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HINDUISM
By Ernest R. Hull, S.J.
The main object of this paper is to describe Hin
duism as a concrete working reality among the
Hindu people to-day. The variety of its forms and
its general promiscuousness make the presentation an
extremely difficult task, especially as Hinduism is
entirely unformulated in any official creed or code or
standard handbook of theological or moral instruction.
Whatever Hinduism may be, one thing however is
clear. It is essentially a traditional inheritance from
ancient times,—not indeed a primeval deposit handed
down unchanged in crystalline form, but a residual
deposit resulting from a long process both of
accretions and decretions, developments and modifica
tions—, so that it has never been one and the same
thing in successive periods of the past, and is never
altogether the same thing among different sections
of the people themselves. In order, therefore, to
understand the meaning of Hinduism, it is not enough
to enumerate the various existing elements which
make up the whole It is necessary also to see how
these elements have come together, and the idea and
motive which has lain at the back of them. And this
is possible only through a comprehensive view of the
history of the entire development from earliest times.
The Aryan Immigration
By “earliest times,” for present purposes, I mean
the unascertainable date at which the original Aryan
stock, then dwelling somewhere in Central Asia,
divided into two streams, the one migrating west
wards through Persia, and then on to Greece, Italy,
5
1
•
?
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The History of Religions
and Germany, while the other diverted southwards
through the passes of the Himalayas, and worked its
way first down to the Indus, then eastwards along
the Ganges, and finally southwards over the peninsula.
The peoples whom they found already occupying the
country were of two sorts, probably representing two
earlier migrations — first, the “ Kolarians,” still
surviving in remnants among the hill tribes of
Central India; and secondly, the “Dravidians,” who
even now predominate in the southern half of the
country. These peoples were partly subjugated by
the Aryan immigrants and partly left untouched in
the more inaccessible districts. Of those subjugated
races some remained more or less unmixed, while
others gradually intermingled and formed semi
Aryan tribes. Both these previous populations had
their own distinct forms of religion ; and (though it
would require much detailed study to be definite) it
is certain that they contributed many of the grosser
elements which afterwards went to make up the
congeries of later Hinduism—animistic beliefs, fetish,
stone, image, and demon worship, and a multiplicity of
local deities of low type.
First Period: 1500-1000 b.c.
Our sole knowledge of the early Aryan worship is
derived from the sacred books called the Vedas, of
which a very brief account must now be given. First
and oldest comes the Rig Veda, a collection of religious
hymns, which on the one hand embody the conception
of one sublime deity, and on the other hand so personificate the powers of nature as to make them seem
separate gods—Dyospita. the shining one, or father
and superior of the sky (the Zeus of the Greeks, and
Jupiter, supreme God of Rome1); Varuna, the god
of the dark sky ; Mitra, god of the bright sky;2 Indra,
god of the cloudy sky (or of rain); Agni, the god of
1 Cf. xi. 16; xiii. 15.
2 Cf. x. 16 ; x. passim \ xvi. 5 and passim.
�Hinduism
3
fire; Surya, god of the sun ; Savitri, Pushan, and
finally Vishnu — at that time a sun-god of quite
inferior note; Vayu, god of the air; the Maruts, or
storm gods ; Rudra, father of the Maruts, a third-rate
deity, but (like Vishnu) elevated in later times to a
position of supreme prominence under the name of
Siva\ Yama, the first of the Blessed (z>. of men
elevated to heaven), afterwards the dread king of
hell; the Aswins, healers of men; Ushas, goddess of
dawn ; Saraswati, goddess of a river of that name,
and now surviving as the goddess of eloquence, etc.
—making in all a total of thirty-three—eleven in
heaven, eleven on earth, and eleven in mid-air. Each
of these objects was separately worshipped as supreme
by prostrations, oblations, sacrifices of the goat, cow,
horse, and even man. It is difficult to judge how far
they were regarded polytheistically as distinct
divinities, or monotheistically as various aspects of
one and the same all-pervading power. Enough to
say that a noble and elevated tone pervades the
hymns throughout, far different from that of most
later literature. In fact, in no instance is the down
ward tendency from primitive to later times more
strongly manifested than in the history of Hinduism
viewed from the starting-point of the Rig Veda, thus
rendering difficult any theory of the consistent up
ward evolution of religions generally. Even Rigvedism itself seems already to mark a downward
departure from a more primitive belief in one God.
