Bhagavad Gita · 12.18 · The Yoga of Devotion·18 of 20
समः शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयोः।शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु समः सङ्गविवर्जितः ॥
samaḥ śhatrau cha mitre cha tathā mānāpamānayoḥ
śhītoṣhṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣhu samaḥ saṅga-vivarjitaḥ
Sanskrit recitation
The devotee’s everyday virtues · 12.13–12.20 · Teaching
Translation
He who is the same to foe and friend, and also in honor and dishonor, who is the same in cold and heat, in pleasure and pain, and who is free from attachment.
Meaning
The ordinary man of the world is ruled by the pairs of opposites, honour and dishonour, cold and heat and pleasure and pain but a Yogi or a sage or a devotee (Bhagavata) has a balanced mind. He has poise or equanimity. He is not at all swayed by the blind forces of attraction and repulsion.He who does wrong to others is a foe. He who does good to others is a friend.The devotee or the sage has no attachment for objects of any kind.
After Swami Sivananda
The devotee’s everyday virtues· 12.13–12.20→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 12.13He who hates no creature, is friendly and compassionate to all, is free from attachment and egoism, is balanced in pleasure and pain, and is forgiving.
- 12.14Ever content, steady in meditation, self-controlled, possessing firm conviction, with the mind and intellect dedicated to Me, he, My devotee, is dear to Me.
- 12.15He whom the world does not agitate, and who cannot be agitated by the world, and who is freed from joy, anger, fear, and anxiety—he is dear to Me.
- 12.16He who is free from wants, pure, expert, unconcerned, and free from pain, renouncing all undertakings and commencements, he who is devoted to Me is dear to Me.
- 12.17He who neither rejoices nor hates, nor grieves nor desires, renouncing both good and evil, and who is full of devotion, is dear to Me.
12.18He who is the same to foe and friend, and also in honor and dishonor, who is the same in cold and heat, in pleasure and pain, and who is free from attachment.
- 12.19He to whom censure and praise are equal, who is silent, content with anything, homeless, of a steady mind, and full of devotion; that man is dear to me.
- 12.20They who follow this immortal Dharma, endowed with faith and regarding Me as their supreme goal, are exceedingly dear to Me.
Word-by-word→
- cha
- and
- mitre
- to a friend
- samaḥ
- equipoised
- śhatrau
- to a foe
- cha tathā
- as well as
- śhīta-uṣhṇa
- in cold and heat
- māna-apamānayoḥ
- in honor and dishonor
- sukha-duḥkheṣhu
- in joy and sorrow
- saṅga-vivarjitaḥ
- free from all unfavorable association
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