The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c40.s4.20

v2.c40.s4.20

Nor in the oldest stratum of the Upaniṣads do we find the necessity of instruction by a teacher laid down: Yājñavalkya⁵ on several occasions teaches persons such as his wife, Maitreyī, informally and without initiation, and Açvapati⁶ teaches the Brahmans who come to him freely. The rule of taking a teacher is absolute in the Kaṭha,⁷ and is approved in the Chāndogya,⁸ where the teacher is regarded as being as essential as the removal of a bandage to a blindfolded man, who wishes to find his way home to Gandhāra. In these texts the vague requirements also occur that a man should be endowed with self-restraint, renunciation, tranquillity, patience, and collectedness.