Chapter 14: Guṇa-traya-vibhāga-yoga:: Verse 25
मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयो: ।
सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीत: स उच्यते ॥
mānāpamānayos-tulyas-tulyo mitrāri-pakṣayo:
sarvārambha-parityāgī guṇātīta: sa ucyate – 14.25
He who is even towards honour and dishonour, impartial towards friends and enemies, and has renounced all sense of undertaking, is said to have transcended the guṇas.
Chapter 14: Guṇa-traya-vibhāga-yoga: - Verse 25
Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Krishna is specifying the characteristics of the guna-atīta, who transcends the binding effects of gunas. However much the three gunas play in him, he has the intrinsic potential to remain unaffected, by resting on the transcendental Self – the pivot of the guna circle.
Krishna explains this inner science, in terms of the practical pursuit to be adopted towards one’s life, the world around and interactions between the two. One who actualizes this will transcend the gunas, to be peaceful and fulfilled.
Everyone interacts in residential, professional and societal fronts, meeting pairs of opposites regularly. Some may honour him, while others may dishonour. There will be friends around, also non-friends, each treating him in his own way. To let in and let go everything is the path of spiritual perfection. No ego is to be fostered about anything one does, and no possessiveness about anything he has. Without ego, whatever is good and beneficial can be done wholeheartedly. Life becomes easy, natural and fulfilling.
