Satyakama's Sincerity
Truth-telling as qualification for knowledge.
Satyakama, not knowing his father's caste, spoke only the truth to his prospective teacher. His truthfulness revealed his brahmin nature and won him acceptance.
Only a brahmin could speak thus truthfully. You are a brahmin.
This story shows that character matters more than birth.
Chandogya Upanishad
Written about in
- What the Upanishads say about doubt
A boy who cannot name his father's lineage tells the teacher exactly that, and is accepted on the strength of the admission. The Upanishads open their account of knowing with someone saying out loud what he does not know.