उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् |
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मन: || 5||
uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet
ātmaiva hyātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ
Gita 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.
Personal Responsibility: Our spiritual elevation or debasement is ultimately in our own hands. While external guidance and support can be incredibly valuable, the actual journey of self-improvement, spiritual growth, and realization of divine truth is something each person must undertake personally.
Role of Saints and Gurus: Saints and Gurus play a critical role as guides and mentors. They provide wisdom, direction, and inspiration. Their teachings can illuminate the path and help us understand the principles of spiritual growth. However, they cannot walk the path for us. Their guidance is meant to show us where to go and how to navigate the journey, but we are the ones who must take the steps and make the effort.
The issue isn't a lack of proper guidance, but rather our hesitation to accept it or our failure to apply it effectively.
When we face setbacks on our spiritual journey, we often blame others, labelling them as our enemies. In reality, our greatest enemy is our own mind. It is the saboteur that hinders our pursuit of perfection.
Shree Krishna teaches that the mind, when properly guided, can be our greatest ally, offering immense benefits. Conversely, an undisciplined mind can be our worst foe, inflicting the most harm.
A controlled mind can lead us toward great accomplishments, while an uncontrolled one can pull us down with the most degrading thoughts.
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 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. They all refer to the same thing.
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.
बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जित: |
अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्ते तात्मैव शत्रुवत् || 6||
bandhur ātmātmanas tasya yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ
anātmanas tu śhatrutve vartetātmaiva śhatru-vat
Gita 6.6 For those who have conquered the mind, it is their friend. For those who have failed to do so, the mind works like an enemy.
Inner Enemies: Lust, anger, greed, envy, and illusion are seen as the root causes of human suffering and distraction. These forces are not external adversaries; they exist within us and originate from our thoughts, desires, and emotions. The mind, when left unchecked, allows these negative emotions to flourish, creating inner turmoil.
Mental Negativity and Physical Health: The passage draws a connection between the mind and physical health, stating that illness is not just caused by external factors like viruses and bacteria but also by the negativity we harbour. Modern science supports this idea, with studies showing that stress, anxiety, anger, and other negative emotions can weaken the immune system and contribute to various illnesses. In this way, the mind's influence extends beyond just our emotional state; it can impact our physical body as well.
The Agitation of the Mind
- Lasting Impact of Negativity: When someone says something unpleasant to us, it may disturb our minds for years. This shows how deeply the mind can hold onto negative experiences, replaying them over and over, causing continuous mental agitation. This long-lasting distress is self-inflicted in a way, as the mind chooses to dwell on the negativity rather than release it.
- Uncontrolled Thoughts: Without proper control, the mind clings to hurtful words, negative events, and painful memories, leading to prolonged suffering. This cycle of repetitive negative thinking traps people in their own mental patterns, often without them realizing the harm it causes.
The Mind as a Powerful Tool
- Potential for Good and Harm: The mind is a "powerful machine" or "two-edged sword." It has the potential to bring about great benefit or great harm, depending on whether it is controlled or not. This highlights the dual nature of the mind: it can elevate us toward spiritual growth and inner peace or degrade us with negativity and harmful thoughts.
- Controlled Mind as a Friend: When the mind is controlled by the intellect, especially through spiritual practices such as meditation, mindfulness, prayer, or self-reflection, it can become our best friend. It helps us remain calm in the face of adversity, make wise decisions, and focus on personal growth. A well-managed mind serves us, enhancing our ability to live a meaningful and content life.
- Uncontrolled Mind as an Enemy: Conversely, an uncontrolled mind, dominated by whims, desires, and negative emotions, becomes our worst enemy. It leads us into self-destructive behaviours, poisons our relationships, and blocks our spiritual progress. The inability to regulate the mind allows negative thoughts and emotions to run rampant, degrading our consciousness and causing inner turmoil.
Hence, Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj advises:
mana ko mano shatru usaki sunahu jani kachhu pyare (Sadhan Bhakti Tattva) [v1]
“Dear spiritual aspirant, look on your uncontrolled mind as your enemy. Do not come under its sway.”
जितात्मन: प्रशान्तस्य परमात्मा समाहित: |
शीतोष्णसुखदु:खेषु तथा मानापमानयो: || 7||
jitātmanaḥ praśhāntasya paramātmā samāhitaḥ
śhītoṣhṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣhu tathā mānāpamānayoḥ
Gita 6.7 The yogis who have conquered the mind rise above the dualities of cold and heat, joy and sorrow, and honor and dishonor. Such yogis remain peaceful and steadfast in their devotion to God.
Our senses—sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell—interact with the external world, creating experiences of heat and cold, joy and sorrow, and other dualities. These sensations are temporary, arising from the physical interaction between the body and the external environment.
