Brāhmaṇavagga · The Brahmin · Gāthā 400

Yo ca brāhmaṇo hoti, so ceva brāhmaṇoti vuccati; Na hi tena brāhmaṇo hoti, yāvad eva brāhmaṇo hoti.

Yo ca brāhmaṇo hoti, so ceva brāhmaṇoti vuccati; na hi tena brāhmaṇo hoti, yāvad eva brāhmaṇo hoti.

What is Brahman, is called Brahman; not by being called Brahman is one Brahman, but until one is Brahman.

Yāvad eva — until, only when. The name follows reality, it does not precede it. One is first brāhmaṇa, then called so.

No initiation ceremony can create what only extinction of thirst produces.