Bhagavad Gita 14.24समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः।तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो धीरस्तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः ॥
sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ sva-sthaḥ
sama-loṣhṭāśhma-kāñchanaḥ tulya-priyāpriyo dhīras tulya-nindātma-sanstutiḥ
Sanskrit recitation
Rising above the gunas · 14.19–14.27 · Teaching
Translation
Who is the same in pleasure and pain, who dwells in the Self, to whom a clod of earth, a stone, and gold are all alike, who is the same to the dear and the unfriendly, who is firm, and to whom censure and praise are one and the same.
Hindi translation
जो धीर मनुष्य सुख-दुःखमें सम तथा अपने स्वरूपमें स्थित रहता है; जो मिट्टीके ढेले, पत्थर और सोनेमें सम रहता है जो प्रिय-अप्रियमें तथा अपनी निन्दा-स्तुतिमें सम रहता है; जो मान-अपमानमें तथा मित्र-शत्रुके पक्षमें सम रहता है जो सम्पूर्ण कर्मोंके आरम्भका त्यागी है, वह मनुष्य गुणातीत कहा जाता है।
Meaning
Night and day have no meaning to a post fixed in the ground. Even so pleasure and pain have no meaning to a sage who dwells in his own Self. He is above the pairs of opposites. In his eyes cowdung or gold, a jewel or a stone, are of eal value. He is free from the idea of,giving and taking. His mind is not perturbed by anything pleasant or unpleasant. He is the same towards agreeable and disagreeable things. Praise and censure cannot affect him. He stands adamant. He abides in his own essential state as ExistenceKnowledgeBliss Absolute. He is ever calm and serene. (Cf.V.18)
After Swami Sivananda
Rising above the gunas· 14.19–14.27→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 14.19When the seer beholds no agent other than the Gunas and knows that which is higher than…
- 14.20The embodied one, having crossed beyond these three Gunas from which the body is evolved,…
- 14.21Arjuna said, "What are the marks of one who has transcended the three qualities, O Lord?…
- 14.22The Blessed Lord said, "When light, activity, and delusion are present, he does not hate…
- 14.23He who, seated like one unconcerned, is not moved by the dualities, and who, knowing that…
14.24Who is the same in pleasure and pain, who dwells in the Self, to whom a clod of earth, a…
- 14.25Who is the same in honor and dishonor, the same to friend and foe, abandoning all…
- 14.26And he who serves Me with unwavering devotion, he, crossing beyond the dualities, is fit…
- 14.27For I am the abode of Brahman, the immortal, immutable, and everlasting Dharma, and…
Word-by-word→
- sama
- equally
- priya
- pleasant
- tulya
- the same
- aśhma
- stone
- nindā
- blame
- duḥkha
- distress
- sukhaḥ
- happiness
- apriyaḥ
- unpleasant
- dhīraḥ
- steady
- loṣhṭa
- a clod
- sva-sthaḥ
- established in the self
- kāñchanaḥ
- gold
- ātma-sanstutiḥ
- praise
Read this when you feel
Related verses
- 14.12Greed, activity, the undertaking of actions, restlessness, and longing—these arise when…
- 2.57He who is everywhere without attachment, upon encountering anything good or bad, neither…
- 18.42Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, forgiveness, and uprightness, as well as…
- 12.11If you are unable to do even this, then, resort to union with Me and renounce the fruits…