Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 15

यं हि न व्यथयन्त्येते पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ | समदुःखसुखं धीरं सोऽमृतत्वाय कल्पते ||

yaṁ hi na vyathayanty ete puruṣaṁ puruṣarṣabha sama-duḥkha-sukhaṁ dhīraṁ so 'mṛtatvāya kalpate

O best among men, the person who is not disturbed by these, who is steady in happiness and distress, becomes eligible for liberation.

Krishna builds on verse 2.14: if you can endure life's ups and downs, here's why it matters. The person who stays steady (dhīram) through pleasure and pain—sama-duḥkha-sukham, equal in distress and happiness—becomes eligible for amṛtatvāya, liberation. This isn't suppressing emotions or becoming robotic. It's discovering an inner stability that doesn't depend on what's happening. Your circumstances will always fluctuate. The question is: will your peace fluctuate with them? The steadiness Krishna describes transforms you at the deepest level, making you free.