Steadiness reveals the higher Self.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
जितात्मनः प्रशान्तस्य परमात्मा समाहितः |शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु तथा मानापमानयोः ||६-७||
jitātmanaḥ praśāntasya paramātmā samāhitaḥ . śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkheṣu tathā mānāpamānayoḥ ||6-7||
Use this verse when praise or criticism shakes you.
Meaning
For one who has mastered the self and is peaceful, the Supreme Self is steady in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, honor and dishonor.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Self-mastery brings steadiness in opposites.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
The yogi is not thrown around by external conditions or social approval. Inner steadiness allows divine awareness to remain clear.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna describes the inner climate of one who has conquered himself: jitatma and prashanta — self-controlled and deeply peaceful. In such a person the Paramatma, the Supreme Self, remains samahita, perfectly collected and undisturbed, no matter what the world throws at him. The dualities that toss ordinary minds about — cold and heat, pleasure and pain, honour and dishonour — pass over him without rocking his center.
This equanimity is not numbness; the self-controlled one still feels cold and warmth, still meets praise and insult. The difference is that these opposites no longer reach the depths where his peace lives. Having steadied the mind, he abides in the changeless Self while the changing world flows past.
Such balance in the face of life's relentless pairs of opposites is, for the Gita, a reliable sign of genuine spiritual realization.
In daily life
Practice balance in discomfort and praise alike.
A leader remains calm in criticism and praise when rooted in purpose.
Try this today
Notice one reaction to comfort, discomfort, praise, or criticism.
I remain steady in changing conditions.Reflect
Which opposite disturbs me most?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘जितात्मनः’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on balance, in other chapters
- Verse 2.48Equanimity — being balanced in success and failure alike — is not just a nice quality; it is the very definition of yoga.
- Verse 4.22Stay content with what comes, free of comparison, and even-minded in success or failure — then no action can bind you.
- Verse 13.10Love your people and possessions with open hands, keeping an even mind through both fortune and loss.
- Verse 12.15The true devotee neither disturbs others nor is disturbed by them, free from elation, anger, fear, and anxiety.
Swipe left for 6.8 · Inner realization reduces material obsession.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 6.7
Who says Bhagavad Gita 6.7, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 6.7, in Chapter 6, Dhyana Yoga (Dhyana Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 6.7 mean?
For one who has mastered the self and is peaceful, the Supreme Self is steady in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, honor and dishonor. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 6.7 for daily life?
Practice balance in discomfort and praise alike. A leader remains calm in criticism and praise when rooted in purpose.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 6.7 mean?
जितात्मनः — of one who has conquered the self; प्रशान्तस्य — of the peaceful one; परमात्मा समाहितः — the Supreme Self remains steadfast / firmly settled; शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु — in cold and heat, pleasure and pain; तथा — as also.
Where does verse 6.7 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 7 of 47 in Chapter 6, Dhyana Yoga. The next verse is 6.8.