Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 5.3
॥
Devanāgarī
यमाद्यष्टाङ्गसंयुक्तः शान्तः सत्यपरायणः । स्वात्मन्यवस्थितः सम्यग्ज्ञानिभिश्च सुशिक्षितः
Transliteration (IAST)
yamādyaṣṭāṅgasaṃyuktaḥ śāntaḥ satyaparāyaṇaḥ | svātmanyavasthitaḥ samyagjñānibhiśca suśikṣitaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यम-आदि-अष्ट-अङ्ग-संयुक्तःyama-ādi-aṣṭa-aṅga-saṃyuktaḥjoined with the eight limbs, beginning with the yamas
शान्तः सत्य-परायणःśāntaḥ satya-parāyaṇaḥpeaceful, devoted to truth
स्व-आत्मनि अवस्थितः सम्यक्sva-ātmani avasthitaḥ samyakas it should established in his own self
ज्ञानिभिः च सु-शिक्षितःjñānibhiḥ ca su-śikṣitaḥand well-instructed by knowers
Translation
"…joined with the eight limbs, beginning with the yamas, peaceful, devoted to truth, as it should established in his own self, and well-instructed by knowers…"
Version
e32c324f81da · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The conditions continue, and the last of them deserves special note: jnanibhish cha sushikshitah, "well-instructed by knowers." That is, before the technique, instruction from people is required, not from a book. This requirement is universal in books on yoga, and has a wholly material cause: breath techniques, wrongly performed, are harmful, and every manual warns of this.
But there is here a cause of another kind too, worth stating, for it concerns more than yoga alone. A person walking alone has no correction. Every error of his grows unchecked, for it is confirmed by himself alone; and the longer he walks, the harder he is to correct, for he has already invested years in it.
The Vaishnava side insists on this equally, and adds to the teacher company: sadhu-sanga, "association with those on the same path," is counted by it the first rung after faith, and is held necessary to the very end. The ground given is simple, and, in my view, sound. A teacher is one, and not always at hand; company is a constant correction, and a mutual one at that. In company, a person sees his own faults reflected — something never seen alone with oneself.
Worth noting too is the word shanta, "peaceful," standing among the conditions. It means not insensibility, but a settled state; and it is placed before the practice, not after. This ordering is common in books on yoga and, for that reason, instructive. Much of what is usually expected from practice — peace, truthfulness, steadfastness — stands here among the conditions; that is, it is presumed that a person comes to the practice already changed, not that the practice changes him.