Chapter 6 Dhyana Yoga Verse 1
Shloka
Uddharedaatmanaatmaanam naatmaanamavasaadayet;
Atmaiva hyaatmano bandhuraatmaiva ripuraatmanah.
Translation
Let a man lift himself by his own Self alone; let him not lower himself,
for this self alone is the friend of oneself and this self alone is the enemy of oneself.
Interpretation
This is the beginning of the Dhyana yoga or yoga of meditation. In this sloka Lord Krishna starts off by talking about the importance of self in a man’s life. He says that the only way that a man can grow up spiritually is by lifting himself by working on the self. Working on self means not letting down the self. Lord Krishna also says that self is a very important part of a man’s being. The self alone is his best friend which can help him and his self alone is the enemy of himself that can let him down in situations.
Extending Interpretation to Mankind’s Life!
This sloka has two parts that everyone needs to pay attention to. Both the parts are in a way linked to each other. The first part is that everyone must lift himself up with his own self. One’s own Self is the best motivator of that person. Depending on other people for lifting yourself is nothing but waste of time. Nobody in this world other than you knows what you want. So, only you can motivate yourself and lift yourself up. Another point he needs to observe is that not letting himself down is also one of the ways of lifting one self up.
The second point that one needs to understand is that your self is your best friend as well as your worst enemy. Have you ever noticed that many times we ourselves spoil our own happiness? It happens like this. When life gives us everything that we want, we either become arrogant or lazy or fear that what we got might not lost for long. All these feelings are negative in nature and leads to a person falling down. Thus we ourselves are our worst enemies. If you make the self as your friend and develop a hmble attitude then that keeps you ahead always. Thus success comes to a person who always lifts himself up and treats his self as his friend.