Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 14: The Three Qualities of Nature
Bhagavad Gita 14.25
मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयोः ।
सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीतः स उच्यते ॥
mānāpamānayostulyastulyo mitrāripakṣayoḥ | sarvārambhaparityāgī guṇātītaḥ sa ucyate ||
who is the same in honour and dishonour, the same toward friend and foe, and who has given up all self-seeking undertakings: that person is said to have gone beyond the qualities.
Modern context
The portrait ends: the same in honour and dishonour, toward friend and foe, without self-seeking projects. This is the gunatita, the one beyond the qualities. Readers will notice that this description is almost identical to the beloved devotee of chapter 12 and the steady sage of chapter 2. The Gita describes one ideal from many angles, and it always comes out the same.