“But of all pure things purity in acquiring wealth is pronounced the
   most excellent; since he who gains wealth with clean hands is truly
   pure; not he who is purified merely with earth and water.

   “By forgiveness of injuries, the learned are purified; by liberality,
   those who have neglected their duty; by pious meditation, those who
   have secret faults; by devout austerity, those who best know the Veda.

   “Bodies are cleansed by water; the mind is purified by truth; the vital
   spirit, by theology and devotion; the understanding, by clear
   knowledge.

   “No sacrifice is allowed to women apart from their husbands, no
   religious rite, no fasting; as far only as a wife honors her lord, so
   far she is exalted in heaven.

   “A faithful wife, who wishes to attain in heaven the mansion of her
   husband, must do nothing unkind to him, be he living or dead.

   “Let her emaciate her body by living voluntarily on pure flowers,
   roots, and fruit; but let her not, when her lord is deceased, even
   pronounce the name of another man.

“Let her continue till death forgiving all injuries, performing harsh duties, avoiding every sensual pleasure, and cheerfully practising the incomparable rules of virtue, which have been followed by such women as were devoted to one only husband.”

The Sixth Book of the Laws of Manu relates to devotion.  It seems that the Brahmans were in the habit of becoming ascetics, or, as the Roman Catholics would say, entering Religion.  A Brahman, or twice-born man, who wishes to become an ascetic, must abandon his home and family, and go to live in the forest.  His food must be roots and fruit, his clothing a bark garment or a skin, he must bathe morning and evening, and suffer his hair to grow.  He must spend his time in reading the Veda, with a mind intent on the Supreme Being, “a perpetual giver but no receiver of gifts; with tender affection for all animated bodies.”  He is to perform various sacrifices with offerings of fruits and flowers, practise austerities by exposing himself to heat and cold, and “for the purpose of uniting his soul with the Divine Spirit he must study the Upanishads.”

   “A Brahman, having shuffled off his body by these modes, which great
   sages practise, and becoming void of sorrow and fear, it exalted into
   the divine essence.”

   “Let him not wish for death.  Let him not wish for life.  Let him expect
   his appointed time, as the hired servant expects his wages.”

   “Meditating on the Supreme Spirit, without any earthly desire, with no
   companion but his own soul, let him live in this world seeking the
   bliss of the next.”