Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6, Verse 5
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् |
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मन: || 5||
uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet
ātmaiva hyātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ
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
uddhared atmanatmanam natmanam avasadayet
atmaiva hyatmano bandhur atmaiva ripur atmanah
BG 6.5: Elevate yourself through the power of your mind, and not degrade
yourself, for the mind can be the friend and also the enemy of the self.
We are responsible for our own elevation or debasement. Nobody can traverse
the path of God-realization for us. Saints and Gurus show us the way, but
we have to travel it ourselves “There are two birds sitting on a tree—one
Guru and one disciple. The Guru will descend by his own works, and the
*disciple
will also only be able to climb down by his own karmas.”*
We have had innumerable lifetimes before this one, and God-realized Saints
were always present on Earth. At any period of time, if the world is devoid
of such Saints, then the souls of that period cannot become God-realized.
How then can they fulfill the purpose of human life, which is
God-realization? Thus, God ensures that God-realized Saints are always
present in every era, to guide the sincere seekers and inspire humanity.
So, in infinite past lifetimes, many times we must have met God-realized
Saints and yet we did not become God-realized. This means that the problem
was not lack of proper guidance, but either our reticence in accepting it
or working according to it. Thus, we must first accept responsibility for
our present level of spirituality, or lack thereof. Only then will we gain
the confidence that if we have brought ourselves to our present state, we
can also elevate ourselves by our efforts.
When we suffer reversals on the path of spiritual growth, we tend to
complain that others have caused havoc to us, and they are our enemies.
However, our biggest enemy is our own mind. It is the saboteur that thwarts
our aspirations for perfection. Shree Krishna states that, on the one hand,
as the greatest benefactor of the soul, the mind has the potential of
giving us the most benefit; on the other hand, as our greatest adversary,
it also has the potential for causing the maximum harm. A controlled mind
can accomplish many beneficial endeavors, whereas an uncontrolled mind can
degrade the consciousness with most ignoble thoughts.
In order to be able to use it as a friend, it is important to understand
the mind’s nature. Our mind operates at four levels:
Mind: When it creates thoughts, we call it mana, or the mind.
Intellect: When it analyses and decides, we call it buddhi, or intellect.
Chitta: When it gets attached to an object or person, we call it chitta.
Ego: When it identifies with the bodily identifications and becomes proud
of things like wealth, status, beauty, and learning, we call it ahankār, or
ego.
These are not four separate entities. They are simply four levels of
functioning of the one mind. Hence, we may refer to them all together as
the mind, or as the mind-intellect, or as the mind-intellect-ego, or as the
mind-intellect-chitta-ego. They all refer to the same thing.
The use of the word ego here is different from its connotation in Freudian
psychology. Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939), an Austrian neurologist, proposed
the first theory of psychology regarding how the mind works. According to
him, the ego is the “real self” that bridges the gap between our untamed
desires (Id) and the value system that is learnt during childhood
(Superego).
Various scriptures describe the mind in one of these four ways for the
purpose of explaining the concepts presented there. They are all referring
to the same internal apparatus within us, which is together called antaḥ
karaṇ, or the mind. For example:
The Pañchadaśhī refers to all four together as the mind, and states that it
is the cause of material bondage.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Shree Krishna repeatedly talks of the mind and the
intellect as being two things, and emphasizes the need to surrender both to
God.
The Yog Darśhan, while analyzing the different elements of nature, talks of
three entities: mind, intellect, and ego.
Shankaracharya, while explaining the apparatus available to the soul,
classifies the mind into four—mind, intellect, chitta and ego.
So when Shree Krishna says that we must use the mind to elevate the self,
he means we must use the higher mind to elevate the lower mind. In other
words, we must use the intellect to control the mind. How this can be done?
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 41
व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिरेकेह कुरुनन्दन |
बहुशाखा ह्यनन्ताश्च बुद्धयोऽव्यवसायिनाम् || 41||
vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana
bahu-śhākhā hyanantāśh cha buddhayo ’vyavasāyinām
BG 2.41: O descendent of the Kurus, the intellect of those who are on this
path is resolute, and their aim is one-pointed. But the intellect of those
who are irresolute is many-branched.
Attachment is a function of the mind. Its manifestation is that the mind
repeatedly runs toward the object of its attachment, which could be
persons, sensual objects, prestige, bodily comfort, situations, and so on.
So if thoughts of some person or object repeatedly come to the mind, it is
a possible indication of the mind being attached to it. However, if it is
the mind that gets attached, then why is Shree Krishna bringing the
intellect into the topic of attachment? Is there any role of the intellect
in eliminating attachment?
