The yoga of meditation, and the self as friend or enemy
Bhagavad Gita 6.5
Source: verified public-domain translation.
Original text
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् । आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ॥
Transliteration
uddhared ātmanātmānaṃ nātmānam avasādayet | ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ ||
Translation
“Let a man lift himself by himself; let him not degrade himself; for the Self alone is the friend of the self, and the Self alone is the enemy of the self.”
Translation · Swami Sivananda
Context
From the chapter on meditation. The verse is easily misread as rugged individualism. In Sanskrit, atman can mean both the empirical self and the deeper Self; commentators play on that range.