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 ||
人听闻所说之教，便依其所能而领受——或得其正，或失其全。故真正发问求道之弟子，莫有师长胜于内在之导师（住于身中的自我）；除此之外，更无他师可寻。
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.