Finite and transient are the fruits of sacrificial rites. The deluded,
who regard them as the highest good, remain subject to birth and death.
Living in the abyss of ignorance, yet wise in their own conceit, the del-
uded go round and round [on the wheel of death and rebirth], like the
blind led by the blind.
Living in the abyss of ignorance, the deluded think themselves blessed.
Attached to works, they know not God. Works lead them only to heaven,
whence, to their sorrow, their rewards quickly exhausted, they are flung
back to earth.
Considering religion to be observance of rituals and performance of acts of
charity, the deluded remain ignorant of the highest good. Having enjoyed in
heaven the reward of their good works, they enter again into the world of
mortals.
But the wise, self-controlled, and tranquil souls, who are contented in
spirit, and who practice austerity and meditation in solitude and silence,
are freed from all impurity, and attain by the path of liberation the
immortal, the truly existing, the changeless Self.
(The Upanishads)
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