In certain social points, too, now identified religiously
with Hinduism, the same evidence appears. In the
Rig-vedic times caste was unknown. Even the priest
class were men of the world, and in no way an exclu
sive racial clique.1 Women were in full enjoyment
of a healthy social liberty and equality with men,
sharers in sacrifice and praise ; and some of them were
counted even as priestesses. They married at a reason
able age, had some voice in the choice of their
1 Cf xiii. 18.
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The History of Religions
husbands, were free to re-marry, and the ritual suicide
of Sati was unknown. The people had no religious
restrictions in the use of meat and drink. The dead
were sometimes cremated, but also sometimes buried.
The chief aim of worship was indeed to secure pros
perity in this world, but conceptions of sin and
forgiveness were not wanting.1 The people believed
in the happiness of a future state, and the doctrine of
transmigration was unknown. Neither (except in a
few hymns of undoubtedly late origin) is there any
suggestion of the pantheism of a later age, nor of any
official intermingling of magic with religion.
Second Period : 1000-800 b.c.
By a convenient speculation, the compilation of the
Rig Veda may be placed somewhere between 1500
and 1000 B.C., and its place of composition was the
Punjab. With similarly convenient definiteness we
can assign the composition of the other three Vedas
to somewhere between 1000 and 800 B.C., during
which time the Aryans pressed on from the country
of the Indus and settled in the Jumna and Ganges
plains as far eastwards as Behar. The literature
which came into existence during this second period
is as follows:—(1) The Sama Veda, a collection of
sacrificial chants taken from the Rig Veda and
arranged for solemn recitation or singing to music;
(2) The Yajur Veda, a collection of sacrificial
formulas ; (3) The Atharva Veda, including a few
late hymns from the Rig Veda, but consisting chiefly
of “ mantras ”—spells against evil, incantations against
diseases, imprecations against demons, sorcerers, and
enemies, and charms for securing prosperity and
success. This document may not indicate the origin
of magic, but certainly reveals its gradual incorpora
tion with religion, thus marking a clear stage of
degradation.2 For centuries it was not regarded as a
1 Cf. xiii. 29,
2 Cf. i. 9 ; xiii. 2,
�Hinduism
5
sacred book, and only became incorporated into the
canon after religious degeneracy had prepared the
way.
Subsequently to the foregoing Vedas, and now at
least regarded also as Vedas, came a series of com
mentaries called Brahmanas. They deal with the
procedure of sacrifice, but are chiefly full of theo
logical and mystical speculations, with citations from
earlier authors now otherwise lost. They mark a
time when the simple and natural worship of the Rig
Veda had expanded into a totally artificial system,
and presuppose as already accomplished the trans
formation which they represent.
Following on the Brahmanas came the Aranyakas
or “forest lectures,” to be read by Brahmins during
their ascetical probation; and secondly the Upanishads,
which show the beginnings of intellectual speculation
in theology—not claiming at the time to be divine
revelations, but “guesses at truth,” and attempts to
penetrate into the problems of the soul, the universe,
and the Supreme Being. In some of these works
there appears a strong tinge of pantheistic specula
tion, which was afterwards developed into a system.
Side by side with the religious transformations
revealed by this literature, social changes of no less
importance were taking place. The original divisions
into four classes—if not indeed a pure myth from
beginning to end—had been established, viz. the
priests, warriors, and agriculturalists, with the Sudras
or incorporated aborigines added as a fourth. It was
only afterwards that caste developed into an ironbound system of social division, and came to be
identified with religion as it now is. The position of
women and their privileges still remained almost
unaffected, while flesh-eating was still in full vogue.
Third Period: 800-500 b.c.
