Work or labour, in any form, has always in Brahmanical theology been regarded as an evil. Krishna, too, recognizes it as such, though he holds it to be tolerable and even unobjectionable in certain cases. Work for its own sake or for the attainment of any object is undesirable, though it is lawful to do such work as may be necessary for the performance of sacrifices[116] or the support of one’s body; but even this work should be done without thought of reward. As to Vedic rites, _i.e._, the old ceremonial observances, these duly carried out lead, no doubt, to the attainment of pleasure and power, and even heaven itself for a time.[117] But the highest attainable good--_absorption in the Supreme Being, and consequent emancipation from re-births_--cannot be obtained by even Vedic rites. It is only to be reached by _knowledge_ or by _faith_. Now both the terms _knowledge_ and _faith_ require special elucidation. What then is the nature of this _knowledge_ which is so efficacious for emancipation? Not assuredly what the Western world understands by that term, but something very different, viz., subjugation of the senses and a complete suppression of all affections and dislikes, all hopes and fears, all desires and aversions, all pride and humility. This condition of utter indifference to every thing, sensual or intellectual, is the state of _knowledge_ leading to absorption in the Supreme Being or world-soul.[118] One method of arriving at this blissful condition, though not the shortest or most certain, is through the _Yoga system_, which meets with the approval of Krishna, who gives general directions as to how the devotee, eating little, should sit in some lonely place; how he should concentrate his gaze on the tip of his nose; how he should mingle the “upward and the downward life breath; and how, finally renouncing all desires without exception that are born of resolves, restraining the entire group of the senses on all sides by mind alone, he should by slow degrees become quiescent, (aided) by (his) understanding, controlled by patience, and then, directing his mind to self, should _think of nothing_.” When the devotee arrives at _this_ stage he is emancipated, for surely he has found _true knowledge_! While thus indicating the inefficiency of the Vedas for _final emancipation_, and while bestowing only a qualified commendation upon the Yoga system, Krishna inculcates very forcibly the doctrine of the efficacy of _faith_ and, above all, faith in himself which, it would seem, it is the special object of the dialogue to bring into prominence. For himself Krishna claimed that he was “the productive cause of the entire universe and also its destroyer.” He asserted that he was “the beginning, the middle, and the end of beings,” and that there was “nothing higher than himself.” To give weight to his claims the god vouchsafed to show himself to Arjuna in “his supreme sovereign form,” with many mouths and eyes, many wondrous aspects, many celestial