BG6.12

As part of Karma yoga one has to do meditation now and then. It is also called Ashtanga yogam and Sri Krishna tells how this is to be done from sloka 10, Chapter 6. We saw sloka 10 in Vanamamalai mutt. One has to select a secluded place, cut off attachments and concentrate mind and start yoga. How to sit and what type of seat has to be chosen are all going to be described by Sri Krishna. Slokas 11 and 12 describe how the outer atmosphere should be there. But slokas 13 and 14 tell how we have to control our internal mind. When we were wondering where to have the next lectures [after Vanammalai], the Lord gave us this Kshetram and we are here. This Kshetram is Thirumeyyam, one of the Pandya region Divya Desam. Here Garuda, Chandra, Adisesha and sage Satya have done meditation and so this is an appropriate place for describing Yogabyasam. What is the aim of yoga? To go after Truth, which is called Mei in Tamil and Sathyam in Sanskrit. God is Truth ans so here all are Mei and so this Kshetram is called Thirumeyyam. The Lord here is Sri Sathyamurthy or Sri SathyaNarayana. Here the Moolavar is in a reclined pose and Utsavar is in standing posture. In a separate sannidhi the Moolavar is seated while Utsavar is standing. Two big sannidhis are here in this temple. The temple is formed in a cave and is regarded as a monument by the Archaelogical Department of Government of India. Sculptures and the way the cave has been formed, are all a treat to the eyes. Like a mountain, truth remains firm and steady. With a steady Yoga we can find the steady Lord in the steady mountain. The Lord graces the devotees with Sri Uyyavanda Nachiyar or Sri Ujjeevana Nachiyar. Invoking Her blessings we will go ahead with study of Gita. Today's [10th January 2008] is from the sannidhi where the Lord is reclining on the Serpent Adisesha. Here the garbagruha is very large like a Maha mantap in other temples. Adisesha, being a serpent, felt that the rajo quality of anger was high in him and so wanted to reduce that and increase the satva quality. So, he decided to practice yoga here. He reduced his very large body and came. The river nearby is so called Pambaru [snake river]. The Lord appeared before Adisesha and enquired. Adisesha was so pleased that he offered himself as seat for the Lord and started fanning the Lord with his tongues. The jewels on his hoods were providing illumination. Afterwards, Adisesha prayed the Lord to grant him satva quality. He granted satva as well as satyam and the mountain is called Sathya giri. In the reclining pose He is granting asylum at the right foot to Sri Bhoodevi, Who was threatened by demons Madhu and Kaitapa. Sri Sridevi on the right chest of the Lord was also afraid and so the Lord as a protection is keeping the left palm in front of Her. Seeing both Sri Sridevi and Sri Bhoodevi getting threatened, Adisesha got angry and blew hot air on the demons and the demons ran away. On second thoughts, Adisesha felt ashamed and fear as he had acted without his Master's order. But the Lord comforted Adisesha, by patting the snake with His right hand. All these can be seen on the Moolavar here. He is surrounded by all the gods and rishis. Those in search of truth can make a trip to this temple. Now the 11th sloka:
sucau dese pratishthapya
sthiram asanam atmanah
naty-ucchritam nati-nicam
cailajina-kusottaram

"To practice yoga, one should go to a neat place and should lay kusa grass on the ground and then cover it with a deerskin and a soft cloth. The seat should be neither too high nor too low and should be situated in a sacred place."
Our selection of the place for yoga is very important. We should never select a place which is surrounded by bad smell and which does not give a decent appearance. We have to avoid all such distraction. Atmana = self [ the person who is going to start yoga] select, suca = clean, dese = place, sthiram asanam = on a wooden and firm seat, prathishthapya = seated. A good selection of clean place and firm seat will go a long way in the yoga. From this we have to infer that we have to keep our houses and surroundings neat and clean. Then it is possible to practice yoga anytime of the day. We should not sit on the floor but choose a seat. By the word sthiram asanam, we can interpret that wooden seat is indicated. So, we should not do yoga on mattresses and cushions. What should be the height of the seat? Asks Arjuna. Nati nicam = not too low, naty uccritam = nor too high. High seats will pose difficulties to climb and once seated will induce constant fear of falling down. Too low may cause fear of insects and serpents. Kusam = dry kusa grass [ darbhai], cela = silk cloth, acinam = deer skin. On the seat we have to spread the kusa grass and over that the deer skin is to be spread. Over that the silk cloth is to be spread. On this we have to sit and practice yoga. Kusa and deer skin are auspicious and silk for comfort.

