Gita 6.9

Sadhak: "Guruji, this verse asks the impossible! How can I see my enemy the same as my friend? One hurts me, one helps me. They are objectively different."

Guru: "When you sleep and dream, sometimes a dream friend helps you, sometimes a dream enemy attacks. Upon waking, do you maintain different feelings toward them?"

Sadhak: "No, because I realize both were appearances in my own mind."

Guru: "The awakened yogi realizes the same about the waking world. Friend and enemy are both roles in the cosmic dream, both expressions of the one Consciousness playing different parts. Sama-buddhi is the vision of one who has begun to wake up."

Sadhak: "But the pain caused by an enemy is real, not dreamlike! If someone harms my family, how can I have equal regard?"

Guru: "Notice I said 'equal regard,' not 'equal response.' You may still protect your family, even fight if necessary. But can you do so without hatred? Can you see that the enemy, too, is driven by his own pain, his own conditioning, his own ignorance—just as you are driven by yours?"

Sadhak: "That seems like making excuses for bad behavior."

Guru: "Understanding is not excusing. When a doctor treats a violent patient, she may restrain him while recognizing he acts from illness, not evil. Her response is firm but not hateful. Sama-buddhi is this: clear action without the poison of contempt."

Sadhak: "The verse even mentions seeing saints and sinners equally. Surely saints are better than sinners?"

Guru: "Better at what? More pleasant to be around? Usually. More evolved spiritually? Perhaps. But do they possess more of the divine essence than the sinner? Is the sun more present in the clean mirror than the dirty one?"

Sadhak: "No, the sun shines equally, only the reflection differs."

Guru: "The sādhu reflects divine light clearly; the pāpa reflects it distortedly. But the light itself is the same. Sama-buddhi sees the light, not just the reflection. It doesn't mean approving the distortion or pretending the sinner's actions are as beautiful as the saint's. It means recognizing the same consciousness looking out of both pairs of eyes."

Sadhak: "Why does Krishna say such a person 'viśiṣyate'—excels? What makes this the peak of achievement?"

Guru: "Because it demonstrates complete freedom from the ego's most persistent grip: judgment, division, categorization of beings. The ego survives by maintaining 'us versus them,' 'better than' and 'worse than.' When sama-buddhi becomes natural, the ego has lost its favorite game. What remains is pure awareness—no longer a separate self defending its territory, but consciousness recognizing itself everywhere."

Sadhak: "Is this a gradual achievement or a sudden realization?"

Guru: "Both. Gradually, through practice, you extend your circle of compassion—first to loved ones, then to strangers, then to difficult people, finally to those you considered enemies. Suddenly, perhaps, you realize the circle has no edge—it was always infinite. The gradual practice prepares you for sudden recognition. But don't wait for the sudden; work with the gradual. Each time you catch judgment and soften it, you move toward sama-buddhi."

Sadhak: "What about righteous anger at injustice? If I see cruelty, should I remain 'equal-minded' toward the cruel?"

Guru: "Sama-buddhi doesn't mean passivity toward injustice. You can oppose cruelty firmly while recognizing the human being behind the cruel act. Martin Luther King spoke of loving your enemy while resisting their actions. This is sama-buddhi in action—the same regard for the soul, different responses to the behavior. The energy is protective, not hateful. The goal is transformation, not destruction. This is the highest form of opposition."