My Favourite Bhagavad Gita भगवद्गीता
Bhagavad Gita भगवद्गीता
Chapter 6 ~ Samkhya Yoga
The Science of Self Realisation
In chapter six Lord Krishna reveals astanga Yoga, and the exact process of practicing such yoga. He explains in detail the difficulties of the mind and the procedures by which one may gain mastery of their mind through Yoga which reveals the spiritual nature of a living entity.
uddhared ātmanātmānaḿ nātmānam avasādayet ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ
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
Only by the Self can one uphold oneself, and only by the Self can one degrade oneself. Self is the friend of oneself, and its enemy as well.The word ātmā is body, mind and soul. In Yoga, the mind and the conditioned soul are especially important, and liberation of the mind is Yoga, so ātmā is the mind.
The purpose of Yoga is to see the mind clearly and to draw it away from attachment to sense objects. It is stressed the mind must be trained so well, it can deliver the soul from the mire of ignorance.In material existence one is influenced by the mind and sense perception. We are entangled in the material world because the mind is in false ego, which desires and grasps.The mind can be trained so that it will not be attracted by the material world, and the conditioned soul may be liberated from bondage.The more one is attracted by sense objects, the more one becomes entangled in material existence. The best way to disentangle is to keep the mind focusedin pure consciousness.
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"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." ~Amrta-bindu Upanishadmana eva manuṣyāṇāḿ kāraṇaḿ bandha-mokṣayoḥ bandhāya viṣayāsańgo muktyai nirviṣayaḿ mana