The Brāhmaṇa texts describe the primordial being, often Prajāpati, as working hard to create a mechanism by which he could enjoy relative experience. The humans he created had confidence that life in this sphere of experience could be enjoyed while at the same time reintegrating that part of their self that was unmanifest. There are indications that living a hundred years on earth was desirable, after which those who directly knew their ultimate identity with the unmanifest part of themselves would not suffer punarmṛtyu. The situation seems to have shifted, however, because the two path theory--already present in late Brāhmaṇas--and rebirth signal that some sacrificers were no longer successful in knowing themselves by the time of the Upaniṣads. This prompted another approach to enjoyment and religious practice. 

I will give a talk that somewhat touches on this question in the upcoming Decolonizing Travel(ing) Theory conference (July 15-17), which may be of interest to you and others on this list: https://sites.google.com/view/traveltheory/homecfp?authuser=0