Following on this comes the Sutra or so-called
rationalistic period, which may be placed between 800
�6
The History of Religions
and 500 B.C.1 It is named from the appearance of the
Sutras—treatises of theology, philosophy, law, and
domestic rites. Among these Sutras must be
included the six Darsanas, Shastras, or systems of
philosophy as follows:—(1) Nyaya, mainly a system
of logic, and atheistic in character; (2) Vaiseshika, a
system of atoms and eternal matter, which under
criticism adopted the idea of God, but made souls
eternal before and after, and independent of Him; (3)
Sankhya (the classical system), originally atheistic,
but modified so as to include God ; (4) Yoga, atheistic
adaptation of the Sankhya; (5) Purva Mimansa, an
exegesis on the Vedas ; (6) Uttara Mimansa (also
called the Vedanta), divided into two systems—(«) the
unqualified or extreme, which teaches pure idealism:
“ There is One, and no second ”; the world is an
unreal delusion of Maya; (6) the qualified Vedanta,
which makes the world and souls realities, but still
only forms of the One. Among these treatises the
most celebrated is the Vedanta group, the contents of
which is undoubtedly pantheistic. For though efforts
have been made to use the more theistic portions as a
key for the interpretation of the whole, the Vedantic
philosophy is generally understood in such a way as
to make the name “ Vedantist ” identical with
“ Emanative Pantheist.” This group marks the climax
of theological development in ancient literature—
later writers having done nothing but evolve the
teaching here contained into a more explicit and
methodic form.
At the same time the old religion had in practice
reached its most formalized condition ; though, even
so, there were as yet no temples, no images, and no
fantastic mythology of gods and goddesses such as
constitutes the entire make-up of later Hinduism.2
No doubt the growth of the six Shastras or
philosophies had already given rise to the distinction
1 Cf. xi. 24-26.
2 Cf. xii. 4 ; xiii. 4, 7.
�Hinduism
7
between “ esoteric ” and “ exoteric ” Hinduism ;
philosophical pantheism prevailed among the select
circle of the priestly caste, while the multifarious
ceremonial cult of the people was connived at, fostered,
and encouraged by them as the only form of religion
suited to their lower capacities.
Buddhistic Period: 500
b.c. to
500
a.d.
Gautama Buddha,1 founder of Buddhism in the sixth
century B.C., who came with an answer to a growing
aspiration after a purer and nobler form of faith,
found all the materials out of which to select his
theology in the literature already existing around
him. The conception of Brahma as the unconscious
All, producing souls and matter identical with himself
by means of Maya or the principle of delusion; the
eternity of the universe, souls, and matter before and
after; the union of souls and matter, affording the
condition for consciousness, desire, and action ; karma,
or the good and evil consequences of action; the
transmigrations of souls through an indefinite series
of lives ; release from the series by uprightness of life ;
the attainment of the goal of human destiny by
absorption into the All—these ideas are found already,
some of them first hinted at in the Upanishads, and
all of them expanded and systemized by the six
systems of the Shastras, the latest dating a century
or two before Buddha’s time. What Buddha really
did was this. First, he preached the unreality of the
ritual worship prevalent among the people and the
impotence of priestly ministrations; secondly, he set
about popularizing selected portions of the esoteric
Vedanta—in the light of which he substituted con
templation and self-restraint for ceremonial observ
ances as the means of sanctification and salvation.
In short, the original Buddhism seems to have been
little more than the logical and practical (though
1 Cj. iv. passim.
�8
The History of Religions
eclectic) use of intellectual Hinduism as a solvent to
popular Hinduism. That Buddhism was merely a
practical outcome of a pre-existing theology is perhaps
shown from the fact that just before Buddha’s time
there had started quite independently a parallel move
ment on very similar lines, now known and still surviv
ing under the name of Jainism.1
Buddhism spread gradually throughout the peninsula,
but received its chief push forward from the powerful
patronage of Asoka {circa 250 B.C.).2 The country was
soon covered over with Buddhistic temples and monas
teries, whose material remains are still the delight of
the archaeologist and traveller. A monkish system was
developed on lines so strangely parallel to those of
Christian monasticism as to suggest imitation on one
side or the other; but the likeness is fully explained
by the co-ordinate working out of the same root-idea
of discipline and self-restraint.3
Puranic Period: 500-1000
a.d.