BG6.11

Today's [9th January 2008] lecture was preceded by a small lecture by H.H. Sri Vanamamalai Mutt Jeer, as below:
Grandeur of Gita is well known and is unnecessary for me [Jeer] to tell. It was preached by the Almighty, Sriman Narayana in His Avatar as Sri Krishna and so is regarded as a supreme philosophy. If one masters understanding of Gita, there is no need for him to learn others like Vedas and Itihasa/Purana. Because it contains the extract of essences of all. Gopalan means a cowherd and such a person would look after cows and will get good milk for him and for others. But Sri Krishna has given us ambrosia [amrut]. A cowherd first allows the calf to drink milk and then milks to get milk for all. Similarly, Sri Krishna has milked the essence of all Upanishads with Arjuna as the calf, so that we have a better life in this world and beyond. He has shown four ways for us to reach Him. But in the 18th Chapter, He indicates the way for all and the easiest - saranagathi or surrender. This is what Nammalwar has indicated. By announcing one's inability [to follow more difficult yogas] and helplessness [by all others], one surrenders to the Lord and this is called Prapatti. May the Lord bless everyone all auspices for better life.
[We will now proceed with the regular lecture by Sri Velukkudi Swami]
We are blessed today as we are at the feet of H.H. Sri Kaliyan Ramanuja Jeer of Vanamamalai Mutt. In the earlier Nine slokas, Sri Krishna mentioned the need for yoga and the qualifications for doing yoga. From sloka 10 to sloka 28, He elaborates Yogabyasam and how yoga has to be performed. Therefore, it is only the blessings of Sri Deivanayaga Perumal and Sri Srivaramangai Thayar that we are starting the slokas on Yogabyasam in the presence of a Yogi like the Jeer of this Mutt. This Mutt was established in 1448 and for the last 660 years the Mutt has been flourishing. Present Jeer is the 30th of the lineage of Mutt Heads. We will see the 10th sloka now:

yogi yunjita satatam
atmanam rahasi sthitah
ekaki yata-cittatma
nirasir aparigrahah

"A transcendentalist should always engage his mind in meditating on atman; he should choose a secluded place and be alone. He should be free from desires and feelings of possessiveness."

Sri Krishna is beginning to tell how to perform yogabyasam. Yogi = person who has begun Karma yoga. Not the person who has already got atman sakshatkaram, but the one who has started practicing Karma yoga. Satatam = always. He has to be always thinking or meditating on atman darshan. Does it mean all 24 hours? Then, how will he sleep or eat? What will happen if he faints? Here, we have to understand that always denotes the time meant for yoga. Early morning [around 4 a.m.-Brahma muhurtham], is ideal for meditation. Raha = calm place, undisturbed by people, sthitha = place, ekaki = alone. We have to choose a place, for meditation, which has silent ambiance and is secluded from people. Sri Krishna tells this requirement because we are to start the yoga and so all sources of distraction should be avoided. But once we have acquired skill in meditation, then even amidst noisy gathering, we may be able to meditate. Yata cittatma = mind meditating on atman is controlled, nirasir= not desiring for anything other than atman, aparigraha = not wanting to attain the pleasures of world [ that is relinquishing the possessive attitude]. He is devoid of ahankaram [indicated by nirasir] and mamakaram [by aparigraha]. When mind is devoid of this, it will automatically think of atman only, as mind can not remain thoughtless. Instead of thinking of various worldly matters, he thinks of atman. It is like not allowing water to just flow, but by channelising to the fields. Such a person or yogi, atmanam yunjita = starts meditating on his soul. We have to choose a time and place within our dwelling like a pooja room, with a reservoir of thoughts on Him, we can try to practice yoga. Efforts alone will yield results. After describing the method for yoga, at the end of this Chapter Sri Krishna is going to tell that meditation on Him is better. With prayers to bless the Jeer for long services to the Lord, we will take leave of this Kshetram.