Mind’s Reaction to Sensual Experiences: For most people, the mind is driven by the impulses it receives from the senses. When the senses experience something pleasurable (such as warmth, pleasant sounds, or good food), the mind chases after it. Conversely, when the senses encounter discomfort or pain (cold, unpleasant sensations), the mind recoils, seeking to avoid it. This continuous cycle of pleasure-seeking and pain avoidance keeps the mind trapped in a restless state.
The Uncontrolled Mind:
- Chasing Pleasure, Avoiding Pain: As long as the mind is not subdued, it remains trapped in this endless cycle of seeking pleasurable experiences and avoiding unpleasant ones. This is the common state of most people—constantly reacting to the world, chasing after desires and sensations, and recoiling from discomfort. This attachment to dualities keeps the individual bound to the material world, or Maya (illusion), causing ongoing suffering.
- Maya (Illusion): Maya refers to the illusory nature of the material world, where people become entangled in fleeting sensory experiences, mistaking them for reality. The mind, driven by the senses, remains absorbed in this realm, seeking temporary pleasures and avoiding pain, without recognizing the eternal soul beyond these dualities.
The Yogi’s Mind and Control:
Conquering the Mind: A yogi who has mastered the mind rises above the transient experiences of the senses. This means that they no longer chase after pleasure or avoid pain. They see these sensory experiences as merely physical phenomena—the workings of the bodily senses—and they are distinct from the immortal soul, which is beyond material dualities.
Realizing the Difference Between the Body and the Soul: The yogi understands that while the body and its senses are subject to heat, cold, joy, and sorrow, the soul (or the true self) is unaffected by these temporary experiences. This realization enables the yogi to remain unmoved by the dualities of life, knowing that the soul’s nature is eternal, blissful, and beyond the fluctuations of the material world.
Realizing the Difference Between the Body and the Soul: The yogi understands that while the body and its senses are subject to heat, cold, joy, and sorrow, the soul (or the true self) is unaffected by these temporary experiences. This realization enables the yogi to remain unmoved by the dualities of life, knowing that the soul’s nature is eternal, blissful, and beyond the fluctuations of the material world.
Rising Above Dualities:
Heat and Cold, Joy and Sorrow: These are examples of dualities that we experience through the senses. When the mind is focused on these dualities, it is constantly in flux, reacting to external stimuli and losing its connection to the higher self. However, the advanced yogi transcends these dualities and no longer reacts emotionally or mentally to them. By seeing sensory experiences as fleeting, the yogi is able to remain calm, detached, and centred.
Equanimity: The ability to remain undisturbed by pleasure and pain, success and failure, joy and sorrow, is called equanimity. This state of mental balance is a key goal in the yogic tradition, where one is no longer bound by the ups and downs of life.
Heat and Cold, Joy and Sorrow: These are examples of dualities that we experience through the senses. When the mind is focused on these dualities, it is constantly in flux, reacting to external stimuli and losing its connection to the higher self. However, the advanced yogi transcends these dualities and no longer reacts emotionally or mentally to them. By seeing sensory experiences as fleeting, the yogi is able to remain calm, detached, and centred.
Equanimity: The ability to remain undisturbed by pleasure and pain, success and failure, joy and sorrow, is called equanimity. This state of mental balance is a key goal in the yogic tradition, where one is no longer bound by the ups and downs of life.
The Two Realms:
Realm of Maya vs. Realm of God: According to Shree Krishna, the mind can dwell in only one of two realms:
- Maya (the material world): This is the realm of dualities, where the mind is absorbed in chasing worldly pleasures and avoiding pain. It keeps the individual in a state of illusion and ignorance.
- The Realm of God: When the mind rises above the sensual dualities, it becomes free from the illusions of Maya. In this state, the mind can easily become absorbed in God or the Divine. In this higher realm, the mind is focused on eternal truth and divine consciousness, no longer disturbed by the changing nature of the material world.
- Advanced Yogi’s Mind in Samadhi: Shree Krishna explains that when a yogi attains mastery over the mind, they can enter into samadhi, which is the state of deep meditation and absorption in God. In samadhi, the mind is completely still, focused, and no longer influenced by the external sensory world. This state represents the ultimate union with the Divine, where the mind is no longer swayed by the dualities of joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain.
- Absorption in God: In samadhi, the mind is fully absorbed in the Divine consciousness. It is no longer attached to the material world or its temporary experiences. This is the goal of spiritual practice—to bring the mind into alignment with the eternal truth, where it experiences inner peace and oneness with God.
Summary: JKYog India Online Class- Bhagavad Gita [English]- 7.09.2024
