Word meanings
- uddharet
- elevate
- ātmanā
- through the mind
- ātmānam
- the self
- na
- not
- ātmānam
- the self
- avasādayet
- degrade
- ātmā
- the mind
- eva
- certainly
- hi
- indeed
- ātmanaḥ
- of the self
- bandhuḥ
- friend
- ātmā
- the mind
- eva
- certainly
- ripuḥ
- enemy
- ātmanaḥ
- of the self
Translations
One should raise oneself by one's own self alone; let not one lower oneself; for the self alone is one's own friend, and the self alone is one's own enemy.
Let him seek liberation with the help of his Highest Self, and never disgrace his own Self. For that Self is his only friend; yet it can also be his enemy.
One should save oneself by oneself; one should not degrade oneself. For oneself is indeed one's own friend; oneself is indeed one's own enemy.
अपने द्वारा अपना उद्धार करे, अपना पतन न करे; क्योंकि आप ही अपना मित्र है और आप ही अपना शत्रु है।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.