Chapter XVIII · Śloka 54
ब्रह्मभूतः प्रसन्नात्मा न शोचति न काङ्क्षति |
समः सर्वेषु भूतेषु मद्भक्तिं लभते पराम् ||
समः सर्वेषु भूतेषु मद्भक्तिं लभते पराम् ||
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati |
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṃ labhate parām ||
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṃ labhate parām ||
Having become Brahman, with a serene self, one neither grieves nor craves; equal toward all beings, one attains supreme devotion to Me.
The brahma-bhūta state — being established as Brahman — is not an end but a threshold: from this serene equality, free of grief and craving, the highest bhakti becomes possible. Knowledge and devotion do not compete; realization of Brahman opens the fullest capacity for love.