Uddalaka Aruni

A character in the Chandogya
Upanishad, one of the speculative texts
that form the latest stratum of the
Vedas. In the upanishad, Uddalaka is
the father and teacher of the boy
Shvetaketu Aruneya, and the two are a
model for the transmission of secret
teachings passed between guru and disciple. 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. His
father punctures his arrogance by asking
Shvetaketu questions about the nature
of the cosmos and thus shows him the
difference between memorization and
true knowledge. 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 identity between
Brahman and atman, the cosmos and
the individual Self.