Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya

1-9: From Arurukshato (beginning stage) To Arudha stage (advance Stage) (Advancement in astang yoga)

Bg 6.5

uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ

nātmānam avasādayet

ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur

ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ

Word for word:

uddharet — one must deliver; ātmanā — by the mind; ātmānam — the conditioned soul; na — never; ātmānam — the conditioned soul; avasādayet — put into degradation; ātmā — mind; eva — certainly; hi — indeed; ātmanaḥ — of the conditioned soul; bandhuḥ — friend; ātmā — mind; eva — certainly; ripuḥ — enemy; ātmanaḥ — of the conditioned soul.

Translation:

One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.

Analyzing the verse

In 6.5 Sri Krishna is telling what is the main obstacle in coming to Yogarudha stage. So he talks about the mind. In fact the whole process of Yoga is largely centered on controlling the mind. This and next (3) verse is talking about how we can come to Yogarudha stage by controlling the mind

uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ, so here the word atama is used several times one atma refers to the soul and one atma refers to the mind.

Ātmanā -> by mind, ātmānaṁ -> soul, uddhared, means to elevate, delivered to liberate, Udhar Kaarana as we say,

uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ -> One delivers the soul by mind, in such a way that the soul become elevated.

nātmānam avasādayet, avasādayet means degraded. Two opposites; raise up or push down our mind. So don’t engage the mind in such a way that the soul becomes degraded.

And what we have to do ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur, first atma refers to mind, so mind is friend bandhu of ātmano, the soul, so the mind is the friend of the soul

And also ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ, the mind is the enemy of the soul. So in this way Sri Krishna is giving us a broad framework of what is involved in purification. He is saying in the inner landscape, the mind is directed in such a way that the soul becomes liberated not entangled. Actually both can happen as the mind can act as enemy of the soul and mind can act as friend of the soul.

Let us try to understand what is being talked about here: In the context of this verse the focus is on the Yogis who is trying to renounce the world and focuses inwards. Generally we see that if we are physically engaged, the mind is also engaged. It is not necessary but it is conducive. Instead, if we sit at one place and not doing anything physically, then what happens the mind becomes idle. In the conditioned stage the mind is very much connected to the body that means, where we are physically that largely drives where we will be mentally. If we are physically engaged in a sense object then the mind is also excited about sense object. And if we are physically removed from sense object, the minds excitement decreases. However, as the mind is very captivated about a sense object the mind may still be excited might be less proportionately.

So in a conditioned stage, the mind is very much connected to sense object. Wherever we are physically, we are also there mentally.

Now there are two different connections:

  1. connection between mind and soul
  2. connection between mind and the body.

Mind: The door to our consciousness

So this verse is talking about the connection between mind and the soul. The mind can act as a friend of the soul, the mind can act as an enemy of the soul also: How can we understand this relationship.

Suppose I am seated in a dark room and there are three doors in it. I can open only one door at a time and when I open a door it shows a different pathway to the outer world.

So the door of consciousness is the mind. We perceive the outer world through the mind. The door to the outer world is the mind, so wherever the door is open that is the reality we perceive. And other realities go into the background.

E.g. When a materialistic person comes to the temple; if the door of their mind opens to only materialistic things, such as how expensive the marble is and other things such as how good looking are members of the opposite sex. The materialist doesn’t see the deity; they just fold the hand customarily and leave. The door of consciousness is the mind; since their mind is materialistic, they can only see materialistic things around. Spirituality faded into the background.

Our mind is the door to our consciousness, so whatever level our mind is at, that level we are conscious of.

Finding the cause of supreme liberation

So in this verse Sri Krishna is saying the soul can become conscious of spiritual things or the soul can become conscious of material things. When the soul is conscious of material things, then the bond between the soul and that material things increases. Because the desires are aroused and those desires bind the soul to the body. And by extension to the world which results in bondage with the world. In our mind we focus on sense objects, then desire arises in mind; thus binding the soul. For instance, the door can be opened to spiritual things like Sri Krishna, the holy name and so on; or it can be opened to the material things like sense objects. Hence, whichever way the door opens, that is where our consciousness will go. So Sri Krishna is saying over here, we have a choice: we can focus our mind on worldly objects, or we can focus on Sri Krishna. Based upon what we focus on, accordingly we will get the results. So Sri Krishna is alerting us to use the mind in a way that will bring liberation.