Meantime Brahminism, though much weakened for
a time, was by no means universally superseded, and
gradually reasserted itself among the masses of the
people—not indeed in the Vedic form existing prior
to Buddhism, but in the Puranic, which was itself
even a greater transformation from Vedic Brahminism
than Vedic Brahminism had been from pure RigVedism. The later or Puranic religion, the staple of
modern Hinduism, embodied the full apparatus of a
fanciful mythology, a large pantheon of gods and
goddesses, very human and superhuman and preter
human and infrahuman, with spirits good and evil,
represented by fantastic image-forms and worshipped
with manifold rites. Every action in life and after life,
great and small, was brought under the good and
evil influences of these deities, and prosperity and
1 Cf. iv. 7.
2 Cf ib., 24.
3 Cf ib., 9, 10, 28.
�Hinduism
9
adversity in life were made to depend upon ceremonial
observances of a more or less magical character con
nected with their worship.
But what we want to say at this point is that
Buddhism, with its exacting moral code resting on
transcendental ideas, could not possibly hold its own
among the masses of the people, especially when
placed in rivalry with the attractive concreteness of
the growing Puranic Brahminism. And so Buddhism
was gradually drawn down to the level of its environ
ment. Reverence for Buddha as a saint soon became
worship of Buddha as a god. Other Buddhist saints
were similarly deified, and there grew up a system of
semi-polytheism, semi-saint-worship, in which the
veneration of sacred places and relics formed the
most prominent feature. This change had established
itself by the early centuries of the Christian era ; but
any effective hold upon the mind of the people was
not of long duration. For even with its new popular
attractions Buddhism could hardly compete with the
increasing popularity of Puranism, and the ever grow
ing domination of the Brahminical caste. The result
was that by the twelfth century A.D., Buddhism was
practically obsolete in India, though it survived and
still flourishes in Ceylon, Burma, Thibet, and elsewhere.
Jainism, which went through a similar popularizing
process, managed to survive in certain parts such
as Gujerat, Rajputana, etc.; but for the rest, from
this time forward the new or Puranic Brahminism
prevailed throughout the length and breadth of India,
and prevails still—being adopted not only by the
Aryans, but also by the Dravidians of the south, and
by such portions of the Kolarian tribes as had been
drawn into connection with the Aryan race.
Puranic Hinduism
We have now reached that traditional deposit of
religion which is meant by Hinduism in the ordinary
5
I*
�io
The History of Religions
acceptance of the term. In point of contents it is
extremely heterogeneous and complex, and in various
degrees participated in piecemeal by different sections
of the people; it permeates however the community
as a whole, so that there is a remarkable uniformity
of spirit and practice prevailing throughout the
country. This unity is forced upon the traveller by
the practical fact that the same features recur again
and again in every part, so that after a short time he
finds little or nothing new to be seen—a festival
scene in the great Temple at Madura and another in
the Golden Temple at Benares being undistinguishable except by locality. To put it philosophically,
Hinduism, if taken analytically, divides up into an
amazing complexity of diverse parts which it would
take a volume to enumerate ; but when looked at
synthetically, it is the same one thing in its essential
ideas wherever found. There are thousands of castes,
each with its own distinctive religious practices, and
there are scores of “ sects ” or different religious
allegiances; and yet all share promiscuously in each
other’s practices, the Vishnavite mingling with the
Sivaite, and the worshipper of Ganesh making no
distinction when he comes in front of a shrine of
Vittoba. The primary instinct to worship something
is so strong that it issues readily in the worship
of anything. Hence the Hindus even flock with
Christians to the more famous Catholic shrines, and
make their votive offerings to Our Lady just as they
will make them the next day to Durga or Parvati.
It is quite an ordinary thing to find a Christian grave
of unknown origin turned into a Hindu shrine, and
loaded with bits of rags and faded garlands and
coco-nut shells smeared with butter by way of
sacrifice.
