Verse 9

In plain words

And there is more —

'Non-attachment' — attachment is nothing more than fondness for things that give you something to cling to; its absence is non-attachment, plain and simple. 'Freedom from clinging identification' means the absence of that clinging itself. And what is that clinging, exactly? It's a sharper kind of attachment — one where you catch yourself thinking someone else's life is your own. Like when another person is happy or unhappy, and you think, 'I'm the one who's happy, I'm the one who's hurting.' Or when someone lives or dies, and you think, 'I'm the one living, I'm the one who will die.' Where does this show up? He tells us: with your son, your wife, your home, and everything like them; and because the list says 'and so on,' it reaches even further, to anyone else you hold especially dear — your household staff, say, and people like them. Both of these — non-attachment and freedom from clinging — are called 'knowledge,' because that is exactly what they serve. And constant even-mindedness means simply this: treating things the same. Where? In whatever comes your way, wanted or unwanted — in whatever actually reaches you, welcome or not — that is where sameness of mind belongs, always. When something good happens, you don't light up with excitement; when something bad happens, you don't flare into anger. And this — this constant evenness of mind — is knowledge too.

Close to the Sanskrit

Moreover —

'Asakti' [means]: sakti [is] mere fondness toward objects that are occasions for attachment; its absence [is] asakti. 'Anabhiṣvaṅga' [is] the absence of abhiṣvaṅga. Abhiṣvaṅga, namely, [is] a particular kind of attachment indeed, characterized by the notion of non-difference from oneself — as, when another is happy or unhappy, [thinking] 'I alone am happy, and unhappy'; [or] when [another] is alive or dead, [thinking] 'I alone live, and shall die' — thus. Where [does this apply]? — thus he says: with regard to son, wife, house, and so on — [namely] son, wife, house; by the inclusion of 'and so on', [it applies] also to others exceedingly dear, [such as] the group of servants and so on. And that, both [qualities], because they serve the purpose of knowledge, are called 'knowledge'. And constant even-mindedness [is] sameness of mind. Where [does this apply]? — in the occurrence of the desired and undesired — the occurrences, [that is] the attainments, of the desired and the undesired — in those, in the occurrence of the desired and undesired, [there is] constant, indeed, sameness of mind. In the occurrence of the desired, he does not rejoice; nor does he become angry in the occurrence of the undesired. And that, this constant even-mindedness, [is] knowledge.

In plain words

“Next, ‘āsakti’. The desire to have everything one sees is āsakti. Its cause is mamakāra. It is mamakāra that binds men in everything. Whatever one sees, to say ‘I must have it’, and to let infatuation for it grow, saying ‘mine, mine’, is contrary to Dharma for a jñāni. Mamakāra is the great noose. To regard everything as things within God's creation is a sign of the marks of a jñāni. ‘Anāsakti’ is necessary; this is the thirteenth. Towards every object there should be friendliness only, never moha. Use things while they are with you; that is all. But you must not dedicate your life to them alone. This is a great obstacle for those who long for Mokṣa. However much one gains, in the end one must leave it all at once. No one can take along even a blade of straw. Those who keep this aim in view can behold Satya.”

In plain words

“Next, the ‘state of samatva’: that is, one must have an equal attitude towards good and bad, happiness and sorrow, cold and heat. This is the fifteenth quality of Jñāna. Swelling up and sinking down is a vṛtti of no use. Happiness and sorrow, hardships and losses, blame and praise must be regarded as though they were God's prasāda. Where there are thorns, one puts on sandals and escapes their reach; when rain is falling, one holds an umbrella and escapes the rain; where there are mosquitoes, one ties up a mosquito net and keeps clear of their trouble. In the same way, if against the losses and hardships, the blame and praise, the likes and dislikes that come, one puts on the ‘samādhāna citta’, which is the grace of Īśvara, they cannot trouble men at all! That is why evenness of citta is necessary.”