What is "adhikarivada"

Adhikārivāda is the doctrine of special rights and privileges with regard to the right to universal knowledge of the Upanishads.

Vivekananda rejected this doctrine which, in his view, was the outcome of pure selfishness and ignored both the infinite possibilities of the human soul and the fact that all men are capable of receiving knowledge if it is imparted in their own respective languages. Therefore, he claimed, there is no reason for access to the universal knowledge of the Upanishads to be restricted on the basis of caste or religion.