BG6.10

Nammalwar says in a pasuram on this Kshetram, that the Lord granted His feet as refuge for him and he does not know what to repay for that. Here, Alwar calls the Lord as Sri Vanamamalai. So the Lord is a mountain here and like the mountain, He is permanent and stable. Alwar performed saranagathi here and another four places, which are Thirukudanthai [Kumbakonam], Thiruvallavazh [in Kerala], Sri Krishna as an avatar and Sri Venkatachalapathy of Thirumala. This is evident in his Thiruvaimozhi. Today's [8th January 2008] lecture is from Vanamamalai Mutt. Here Sri Srivaramangai Thayar arrives as Daughter of the Jeer during Kanu festival [day next to Pongal festival], just like most daughters go to their parental homes on that day. Similarly, on the day previous to Her Thirunakshatram -Panguni Uthram- She along with the Lord arrive at the Mutt in Golden Chariot. Lord's Feet are very important to us as they represent Nammalwar. One arm is held in Abhaya hastha, guaranteeing protection and another arm beckons us -ahvahana hastha. We will now see the 9th sloka of Chapter 6. As mentioned earlier, 7th, 8th and 9th slokas are prelude to the Yogabyasam to be detailed by Sri Krishna from sloka 10 to 28. He is going to describe how one has to sit and perform yoga, what one should think and what not to think, etc. All the procedural steps of yogabyasam will be explained. But one has to qualify for practicing that and one can not just sit and start yoga. We may be slightly discouraged that the qualifications mentioned in slokas 7, 8 and 9 seem to be very difficult. But these qualifications are absolutely necessart. Once there was an argument between Swami Koorathalwan and Swami Mudaliyandan. Whether total detachment of all worldly desires[vairagyam] was necessary before one started adhering to the Lord's feet or even a small relinquishing effort is sufficient to cling to His feet. Swami Koorathalwan was very firm that after relinquishing all worldly ties or bonds one should go to the God. Swami Mudaliandan replied that if so only very very few like Swami Koorathalwan alone could approach God. Total detachment is not possible for the ordinary like us. So, Swami Mudaliandan's opinion was that with a small effort of detachment, one could approach the Lord, and with that power, the Lord Himself would ensure that our attachments to worldly matters get minimised and we become true Bhaktas. So, let us not get disheartened that we have not reached the levels mentioned in slokas 7, 8 and 9. In this world there are two types of people. One are very firm that unless we are fully qualified for a work, we should never embark on that. Second category feel that starting with the insufficient qualifications and try to the extent possible. It is this second approach we have to follow as it is quite rare to see anyone in the first category. Beginning is important and with His blessings we can progress. Sloka 9 is the third stage:

suhrn-mitrary-udasina-
madhyastha-dvesya-bandhusu
sadhusv api ca papesu
sama-buddhir visisyate

"A person is considered still further advanced when he regards honest well-wishers, friends, the neutral, mediators, the envious and enemies, the pious and the sinners all with an equal mind."

