from the pangs of desire and ignorance, surpassing the dualistic conceptions of pleasure and pain, happiness and unhappiness, heat and cold. Such a one attains the transcendental spiritual worlds in Vaikuntha and beyond and attains the eternal association of the Supreme Lord.

Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:

In this verse Lord Krishna describes other means of attaining the Supreme state.

Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:

Anticipating that a spiritually intelligent aspirant would wish to know what type of jivas or embodied beings are able to attain the eternal spiritual worlds, Lord Krishna reveals that one who is free from pride and infatuation, who is undeluded by material nature due to discriminative knowledge of the atma or immortal soul and the physical body, understanding that they are distinctly different. Who have conquered the tenacious vice of attachment. Who have overcome feelings of passion and repugnance. Who are free from false ego imagining they are the physical body. Whose mundane cravings and worldy desires have altogether ceased to exist and who have surpassed the dualities of material existence such as pleasure and pain, happiness and unhappines, cold and hot attraction and aversion. Who are situated in atma tattva or realisation of the soul and are in perpetual communion with the atma. Those possessing all these attributes achieve the imperishable Supreme state for they perceive the the actual nature of the atma and receiving unveiled knowledge direct from within they are able to attain the Supreme Lord Krishna eternally.

Commentary by Sri Adi Shankaracharya of Advaita Sampradaya:

15.5 Amudhah, the wise ones, who are devoid of delusion; who are nirmana-mohah, free from (nir) pride (mana) and non-discrimination (moha); jita-sanga-dosah, who have conquered (jita) the evil (dosa) of association (sanga)-association itself being the evil; those who have conquered that; adhyatma-nityah, who are ever devoted to spirituality, ever engaged in reflecting on the nature of the supreme Self; engrossed in that; [Engrossed in hearing, reflecting and meditating on the Self.] vinivrtta-kamah, who are completely (vi) free from (nivrtta) desires (kamah), whose desires have completely gone away without trace (ni), the men of self-control, the monks; vimuktah, who are free from, have got rid of; dvandvaih, the dualities-likes, dislikes, etc.; sukha-duhkha-sanjnaih, called happiness and sorrow; gacchanti, reach; tat, that; avyayam, undecaying; padam, State, as has been described above. The very State is being elaborated again:

Commentary by Sri Abhinavagupta of Kaula Tantra Sampradaya:

15.3-5 Na rupam., upto avyayam tat. Cutting this [tree] etc. Here the action [of cutting] mentioned with regard to the qualified one [viz.. the tree] appropriates for itself, the place (or word) of qualification [viz. the root below], just as in the case of the injunction : ‘Let the man-with-stick recite the Praisa hymns. By this way [we get the meaning] : ‘Let him cut off the roots tha are grown below. That Abode : The absolutely Tranquil One. The changeless Abode is nothing but That.

Sanskrit Shloka Without Transliteration Marks:

nirmana-moha jita-sanga-dosa
adhyatma-nitya vinivrtta-kamah
dvandvair vimuktah sukha-duhkha-samjñair
gacchanty amudhah padam avyayam tat

Sanskrit to English Word for Word Meanings:

niḥ — without; māna — false prestige; mohāḥ — and illusion; jita — having conquered; sańga — of association; doṣāḥ — the faults; adhyātma — in spiritual knowledge; nityāḥ — in eternity; vinivṛtta — disassociated; kāmāḥ — from lust; dvandvaiḥ — from the dualities; vimuktāḥ — liberated; sukha-duḥkha — happiness and distress; saḿjñaiḥ — named; gacchanti — attain; amūḍhāḥ — unbewildered; padam — situation; avyayam — eternal; tat — that.