Gita 14.24
Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga
समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः | तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो धीरस्तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः ||२४||
sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ svasthaḥ sama-loṣṭāśma-kāñcanaḥ | tulya-priyāpriyo dhīras tulya-nindātma-saṁstutiḥ ||24||
In essence: Equal in pleasure and pain, self-established, viewing clod-stone-gold alike, balanced in pleasant-unpleasant, steady amid praise and blame.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "Treating gold and dirt equally sounds like madness. Should I not care about practical matters?"
Guru: "Care about function, not about emotional charge. You might use gold to buy food and dirt to grow plants - that's practical wisdom. What dissolves is the craving for gold and aversion to dirt. The practical use remains; the psychological distortion disappears."
Sadhak: "And equal in pleasure and pain - does the liberated person not feel pain?"
Guru: "They feel sensations but don't suffer from them. Pain is a body-signal; suffering is the mind's resistance. The body still registers hot and cold, comfort and discomfort. The mind no longer adds 'This shouldn't be happening to me.' That addition is what creates suffering beyond pain."
Sadhak: "Being equal in praise and blame seems especially difficult. Praise feels good, blame feels bad. That's natural."
Guru: "That's conditioning, not nature. Watch children before they learn to care about others' opinions - they're remarkably indifferent to praise and blame. The ego's sensitivity to reputation develops through social learning. It can unlearn through clear seeing: praise and blame are just sounds, just opinions, just gunas operating in other minds."
Sadhak: "But shouldn't I learn from criticism? If I'm indifferent, won't I stagnate?"
Guru: "Equanimity isn't deafness. You can hear criticism clearly, evaluate it objectively, and learn from what's valid - all without emotional disturbance. In fact, equanimity allows clearer evaluation. When blame triggers defensiveness, you can't assess it fairly. When it doesn't, you can."
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🌅 Daily Practice
Practice seeing your morning coffee, your shoes, your possessions - each as neutral objects for use, not sources of identity. 'This is a cup. It holds liquid. That's all.' Reduce the emotional charge on objects by seeing their simple function.
When praise comes, notice: does it inflate you? When criticism comes, notice: does it deflate you? Don't fight these reactions, but don't believe them either. Practice saying 'thank you' to praise and 'I'll consider that' to blame with equal inner steadiness.
Reflect on today's pleasures and pains. Can you hold them equally in memory - neither savoring the pleasures nor resenting the pains? This evening review is practice for the liberation that treats all experience as equally valid, equally passing.