The means of escaping from this endless sa/ms/ara, the way out of which can never be found by the non-enlightened soul, are furnished by the Veda.  The karmaka/nd/a indeed, whose purport it is to enjoin certain actions, cannot lead to final release; for even the most meritorious works necessarily lead to new forms of embodied existence.  And in the j/n/anaka/nd/a of the Veda also two different parts have to be distinguished, viz., firstly, those chapters and passages which treat of Brahman in so far as related to the world, and hence characterised by various attributes, i.e. of I/s/vara or the lower Brahman; and, secondly, those texts which set forth the nature of the highest Brahman transcending all qualities, and the fundamental identity of the individual soul with that highest Brahman.  Devout meditation on Brahman as suggested by passages of the former kind does not directly lead to final emancipation; the pious worshipper passes on his death into the world of the lower Brahman only, where he continues to exist as a distinct individual soul—­although in the enjoyment of great power and knowledge—­until at last he reaches the highest knowledge, and, through it, final release.—­That student of the Veda, on the other hand, whose soul has been enlightened by the texts embodying the higher knowledge of Brahman, whom passages such as the great saying, ‘That art thou,’ have taught that there is no difference between his true Self and the highest Self, obtains at the moment of death immediate final release, i.e. he withdraws altogether from the influence of Maya, and asserts himself in his true nature, which is nothing else but the absolute highest Brahman.

Thus Sa@nkara.—­According to Ramanuja, on the other hand, the teaching of the Upanishads has to be summarised as follows.—­There exists only one all-embracing being called Brahman or the highest Self of the Lord.  This being is not destitute of attributes, but rather endowed with all imaginable auspicious qualities.  It is not ’intelligence,’—­as Sa@nkara maintains,—­but intelligence is its chief attribute.  The Lord is all-pervading, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-merciful; his nature is fundamentally antagonistic to all evil.  He contains within himself whatever exists.  While, according to Sa@nkara, the only reality is to be found in the non-qualified homogeneous highest Brahman which can only be defined as pure ‘Being’ or pure thought, all plurality being a mere illusion; Brahman—­according to Ramanuja’s view—­comprises within itself distinct elements of plurality which all of them lay claim to absolute reality of one and the same kind.  Whatever is presented to us by ordinary experience, viz. matter in all its various modifications and the individual souls of different classes and degrees, are essential real constituents of Brahman’s nature.  Matter and souls (a/k/it and kit) constitute, according to Ramanuja’s terminology, the body of the Lord; they stand to him