The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c6.s6.2

c6.s6.2

Thus there seems to be a close relationship between ritualistic and renunciatory thought and practice. Mention has already been made of the prāṇāgnihotra and the mental sacrifice; we may also think, for instance, of the meditation on ātman, which is spoken of in terms of the agnicayana ritual, or the yogic breath exercises, which are put on a par with the pravargya ceremony,⁸⁵ while *Manu* recommends that the parivrājaka constantly recite sacrificial texts.⁸⁶ The question that occupies religious thought does not appear to concern the affirmation or rejection of sacrifice, but rather what is the true sacrifice, the latter being, of course, the interiorized sacrifice. Nor does the question turn on brahmin superiority or its rejection, but on the point of who is the true brahmin. On these points, both orthodox and heterodox thinkers seem to agree to a great extent.