Sama buddhi = person with equality in view of all, visisyate = is the best qualified [among all qualified to perform yoga to get atman sakshatkaram]. In the last sloka also sama buddhi was mentioned- that he will view equally gold, stone and mud. Why then again sama buddhi? Last sloka was equality of view on inanimate objects and so it is possible to achieve that with some effort. Vey rich person may not be attracted by gold. Nor, the poor as they will find gold is beyond their reach. Even among us there are quite a few who are not lured by gold. Some may have peculiar health problems and they also may not need gold. So, this type of equality of view can be achieved by many on objects. Therefore, Sri Krishna feels that the person mentioned in sloka 9 is the best. He mentions here a variety of persons- relatives, friends, enemies, etc. He mentions nine types of people. First line indicates Seven types and second line lists two types. The first seven types are all related to an individual. The two types mentioned in the second line are common to the world. Suhrd = well wishers, who care for the well being of an individual, mitra = friend, ary = enemy, udasina = don't care persons, madhyastha = impartial persons, dvesya = persons with inherent hatred for an individual, bandhu = relatives. All these sevan types can be categorised into three groups. Suhrud, mitra and bandhu is one group. Dvesya and Ari is another group. Udasina and madhyastha is the third group. First group is favourable to us. Second group is against us and the third group is neutral and can switch to any side. Can we consider all equally? If one wants to pursue atman sakshatkaram, then it is possible. With detachment, he is not in need of any favours from the first group. Hatred by the second group is immaterial to him. So none can block or support the atman sakshatkaram, one is aiming at. Bandhu is blood related like one's parents. Ari is because he has a particular reason to foster enmity towards us. Dvesya has no reason but hates us. A hunter and the deer could be cited as example. Madhyasta judges a situation impatially and supports or opposes a person. Udasina, on the other hand, will switch sides depending on his gain or loss. Sadhu = persons who are committed to doing good to all, papi = creates problems for all. One who is trying to practice yogabyasam would view these two also alike. Therefore, the person who considers all these nine types of people equally, is the best suited for starting yogabyasam.

BG6.9

In the Tamil month of Aippasi [Oct-Nov] in Moolam star, Vishadavaksikhamani Swami Manavala Mamunigal was born and that brought fame to that star. He is the last among the gems of our Guru parampara [lineage]. He is greatly respected in Vanamamalai and today's [7th January 2008] lecture is from his sannidhi. [Though the recording of this lecture for telecasting was done much earlier, appropriately today happens to be Moolam star and is Sri Hanumath Jayanthi]. His idol is captivating and can be seen seated on Adisesha peetam. Adisesha is the serpent bed and seat of Sriman Narayana, and was born as Swami Ramanuja. This happened in circa 1017. Swami Ramanuja lived for 120 years. Same Adisesha, and Swami Ramanuja, was born as Swami Manavala Mamunigal in circa 1371. He lived upto circa 1443 [72 years]. On his birthday, both Swami Ramanuja and Swami Manavala Mamunigal will grace the devotees together and that is a rare sight indeed. This can be viewed by devotees on Swami Ramanuja's birthday also in the month Chitra and star Thiruvadirai [Ardra]. Both were sanyasins [ascetics]. Swami Ponnadikkal Jeer was foremost disciple of Swami Manavala Mamunigal. Successors to Swami Ponnadikkal Jeer, have been the jeers of Vanamamalai mutt. We will see the 8th sloka:

jnana-vijnana-trptatma
kuta-stho vijitendriyah
yukta ity ucyate yogi
sama-lostrasma-kancanah

"A person is said to be established in self-realization and is called a yogi [or mystic] when he is fully satisfied by virtue of acquired knowledge and realization. Such a person is situated in transcendence and is self-controlled. He sees everything—whether it be mud, stones or gold—as the same."

