श्रीभगवानुवाच।
प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव।
न द्वेष्टि सम्प्रवृत्तानि न निवृत्तानि काङ्क्षति।। २२ ।।
उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते।
गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येव योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते।। २३ ।।
समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः।
तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो धीरस्तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः।। २४ ।।
मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयोः।
सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीतः स उच्यते।। २५ ।।
Summary Translation:
The Supreme Lord said: He who neither hates illumination, attachment and delusion when they are present, nor longs for them when they disappear; who is seated like one unconcerned, being unperturbed by the modes; who remains firm and never wavers, knowing that the modes alone are acting; who regards alike pleasure and pain, and looks on a clod, a stone and a piece of gold with an equal eye; who is wise and holds praise and blame to be the same; who is unchanged in honor and dishonor, who treats friend and foe alike, and who has abandoned all fruitive undertakings, such a person is said to have transcended the modes of nature.
In this comprehensive set of verses, Lord Krishna provides the Profile of the Gunatita (one who has transcended the modes). The analysis shows that such a person possesses a Equanimity that is Unshakable. Krishna begins by addressing the Internal States: a Gunatita does not Hate illumination (Sattva), activity (Rajas), or delusion (Tamas) when they arise, nor Crave them when they cease. This is the Neutrality of the soul. The Gunatita sits udasinavad (as one unconcerned/neutral), Recognizing that it is only the Gunas interacting with one another (guna vartanta ity eva). He is nengate— Still. The religious significance of this state is that the soul has Disidentified from the Machinery of the body. In verses 24 and 25, the Manifestation of this state is described as being sama (equal) in Pleasure and Pain, Treating a clod of earth, a stone, and gold as Equal. This Vision transcends the Value placed by the world on material objects. The Gunatita is dhira (wise/steady) and Indifferent to Praise and Blame (ninda-stutih) or Honor and Dishonor (mana-apamanayoh). Crucially, he is a sarvarambha-parityagi—one who has Abandoned the Initiative of new ego-driven undertakings. This analysis presents the Gunatita as a Rock in the midst of the Ocean of change. Krishna is Instructing Arjuna that Victory over the Gunas means finding a Center that is Immune to the dualities of life. For a devotee, this is the Ideal of a Master. This set of verses provides the Evidence of a soul that has Returned to its Home in the Divine. It portrays a state of Sovereignty where the Spirit is no longer a Slave to the moods of the mind.