Verse
Number 5.
Utthareth
Athmana Athmanam Na Athmanam Avasadhayeth
Athmayeva
E Athman Bandhu Athma Yeva Repu Athman.
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.
This is a Fatalism negating sloka.
Friends and enemies are not outside. They
exist in the mind only. It is the mind that makes a friend an enemy and an
enemy a friend. Therefore, the Self alone is the friend of oneself, and the
self alone is the enemy of oneself. The lower mind or the Asuddha Manas (Impure
mind) is your real enemy because it binds you to the Samsara, and the higher
mind or the Sattvic mind (Suddha Manas or the pure mind) is your real friend,
because it helps you in the attainment of Moksha.
Four types of grace, which are very important
for us, are Eswara Grace, a culture that values Spirituality; Guru
Kripa, which is an opportunity that enables you to get a guidance from
someone; Sastra Kripa, which is an opportunity to study the Scriptures
and understand what is spiritual life; Atma Kripa, which is the grace of
oneself (self grace). We require learning from ourselves. It is in the form of Self confidence. Believe in yourself
and tell yourself that you can follow the spiritual path and attain spiritual
success. Eswara Kripa can do nothing for you, if you do not have self
confidence. You should believe in your freewill. As a human being, we all have
freewill and using our freewill, we can change our life. The first thing to be
noted in spirituality is to renounce fatalism. We should not say that because
of fate I am what I am today. Fatalism believes that faith is the
only factor that determines our future life. Lord Krishna Negates Fatalism.
There is no doubt that faith determines our future. It is
not the only factor but it is one of the factors. We can use our freewill and
change our future by the contribution of the freewill. We should have faith in
Freewill. Having Self will is an important
value. With self confidence and available freewill, I can influence my life
confidently. The next is Self effort,
which is putting your own effort in whatever you do. Have a healthy mind, which
is your best friend. Always tell yourself that you can do it with the grace of
lord. Integrate them for accomplishing Artha, Kama, Moga
and Dharma.
Be Blissful
S.SEKAR
Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com
