Cultivate Equanimity with the Srimad Gita App
Explore the complete teachings on Samatvam and mental balance with the Srimad Gita App. Access all 700 verses with Sanskrit text, transliterations, multiple translations, and expert commentary.
Equanimity is called Yoga - Krishna's revolutionary definition of spiritual practice
When Krishna declares "Samatvam Yoga Uchyate" - equanimity is yoga - He offers one of the Gita's most profound and practical definitions. In a world that constantly pulls us between elation and despair, success and failure, praise and criticism, this teaching provides the key to unshakable inner peace. Samatvam is not mere stoicism or indifference; it is the dynamic balance of a mind anchored in wisdom, fully engaged with life yet undisturbed by its inevitable fluctuations.
This foundational verse appears as Krishna introduces the practice of Karma Yoga. After explaining the eternal nature of the Self and the importance of duty, He reveals how action should be performed:
योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय ।
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥
yoga-sthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva dhananjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva samatvam yoga uchyate
Dharma in the Bhagavad Gita represents one's sacred duty, moral law, and righteous path. Krishna explains that dharma includes personal duties (svadharma), universal ethics, and cosmic order. Following one's dharma, even imperfectly, is superior to perfectly performing another's duty.
Karma in the Bhagavad Gita means action performed with mindful intention. Lord Krishna teaches that karma encompasses all physical, mental, and verbal actions, and their inevitable consequences. True karma yoga involves performing duties without attachment to results, dedicating all actions to the Divine.
Let us analyze the key terms of this transformative verse:
The Sanskrit word "samatvam" derives from "sama" (same, equal, balanced) and refers to a state of evenness or equilibrium. But this equanimity is far more than mere balance:
The Gita repeatedly describes equanimity in terms of remaining balanced between life's inevitable pairs of opposites. These dvandvas are the constant fluctuations that characterize worldly experience:
सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ ।
ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि ॥
sukha-duhkhe same kritva labhalabhau jayajayau
tato yuddhaya yujyasva naivam papam avapsyasi
"Treating alike pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, then engage in battle. Thus you shall not incur sin." - Bhagavad Gita 2.38
Life alternates between pleasant and painful experiences. The equanimous person neither chases pleasure obsessively nor flees from pain desperately. Both are accepted as natural parts of existence.
We constantly acquire and lose - possessions, relationships, opportunities. Equanimity means working for legitimate gains while not being devastated by inevitable losses.
In any competitive endeavor, sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. The wise person gives their best effort but maintains peace regardless of the scoreboard.
Perhaps even more challenging than equanimity toward situations is maintaining balance toward different types of people. The Gita describes the highest yogi's equal regard for all:
सुहृन्मित्रार्युदासीनमध्यस्थद्वेष्यबन्धुषु ।
साधुष्वपि च पापेषु समबुद्धिर्विशिष्यते ॥
suhrin-mitrary-udasina-madhyastha-dveshya-bandhushu
sadhushv api cha papeshu sama-buddhir vishishyate
"One who has equal regard for well-wishers, friends, enemies, neutrals, arbitrators, the hateful, relatives, saints, and sinners - that one is distinguished." - Bhagavad Gita 6.9
This verse lists nine categories of people toward whom we typically have different reactions:
"Sama-buddhi" (equal regard or even intelligence) does not mean treating everyone identically but maintaining a stable, benevolent disposition toward all. The inner attitude remains constant even as external responses appropriately differ.
To cultivate equanimity, we must understand what destroys it. The Gita identifies the fundamental causes:
The twin forces of attraction and repulsion are the primary disturbers of mental peace. We are drawn toward what we like and repelled by what we dislike. When liked things are absent or disliked things are present, the mind loses its balance.
इन्द्रियस्येन्द्रियस्यार्थे रागद्वेषौ व्यवस्थितौ ।
तयोर्न वशमागच्छेत्तौ ह्यस्य परिपन्थिनौ ॥
indriyasyendriyasyarthe raga-dveshau vyavasthitau
tayor na vasham agachchhet tau hy asya paripanthinau
"Attachment and aversion are seated in each sense and its objects. One should not come under their sway, for they are obstacles on the path." - Bhagavad Gita 3.34
When we identify with the body-mind and think "I am the doer," we become emotionally invested in outcomes. Success inflates the ego; failure deflates it. Both disturb peace. The wise person understands that the gunas (qualities of nature) act upon the gunas, while the Self remains untouched.
Expecting specific results from our actions sets us up for disappointment. When results match expectations, we feel momentary pleasure. When they don't, we suffer. Releasing attachment to results maintains equanimity regardless of outcomes.
The Gita offers multiple practical approaches for developing samatvam:
When emotions arise, mentally step back and watch them as a witness. "Anger is arising in this mind" rather than "I am angry." This creates space between stimulus and response, allowing equanimity to emerge.
In every experience - pleasant or painful - there is the experience and the one who experiences. Anchor attention in the experiencer (the unchanging awareness) rather than being swept away by experiences.
