Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 2.10
॥
Devanāgarī
शास्त्रं विनापि संबोद्धुं गुरवोऽपि न शक्नुयुः । तस्मात्सुदुर्लभतरं लभ्यं शास्त्रमिदं मुने
Transliteration (IAST)
śāstraṃ vināpi saṃboddhuṃ guravo'pi na śaknuyuḥ | tasmātsudurlabhataraṃ labhyaṃ śāstramidaṃ mune
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
शास्त्रं विना अपि संबोद्धुंśāstraṃ vinā api saṃboddhuṃscripture without, too, to understand
गुरवः अपि न शक्नुयुःguravaḥ api na śaknuyuḥeven teachers are not able
तस्मात् सु-दुर्-लभ-तरंtasmāt su-dur-labha-taraṃtherefore the very hard to attain
लभ्यं शास्त्रम् इदं मुनेlabhyaṃ śāstram idaṃ munescripture must be obtained, O sage
Translation
"And without scripture, even teachers cannot understand; therefore this very hard-to-attain scripture must be obtained, O sage".
Version
7afec40e2bc5 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is a reservation not usually found in books of this kind, and it does this one credit: even teachers cannot understand without scripture. That is, the teacher is not the source; he transmits, he does not compose; and without the book he himself does not understand. This position puts the teacher in his proper place — high, but not first — and defends against what most often spoils such paths: a teacher who cites himself.
The Vaishnava side holds this rule firmly and expresses it in a saying constantly in use: a teacher's words are valuable insofar as they agree with scripture; and every teaching is tested by a threefold measure — shastra, guru, sadhu: scripture, teacher, and the company of those walking. None of the three is verified by itself. This measure, I think, is among the soundest ever devised. Scripture without a teacher is interpreted as anyone pleases; a teacher without scripture speaks his own; a company without either drifts into a crowd. Together, the three hold each other up.
It is worth adding that the order here too is correct: scripture first. Not because it is more important than a living person, but because it is unchanging: a man can err, change his mind, be corrupted; the book remains the same, and so is fit as a check.