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 42-43
यामिमां पुष्पितां वाचं प्रवदन्त्यविपश्चित: |
वेदवादरता: पार्थ नान्यदस्तीति वादिन: || 42||
कामात्मान: स्वर्गपरा जन्मकर्मफलप्रदाम् |
क्रियाविशेषबहुलां भोगैश्वर्यगतिं प्रति || 43||
yāmimāṁ puṣhpitāṁ vāchaṁ pravadanty-avipaśhchitaḥ
veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ
kāmātmānaḥ swarga-parā janma-karma-phala-pradām
kriyā-viśheṣha-bahulāṁ bhogaiśhwarya-gatiṁ prati
yām imām—all these; puṣhpitām—flowery; vācham—words; pravadanti—speak;
avipaśhchitaḥ—those with limited understanding; veda-vāda-ratāḥ—attached to
the flowery words of the Vedas; pārtha—Arjun, the son of Pritha; na
anyat—no other; asti—is; iti—thus; vādinaḥ—advocate; kāma-ātmānaḥ—desirous
of sensual pleasure; swarga-parāḥ—aiming to achieve the heavenly planets;
janma-karma-phala—high birth and fruitive results; pradāṁ—awarding;
kriyā-viśheṣha—pompous ritualistic ceremonies; bahulām—various;
bhoga—gratification; aiśhwarya—luxury; gatim—progress; prati—toward
BG 2.42-43: Those with *limited understanding*, get attracted to the flowery
words of the Vedas, which advocate ostentatious rituals for elevation to
the celestial abodes, and presume no higher principle is described in them.
They glorify only those portions of the Vedas that please their senses, and
perform pompous ritualistic ceremonies for attaining high birth, opulence,
sensual enjoyment, and elevation to the heavenly planets. [KR WHY LORD SAID
FLOWERY VEDAS? WE INTERPRET ACCORDING TO OUR CONVENIENCE SO. THAT IS THE
LIMITED UNDERSTANDING. THERE IS A LONG TRAVEL FROM BODY TO MIND.FROM EGO TO
MANAS. FOUR STAGES TO CROSS IN MANY JANMASTHAT TRAVEL ALONE TURNS UP THE
MIND AS ENEMY TO MIND AS A FRIEND.AND THAT GUIDE FOR TRAVEL IS NOT IN VEDAS
OR B G BUT EXPLOITING THE FREEWILL WITHOUT DESIRE AND THE ATTACHMENT WHICH
ALONE TAKES SO MANY JANMAS TO LEARN.THAT IS LEARNING THE ACTION IN INACTION]
The Vedas are divided into three sections. These are: Karm-kāṇḍ
(ritualistic ceremonies), Jñāna-kāṇḍa (knowledge section), and Upāsanā-kāṇḍ
(devotional section). The Karm-kāṇḍ section advocates the performance of
ritualistic ceremonies for material rewards and promotion to the celestial
abodes. Those who seek sensual pleasures glorify this section of the Vedas.
The celestial abodes contain a higher order of material luxuries, and offer
greater facility for sensual enjoyment. But elevation to the heavenly
abodes does not imply a concurrent spiritual elevation. These celestial
planes are also within the material universe, and having gone there, when
one’s account of good karmas gets depleted, one again returns to the planet
Earth. People with limited understanding strive for the heavenly abodes,
thinking that is the whole purpose of the Vedas. In this way, they continue
transmigrating in the cycle of life-and-death, without endeavoring for
God-realization. However, those with spiritual wisdom do not make even
heaven their goal. The Muṇḍakopaniṣhad states:
avidyāyāmantare vartamānāḥ svayaṁdhīrāḥ paṇḍitaṁ manyamānāḥ
jaṅghanyamānāḥ pariyanti mūḍhā andhenaiva nīyamānā yathāndhāḥ (1.2.8) [v37]
“Those, who practice the ostentatious rituals prescribed in the Vedas for
enjoying the celestial pleasures of the higher abodes, [KR KAMYA -KARMA]
think themselves to be scholars of the scriptures, but in reality, they are
foolish. They are like the blind leading the blind.” [FREEWILL ACTION
RENDERED ONLY FOOLISH REWARDS]
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 44
भोगैश्वर्यप्रसक्तानां तयापहृतचेतसाम् |
व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धि: समाधौ न विधीयते || 44||
bhogaiśwvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛita-chetasām
vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ samādhau na vidhīyate
BG 2.44: With their minds deeply attached to worldly pleasures and their
intellects bewildered by such things, they are unable to possess the
resolute determination for success on the path to God. [KR freewill action
of the motivated body sense is only an inaction not worth rewarding to
cross the intellect through the mind at all]
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 3, Verse 43
एवं बुद्धे: परं बुद्ध्वा संस्तभ्यात्मानमात्मना |
जहि शत्रुं महाबाहो कामरूपं दुरासदम् || 43||
evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhvā sanstabhyātmānam ātmanā
jahi śhatruṁ mahā-bāho kāma-rūpaṁ durāsadam
evam—thus; buddheḥ—than the intellect;
param—superior; buddhvā—knowing;
sanstabhya—subdue; ātmānam—the lower self (senses, mind, and intellect);
ātmanā—by higher self (soul); jahi—kill; śhatrum—the enemy;
kāma-rūpam—in the form of desire; durāsadam—formidable
BG 3.43: Thus, knowing the soul to be superior to the material intellect, O
mighty armed Arjun, subdue the lower self (senses, mind, and intellect) by
the higher self (strength of the soul), and kill this formidable enemy
called lust. [KR Oscar Wilde said yield to the temptation; it meant only
a blade can cut the blade; temptation is the tool to kill the temptation;
so also atmanaiva atmat- (2 43) mind alone can neutralize the mind ; only
difference being, bad mind sets right the MIND TO BE GOOD ENOUGH](HENCE
TIRUVALLUVAR ALSO USED A TEXT= IDANAI IVAN MUDIKKUM…….ADNAI AVAN KANN VIDAL)
In conclusion, Shree Krishna emphasizes that we should slay this enemy
called lust through knowledge of the self. Since the soul is a part of God,
it is divine in nature. Thus, the divine bliss it seeks can only be
attained from a divine subject, while the objects of the world are all
material. These material objects can never fulfill the innate longing of
the soul and so it is futile to create desires for them. We must exert and
train the intellect to think in this manner, and then use it to control the
mind and the senses.
