The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c40.s10.67

v2.c40.s10.67

In keeping with the curious vagueness of the Upaniṣads is the failure to make it clear precisely what is the ground which secures for a man union with the absolute in lieu of rebirth. In the Chāndogya¹⁰ the matter is fairly simple; the boon falls to those who know the doctrine of the five fires and the offerings in them which explain man's descent to earth after his death, and to those who practice worship in the forest, holding that faith is their asceticism; at least this is the more natural sense of the terms employed. Return to earth is attributed to those who in the village worship, holding that their sacrifices and their gifts to the priests are their tribute. In the Bṛhadāraṇyaka,¹¹ on the other hand, the distinction is between those who practise faith and truth, and those who devote themselves to sacrifice, alms, and asceticism. In the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad¹ the attainment of the absolute is the reward of those who wise, calm, of holy conduct, practise faith and asceticism, which is doubtless intended to be a reproduction of the view of the Chāndogya, though its accuracy is dubious. In the Praçna² the sun and the absolute are assured to those who give themselves up to holy conduct (*brahmacarya*), asceticism, faith, and knowledge, while rebirth is attained by those who hold that sacrifice and gifts are their action. It may fairly be held that the earlier sources do not accept asceticism as any essential part of the equipment for attaining the absolute, while it is assumed as necessary in the later texts.³