Shloka 12
Adhyāya 26 — Ekākṣara-Brahman (“Om”) and the Hṛdayastha Guru
Inner Teacher
शृणोत्ययं प्रोच्यमानं गृह्लाति च यथातथम् | पृच्छातस्तदतो भूयो गुरुरन्यो न विद्यते
śṛṇoty ayaṃ procyamānaṃ gṛhlāti ca yathātatham | pṛcchatas tad ato bhūyo gurur anyo na vidyate ||
إنه يصغي إلى ما يُعلَّم ثم يتلقّاه على قدر طاقته—مرةً على وجه الصواب ومرةً على وجه النقص. لذلك، فبالنسبة للتلميذ الذي يسأل بصدق، لا معلّم أعظم من المرشد الباطن (الذات الساكنة في الداخل)؛ وما وراء ذلك فلا يُوجد غورو آخر.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
External instruction is received and interpreted according to the listener’s capacity, so the highest and most reliable guide for a sincere inquirer is the inner witness/indwelling Self (antar-yāmin), which clarifies truth beyond mere verbal teaching.
A Brahmin speaker reflects on the limits of spoken instruction: a listener may understand a teaching in varied ways. He concludes that for one who asks and seeks rightly, the decisive guidance comes from within—hence no greater guru exists than the inner guide.