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BG 6.5 — 6.5 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 o
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उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् |
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ||६-५||

uddharedātmanātmānaṃ nātmānamavasādayet . ātmaiva hyātmano bandhurātmaiva ripurātmanaḥ ||6-5||


6.5 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.

Word-by-word meanings

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 no

Commentaries

Non-dualism. The individual self and Brahman are one. The world is appearance (maya). Liberation through knowledge.

Sri Shankaracharya

6.5 Uddharet, one should save; atmanam, oneself sunk in the sea of the world; atmana, by oneself; one should save, ut-haret, should uplift (oneself) from that, i.e. make it attain the state of being established in Yoga. Na avasadayet, one should not lower, dase; atmanam, oneself. Hi, for; atma eva, oneself is verily; atmanah one's own; bandhuh, friend. Centainly there is no other friend who can bring about liberation from this world. In fact, even a friend is an obstacle to Liberation, he being the source of such bondages as love etc. Therefore the emphatic statement, 'For one is one's own friend, is justifiable. Atma eva, oneself verily; is atmanah, one's own: ripuh, enemy. Anyone else who is an external harmful enemy, even he is of one's own making! Therefore the firm conclusion, 'oneself verily is one's own enemy's is reasonable. It has been said that 'oneself is verily one's own friend, oneself verily is one's own enemy.' As to that, (the self) [Ast. has this additional word, atma, self.-Tr.] of what kind is one's own friend, or (the self) of what kind is one's own enemy? This is being answered:

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Swami Gambirananda

6.5 One should save oneself by oneself; one should not lower oneself. For oneself is verily one's onw friend; oneself is verily one's own enemy.

This interpretation draws on the Advaita tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

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