BG 6.5
Bhagavad Gītā · Ātma Saṃyama YogaAnuṣṭubh (śloka)उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् | आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ||६-५||
uddharedātmanātmānaṃ nātmānamavasādayet . ātmaiva hyātmano bandhurātmaiva ripurātmanaḥ ||6-5||
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उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् | आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ||६-५||
Anuṣṭubh (śloka) · 16+16 syllables
scansion (laghu/guru)
Facts come from Vidyut (deterministic), never the model. Gaps are shown, not guessed.
One should raise oneself by one's Self alone; let not one lower oneself; for the Self alone is the friend of oneself, and the Self alone is the enemy of oneself.
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English commentary2
6.5 उद्धरेत् should raise? आत्मना by the Self? आत्मानम् the self? न not? आत्मानम् the self? अवसादयेत् let (him) lower? आत्मा the Self? एव only? हि verily? आत्मनः of the self? बन्धुः friend? आत्मा the Self? एव only? रिपुः the enemy? आत्मनः of the self.Commentary Practise Yog. Discipline the senses and the mind. Elevate yourself and become a Yogarudha. Attain to Yoga. Shine gloriously as a dynamic Yogi. Do not sink into the ocean of Samsara (transmigration). Do not become a wordlyminded man. Do not become a slave of lust? greed and anger. Rise above worldliness? become divine and attain Godhead.You alone are your friend you alone are your enemy. The socalled worldly friend is not your real friend? because he gets attached to you? wastes your time and puts obstacles on your path of Yoga. He is very selfish and keeps friendship with you only to extract something. If he is not able to get from you the object of his selfish interest? he forsakes you. Therefore he is your enemy in reality. If you are attached to your friend on account of delusion or affection? this will become a cause of your bondage to Samsara.Friends and enemies are not outside. They exist in the mind only. It is the mind that makes a friend an enemy and an enemy a friend. Therefore the Self alone is the friend of oneself? and the Self alone is the enemy of oneself. The lower mind or the Asuddha Manas (impure mind) is your real enemy because it binds you to the Samsara? and the higher mind or the Sattvic mind (Suddha Manas or the pure mind) is your real friend? because it helps you in the attainment of Moksha.
— vedicscriptures · exposition · source ↗
The word ātmā denotes body, mind and soul – depending upon different circumstances. In the yoga system, the mind and the conditioned soul are especially important. Since the mind is the central point of yoga practice, ātmā refers here to the mind. The purpose of the yoga system is to control the mind and to draw it away from attachment to sense objects. It is stressed herein that the mind must be so trained that it can deliver the conditioned soul from the mire of nescience. In material existence one is subjected to the influence of the mind and the senses. In fact, the pure soul is entangled in the material world because the mind is involved with the false ego, which desires to lord it over material nature. Therefore, the mind should be trained so that it will not be attracted by the glitter of material nature, and in this way the conditioned soul may be saved. One should not degrade oneself by attraction to sense objects. The more one is attracted by sense objects, the more one becomes entangled in material existence. The best way to disentangle oneself is to always engage the mind in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The word hi is used for emphasizing this point, i.e., that one must do this. It is also said: mana eva manuṣyāṇāṁ kāraṇaṁ bandha-mokṣayoḥ bandhāya viṣayāsaṅgo muktyai nirviṣayaṁ manaḥ “For man, mind is the cause of bondage and mind is the cause of liberation. Mind absorbed in sense objects is the cause of bondage, and mind detached from the sense objects is the cause of liberation.” ( Amṛta-bindu Upaniṣad 2) Therefore, the mind which is always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the cause of supreme liberation.
— vedicscriptures · exposition · source ↗