Bhagavad Gita BG 6.5
Chapter 6, Verse 5 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् । आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुर् आत्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ॥
uddhared atmanatmanam natmanam avasadayet atmaiva hy atmano bandhur atmaiva ripur atmanah
Meaning
Lift up the self by the Self; do not let the self sink. The Self alone is the self's friend; the Self alone is the self's enemy.
Understanding
One of the most celebrated verses of the Gita: a paradox that reveals the two faces of the mind. The lower self (chitta, the conditioned mind) can be either uplifted or dragged down — by the same instrument, the higher Self (Atman, the witness). 'Uddharet atmanatmanam' — you must rescue the lower self using the higher Self. You are both your own best liberator and your own worst captor. The enemy and the friend are not outside — they are the two aspects of your own mind in relationship to the higher awareness.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| उद्धरेत् | uddharet | let one lift up, rescue, elevate |
| अवसादयेत् | avasadayet | let one cause to sink, depress, drag down |
| बन्धुः | bandhuh | friend, relative, ally |
| रिपुः | ripuh | enemy, adversary, foe |
| आत्मैव | atmaiva | the Self alone, only the Self |
| आत्मना | ātmanā | by the self / through the self (elevate yourself) |
| आत्मानम् | ātmānam | the self / oneself (object: elevate) |
| न | na | not (do not degrade the self) |
| हि | hi | for / indeed |
| आत्मनः | ātmanaḥ | of the self / for the self (both friend and enemy) |