Upekkhā

Equanimity, balance, even-mindedness. Upekkhā (Pāli, equivalent to upekṣā in Sanskrit) is the fourth of the divine abodes (brahmavihārā) and the seventh awakening factor (bojjhaṅga).

Upekkhā is not cold indifference nor resignation. It is the balance that arises when the mind is no longer pulled by attraction (rāga) or aversion (dosa). It is the center that moves neither toward the pleasant nor the painful.

As a brahmavihāra, upekkhā completes the cycle: first mettā (loving-kindness) breaks aversion; then karuṇā (compassion) responds to suffering; muditā (joy) celebrates the good; and upekkhā holds everything with stability, without attachment.

In Patañjali’s yoga, upekṣā appears in YS 1.33 as the attitude toward the vicious (pāpā): not condemning, not reacting, maintaining clear equanimity. Not passivity — the intelligence of not feeding what generates suffering.