In this Chapter, the 7th, 8th and 9th slokas are introductory to the Yogabyasam or the procedure for doing yoga, which is going to be explained from 10th sloka onwards. In the last sloka [7th], Sri Krishna told that before a person starts practicing yoga, he will view equally the twins of cold and heat, happiness and sorrow and repute and disrepute. This is the first stage. Though the first step itself looks quite formidable, practice can make this to be achieved. Jnana = knowledge [of atman], vijnana = greater knowledge [of atman], trptatma = is satisfied with atman, vijitendriya = conquers or controls sense organs, kutastha = the Sanskrit word koota has many meanings, and we can take the meaning mountain peak. It means he is stable like a mountain unaffected by anything. So this person is deeply engrossed in enjoying his experience with his own atman, undisturbed by anything and remains victorious controlling the sense organs. Such a person is yukta = is qualified for atman sakshatkaram. That is a person who is satisfied with the knowledge and deeper understanding of atman, always mindful of the pure atman and who has conquered the sense organs, is eligible, ity ucyate yogi= for becoming a yogi and have atman sakshatkaram. What will be his characteristic? Kasta = mud, asma = stone, kanchana = gold, sama = [will appear] equal. When this attitude will come? Gold ornaments are worn to show one's prosperity and get respect from others. But this person already considers repute and contempt equal and so he has no need to show off by gold and get the respect from others. Sages like Sukhacharya, son of sage Vyasa, was a person in this category. He considered all equal. What are gyana and vigyana? One is called swaroopa viroopa dharma and the other is viroopith dharma viseshanam. That is one is knowing what is atman. The other is to understand the greatness of atman. By involving the mind in this constantly, he derives satisfaction. Atman is different from body, organs, mind and buddhi - this is mere gyana. Understanding further the greatness of atman and its magnificent qualities is vigyana. So, gyana and vigyana make him satisfied. Once his mind is involved in gyana and vigyana, all other sense organs have no work and so he remains in control of them. Koota also means anvil in blacksmith's shop. All articles are kept on it and hammered and deformed. But the anvil never loses its shape. Koota also means the foremost in a lineage. For example in the Vanamamalai parampara, Ponnadikkal Jeer is the Kootastha. His leader was Swami Manavala Mamunigal. All people remember the Kootastha. Similarly, here in this sloka, this person remains thoughtful of the pure atman and so is kootastha. Such a person is fit for atman sakshatkaram. Sage Sukhacharya was like that. He considered equally a young girl and trees alike. He saw only the atman in all and the physical bodies were never apparent to him.

BG6.8

We see ourselves in mirrors. But for the Lord, these ordinary miirors can not reflect His enchanting beauty. It is only the Vedas act as mirror and show to us His beauty. King of birds, Garuda, also called as Vihageswara, is an embodiment of all Vedas. That is why, just like a mirror is in front of us to view, Garuda is in front of the Lord in all temples. He is able to see His own beauty and Majesty in Garuda. Normally, in all temples Garuda is seen with folded hands. But the Garuda in Vanamamalai temple is different. Here Garuda, in front of the Lord outside the Garbagruha, is in a meditation pose. Kashyapa prajapati had two wives Kadru and Vinata. Vinata had two sons - Garuda and Aruna. Aruna was the chariot driver of the Sun. Garuda was the vehicle of Sri Narayana. Kadru had snakes as children and among them Adisesha was the foremost and he served the Lord as mattress. Once Garuda visisted Nagaloka, the abode of all snakes. THere he was scoffed by the snakes saying that while Garuda occasionally only had contact with the Lord, their leader Adisesha was always in contact -as bed, as throne and as sandals. Garuda became angry and he wanted to be associated with the Lord always and so he came to this Kshetram.
[due to power breakdown I could not listen further and so we will satisfy ourselves with the 7th sloka as in the web]

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jitatmanah prasantasya
paramatma samahitah
sitosna-sukha-duhkhesu
tatha manapamanayoh

For one who has conquered the mind, the Supersoul is already reached, for he has attained tranquility. To such a man happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same.

