bout the true character of acts, it should be
said that), if acts are ordained for man for inducing knowledge (by which
alone Brahma or Emancipation is to be attained, even then) they should be
regarded as obligatory (and not optional). I shall now discourse on them
by the light of inferences and experience. Listen to me.[937] With
respect to acts some men say that Exertion is their cause. Others say
that Necessity is their cause. Others, again, maintain that Nature is the
cause. Some say that acts are the result of both Exertion and Necessity.
Some maintain that acts flow from Time, Exertion, and Nature. Some say
that of the three (viz., Exertion, Necessity, and Nature), one only (and
not the other two) is the cause. Some are of opinion that all the three
combined are the cause.[938] Some persons that are engaged in the
performance of acts say, with respect to all objects, that they exist,
that they do not exist, that they cannot be said to exist, that they
cannot be said not to exist, that it is not that they cannot be said to
exist, and lastly, that it is not that they cannot be said not to exist.
(These then are the diverse views entertained by men). They, however,
that are Yogins, behold Brahma to be the universal cause. The men of the
Treta, the Dwapara, and the Kali Yugas are inspired with doubts. The men,
however, of the Krita Yuga are devoted to penances, possessed of tranquil
souls, and observant of righteousness.[939] In that age all men regard
the Richs, the Samans, and the Yajuses as identical not withstanding
their apparent diversity. Analysing desire and aversion, they worship
only penance.[940] Devoted to the practice of penances, steadfast in
them, and rigid in their observance, one obtains the fruition of all
desires by penances alone. By penance one attains to that by becoming
which one creates the universe. By penance one becomes that in
consequence of which one becomes the puissant master of all things.[941]
That Brahma has been expounded in the declarations of the Vedas. For all
that, Brahma is inconceivable by even those that are conversant with
those declarations. Once more has Brahma been declared in the Vedanta.
Brahma, however, cannot be beheld by means of acts.[942] The sacrifice
ordained for Brahmans consists in japa (meditation and recitation), that
for Kshatriyas consists in the slaughter of (clean) animals for the
gratification of the deities; that for Vaisyas consists in the production
of