Adhikara means competency. A competent person is called an adhikari, one who would get the highest benefit from a text. Anyone can read any text if one wishes. But, every text is not meant for everyone. This is much more true of a scriptural text. ‘What are the prerequisite qualifications for undertaking the study of a text?’ The answer to this question is adhikara, competency. One who has those qualifications is an adhikari, competent person. Types of Adhikaris Hinduism takes into account of the fact that everyone is not capable for everything; there are degrees of competency among human beings. Just as all the computer engineers are not of the same category—there are superior, average, and ordinary types of engineers — so also among the spiritual aspirants exist divisions or categories based on their competency. For example, Advaita Vedanta classifies adhikaris into the following three categories. Uttama adhikari, the superior aspirants, are those who are so prepared