मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयोः | सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीतः स उच्यते ||
mānāpamānayos tulyas tulyo mitrāri-pakṣayoḥ sarvārambha-parityāgī guṇātītaḥ sa ucyate
Translation
Equal in honor and dishonor, equal toward friend and foe, having renounced all undertakings — that one is said to have transcended the gunas.
Interpretation
The portrait of the gunatita concludes with three final marks: equanimity toward honor and dishonor (the ego's most sensitive points), equal regard for friend and enemy (the heart's deepest loyalties dissolved into universal love), and the renunciation of all selfish undertakings. Note that 'renunciation of all undertakings' doesn't mean inaction — it means the abandonment of ego-driven, result-attached activity. The gunatita acts fully in the world but from a place of complete freedom from personal agenda. This is the fulfilled human life.