Method
of
Synthesis
“Hinduism—that is, latter-day Hinduism,” writes
Hunter—“ the Hinduism of the Puranas and after
�Hinduism
11
wards—is a social league and a religious alliance. As
the various race-elements of the Indian peoples have
been welded together, the simple old beliefs of the
Veda, the mild doctrines of Buddha, and the fierce
rites of the non-Aryan tribes have been thrown into
the melting-pot, and poured out thence as a mixture
of precious metal and dross to be worked up into the
complex worship of the Hindu gods.” Unfortunately
our literary resources are too scanty to allow anything
like a tracing of the whole process in detail. A few
of the factors can, however, be indicated, even though
their exact share in the results cannot be other than
conjecturally assigned.
Starting from the fact that the systematization of
later Hinduism was the work of the Brahmins and
the stepping-stone to their ascendency, it is easy to
understand that they would use every form of belief
and practice already prevailing among the people as
a means of securing their desired object. And in
justification of this “accommodation” they had a
magnificent instrument at their back. This was none
other than the pantheistic philosophy of the Vedanta.
According to this speculation, the whole universe is
nothing but a kind of shadowy reflection of the One
Infinite Supreme, being really identical with Him, and
only by a delusive limitation of mind conceived as
distinct. It thus becomes not only possible but
inevitable to regard the whole world, and whatever is
in it, not only as a manifestation of God, but as
actually divine, and so capable of receiving divine
worship. If, therefore, the people were found worship
ping forces of nature, spirits, demons, animals, and
even curiously shaped stones, there was no necessity
to convert them from their errors. Once recognize
the all-pervading divinity, and the worship can be
sanctioned as legitimate and embodied into orthodox
Hinduism without essential alteration.
Such is the explanation which you will get now
adays if you catechize a Brahmin priest about the
�12
The History of Religions
many bizarre worships which he encourages and
perhaps takes part in ; and it seems likely that such
was the means by which a large part of the Hindu
pantheon was created. Of the deities of Vedic times
several have thus survived, e.g. Saraswati, Savitri,
Vishnu, and Siva, the two latter of whom had by the
decline of the Buddhist period assumed such impor
tance as almost to eclipse all the rest, and to divide
the country into two enormous sects, of which we
shall have more to say later on. Besides these Vedic
gods there were many others of local origin to be
synthesized. Among them, in the first place, were the
five brothers Pandavas, possibly historical persons,
celebrated by the old epic called the Mahabharata
(500 to 200 B.C.), and afterwards deified and worshipped
collectively under the material form- of five round
stones grouped together. Shrines of this kind can be
found along the roadsides in many parts of the
country. Another was Rama, also a deified hero,
celebrated in the epic called the Ramayana (similar
date). In connection with him comes Hanuman, a
warlike general having the form of a monkey, who
was instrumental in the recovery of Rama’s wife Sita,
and who is still worshipped in many temples as the
“ Monkey-God.” Then comes Krishna, the most
popular of all, celebrated in several of the Puranas ;
probably also a historical personage of great prowess,
afterwards deified and made the subject of a vast
amount of mythology, and then the revealer of a
religious philosophy. Among the rest may be
mentioned Ganesh or Ganpati, a mythological youth
whose head was cut off by his own father Siva, and
replaced by that of an elephant, since when he has
become the god of the domestic hearth and the patron
of successful enterprise. These and a multitude of
decidedly local gods, to say nothing of goddesses
(Kali or Durga, Parvati, Mahaluxmi, etc. etc.), all
found a place in the pantheon under the general
category of manifestations or avatars. Even Buddha
�Hinduism
13
himself was adopted as one among the avatars of
Vishnu.
Siva and Vishnu
As the worship of Vishnu and Siva are almost the
two substantial halves of popular Hinduism, it will be
useful here to enter into summary particulars of the
leading differences between them.
Siva
Vishnu
(1) Originally the vedic god
Rudra, father of the storm
gods, who gradually gained
popularity.
The cult was
especially propagated by Sankaracharya in the eighth
century A.D.
(2) A stern and exacting
deity, standing aloof from men,
who must raise themselves
towards him by painful efforts.
(1) Originally a minor sun
god of Vedic times, who
gradually gained popularity.
