Shloka 1
Adhyāya 26 — Ekākṣara-Brahman (“Om”) and the Hṛdayastha Guru
Inner Teacher
अपन ह< बक। है २ 2 षड्विशो<5ध्याय: अन्तर्यामीकी प्रधानता ब्राह्मण उवाच एक: शास्ता न द्वितीयो5स्ति शास्ता यो हृच्छयस्तमहमनुब्रवीमि । तेनैव युक्त: प्रवणादिवोदकं यथा नियुक्तोडस्मि तथा वहामि
brāhmaṇa uvāca | ekaḥ śāstā na dvitīyo 'sti śāstā yo hṛcchayaḥ tam aham anubrūvīmi | tenaiva yuktaḥ pravaṇād ivodakaṃ yathā niyukto 'smi tathā vahāmi ||
Der Brahmane sprach: „Es gibt nur einen Herrscher; einen zweiten gibt es nicht. Den, der im Herzen wohnt, Ihn allein verkünde ich als Lenker aller. Mit Seinem Willen verbunden bewege ich mich wie Wasser, das einen Abhang hinabfließt: zu welcher Aufgabe ich auch bestellt werde, in dieser Weise schreite ich fort und vollbringe sie.“
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
That ultimate governance belongs to a single supreme Lord who dwells within the heart (Antaryāmin). Human action is best understood as aligning oneself with that inner divine ordainer—like water naturally flowing down a slope—so one performs the duty one is directed toward without egoistic claim of independent control.
A Brahmin speaker explains his worldview and conduct: he recognizes only one true ‘ruler’ of the world, present within all beings, and describes his own behavior as obedient to that inner prompting—carrying out whatever role or task he is assigned, as effortlessly and inevitably as water flows downward.