A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s8.74

v1.c8.s8.74

are frequently used side by side in the sense of "thus says the secret doctrine.") Often enough we find in the Upaniṣads themselves the warning against communicating some doctrine to an unworthy one. "This doctrine of Brahman," it is said for example,¹ "may a father impart to his eldest son or to a trusted pupil, but not to another, whoever he may be, even if the latter should give him the whole earth, surrounded by the waters and filled with treasures." Very frequently it is also related in the Upaniṣads how a teacher is entreated to communicate some knowledge or other, but only after repeated entreaty and urging of the pupil, gives way and reveals his doctrine to him.²