According to Indian schools of thought, darśanas, the root cause of the suffering of a living being is its conditioning by ignorance, ajñāna, or avidyā. Avidyā results in moha, improper knowledge or delusion about one’s identity as the pure self or ātmā, an integral part of the taṭasthā-śakti of Paramātmā. Śrī Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna, “The true knowledge of the self is covered by ignorance which bewilders the living beings” (Gītā 5.15). This gives rise to rāga (material attachment, like, passion, vehement desire) and dveṣa (dislike, hatred, enmity). These are the two basic emotions of the conditioned mind. They are the fundamental impediments on the spiritual path. In Yoga-sūtra (2.4), they are called kleśa. In Nyāya-sūtra (1.1.2), they are called doṣa or defects. Different schools of philosophy deal with them variously. Śrī Kṛṣṇa instructs Arjuna to remain equanimous in the face of rāga and dveṣa. He calls it “the yoga of balance” (Gītā 2.48). It is one of the very first instructions He gave to Arjuna. This is practical advice that everyone can practice. It does not require the practice of breathing exercises, bodily postures, the chanting of mantras, or other rituals. This advice is found throughout the Gītā. That shows its importance. Some of the verses are given below.
yaṁ hi na vyathayanty ete puruṣaṁ puruṣarṣabha
sama-duḥkha-sukhaṁ dhīraṁ so’mṛtatvāya kalpate
“O best of men, the wise person who is not disturbed by these sense contacts, who is equally disposed in pleasure and pain, is certainly eligible for immortality.” (Gītā 2.15)
yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga ucyate
“O Dhanañjaya, perform your duties, being steadfast in yoga, while renouncing desire for the fruits and remaining equipoised in success and failure. This equanimity of mind is called yoga.” (Gītā 2.48)
yadṛcchā-lābha-santuṣṭo dvandvātīto vimatsaraḥ
samaḥ siddhāv asiddhau ca kṛtvāpi na nibadhyate
“Content with whatever comes by the will of providence, having transcended all duality, being free from jealousy, and composed in success and failure, that person is not bound, even though performing actions.” (Gītā 4.22)
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
“Those established in true wisdom regard with equal vision a brāhmaṇa endowed with
learning and humility, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater.” (Gītā 5.18)
ihaiva tair jitaḥ sargo yeṣāṁ sāmye sthitaṁ manaḥ
nirdoṣaṁ hi samaṁ brahma tasmād brahmaṇi te sthitāḥ
“For those whose minds are established in equanimity, material bondage is overcome even while they are present in this world because Brahman is flawless and is Itself the state of equanimity. For this reason, those endowed with equal vision are situated in Brahman [the nondual Absolute Reality].” (Gītā 5.19)
jñāna-vijñāna-tṛptātmā kūṭa-stho vijitendriyaḥ
yukta ity ucyate yogī sama-loṣṭrāśma-kāñcanaḥ
“The person whose heart is satisfied through knowledge and immediate realization, who is steady under all circumstances, whose senses are under control, and who regards with equal vision a lump of earth, a stone, and a piece of gold — such a person who is united [with the Supreme] through yoga (yukta) is called a yogī.” (Gītā 6.8)
suhṛn-mitrāry-udāsīna madhyastha-dveṣya-bandhuṣu
sādhuṣv api ca pāpeṣu sama-buddhir viśiṣyate
“One who looks equally on a well-wisher, a friend, an enemy, an indifferent person, a mediator, a detestable person, a relative, the virtuous, and even the sinners is highly accomplished in yoga.” (Gītā 6.9)
buddhir jñānam asammohaḥ kṣamā satyaṁ damaḥ śamaḥ
sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ bhavo’bhāvo bhayaṁ cābhayam eva ca
ahiṁsā samatā tuṣṭis tapo dānaṁ yaśo’yaśaḥ
bhavanti bhāvā bhūtānāṁ matta eva pṛthag-vidhāḥ
“The faculty of subtle discrimination, knowledge, sobriety, forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the external senses, control of the mind, happiness, misery, birth, death, fear, and fearlessness, as well as non-violence, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame, and infamy — all these different types of dispositions of living beings are born of Me alone.” (Gītā 10.4–5)
ye tv akṣaram anirdeśyam avyaktaṁ paryupāsate
sarvatra-gam acintyaṁ ca kūṭa-stham acalaṁ dhruvam
sanniyamyendriya-grāmaṁ sarvatra sama-buddhayaḥ
te prāpnuvanti mām eva sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ
“But those who have regulated their senses, who are equally disposed toward all living beings, who are engaged in the welfare of all beings, and who worship the inexpressible, unmanifest, all-pervading, inconceivable, immutable, immovable, eternal, and imperishable Brahman — they also attain Me.” (Gītā 12.3–4)
adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca
nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣamī
santuṣṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛḍha-niścayaḥ
