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Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 6.5
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् ।
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मन: ॥ ५ ॥
uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ
nātmānam avasādayet
ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur
ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ
One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
Use your mind to lift yourself up, not degrade yourself. It can be your friend or your enemy.
Prabhupāda explains that attachment to sense objects binds the soul, while a mind always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness brings supreme liberation.
Train your mind by keeping it engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness rather than attracted to sense objects.
These notes cover verses 6.5–6
Role of mind as friend/enemy in yoga
Controlled mind as a friend:
Follows dictation of Supersoul
Detached from sense gratification
Result – Elevates us
Uncontrolled mind as an enemy:
Follows dictation of lust, anger, illusion, etc.
Attached to sense gratification
Result – degrades and entangles
Atma — Can indicate body, mind or soul
On what basis do we interpret the meaning – Depending on different circumstances
In context to yoga system – It can refer to ‘mind’ or ‘conditioned soul’
Central point of yoga practice is mind
Purpose of yoga – mind control;
To draw the mind away from sense objects
To control and make it a friend in discharging the mission of human life
Importance of training mind / Word “hi” — to empasize “Mind control must be done”; without mind control Yoga is simply a waste of time
Why to train mind – To deliver the conditioned soul from the mire of material existence (nescience)
What is the mire of material existence –
One is subject to the influence of mind and senses
Pure Soul is entangled in the material world because the mind is involved in false ego and desires to Lord over
In what principle one should train the mind –
Train so that one should not be attracted by the glitter of material nature; thus conditioned soul can be saved
Not be degraded by attraction to sense objects
Ref. Amrta Bindu Upanishad: Mind attached to sense object is a cause of bondage and mind detached to sense object is cause of liberation FOCUS OF LEARNING: PURPORTS 6.5 – 6.6 continued…
Best way to disentangle mind — Always engage mind in Krishna consciousness
Real yoga practice entails — Meeting Paramatma in the heart and following His dictation
cf. Unconquered mind has to serve the dictations of lust, anger, avarice, illusion etc.
How Krishna consciousness fulfils this — Perfect surrender to Lord’s dictations follows automatically in Krishna Consciousness
Self-awareness
A yogi may even give up niskarma karma yoga when his mental control reaches the stage of regarding well-wishers, the envious, the pious and sinners equally.
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
The mind
The mind may elevate or degrade the self.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What repeated thought patterns are helping or hindering my spiritual life?
Identify one unhelpful recurring thought and consciously redirect it.
Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.