5 Preparation
5-3-1 Kaivalya 1 to 4
Sage Asvalanya is a qualified student and he approaches Brahmaji, a qualified teacher, to teach him Brahma-vidyA which is beyond mAyA. It is pursued by noble persons as it destroys all the evils. The Upanishadic message is that both the student and the teacher should be qualified. A student should have four-fold qualifications by practicing karma yoga and upasana yoga. The teacher should have not only knowledge of Brahman, he should be established in Brahman and should possess communication skills. Established in Brahman means his life should conform to Brahm-vidyA. Communication skills are important because Brahman is not an object of knowledge in any conventional sense and is non-communicable and it requires special skills to teach. He should belong to a lineage of teachers and teach what he has learned from his teacher. He is prohibited from imparting a new teaching.