Every situation is temporary. The current joy will fade; the current sorrow will lift. Remembering impermanence prevents excessive attachment to pleasant states and excessive despair in unpleasant ones.
Recall past troubles that seemed overwhelming but eventually resolved. What seemed catastrophic often becomes merely a memory. This perspective helps maintain balance in current difficulties.
Put full attention and skill into the action itself. When the focus is on doing your best, the question of success or failure becomes secondary. Excellence is its own reward.
Outcomes depend on many factors beyond our control - timing, other people's actions, natural circumstances. We control our effort; we don't control results. Accept this and peace follows.
A consistent meditation practice trains the mind to remain still. The stability developed in sitting gradually extends to daily activities. The meditating mind becomes naturally equanimous.
The breath is always present and relatively neutral. Returning attention to breath when agitated provides an immediate path back to balance. Breath is an anchor to the present moment.
When actions are performed as offerings to God, attachment to personal outcomes naturally diminishes. "Let Thy will be done" replaces "Let my will be done." This surrender brings profound peace.
Faith that there is a benevolent intelligence guiding events allows acceptance of whatever comes. Not passive resignation, but active trust that everything serves a higher purpose.
In Chapter 12, Krishna describes His dearest devotee - and equanimity is central to this portrait:
समः शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयोः ।
शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु समः सङ्गविवर्जितः ॥
samah shatrau cha mitre cha tatha manapamanayoh
shitoshna-sukha-duhkheshu samah sanga-vivarjitah
"Equal toward enemy and friend, honor and dishonor, heat and cold, pleasure and pain, free from attachment..." - Bhagavad Gita 12.18
The beloved devotee maintains "sama" (equality, equanimity) across all the pairs of opposites:
Such a person, Krishna says, is exceedingly dear to Him. Equanimity is not merely a personal virtue but a characteristic that makes one beloved to the Divine.
The fruits of equanimity extend across all dimensions of life:
The teaching of equanimity is perhaps more relevant today than ever, given modern life's unique challenges:
We are bombarded with news, opinions, and stimuli designed to provoke emotional reactions. Equanimity provides the stability to consume information without being destabilized by it. We can stay informed without becoming anxious.
Constant exposure to others' curated successes can trigger envy and inadequacy. Samatvam helps us appreciate our own path without comparison. We celebrate others' success without feeling diminished.
Modern careers involve constant change - promotions, setbacks, pivots. Equanimity allows us to navigate these transitions without losing our center. Professional identity becomes less fragile.
Equal regard for friend and enemy, as taught in the Gita, transforms how we handle conflicts. We can disagree without animosity, set boundaries without hatred, and maintain compassion even toward those who harm us.
The body inevitably experiences illness and decline. Equanimity allows us to care for health without obsession, accept limitations without despair, and maintain peace as the body changes.
"Samatvam Yoga Uchyate" from Bhagavad Gita 2.48 means "Equanimity is called Yoga." Krishna defines yoga not as physical postures but as mental equipoise - the ability to remain balanced in success and failure, pleasure and pain, honor and dishonor. This even-mindedness of the intellect is the essence of yoga according to the Gita.
Equanimity (samatvam) is engaged balance, not passive indifference. An equanimous person fully participates in life with skill and care, but is not shaken by outcomes. Indifference implies not caring; equanimity means caring deeply but not being attached. It's active acceptance, not passive resignation.
According to the Gita, equanimity is lost through attachment (raga) and aversion (dvesha). When we are attached to specific outcomes, success elates us and failure devastates us. The root is ego-identification - thinking "I am the doer" and "I deserve the results." Releasing these attachments restores balance.
Practical techniques include: Pause before reacting to events, practice the witness perspective, remember the transience of all situations, focus on what you can control (your effort) not outcomes, maintain daily meditation, reflect on past troubles that resolved, and practice gratitude for current blessings amid challenges.
In BG 6.9, Krishna describes the highest yogi as one who has equal regard (sama-buddhi) toward friends, companions, enemies, neutrals, arbitrators, hateful ones, relatives, saints, and sinners. This doesn't mean treating everyone identically, but having a stable, compassionate regard for all regardless of how they treat us.
No, equanimity is not emotional suppression but emotional mastery. Suppression creates inner pressure and eventual explosion. Equanimity involves fully feeling emotions while not being controlled by them. Emotions are acknowledged and allowed to pass like weather, while the sky of awareness remains clear.
Equanimity is the psychological basis of Karma Yoga. BG 2.48 directly connects them: perform action while being equal in success and failure. Without equanimity, we cannot act without attachment. Without detached action, we cannot maintain equanimity. They support each other in spiritual practice.
The Gita describes the equanimous person as stable in pleasure and pain, unaffected by honor and dishonor, equal to friend and foe, balanced in heat and cold, not elated by good fortune or depressed by bad, free from anxiety, unshaken by praise or criticism, and peaceful regardless of external conditions.
Explore the complete teachings on Samatvam and mental balance with the Srimad Gita App. Access all 700 verses with Sanskrit text, transliterations, multiple translations, and expert commentary.