Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 2.8
॥
Devanāgarī
यदा तु मेलनं योगी लभते गुरुवक्त्रतः । तदा तत्सिद्धिमाप्नोति यदुक्ता शास्त्रसन्ततौ
Transliteration (IAST)
yadā tu melanaṃ yogī labhate guruvaktrataḥ | tadā tatsiddhimāpnoti yaduktā śāstrasantatau
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यदा तु मेलनं योगीyadā tu melanaṃ yogīwhen, however, the meeting, the yogi
लभते गुरु-वक्त्रतःlabhate guru-vaktrataḥattains from the mouth of a teacher
तदा तत्-सिद्धिम् आप्नोतिtadā tat-siddhim āpnotithen he attains that attainment
यत् उक्ता शास्त्र-सन्ततौyat uktā śāstra-santatauof which it is said in the succession of scriptures
Translation
"When, however, the yogi attains the meeting from the mouth of a teacher, then he attains that attainment of which it is said in the succession of scriptures".
Version
384f77baaa86 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
It is said whence the meeting comes: guru-vaktratah, "from the mouth of a teacher." What cannot be obtained by practice and is not given in a hundred births is transmitted orally — from person to person. This position deserves stating plainly, for it is the answer to everything said in the preceding lines. A meeting is not produced and not earned; but it is transmitted. And it is transmitted by one who has it.
The Vaishnava side stands wholly on this, and her whole literature is, in essence, the elaboration of this position. Kripa, "mercy," comes not straight from heaven, but through a man; and hence so much is said in her books about the teacher and about the company of those walking — not out of reverence for rank, but because this is the one known way by which what cannot be earned is transmitted. Worth noting too is the expression shastra-santatau, "in the succession of scriptures." Santati means "continuity, succession, offspring"; the scriptures are named not a collection, but a succession — that is, that which passes from hand to hand and is not broken off.
This word, I think, explains everything else too. If the scriptures too are a succession, and the meeting comes from mouths, then this whole subject is a subject of transmission, not discovery. One can discover on one's own; one can receive only from someone.