There is a famous oft-quoted line from Bhagavad Gita: Atmaiva atmano bandhu atmaiva ripuratmana (Namely, you are your own enemy and you are your own friend). Like many other popular quotes from great scriptures this one is also half of the shloka circulated profusely. The other half, which completes the statement, is ignored. Probably nobody knows about it. And we all know how dangerous half-truths are. Nobody asks, what it means to be one’s own friend and one’s own enemy. In the outer world the definition is simple: one who fulfils our selfish end is called a friend and one who obstructs our desires appears to be an enemy. But the inner world has its own rules and laws. The next line of the above mentioned shloka defines both words: “One who has conquered his mind and senses is his own friend, and one who lets his mind and body rule himself is his own enemy.”
For a detailed explanation we will dig into Osho’s commentary on Bhagavad Gita. He asks a pertinent question, have you observed how your body and mind control your life? Your basic stress, the real schizophrenia is that your mind and body are not in tune with each other. For instance, while eating the body says: “It’s enough, stop it!” And the mind and the senses say: “It is so delicious, keep gobbling.” Or the body wants to move and exercise and the mind wants to watch TV. Your mind accumulates tonnes of money, which, you know perfectly well, is unnecessary but you cannot control your mind. Really speaking the mind should be your servant and you should be the master, but you, the owner, has to follow the servant. In this struggle sometimes the body wins, and at other times the mind, but the master always loses. Your peace of mind is destroyed. Look at the insane situation regarding money in our country, isn’t it a clear indication that we are all our enemies? We let greed have the better of us.
This is not being friendly with yourself. Being your own friend means you should be the master of your body and mind. Like an efficient CEO you should be able to decide the course of action for the mind and senses. But the big question is: how to become our own friend? It has not been part of our curriculum. Osho shows a simple way: detach yourself from your mind and body. Don’t be party to their chaos and confusion. Distance yourself so that you can watch their games. The moment you distance and detach, you will have the reigns in your hands. You will be the master, and there will be friendliness between you and your mind, you and your senses. It is easier to lead a friend rather than an obstinate servant. With friendly vibes at the core you will become silent, aware and crystal clear; your inner sky will be full of light –– this is the fragrance of friendliness. When you become your own friend you naturally disseminate friendliness all around.
