Verse 6.32
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
आत्मौपम्येन सर्वत्र समं पश्यति योऽर्जुन। सुखं वा यदि वा दुःखं स योगी परमो मतः॥
Transliteration (IAST)
ātmaupamyena sarvatra samaṁ paśyati yo 'rjuna sukhaṁ vā yadi vā duḥkhaṁ sa yogī paramo mataḥ
Word-by-Word Meanings
ātma-aupamyena-by comparison with oneself
sarvatra-everywhere
samam-equally
paśyati-sees
sukham-happiness
duḥkham-distress
paramaḥ-supreme
Translation
One who sees the happiness and suffering of all beings as equal to one's own, through comparison with oneself - that yogi is considered the highest, O Arjuna.
Commentary
The supreme yogi is defined by empathy (ātmaupamya): feeling others' joy and pain as one's own. This is not mere intellectual understanding but experiential identification. Krishna places compassionate identification above even meditative absorption as the mark of the highest yogi.
Themes
yogadharmaatman