Chapter 6, Verse 6
बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जितः | अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्तेतात्मैव शत्रुवत् ||६-६||
bandhurātmātmanastasya yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ . anātmanastu śatrutve vartetātmaiva śatruvat ||6-6||
Meaning
6.6 The Self is the friend of the self of him by whom the self has been conered by the Self, but to the unconered self, this Self stands in the position of an enemy, like an (external) foe.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna deepens the previous verse by revealing what determines whether the self is friend or foe: conquest. For the one who has mastered the lower self — its cravings, fears, and impulses — through the higher Self, the mind becomes a faithful ally, carrying him steadily toward freedom. The very faculty that could enslave now serves.
But for the anaatman, the one whose self remains unconquered, that same self turns hostile, working against him 'like an external foe'. The image is striking: our own mind can ambush us, sabotage our resolutions, and wound us more reliably than any outer enemy. The difference is not in having a self but in having mastered it. This is why the inner work matters above all — not to suppress ourselves, but to win our own allegiance, so that the whole of our nature pulls in the same direction.
💡 Key Takeaway
Master your own mind and it becomes your loyal ally; leave it unconquered and it will work against you like an enemy.
Related Verses
यं संन्यासमिति प्राहुर्योगं तं विद्धि पाण्डव | न ह्यसंन्यस्तसङ्कल्पो योगी भवति कश्चन ||६-२||
yaṃ saṃnyāsamiti prāhuryogaṃ taṃ viddhi pāṇḍava . na hyasaṃnyastasaṅkalpo yogī bhavati kaścana ||6-2||
6.2 Do thou, O Arjuna, know Yoga to be that which they call renunciation; no one verily becomes a Yogi who has not renounced thoughts.
आरुरुक्षोर्मुनेर्योगं कर्म कारणमुच्यते | योगारूढस्य तस्यैव शमः कारणमुच्यते ||६-३||
ārurukṣormuneryogaṃ karma kāraṇamucyate . yogārūḍhasya tasyaiva śamaḥ kāraṇamucyate ||6-3||
6.3 For a sage who wishes to attain to Yoga, action is said to be the means; for the same sage who has attained to Yoga, inaction (iescence) is said to be the means.
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् | आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ||६-५||
uddharedātmanātmānaṃ nātmānamavasādayet . ātmaiva hyātmano bandhurātmaiva ripurātmanaḥ ||6-5||
6.5 One should raise oneself by one's Self alone; let not one lower oneself; for the Self alone is the friend of oneself, and the Self alone is the enemy of oneself.