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 ||
人は説かれる教えを聞き、己の力に応じて—あるときは正しく、あるときは不完全に—それを受け取る。ゆえに真に問い求める弟子にとって、内なる導き手（内在する自己）に勝る師はなく、そのほかに求むべきグルはない。
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.