BG6.7

'Oh! Dark cloud hued, with Garuda flag and the army of Sudarshana, Sri Deivanayaga! I surrender unto You' so says Nammalwar. Today's [3rd January 2008] lecture is from the main sannidhi of Sri Deivanayaka Perumal. Inside, the Lord graces the devotees, just as in Vaikuntam, seated on the Serpent throne with one leg folded and the other stretched. Two arms are placed on His lap. Right upper hand is holding the Chakra in Prayoga [ready] form and the left upper hand is holding the Conch. On the right and left are seated His Consorts Sri Sridevi and Sri Bhoodevi. Behind them are Soorya and Chandra. From the top Urvashi and Thilothama are fanning the Lord holding fur in their hands. Below, sages Markandeya and Brughu are worshiping the Lord. Once Daksha Prajapati performed yagna and he did not invite his son-in-law, lord Shiva. But Uma, daughter of Daksha wanted to participate in the yagna by her father. Lord Shiva prevented her from going, but she, not heedin the advice of lord Shiva, went to the yagna. She was not only not welcomed but was humiliated. Learning this lord Shiva sent his army and they destroyed the yagna. In that fight, Soorya and Chandra were injured and they came to this Kshetram. Meditating on the Lord here, they prayed that they should always be worshiping Him here and so the Lord allowed them to be in the Garbagruha. Before coming here, their minds were filled with rage to fight. But after coming here, the minds changed to serving the Lord always. This is an example of change of mind. Lord Brahma is in Satya loka. It is the seventh world after Bhoo [ our earth], Bhuva, Suva, Maha, Jana and Thapa lokas. Urvashi was one apsara women in heaven and once she came to Satya loka and played on the veena instrument to delight Brahma. At that time Thilothama also came and they argued as to who should play on veena. Thilothama boasted that she with her skill in playing veena could destroy two demons Sundha and Upasundha. These brothers were causing harm to Devas and Thilothama was deputed to destroy them. Seeing such a beautiful woman playing veena, both the demon brothers wanted to marry her and it ended in dispute when each killed the other. Refuting her boasting, Urvashi came out with her accomplishments and the arguement continued. Finally, they decided to come here and pray the Lord to decide as to who was more capable. When the Lord appeared before them after their meditation, the two prayed for serving the Lord for ever and so the Lord accommodated them also in th Garbagruha. Thus all these got Sameepyam - living near the God. We can notice that before all these could get the vision of the lord, their minds were against them like an enemy. But after they saw the Lord, the same minds got changed and became friendly to them. This was the essence of sloka 5 and Arjuna wondered whether change of mind was possible. The Lord answers this in sloka 6:

bandhur atmatmanas tasya
yenatmaivatmana jitah
anatmanas tu satrutve
vartetatmaiva satru-vat

"For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy."

Tasya atmana = for that great soul, atmana bandhu = mind is friend, yena = for that person, atmaiva = by his soul, atmana jita = mind is conquered. For the person who is able to vanquish his mind, the mind is a friend to the soul [in pursuit of sublime things like atman sakshatkaram]. Anatmanas tu = [but] he who has not conqureed his mind, atmaaiva = his own mind, chatru vat = lke an enemy, satrutva = enmity, varteta = is established. For the one who is unable to conquer his own mind, his mind will act as enemy. How to conquer a mind? It is an abstract matter and so how to encounter and conquer? Here, what is meant as conquering, is to control the mind from drifting and going after worldly pleasures. Diverting the mind on atman is all what is meant. This has to be slowly achieved by practice. Initially, we may do it for few minutes , but practice makes perfect and longer durations can be realized. Whenever we divert the mind on atman, we are supposed to have conquered the mind. During such time, the mind is our friend. In the tales of Urvashi, Thilothama and others, we found that their minds changed for the better. God's blessings were there. Upanishads say that if we concentrate on the Lord, then all knots in our hearts are resolved and mind becomes friendly. Alwar says that if one could reside in Thotadri, mind would become friendly. By doing Karma yoga with detachment on the results, the God is pleased and He ensures the change of the mind and it becomes friendly to the soul.

