the plan of the universe, and then conform to it.  By severe mental discipline you can attain to this knowledge, and for reward you will be immortally united with God.”  To this the sectarian adds:  “Or believe in my god and the result will be the same.”  But both philosopher and sectarian continue:  “If, however, you do not want to be united with the Supreme Spirit so soon as this, then be virtuous and devout, or simply be brave if you are a warrior; do whatever the rules of morality and caste-custom bid you do, and you will go to heaven for thousands of ages; at the end of which time you will be re-born in a fine family on earth, and may again decide whether to repeat the process of gaining heaven or to join God and become absorbed into the World-Spirit at once.”  There were probably many that chose rather to repeat their agreeable earthly experience, with an interlude of heaven after each death, than to make the renunciation of earth and heaven, and be absorbed once for all into the All-god.

The doctrine of ’the ages’[48] is so necessary to a true understanding of the rotative immortality offered as a substitute for the higher bliss of absorption (that is, genuine immortality), that an account of the teaching in this regard will not be out of place.  The somewhat puzzling distinction between the happy life of them that fail to desire absorption, and yet are religious men, and the blissful life of those people that do attain absorption, is at once explained by a clear understanding of the duration of the time of the gods’ own life and of the divine heaven.  Whereas the Greek notion of four ages includes within the four all time, all the four ages of the Hindu are only a fraction of time.  Starting at any one point of eternity, there is, according to the Hindu belief, a preliminary ‘dawn’ of a new cycle of ages.  This dawn lasts four hundred years, and is then followed by the real age (the first of four), which lasts four thousand years, and has again a twilight ending of four hundred years in addition.  This first is the Krita age, corresponding to the classical Golden Age.  Its characteristics are, that in it everything is perfect; right eternal now exists in full power.  In this age there are neither gods nor demons (D[=a]navas, Gandharvas, Yakshas, R[=a]kshas, Serpents), neither buying nor selling.  By a lucus a non the derivation of the name Krita is k[r.]tam eva na kartavyam, i.e., with a pun, it is called the ‘sacred age’ because there are no sacrifices in that age.  No S[=a]ma Veda, Rig Yeda, or Yajur Veda exist as distinct Vedas.[49] There is no mortal work.  Fruit comes by meditation; the only duty is renunciation.  Disease, lack of mental power, moral defects (such as pride and hate) do not exist; the highest course of the ascetic Yogis is universally brahma (paramakam).  In this age come into existence the Brahman, Kshatriya, V[=a]icya, C[=u]dra, i.e., the distinct castes of priest, warrior, husbandman, and slave; all with