Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6, Verse 5

उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् । आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः

uddharedātmanātmānaṃ nātmānamavasādayet | ātmaiva hyātmano bandhurātmaiva ripurātmanaḥ

Translation

Let a man raise himself by himself, let him not lower himself; for, he alone is the friend of himself, he alone is the enemy of himself.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

uddharet

let (him) raise

ātmanā

by the self

ātmānam

the self

na

not

ātmānam

the self

avasādayet

let (him) cause to sink down

ātmā

the self

eva

only

hi

indeed

ātmanaḥ

of the self

bandhuḥ

the relative

ātmā

the self

eva

only

ripuḥ

the enemy

ātmanaḥ

of the self

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

Let a man lift up himself who is drowned in the ocean of saṃsāra, i.e., let him so train himself as to become a Yogārūḍha, let him practise and attain to Yoga. Let him not lower himself; for he alone is the friend of himself. There is indeed no other friend that can lead to liberation from saṃsāra; nay, the so-called friend is only inimical to him who seeks liberation, as the former forms an object of affection, which is the cause of bondage. Hence the emphasis 'he alone is the friend of himself.' And he alone is the enemy of himself. The other enemy who is outside is made an enemy only by himself.