This is explained very beautifully in the Kaṭhopaniṣhad with the help of
the model of a chariot:
ātmānagvaṁ rathinaṁ viddhi śharīraṁ rathameva tu
buddhiṁ tu sārathiṁ viddhi manaḥ pragrahameva cha
indriyāṇi hayānāhurviṣhayānsteṣhu gocharān
ātmendriyamanoyuktaṁ bhoktetyāhurmanīṣhiṇaḥ (1.3.3-4) [v21]
The Upaniṣhads say there is a chariot, which has five horses pulling it;
the horses have reins in their mouths, which are in the hands of a
charioteer; a passenger is sitting at the back of the chariot. Ideally, the
passenger should instruct the charioteer, who should then control the reins
and guide the horses in the proper direction. However, in this case, the
passenger has gone to sleep, and so the horses are holding sway. In this
analogy, the chariot is the body, the horses are the five senses, the reins
in the mouth of the horses is the mind, the charioteer is the intellect,
and the passenger seated behind is the soul residing in the body. The
senses (horses) desire pleasurable things. The mind (reins) is not
exercising restraint on the senses (horses). The intellect (charioteer)
submits to the pull of the reins (mind). So in the materially bound state,
the bewildered soul does not direct the intellect in the proper direction.
Thus, the senses decide the direction where the chariot will go. The soul
experiences the pleasures of the senses vicariously, but these do not
satisfy it. Seated on this chariot, the soul (passenger) is moving around
in this material world since eternity. However, if the soul wakes up to its
higher nature and decides to take a proactive role, it can exercise the
intellect in the proper direction. The intellect will then govern the lower
self—the mind and the senses—and the chariot will move in the direction of
eternal welfare. In this way, the higher self (soul) must be used to
control the lower self (senses, mind, and, intellect).
Thus, Mind is a friend or foe would only be a final reach of
perceiving the Paramātmā, moving away from the position of the Jīvātmā soul
sitting on the branch, eating the kamya-fruits, unaware of Paramātmā bird
watching over sitting nearby. Freewill might be a foe generally; but once
understood that as a friend, B G verse strikes.
K Rajaram IRS 291025
On Wed, 29 Oct 2025 at 08:01, Jambunathan Iyer <[email protected]>
wrote:
> *Inspired by the Bhagavad Gita's sloka in Chapter 6 -5*
>
> Through the referred sloka Lord Krishna Giving us a Great and powerful
> message: -
>
> "Lift yourself by your own inner strength. Let not your mind pull you
> down. You are your greatest ally—or your fiercest enemy."
>
> I am sure all of us agree with me that in today’s world, yes, it reminds
> us that Self-mastery is the real victory. No one else can live one
> individual's life or fight your battles. Your habits, thoughts, and choices
> shape your destiny.
>
> Accordingly, Your mind can be your best friend—when you feed it with hope,
> discipline, and purpose. However, at the same time Instead if you let it
> dwell in doubt, laziness, or envy, it becomes your own saboteur.
>
> So, it is advisable to raise yourself daily—through learning, reflection,
> and service. Don’t wait for applause or rescue. Be your own motivator.
>
> Since these few tips are the bricks of self-elevation I conclude before
> that blaming others or circumstances, advise to oneself and ask: “Am I
> being a friend to myself today?” which will by default Choose actions that
> uplift you—like waking early, helping others, or staying calm in conflict.
>
>
> *N Jambunathan , Chennai " What you get by achieving your goals is not as
> important as what you become by achieving your goals. If you want to live a
> happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things "*
>
>
>
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