CONTENTS

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 THE UPANISHADS    --translated by F. Max Muller (500 BC)

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In the mid-19th century, German scholar Friedrich Max Muller, who has been called the father of comparative religion, became the most prominent advocate of historical and linguistic analysis in the study of religion. Beginning in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the scriptures of many non-Western traditions had been translated and published, offering a view of faiths that previously had been inaccessible. In addition, archaeological excavations had revealed new features—including some scriptural texts—of previously obscure religions, such as those of the ancient Middle East. Presented with this mass of information, Muller undertook a critical, historically based investigation of world religious traditions. Although his approach emphasized the view that all traditions were the product of historical development, Muller believed comparative study would demonstrate that every religion possessed some measure of truth.