श्रीभगवानुवाच | प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव | न द्वेष्टि सम्प्रवृत्तानि न निवृत्तानि काङ्क्षति ||
śrī-bhagavān uvāca prakāśaṁ ca pravṛttiṁ ca moham eva ca pāṇḍava na dveṣṭi sampravṛttāni na nivṛttāni kāṅkṣati
Translation
The Blessed Lord said: O Arjuna, one who does not hate illumination, activity, or delusion when they are present, nor longs for them when they are absent —
Interpretation
Krishna begins the description of the gunatita with a double-negative: one who neither hates these states when present nor craves them when absent. This is equanimity in its most precise form. The liberated one experiences sattva, rajas, and tamas — they are not immune to the gunas — but they maintain a fundamental non-reactivity. When sattva brings illumination, they don't cling; when rajas brings activity, they don't resist; when tamas brings heaviness, they don't hate themselves for it. Pure witness awareness remains undisturbed by the constant play of nature.