Upanishads · Varāha 2.76
॥
Devanāgarī
दुर्लभो विषयत्यागो दुर्लभं तत्त्वदर्शनम् । दुर्लभा सहजावस्था सद्गुरोः करुणां विना
Transliteration (IAST)
durlabho viṣayatyāgo durlabhaṃ tattvadarśanam | durlabhā sahajāvasthā sadguroḥ karuṇāṃ vinā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दुर्लभः विषय-त्यागःdurlabhaḥ viṣaya-tyāgaḥhard-won is the abandonment of objects
दुर्लभं तत्त्व-दर्शनम्durlabhaṃ tattva-darśanamhard-won is the vision of truth
दुर्लभा सहज-अवस्थाdurlabhā sahaja-avasthāhard-won is the natural state
सत्-गुरोः करुणां विनाsat-guroḥ karuṇāṃ vināwithout the mercy of the true teacher
Translation
"Hard-won is the abandonment of objects, hard-won is the vision of truth, hard-won is the natural state — without the mercy of the true teacher."
Version
a75bc5023ad9 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is a verse that cancels the seventy-third, and it deserves noting how close they stand. There the teacher was numbered among the contrivances (2.73); here it is said that without his karuna, "mercy," nothing is attainable. The contradiction is complete; and it, in my view, again points to the composite character of the chapter, discussed more than once.
Let us add what deserves saying of the position itself, for the Vaishnava side accepts it fully. Three unattainable things are listed: abandonment of objects, vision of truth, sahaja-avastha, "the natural state." The last deserves examination. Sahaja means "born together," that is, innate, natural.
That is, the highest is named not an acquisition, but a return to the natural; and of love being nitya-siddha, "eternally ready," lying in the heart and merely covered, discussed when reading the Jabala-darshana (4.12). Let us add the word karuna, "mercy," from kri, "to make," in the sense of compassion. That is, what decides is not instruction, but the teacher's compassion; and the difference between "he explained it to me" and "he took pity on me" is, in my view, the whole difference between teaching and transmission.
The Vaishnava side stands on this, and its usual verse states: yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado, "by his grace — the grace of the Lord"; discussed when reading verse two.