Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 56
दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः । वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते ॥
duḥkheṣv anudvigna-manāḥ sukheṣu vigata-spṛhaḥ | vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ sthita-dhīr munir ucyate ||
One whose mind is unshaken in suffering, free from craving in pleasure, free from attachment, fear, and anger—such a person of steady wisdom is called a sage.
Krishna describes how to recognize a 'sthita-dhī'—person of steady wisdom. In suffering ('duḥkha'), their mind is 'anudvigna'—unshaken. Pain happens, but agitation doesn't follow. In pleasure ('sukha'), they're 'vigata-spṛhaḥ'—free from craving. Joy happens, but no desperate grasping. Fundamentally, they're 'vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ'—free from attachment, fear, anger. This isn't suppression; it's transformation from being 'ātmanā tuṣṭaḥ'—content in yourself (2.55). When your stability comes from within, external storms don't create internal chaos. Such a person is 'muni'—sage, not by title but by lived stability.