112. Beware Of The Enemy Within
After declaring that one is responsible for lifting up or degrading oneself (6.5), Krishna gives a path to discharge this responsibility when he says, "For him who has conquered his self, the self is his bandu (friend/relative) but for him who has not conquered his self, the self verily hostile like the enemy" (6.6). The key is conquering self. The word ' atman ' meaning 'self' appears twelve times (6.5, 6.6) in an ambiguous construction allowing multiple interpretations. But, for a practitioner, the context set in the following verses would give clarity regarding the core aspect of conquering 'self'. Krishna says, "For one who is self-controlled, the Paramatma (supersoul) is already reached, for he has attained tranquility. He is balanced in cold and heat, pleasure and pain (seetoshtna-sukhdukh) , as also in honour and dishonour (maana-avamaana) (6.6)." Essentially, it means transcending the everlasting polarities. Arjun had ...