Verse 6.5

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 6.5:

उद्धरेद् आत्मनात्मानं नात्मानम् अवसादयेत् ।
आत्मैव ह्य् आत्मनो बन्धुर् आत्मैव रिपुर् आत्मनः ॥ ५ ॥

uddhared ātmanātmānaṃ nātmānam avasādayet |
ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ || 5 ||

uddharet–one should deliver from the endless cycle of birth and death; ātmanā–through the unattached mind; ātmānam–the soul; na–not; ātmānam–the soul; avasādayet–one should degrade; ātmā–the mind; eva–indeed; hi–certainly; ātmanaḥ–of the soul; bandhuḥ–the friend; ātmā–the mind; eva–indeed; ripuḥ–the enemy; ātmanaḥ–of the soul.

A man must deliver himself from the material world through mental detachment and not allow the mind to degrade him, for the mind is simultaneously one’s friend and also one’s own enemy.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

A soul falls into the ocean of birth and death in the material world only because of his attachment to sense objects. With great endeavour one must deliver oneself. Ātmanā, the mind that is detached from sense objects, delivers ātmānam, the self. Na avasādayet means that the mind that is attached to sense objects should not cause the ātmā to fall into the material ocean. In this way the ātmā (mind) is the friend and also the enemy of the self.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

A mind that is free from any attachment is one’s friend, and a mind that is full of attachment is one’s enemy.

It is said:

mana eva manuṣyāṇāṃ kāraṇaṃ bandha-mokṣayoḥ
bandhāya viṣayāsaṅgo muktyair nirviṣayaṃ manaḥ

Amṛta-bindu Upaniṣad (2)

A man’s mind is the sole cause of his bondage and liberation. A mind absorbed in sense objects causes bondage, and when it is detached from sense objects, it is the cause of liberation.