Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c11.s6.25

c11.s6.25

**The Twofold Path.** The Upanishads tell of the twofold path pursued by man in life, the Path of *Preyas*, of worldly life, pleasure, and prosperity, to be achieved by *Karma* and *Dharma*, deeds and rituals, the fruits of which will accrue to him in this life and extend beyond it to its later incarnations in other worlds. The other Path is the Path of *Śreyas* by which Man seeks the sole and ultimate Reality, the everlasting Good, in a life of sustained and strenuous meditation on the *Ātman*. We have already seen that there is no inherent conflict between the two Paths, between *Karma* or *Dharma*, and *Jñāna*, in the Vedic scheme of life, as the one Path leads to the other, and *Jñāna* or realization of the Ātman is the fruit of Dharma and Karma. Ultimately, as the *Kaivalya Upanishad* puts it, "neither through rituals (*Karma*) nor through progeny or wealth, but renunciation alone, persons attain to Immortality."