So Srila Prabhupada quotes here from Amrit Bindu Upnishad:

mana eva manuṣyāṇāṁ

kāraṇaṁ bandha-mokṣayoḥ

bandhāya viṣayāsaṅgo

muktyai nirviṣayaṁ manaḥ

“For man, mind is the cause of bondage and mind is the cause of liberation. Mind absorbed in sense objects is the cause of bondage, and mind detached from the sense objects is the cause of liberation.” (Amṛta-bindu Upaniṣad 2) Therefore, the mind which is always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the cause of supreme liberation.

So how the mind will become free from sense objects—that will require some effort. Ultimately, we need to fix our minds on Sri Krishna. Lord will further talk about it repeatedly in the forthcoming chapters of Bhagavad Gita: Man Mana Bhava Mad Bhakto—fix mind on me. Subsequently, in verse 6.47—he states, yoginām api sarveṣāṁ, mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā, the top most yogi is he one who has fixed his mind on Me.

As of now in BG progression, spiritual reality is not revealed, yet. What is discussed till now, is that material objects are a source of bondage and one has to stay away from it. What to stay away from? Some people will say withdraw away from material reality that is the path of inaction. But Sri Krishna says: no, engage in the material reality, but for the sake of purification. So that’s in summary till now, what Sri Krishan has talked about in BG.

Amrita Bindu Upanishad is saying over here that, don’t let the mind fix on a sense object. So what should it be fixed on? Since the positive spiritual reality is not known till this section of BG, so it is not told. Once positive spiritual reality is known, one can fix mind on Krishna. muktyai nirviṣayaṁ manaḥ, when the mind is free from sense object that time one becomes mukta–liberated.

The 3 C technique to control the mind

However, in the current situation; we might wonder, do I really have control over the mind? It keeps swinging to-and-fro, we do not have absolute control. But we do have significant control: when a person is driving the car on the express highway by default the car veers off track, that’s the reason the driver will be holding the steering. Likewise, to control the mind and get it back on track, the steering of three C can be followed: Conscious, Consistent, Cultivation.

Conscious

Be Conscious where the mind is going right now. If we are unconsciously lost in our own thoughts, then what happens is that, the car veers off track, hits a divider, falls into a ditch and our head goes through the windshield; as we drop unconscious. Such a thought experiment is enough to send chills down the spine. Similarly, if we fall trap to a sense gratification, our intelligence will question us: “What I did? Why I did that? It is insane! What happened to me? Therefore, we have to be conscious.

The greatest threat to individual freedom is the individual.

Actually many people talk about freedom… we want freedom, we want freedom! And they voice against government—who are like dictators—which may or may not be the case. But the greatest threat to individual freedom is the individual. It implies; we are the greatest threat to our freedom. We act in ways that hurt ourselves—when we hurt ourselves we lose our freedom—so we are the greatest threat to ourselves. If we are Conscious we can conquer the threat before it destroys us. But if we are not alert the threat may destroy us. So being Conscious is essential: it’s not like today I am very alert, and tomorrow I will go to sleep.

Consistent

Staying Consistent equips us to fend off the attacks from the mind. In fact when war is going on; other party will attack most furiously, when it sees that the other party is low on guard. Before the guard comes up, the party can be destroyed. Therefore in a war; inattention can spell doom. When two soldiers are facing each other with guns, and if one looks in the other direction, he will be immediately knocked down. So inattention can spell destruction, so it is required to be conscious and consistent.

Cultivation

Cultivation of Krishna Consciousness helps to fix the mind on Sri Krishna. BG verse 6.5 states, uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ, we will use mind for elevation toward liberation. Now Sri Krishna will elaborate on this point that the mind can be friend as well as enemy. We can wonder how the same entity—mind, can act as friend as well as an enemy. Sri Krishan describes that it depends on who is in control. If we are under the control of the mind, then the mind becomes our enemy. If we are in control of the mind, then the mind can act as a friend, that is the next verse.