A core teaching · reflective in mood · a little context helps
“Steady wisdom does not need life to feel favorable.”
One who feels no clinging anywhere, and neither rejoices nor hates when good or bad comes, has steady wisdom.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallywho · everywhere · without clinging · that-that · having obtained · good and bad · not · rejoices · not · hates · of that one · wisdom · firmly established
A person with steady wisdom does not cling to anything. When good or bad events happen, they neither get thrilled nor upset.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Sankhya Yoga" (The Yoga of Knowledge).
Verse 57 sits in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita — Sankhya Yoga, "The Yoga of Knowledge". The chapter has 72 verses in total.
In one week a family hears that the son got into college and that the grandmother's health has worsened. Steady wisdom lets each piece of news land fully without letting either one define who they are.
Did you like this verse?
Good news and bad news arrive; the person of steady wisdom neither rejoices nor hates.
What this verse means
A person with steady wisdom does not cling to anything. When good or bad events happen, they neither get thrilled nor upset.
Context & commentary
Krishna keeps describing the person whose mind no longer lurches with gain and loss. This verse sharpens that state: neither praise nor pain can disturb settled understanding.
What it looks like today
In one week a family hears that the son got into college and that the grandmother's health has worsened. Steady wisdom lets each piece of news land fully without letting either one define who they are.
“You can meet life fully without being pulled around by every result.”
Explore related themes: equanimity (23 verses)