Gita 05.20 – Equanimity is meant to make us not emotionless, but purposeful
na prahṛṣyet priyaṁ prāpya
nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam
sthira-buddhir asammūḍho
brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ (BG 05.20)
Word-to-word
na — never; prahṛṣyet — rejoices; priyam — the pleasant; prāpya — achieving; na — does not; udvijet — become agitated; prāpya — obtaining; ca — also; apriyam — the unpleasant; sthira-buddhiḥ — self-intelligent; asammūḍhaḥ — unbewildered; brahma-vit — one who knows the Supreme perfectly; brahmaṇi — in the transcendence; sthitaḥ — situated.
Translation
A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science of God is already situated in transcendence.
Explanation
In this verse, Krishna describes the behavior and inner state of a liberated person — one who is firmly established in spiritual realization. The phrase brahmaṇi sthitaḥ (“situated in Brahman”) was used in the previous verse as well (tasmād brahmaṇi te sthitāḥ), and Krishna continues the same theme here.
This principle appears repeatedly throughout the Bhagavad-gītā: do not become elated in gain nor dejected in loss.
But what is the essence of this teaching? Is Krishna suggesting that we live an emotionless, barren life? Certainly not. Rather, He is guiding us toward a focused and purposeful existence.
If our goal is limited to this material world, then naturally, the events of this world will deeply affect us. When our aims are worldly — to gain wealth, fame, or power — success fills us with excitement, while failure plunges us into despair. Our happiness and distress rise and fall with the tides of circumstance.
However, Krishna reminds us that this world and everything within it are temporary. Whatever we gain here will inevitably pass away. Even those few who achieve their worldly ambitions ultimately lose everything at the time of death.
Therefore, the wise make a higher, eternal goal — to seek that which lies beyond this transient world. For such a person, the ups and downs of worldly life no longer hold great significance. They remain steady — neither overjoyed by gain nor distressed by loss — because their heart and consciousness are anchored in the eternal.
The instruction not to be elated in success and not to be dejected in failure is not meant to make us emotionless — it is meant to help us stay purposefully focused on life’s ultimate goal.
How does a person attain such steadiness — remaining undisturbed amidst happiness and distress? Krishna says: sthira-buddhir asammūḍhaḥ — one whose intelligence is steady (sthira-buddhi) and who is not deluded (asammūḍhaḥ).
The two qualities are closely related. Sammūḍha means deluded, and mūḍha literally means foolish — a term often used in the Gītā to describe one whose understanding is dull, like that of a donkey. When a person’s intelligence is not steady, it easily becomes deluded.
If our intelligence is not fixed on what is truly important, our attention keeps oscillating — “Maybe this is valuable… maybe that is…” As a result, we fail to achieve anything substantial. Just as one cannot obtain water by digging a little in a hundred places — one must dig deep, and in the right spot — similarly, spiritual progress requires focused and steady intelligence.
What causes the intelligence to become unsteady or deluded? It begins with the mind’s agitation. First, the mind becomes absorbed in contemplation of worldly objects — as described in Bhagavad-gītā 2.62–63: dhyāyato viṣayān puṁsaḥ… smṛti-bhraṁśād buddhi-nāśo, buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati — from loss of memory comes destruction of intelligence, and from that, one perishes.
Thus, asammūḍhaḥ — “not deluded” — refers to one whose mind and intelligence remain steady, protected from the chain of delusion. Such a person’s wisdom does not flicker with changing circumstances but remains anchored in spiritual understanding.
Such a person remains steady and unaffected by the illusions of this world. One who is thus situated is both the knower of Brahman and situated in Brahman.
Consider a simple example. Suppose someone possesses a million dollars. Now, if a five-rupee coin accidentally slips out of his pocket while stepping out of his car, and a beggar nearby immediately rushes to pick it up, what does the millionaire do? He simply smiles and gestures, “You can keep it.” Why? Because he has an abundance mentality — his wealth is so great that such a small loss is insignificant.
But if two beggars were to drop or find that same five-rupee coin, what would happen? A quarrel might break out: “It’s mine!” “No, I saw it first!” For them, that small coin represents something valuable and limited, so they fight over it.
Why does the millionaire not bother to fight? Because he has so much more; such a small gain or loss means nothing to him.
Similarly, when we are brahmaṇi sthitāḥ — situated in spiritual consciousness — we realize our true identity as Brahman, spirit soul. Knowing this and being situated in it are not exactly the same. To know we are Brahman is intellectual understanding; to be situated in Brahman means to actually live in that awareness. One may know, “I am Brahman,” yet still be driven down to the material level by worldly desires.
But one who is truly brahmaṇi sthitaḥ — established in spiritual realization — experiences spiritual happiness. From that higher vantage point, material pleasures and pains appear trivial, like five-rupee gains or losses to a millionaire.
Thus, when something pleasant comes (na prahṛṣyet priyaṁ prāpya), or something unpleasant goes (nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam), such a person remains undisturbed. For one established in the wealth of spiritual joy, worldly ups and downs hold no real significance.
That’s why such a person does not get emotionally worked up over worldly ups and downs. It’s not that they are blind or emotionless — far from it. Rather, their emotions are engaged at a higher level. They have far deeper, more fulfilling experiences to relish with their consciousness, and therefore, they find it unnecessary — even unwise — to waste emotional energy on things that are ultimately inconsequential or petty. In this way, they remain unaffected.
This verse can also be applied to us as sādhakas. The more we remain equipoised amidst happiness and distress, the more we become spiritually purposeful. Gradually, we too can become knowers of Brahman and, in due course, become situated in Brahman.
Thus, this verse serves both as a description and a prescription — a description of the siddha, one who is perfected, and a prescription for the sādhaka, one who is striving. For the siddha, it describes how they naturally are; for the sādhaka, it instructs how we should strive to be — so that, in time, we too can progress toward that exalted state.
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