Bhagavad Gita 14.25 · Krishna
Gone beyond the gunas
मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयोः।
सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीतः स उच्यते॥
mānāpamānayostulyastulyo mitrāripakṣayoḥsarvārambhaparityāgī guṇātītaḥ sa ucyate
The same in honour and dishonour, the same to friend and foe, letting go of self-centred schemes, such a one has gone beyond the gunas.
Words
- guṇa
What it means
Krishna finishes the portrait. The same in honour and insult. The same toward friend and enemy. No longer driven by self-centred schemes. Such a person, he says, is gunatita, gone beyond the three gunas. Free, not because life stopped happening, but because it no longer pushes them around.
The story
Arjuna is about to face friends and enemies, honour and dishonour, all on one field. Krishna describes how a free person would walk through it, steady to the end.
In your life
Imagine a teacher who treats the class troublemaker and the star pupil with the same patience. Practise that evenness with one difficult person today.
Steady toward everyone, free of the forces.