Shvetaketu

A character in the Chandogya Upanishad, one of the speculative texts that
form the latest stratum of the Vedas.
In the upanishad, Shvetaketu is the
son of Uddalaka Aruni, and a paradigm for a seeker of knowledge.
Shvetaketu’s education also symbolizes
the conception of true knowledge found
in the Upanishads and the way that this
differs from earlier conceptions.
According to a story in the upanishad’s
sixth chapter, Shvetaketu is sent away by
his father to study the Vedas, and when
he returns twelve years later having
mastered all the Vedas, he incorrectly
considers himself learned. Shvetaketu’s
father punctures his arrogance, showing
him the difference between memorization and true knowledge, by asking
Shvetaketu questions about the nature
of the cosmos. When Shvetaketu cannot
answer these, he admits his ignorance
and accepts instruction from his father
on the nature of the Self (atman). This
instruction contains the teaching “That
thou art” (tat tvam asi). This is one of
the “great statements” (mahavakya) in
Indian philosophy, and asserts the
ultimate nondifference between Brahman
and atman, the cosmos and the individual Self.