Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 6: The Path of Meditation
Bhagavad Gita 6.5
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् ।
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ॥
uddharedātmanātmānaṃ nātmānamavasādayet | ātmaiva hyātmano bandhurātmaiva ripurātmanaḥ ||
Lift yourself up by your own self; do not let yourself sink. For you are your own friend, and you are your own enemy.
Modern context
This is one of the most quoted lines in the Gita. You must lift yourself up, and you must not let yourself sink, because you are your own best friend and your own worst enemy. Teachers, friends and circumstances help, but none of them can do the lifting for you. The verse is not harsh. It is a statement of dignity. However low a person has fallen, the power to rise is still in their own hands.