Srimad Bhagavad Gita -Ramanujacharya 197

Srimad Bhagavad Gita -Ramanujacharya

Chapter-6 Dhyāna Yogaḥ

suhṛn mitrāry-udāsīna madhyastha dveṣya bandhuṣu | sādhuṣv-api ca pāpeṣu sama-buddhir viśiṣyate || 9 || 9. One who regards with equality, well-wishers, friends, foes, the indifferent, neutrals, the hateful, relatives, and even the righteous and the unrighteous — excels. Commentary 'Well-wishers' (suhrt) are those who care about one, regardless of differences in age. 'Friends' (mitra) are well-wishers of equal age. 'Foes' (ari) are those who wish ill to one because of some particular cause. 'The indifferent' (udāsin) are those who are neither friendly nor hostile because of there being no reason for either type of feeling; 'neutrals' (madhyastha) are those who by their very nature are incapable of either friendship or hostility. 'The hateful' (dveṣi) are those who wish ill to one even from birth. 'Relations' (bandhu) those who bear goodwill from birth. 'The righteous’ (sādhu) are those devoted to the practice of virtue. 'The unrighteous’ (pāpi) are those given to wickedness. Self-realisation being the only goal of meditation, and because all the well-wishing friends and the others, cannot contribute anything to this goal and enemies cannot detract from it, one who regards them all with an equal eye as pure Jīvas, excels in respect of fitness for the practice of meditation.