The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c40.s4.13

v2.c40.s4.13

The part of asceticism in the pursuit of knowledge is similar to that of the sacrifice. The Bṛhadāraṇyaka¹⁰ is not inclined towards it, recognizing in it as in sacrifice at most a way to the lower bliss of the world of the Fathers,¹¹ the Chāndogya¹ substitutes the faith of the forest dweller for penance. The Taittirīya Upaniṣad,² on the other hand, places value on Vedic study and asceticism, and even insists on the supreme value of the latter: the Mahānārāyaṇa³ sets renunciation, Nyāsa, above even asceticism: and from the Kena⁴ onwards the value of asceticism for the obtaining of the knowledge of the Brahman is absolutely recognized and sometimes insisted upon. In this, as in regard to Vedic study and sacrifice, the process is one of steady accommodation to the popular view, which was at the same time the profitable view to the priests. It is needless, however, to see in this the fact of the borrowing of the theory of the Ātman from an external source: the facts accord perfectly with a reform within the Brahmanical fold: the reformers gradually sink back into the main body, while their doctrine in some degree at least is adopted by the main body of the priests.