The cult was especially propa
gated by Ramanuja in the
eleventh and Chaitanya in the
fourteenth century A.D.
(2) A bright and comfortable
deity, who condescendingly
comes down to the level of
men by avatars or manifesta
tions.
(3) He is worshipped with
festal praise as a king by his
courtiers in “the way of de
votion,” and not of works.
(4) His clients are distin
guished by the use of vertical
paint-marks on the brow.
(5) The theology tends to
theism by emphasizing personal
manifestations of the divinity.
Salvation is a free gift of grace.
(3) He is worshipped by
ascetical practices—“ the way
of works ”—and propitiated by
sacrifices of blood.
(4) His clients are distin
guished by horizontal paint
marks on the brow.
(5) The theology is panthe
istic, and maintains the law of
salvation by works as a means
of final absorption into the
divine.
(6) The worship gives rise
to numerous Jogis, and tends
to acts of excessive penance,
fanaticism, secret sects, and
pious fraud.
(7) The worship of the linga
or generative power is charac
teristic, as well as animal sacri
fice. The objects worshipped
are not regarded as avatars of
the divinity, but as symbols of
his attributes and powers.
(6) The worship tends to
degenerate into licentiousness
sanctified by religion (prosti
tution in temples, etc.).
(7) The principle of avatars
favours polytheism and fetish
by incorporating the worship
of the fish, tortoise, boar, etc.,
and also of deified heroes as
avatars of Vishnu.
�14
The History of Religions
The Avatars
The ten chief avatars or incarnations of Vishnu are
as follows:—
(1) Matsya, the fish. Vishnu becomes a fish to save
Manu, the first progenitor of the human race, from the
deluge.
(2) Kurma, the tortoise. Vishnu appears as a
tortoise in order to rescue certain valuable articles
lost in the deluge.
(3) Varaha, the boar. Vishnu descended to rescue
the world from a demon called Hiranyaksa who had
plunged it beneath the sea.
(4) Nara Sinha, the man-lion. Vishnu, in the form
of a half-man half-lion, delivers the world from a
demon called Hiranya Kasipu, who had appropriated
the sacrifices made to the gods.
These four avatars are said to have taken place in
the Satya, the first or golden age of the world.
(5) Vamana, the dwarf. Vishnu descends as a
dwarf to rescue the world from the power of the
demon Bali. In two strides the dwarf passed over
heaven and earth, but left the third or under world
unreclaimed.
(6) Parashu rama = Rama with the Axe. Born to
suppress the domineering of the Kshatrya or warrior
caste over the Brahmin or priestly caste.
(7) Rama Chandra, the mild or moon-like. A
Kshatrya prince and the hero of the Ramayana epic,
who destroyed the demon Ravana.
These three occurred in the Treta, the second or
silver age.
(8) Krishna, the dark god, the most popular of all.
He appeared at the close of the Dvapara, the third or
copper age, for the destruction of the tyrant Kansa,
who represented the principle of evil. Details of his
later life are woven into the Mahabharata epic, but his
principal place is in the Puranas. Some say, however,
�Hinduism
15
that he was not an avatar of Vishnu, but Vishnu
himself.
(9) Buddha, adopted as the ninth incarnation in
order to incorporate the Buddhists under the Brahmin
domination.
(10) Kalki, who is yet to appear at the close of the
fourth—the present—“ kali ” or iron age, riding on a
white horse, and restoring the first or golden age
once more. Hence the many votive images of horses
ranged round the temples of southern India, in the
hope of hastening his looked-for advent.
Some of the present-day Hindus are said to have
adopted Queen Victoria (embodiment of the British
power), and others, it is reported, have tried to adopt
Christ, as additional avatars of Vishnu.
The word Avatar means “descent.” Its meta
physics do not seem to have been explicitly analyzed.
On the one hand, it is said that avatars are not incar
nations in the sense of adopting or assuming a finite
object into union with the godhead—that Krishna,
for instance, is not God-made-man but God-mademanifest—God pure and simple, manifested under the
appearance of a human form—theophany, not incar
nation. On the other hand, different degrees of avatar
are specified according to the proportion of divinity
contained in the object, thus: (1) the full divinity, as
Krishna; (2) half the divinity, as Rama; (3) quarter
divinity, as Bharata; (4) one-eighth divinity, as
Lakshmana and Satrughna ; and (5) a mere infusion
of divine powers and qualities into men, animals,
plants, or even stones.