BG6.6

We might be wondering whether it could have been better, if we were born without the sensual organs, which are drifting our attention from more sublime things. In his pasuram 'agathinul vaittha..' sung in praise of this Kshetram, Nammalwar says that the Lord has created the sensual organs like a fishnet so that we will be caught in the net and we can not go forward to reach Him. But Alwar with the Gyana and Bhakti provided by the Lord, says he knew how not to get entangled in this net. Appropriately, today's [2nd January 2008] lecture is at the sannidhi of Sri Andal, Who is considered as the incarnation of Sri Bhoodevi. During the Irappatthu utsavam, the Lord will be gracing from the mandapam here along with Sri Sridevi, Sri Bhoodevi, Sri Varagunamangai and Sri Andal. In the sanctum sanctorum [garbharuham] of the main sannidhi, both Sri Sridevi and Sri Bhoodevi are also there [we are yet to go to that sannidhi]. In that sannidhi apart from the Consorts, Soorya [Sun] and Chandra [Moon] are also there. Dancers of heaven, Urvashi and Thilothama are serving the Lord by waving the fur [ven chamaram]. In the Srinivasa Kalyanam tale, we come across sage Brughu in search of the God with sathva guna. During that search, he got angry with the Lord for not noticing him and so he kicked the Lord on His chest, where Sri Sridevi is resident always. Sri Sridevi got angry and She came to a place, which is the present Kolhapur in Maharashtra. Realizing his great mistake, sage Brughu prayed the Lord for pardon and the Lord asked him to come to this Kshetram and meditate on Him. The Lord, pleased with the sage's sincerity granted a boon that Sri Sridevi would be born as his daughter and the Lord would marry Her and allow both of them [Sri Sridevi and sage Brughu] to remain with Him in the garbhagruha. Thus Brughu and sage Markandeya could be seen inside the sannidhi of the Lord here. In Kumbakonam [Thirukudanthai], near the Padma pushkarini [temple pond], Sri Lakshmi was meditating on the Lord so that She could remain with the Lord in this [Vanamamalai] Kshetram. The Lord appeared before Her and reminded that She was the daughter of sage Brughu and so Her name was Sri Bharghavi and married Her and brought Her to this sannidhi. It appears that demons Madhu and Kaitapa were born on this earth from the body impurities of the Lord. Later, the Lord destroyed them. But Sri Bhoodevi was very sorry that the impurities were on Her and so She prayed the Lord in this Kshetram, to purify Her and the Lord granting Her prayer, made Her also to be with Him in the garbha gruha. We will now see the 5th sloka of Chapter 6:

uddhared atmanatmanam
natmanam avasadayet
atmaiva hy atmano bandhur
atmaiva ripur atmanah

"One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well."

Sri Krishna tells that we have to keep our mind pure. Atmana = by thought or by mind, atmanam = self [ jeevatman], uddharet = one should uplift or rescue [from the samsaram], atmana = by mind or thought, atmanam = self [jeevatman], na avasadayet = should not allow to slip [and fall back and remain in samsaram]. So, by thought or mind, one has to uplift oneself and with the same mind one should not allow oneself to slip away. We may wonder, how this is possible? After all mind is same. How it could do two contradictory things? We see friends and enemies as separate persons. Same person can not be both enemy and friend at the same time. So, here we have to add one small adjective to understand what Sri Krishna is talking about. A detached mind will uplift the self and a mind with attachment will push the self to fall down. So with a mind detached from worldly things, we can come out of samsaram. Arjuna gets a doubt. How one's own mind can be unfriendly to oneself? Arjuna saw all friends and relatives of him ready to help and he also found the enemies wanting to destroy him. Sri Krishna asks why Arjuna calls certain persons as friends and others as enemies? Arjuna tells that friends are doing good to him and others are doing bad for him. What good the friends are doing and what bad, the enemies are doing? Friends take care of him. They provide all comforts. Enemies do not care for him and they do not give him comforts. With a smile, Sri Krishna tells that Arjuna should interchange the attributes. He says that the friends Arjuna considered were actually doing bad for him and the enemies considered by him were doing good for him. So called friends by giving all comforts and agreeing with what all he does, actually immerse him further in samsaram. So, they are not doing good. Enemies as considered by Arjuna, on the contrary, make him to get detachment from the worldly matters and so they help him. This is conveyed in the second part of the Asloka. atmaiva hi= mind alone is, atmano = for the soul [jeevatman], bandhu = friend, atmanaiva = mind alone is, atmana = for the self, ripu = enemy. Here also we have to add the adjective to understand. A detached mind is friend and mind with attachment is enemy. We are part of the family and society. But we have to realize our role and do our duty without attachment. By attaching, we never train our mind on the Lord and so we can not escape from this birth-death cycle. Arjuna if he fought the war as a duty enjoined on him and to fight with detachment, then his mind helped him. If the same mind advised him to fight the war for mere kingdom and the regal pleasures, then the mind is enemy to him. Alwar says at many places that a detached mind is able to cling to the feet of the Lord.