Bhagavad Gita — Dhyana Yoga, Shloka 9
Atma Samyama Yoga
सुहृन्मित्रार्युदासीनमध्यस्थद्वेष्यबन्धुषु । साधुष्वपि च पापेषु समबुद्धिर्विशिष्यते ॥ ६.९ ॥
suhṛn-mitrāry-udāsīna-madhyastha-dveṣya-bandhuṣu | sādhuṣv api ca pāpeṣu sama-buddhir viśiṣyate || 6.9 ||
He excels whose understanding is equal toward the well-wisher, the friend, the foe, the indifferent, the mediator, the hateful, and the kinsman—and likewise toward the righteous and the sinful.
सुहृद्, मित्र, शत्रु, उदासीन, मध्यस्थ, द्वेष्य तथा बन्धु—इन सब में तथा साधुओं और पापियों में भी जिसकी बुद्धि समान है, वह (योगी) विशेष श्रेष्ठ है।
He excels whose understanding is equal toward the well-wisher, friend, opponent, indifferent person, mediator, the disliked, and the relative—also toward the virtuous and the wrongdoing.
The term ari (‘opponent/enemy’) is sometimes softened in modern paraphrase to avoid literal antagonism; academically it denotes social opposition rather than a call to hostility. ‘Pāpa’ is best read descriptively (‘one who acts wrongly’) rather than as an essentialized identity.
FAQs
The verse maps a spectrum of interpersonal triggers (friendship, conflict, indifference, kinship) and proposes emotional regulation: maintaining steady judgment rather than being pulled by favoritism or resentment.
Equal regard is grounded in an underlying unity of Self (ātman) across persons; differences remain at the social level, but the yogin’s deeper identity is not fragmented by them.
After defining the ‘integrated’ yogin (6.8), the text adds a social-ethical indicator of meditative maturity: equanimity is tested not only in solitude but in relationships.
Useful for conflict de-escalation and bias-awareness: one can practice fair-minded responses in workplaces/families by noticing how labels (‘ally,’ ‘opponent’) distort perception.