Chapter XIV · Śloka 25
मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयोः ।
सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीतः स उच्यते ॥
सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीतः स उच्यते ॥
mānāpamānayos tulyas tulyo mitrāri-pakṣayoḥ |
sarvārambha-parityāgī guṇātītaḥ sa ucyate ||
sarvārambha-parityāgī guṇātītaḥ sa ucyate ||
He who is equal in honor and dishonor, equal toward the party of friends and enemies, who has renounced all undertakings — he is said to have transcended the guṇas.
Complete evenness toward all pairs of opposites — honor and dishonor, friend and foe — combined with the inner abandonment of ego-driven enterprises: these are the defining marks of one who has gone beyond the guṇas.