ŚB 10.80.32
Devanagari
स वै सत्कर्मणां साक्षाद् द्विजातेरिह सम्भव: ।
आद्योऽङ्ग यत्राश्रमिणां यथाहं ज्ञानदो गुरु: ॥ ३२ ॥
आद्योऽङ्ग यत्राश्रमिणां यथाहं ज्ञानदो गुरु: ॥ ३२ ॥
Verse text
sa vai sat-karmaṇāṁ sākṣād
dvijāter iha sambhavaḥ
ādyo ’ṅga yatrāśramiṇāṁ
yathāhaṁ jñāna-do guruḥ
dvijāter iha sambhavaḥ
ādyo ’ṅga yatrāśramiṇāṁ
yathāhaṁ jñāna-do guruḥ
Synonyms
saḥ — he; vai — indeed; sat — sanctified; karmaṇām — of duties; sākṣāt — directly; dvi-jāteḥ — of one who has been twice born; iha — in this material life; sambhavaḥ — birth; ādyaḥ — first; aṅga — My dear friend; yatra — through whom; āśramiṇām — for the members of all the spiritual orders of society; yathā — as; aham — Myself; jñāna — of divine knowledge; daḥ — the bestower; guruḥ — spiritual master.
Translation
My dear friend, he who gives a person his physical birth is his first spiritual master, and he who initiates him as a twice-born brāhmaṇa and engages him in religious duties is indeed more directly his spiritual master. But the person who bestows transcendental knowledge upon the members of all the spiritual orders of society is one’s ultimate spiritual master. Indeed, he is as good as My own self.