Bhagavad Gita 6.5
Spoken by Krishna ★ Essential verse · Verse 5 of 47
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत्। आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः॥६-५॥
uddhared ātmanātmānaṃ nātmānam avasādayet | ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ || 6.5 ||
Lift the self by the Self; let not the self drown itself — you alone are your own friend and your own foe.
Word by word (5)
- uddharet
- — let one lift / raise up (optative of ud + dhṛ = to hold upward, to lift; functions as an imperative: 'lift!' — the self's own act of rising, no external rescuer)
- ātmanā ātmānam
- — by the Self, the self / by oneself, oneself (instrumental + accusative — the same word twice, designating the two aspects: the instrument of lifting and the one being lifted; this double ātman is the crux of the verse)
- na ātmānam avasādayet
- — let one not sink / depress the self (ava + sad = to sink down, to be submerged, to be depressed — avasādayet = optative of causative: let one not cause the self to sink)
- ātmā eva hi ātmanaḥ bandhuḥ
- — the Self alone is indeed the friend of the self (eva = emphatic 'alone'; hi = indeed, for; bandhu = friend, kinsman — from bandh = to bind, one who is bound to you, a natural ally; the primary, closest companion)
- ātmā eva ripuḥ ātmanaḥ
- — the Self alone is the enemy of the self (ripu = enemy, adversary; the same Self that is the highest friend also functions as the worst enemy when misused — the sharpest single tool can cut in either direction)
Lift yourself by your own self; do not let yourself sink. For the self is the only friend of the self, and the self is its only enemy.
A modern analogy
A person struggling with a pattern of self-destructive thinking. A therapist, a friend, a book can point the way — but no one can do the inner work for them. There is a moment when they must choose to redirect their own attention, question their own thoughts, not indulge the spiral. That self-directed turn — toward what is clear rather than what is clouded — is uddharet ātmanātmānam. The same capacity for attention that feeds the spiral (ripu, enemy) can redirect toward clarity (bandhu, friend). The tool is identical; the direction is everything.
What it does NOT mean
This is not a call to isolated self-reliance in the modern individualist sense ('you need no help, pull yourself up alone'). The verse is about the relationship between the higher Self (pure awareness, the witnessing consciousness) and the lower self (mind, ego, habitual patterns). The higher lifts the lower — not the ego lifting itself by its own ego-power (which tends to create pride and self-will). The lifting happens when the lower self turns toward the higher, when the ego-mind orients itself toward the witnessing ātman rather than the outward senses.
Take with you
- Uddharet ātmanātmānam — the imperative-optative form is urgent: DO lift. The Gita does not say 'the Self will be lifted' passively. It requires active self-direction — turning the mind toward the witnessing Self rather than the reactive self. This is not automatic; it requires sustained practice.
- Ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ — the same self is the enemy when it wallows, when it indulges self-pity, when it chases fleeting pleasures, when it allows the ego's insistent intentions (saṃkalpa) to accumulate unchecked. This verse is the direct statement that no outer circumstance is to blame — the self is its own captor when it operates in this mode.
- The verse pairs with the one that follows: this verse states the principle (you are your own friend or enemy); the next verse will define precisely when each is the case — the controlled self is your friend, the uncontrolled self is your enemy at war. Read them together as a unit.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
"Let a man lift himself by himself; let him not depress himself. For the Self alone is the friend of the self; the Self alone is the enemy of the self." [1]
"Let a man raise himself by his own self; let him not depress himself; for he himself is his friend, and he himself is his enemy." [4]
"Let a man lift himself by himself; let him not sink himself; for he is the helper of himself, and he is the enemy of himself." [5]
"Let a man raise himself by himself, let him not depress himself; for he is himself his own friend, and he is himself his own enemy." [6]
"Man is his own friend, and man is his own foe — by the self must the self be saved; let not the self be lost." [7]
"One should by the self raise the self, and should not depress the self. For the self is the friend of the self, and the self is the enemy of the self." [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Your own mind is your best friend when mastered; your worst enemy when not.
What they call sannyāsa — know it as yoga, O Pāṇḍava — for none becomes a yogī without renouncing saṃkalpa.
Steady wisdom begins here: when all desires fall away and the Self finds fullness in itself alone.
Know the Self as higher than the intellect. Steady the self by the Self. Then slay the formidable enemy — desire.
This body is called kṣetra (the field); the one who knows it is called kṣetrajña — the field-knower!
Hear again My supreme word, most secret of all — because you are deeply beloved to Me, I will speak your benefit.
Verse 5 of 47 · back to Chapter 6