Chapter 6, Verse 9
सुहृन्मित्रार्युदासीनमध्यस्थद्वेष्यबन्धुषु | साधुष्वपि च पापेषु समबुद्धिर्विशिष्यते ||६-९||
suhṛnmitrāryudāsīnamadhyasthadveṣyabandhuṣu . sādhuṣvapi ca pāpeṣu samabuddhirviśiṣyate ||6-9||
Meaning
6.9 He who is of the same mind to the good-hearted, friends, enemies, the indifferent, the neutral, the hateful, the relatives, the righteous and the unrighteous, excels.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna pushes equanimity to its widest reach: not merely balance amid pleasure and pain, but evenness toward all people. He lists the full spectrum of human relationship — the well-wisher and the friend, the foe and the indifferent, the mediator, the hateful, the kinsman, the saint and the sinner — and declares that one who holds the same regard for them all is the most distinguished.
This is sama-buddhi, equal vision, and it is demanding. It does not mean treating all roles identically in worldly conduct, but seeing past the labels to the one Self present in each. The yogi has stopped dividing humanity into 'mine' and 'not mine', 'worthy' and 'unworthy'. Because he no longer takes his stand in ego, others cease to be defined by how they serve or threaten that ego. This impartial love, embracing even those who wish him ill, marks the height of spiritual maturity.
💡 Key Takeaway
Spiritual maturity shows in seeing the same essence in friend and foe, saint and sinner alike, without partiality.
Related Verses
जितात्मनः प्रशान्तस्य परमात्मा समाहितः | शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु तथा मानापमानयोः ||६-७||
jitātmanaḥ praśāntasya paramātmā samāhitaḥ . śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkheṣu tathā mānāpamānayoḥ ||6-7||
6.7 The Supreme Self of him who is self-controlled and peaceful is balanced in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, as also in honour and dishonour.
ज्ञानविज्ञानतृप्तात्मा कूटस्थो विजितेन्द्रियः | युक्त इत्युच्यते योगी समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः ||६-८||
jñānavijñānatṛptātmā kūṭastho vijitendriyaḥ . yukta ityucyate yogī samaloṣṭāśmakāñcanaḥ ||6-8||
6.8 The Yogi who is satisfied with the knowledge and the wisdom (of the Self), who has conered the senses, and to whom a clod of earth, a piece of stone and gold are the same, is said to be harmonied (i.e., is said to have attained Nirvikalpa Samadhi).
योगी युञ्जीत सततमात्मानं रहसि स्थितः | एकाकी यतचित्तात्मा निराशीरपरिग्रहः ||६-१०||
yogī yuñjīta satatamātmānaṃ rahasi sthitaḥ . ekākī yatacittātmā nirāśīraparigrahaḥ ||6-10||
6.10 Let the Yogi try constantly to keep the mind steady, remaining in solitude, alone, with the mind and the body controlled, and free from hope and covetousness.