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
“My devotee, who is devoid of enmity toward all living beings, who is friendly, compassionate, devoid of the notions of “I” and “mine,” equipoised in sorrow and happiness; who is forgiving, content, ever engaged in the yoga of devotion, self-regulated, firmly resolved, and whose mind and intellect are consecrated unto Me, is dear to Me.” (Gītā 12.13–14)
samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoḥ
śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu samaḥ saṅga-vivarjitaḥ
tulya-nindā-stutir maunī santuṣṭo yena kenacit
aniketaḥ sthira-matir bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ
“One who regards alike both an enemy and a friend, as well as honor and dishonor, who is equal in heat and cold, and in happiness and misery, who is free from attachment, equal toward praise and reproach, contemplative, content with whatever comes of its own accord, devoid of the sense of ownership over any dwelling place, and of steady mind, such a person, who is endowed with devotion, is dear to Me.” (Gītā 12.18–19)
amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā kṣāntir ārjavam
ācāryopāsanaṁ śaucaṁ sthairyam ātma-vinigrahaḥ
indriyārtheṣu vairāgyam anahaṅkāra eva ca
janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam
asaktir anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ putra-dāra-gṛhādiṣu
nityaṁ ca sama-cittatvam iṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu
mayi cānanya-yogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī
vivikta-deśa-sevitvam aratir jana-saṁsadi
adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvaṁ tattva-jñānārtha-darśanam
etaj jñānam iti proktam ajñānaṁ yad ato’nyathā
“Humility, freedom from deceit, non-violence, forbearance, simplicity, service to an authentic teacher, purity [internal and external], steadiness, restraint of the body, dispassion for sense objects, disidentification with the conditional I-sense, contemplation of the miserable defects of birth, death, old age, and disease, detachment from and disidentification with children, wife, home, and so on, constant even-mindedness in favorable and unfavorable circumstances, undeviating pure devotion unto Me with exclusive absorption, residence in a secluded place, non-attachment to the association of worldly people, constancy in the culture of knowledge pertaining to the Self, and deliberation on the goal of knowledge regarding the Absolute — all this is declared to be knowledge. Whatever is different from this is ignorance.” (Gītā 13.7–11)
samaṁ paśyan hi sarvatra samavasthitam īśvaram
na hinasty ātmanātmānaṁ tato yāti parāṁ gatim
“Verily, seeing the Lord equally situated everywhere, one does not degrade the self by the mind, and consequently, one attains the supreme goal.” (Gītā 13.28)
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
prakāśaṁ ca pravṛttiṁ ca moham eva ca pāṇḍava
na dveṣṭi sampravṛttāni na nivṛttāni kāṅkṣati
udāsīna-vad āsīno guṇair yo na vicālyate
guṇā vartanta ity evaṁ yo’vatiṣṭhati neṅgate
sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ sva-sthaḥ sama-loṣṭāśma-kāñcanaḥ
tulya-priyāpriyo dhīras tulya-nindātma-saṁstutiḥ
mānāpamānayos tulyas tulyo mitrāri-pakṣayoḥ
sarvārambha-parityāgī guṇātītaḥ sa ucyate
“Śrī Bhagavān replied: O son of Pāṇḍu, a person is said to have transcended the guṇas of nature who is not averse to the light of knowledge, to activity, and even to delusion when they are present, nor hankers for them when they have ceased; who remains like a witness, as if indifferent, who is undisturbed by the guṇas of nature, and who is unwavering, remaining firmly situated in the understanding that the guṇas of nature alone are functioning; who is equal in happiness and distress, who is situated in the self, who regards as equal a clod of mud, a stone, and a piece of gold, who considers alike both favorable and unfavorable objects and situations, and who is steady, remaining equally disposed toward censure and praise; who is equal in honor and dishonor, who treats alike both friend and foe, and who has renounced all undertakings.” (Gītā 14.22–25)
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
“Having realized Brahman and being peaceful, one neither grieves nor hankers for anything. Being equal to all beings, one attains supreme devotion to Me.” (Gītā 18.54)
Kṛṣṇa, not only preaches being equanimous but also practices it. He says:
samo’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo’sti na priyaḥ
ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham
“I am equal to all beings. There is no one detestable or dear to Me, but those who worship Me with devotion are in Me and I am also in them.” (Gītā 9.29)
Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to say that an important teaching of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the Gītā is “The yoga of samatva.”
