Sensory experiences are temporary
Matra-sparshas tu kaunteya shitoshna-sukha-duhkha-dah, agamapayino 'nityas tams titikshasva bharata
O son of Kunti, the contact between the senses and sense objects gives rise to fleeting perceptions of happiness and distress. These are impermanent, and come and go like the winter and summer seasons. O descendant of Bharata, one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.
- •Develop tolerance for discomfort
- •Don't be swayed by passing phenomena
Equanimity is the path to immortality
Yam hi na vyathayanty ete purusham purusharshabha, sama-duhkha-sukham dhiram so 'mritatvaya kalpate
O best among men, the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation.
- •Balance in pleasure and pain
- •Mental steadiness leads to liberation
The soul is eternal, bodies are temporary
Vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya navani grhnati naro 'parani, tatha sharirani vihaya jirnany anyani samyati navani dehi
As a person sheds worn-out garments and wears new ones, likewise, at the time of death, the soul casts off its worn-out body and enters a new one.
- •Death is merely a transition
- •Fear of death stems from ignorance
Equanimity in pleasure and pain
Duhkhesv anudvigna-manah sukhesu vigata-sprhah, vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah sthita-dhir munir ucyate
One who is not disturbed in spite of miseries, who doesn't crave happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.
- •Freedom from reactive emotions
- •Mental stability through detachment
Thought leads to attachment
Dhyayato visayan pumsah sangas tesupajayate, sangat sanjayate kamah kamat krodho 'bhijayate
While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them. From attachment develops desire, and from desire arises anger.
- •Desire stems from attachment
- •Anger arises from unfulfilled desire
Anger destroys discrimination
Krodhad bhavati sammohah sammohat smriti-vibhramah, smriti-bhramshad buddhi-nasho buddhi-nashat pranashyati
From anger comes delusion; from delusion, confused memory; from confused memory, the ruin of reason; from the ruin of reason, one perishes.
- •The downward spiral of negative emotions
- •Protect your mental clarity
Lust obscures true knowledge
Dhumenavriyate vahnir yathadarso malena ca, yatholbenavrto garbhas tatha tenedam avritam
As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror by dust, and as an embryo is covered by the womb, similarly one's knowledge is covered by this lust.
- •Different degrees of covering
- •Clearing the mind of desire
Inner joy transcends external pleasures
Bahya-sparseshv asaktatma vindaty atmani yat sukham, sa brahma-yoga-yuktatma sukham akshayam ashnute
Those who are not attached to external sense pleasures realize divine bliss in the self. Being united with God through meditation, they experience unending happiness.
- •Divine connection brings lasting happiness
- •Detachment from senses leads to bliss
Mind attains perfect quietude
Yatroparamate chittam niruddham yoga-sevaya, yatra chaivatmanatmanam pashyann atmani tushyati
When the mind, restrained by the practice of yoga, attains quietude, and when beholding the self by the self, one is satisfied in the self.
- •Self-realization brings satisfaction
- •Seeing the self in the self
Mental conquest leads to supreme peace
Jitatmanah prasantasya paramatma samahitah, shitoshna-sukha-duhkheshu tatha manapamanayoh
One who has conquered the mind has already reached the Supreme Self, for they have attained tranquility. To such a person, happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same.
- •Equanimity in all conditions
- •Transcending dualities
Cultivate universal friendliness
Adveshta sarva-bhutanam maitrah karuna eva cha, nirmamo nirahankarah sama-duhkha-sukhah kshami
One who is not envious but a kind friend to all living entities, free from proprietorship and false ego, equal in happiness and distress, forgiving.
- •Let go of ego and possessiveness
- •Maintain equanimity in all situations
Contentment is a spiritual quality
Santushṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ, mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
Ever content, steadfast in meditation, self-controlled, and of firm resolve, with mind and intellect offered to Me—such devotees are very dear to Me.
- •Self-control combined with devotion
- •Firm resolve pleases God
Equanimity in success and failure
Yoga-sthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva dhananjaya, siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva samatvam yoga ucyate
Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.
- •Balance is the essence of yoga
- •Detachment brings peace
Brahman realization brings joy
Brahma-bhutah prasannatma na shochati na kankshati, samah sarveshu bhuteshu mad-bhaktim labhate param
One who is thus transcendentally situated realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. Such a person never laments nor desires anything, is equal to all beings, and attains supreme devotion to Me.
- •Equal vision toward all
- •This state leads to supreme devotion
Cultivate essential spiritual virtues
Amanitvam adambhitvam ahimsa kshantir arjavam, acharyopasanam shaucham sthairyam atma-vinigrahah
Humility, unpretentiousness, non-violence, forgiveness, simplicity, approaching a bona fide spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness, and self-control.
- •Character development is foundational
- •Practice humility and self-control
Sensory withdrawal alone is not enough
Vishaya vinivartante niraharasya dehinah, rasa-varjam raso 'py asya param drishtva nivartate
The objects of the senses turn away from those who abstain from them, but the taste remains. However, even this taste ceases for those who have seen the Supreme.
- •Higher experience ends lower cravings
- •Divine realization transforms desires