Blowing in the East Wind

One should raise

the self by the self;

one should not

degrade the self.

Indeed, the self alone

is the self's friend;

the self alone

is the self's enemy.

The self is the friend

of that self

by whose self

the very self is conquered.

But for one who is not

truly one's self--

in enmity, that very self

would remain like an enemy.

For one whose self is conquered,

who is peaceful--

that one is fully absorbed

in the higher self

While in cold and heat,

happiness and suffering,

likewise, honor and dishonor.

One whose self is

content in knowledge

and in realized knowledge,

who is focused on the highest

with senses conquered--

That one,

"absorbed in yoga,"

is said to be a yogi

for whom earth, stones,

and gold are the same.

~ from the Bhagavad Gita