When in the moment of difficulty the mind neither trembles nor is agitated, then it is the mind of Brahman; freed from bondage, one rejoices.

The criterion for brahma-citta — mind of Brahman — is strictly operative: it does not tremble (na kampate) nor become agitated (na vyathate) in kaṣṭa-kāla. It is not absence of sensation but absence of compulsive reaction. Pain may present itself as information without becoming disturbance. The joy (modate) that follows is not euphoria but ānanda — the inherent bliss of a nature free from resistance. The mukta — liberated one — does not destroy bandha but is no longer in it; like one who wakes up is no longer in the bed of sleep, although the bed still exists. Modate is consequence, not goal: one does not seek joy but stability, and joy emerges as a property of the unperturbed mind. The Aṣṭāvakra Gītā XVIII.42: “Where the universe is, there is liberation.” One does not need to go anywhere; only remain unmoved while the universe agitates.