The Hindu Trinity
The cults of Vishnu and Siva were at first developed
separately among different sections of the people.
When the two forms of worship came face to face with
each other their votaries maintained a sharp opposition
between them as between two rival gods. But efforts
�16
The History of Religions
were made by the Brahmins to bring the two into
harmony. This they did by putting forward Brahma,
Vishnu, and Siva together as three different aspects
of the one Supreme Being, viz. as Creator, Preserver,
and Destroyer respectively. More philosophically
speaking, Brahma represents the principle of origina
tion, Vishnu the principle of continuation, and Siva
the principle of mutation—the destruction of one
thing with the emergence of another. By this means
was constructed the Hindu Trimurthi or Trinity,
which came to be represented in concrete form by a
three-headed and six-armed human figure. The two
ways of devotion and of works were also synthesized
into one called “ the way of knowledge,” and the
Bhagavat Purana was written to express this combina
tion. The scheme was successful. The two sects
continued to exist distinct, but in peace and mutual
tolerance, and the two worships soon came to be
practised promiscuously by both parties alike.
How far the Hindu Trinity is in analogy with the
Christian depends on the point of view. The Trimurthi
was formed late enough to be an imitation of Christian
doctrine, but is probably nothing of the kind, as its
origin can be explained by the exigencies of Hinduism
at the time. The problem was how to reconcile the
claims of two rival divinities without sacrificing either,
and at the same time to uphold the reality of Brahma
himself as the one true God. And the solution by
aspects, modes, or roles (like the theory of Sabellianism)
was the obvious way out of the difficulty. A panthe
istic god can contain a million distinct hypostases
just as easily as he can contain one. The Christian
difficulty, “ How can there be processiones reales ad
intra, or a triplicity of really distinct hypostases in
an infinitely simple substance ? ” is in pantheistic
Hinduism extended to the whole universe, and takes
the form “ How can the One be also the manifold, or
the unconditioned be also the conditioned ? ” The
Christian meets the crux by reasserting the facts of
�Hinduism
17
revelation, and leaving the how a strict mystery. The
Hindu cuts the knot by saying that the manifold and
the conditioned are not realities, but delusions of
Maya, and that in truth there is “only the One, and
no other.”
Considering the prominence of Siva and Vishnu in
the scheme of Hindu worship, it is strange to find
that so little attention has been given to Brahma.
Although Brahma was in Hindu philosophy no other
than the One Supreme himself, and the one all-com
prehensive object of adoration among the esoteric
elite, his worship never formed any part of the popular
programme. No temple or shrine of his exists to
day in India, nor has any existed for a thousand
years past—a few very ancient and insignificant
instances in remote parts being occasionally unearthed
by archseologists. The fact that the One Supreme
God himself is about the only object not provided for
in Hindu worship would seem to lend itself to scath
ing satire. This, however, is disarmed by the reply
that since Brahma as such is the infinite unconscious
principle, devoid of attributes or qualities, he is there
fore incapable of providing a tangible object of
worship—not because he is below our esteem, but
because he is above our comprehension. It is only
as the conditioned that the Supreme can become
manifest to our minds ; and since Vishnu and Siva,
the principles of continuity and change, are the most
radical of these manifestations, they therefore form
the first and most ultimate objects of feasible worship.
Starting from Vedantic premises the answer is valid.
Medieval Goddess-worship
A word about the goddesses of Hinduism, who are
almost invariably represented as wives of the gods.
The idea of a female principle in the divinity, though
to our minds bizarre on account of its human associa
tions, philosophically seems to express no more than
�18
The History of Religions
the principle of fecundity, or the terminus a quo of
production. In fact “matter” in the Vedantic phi
losophy is nothing other than a sort of womb out of
which the divine power produces the manifold of
creation. It may be described as the divine substance
regarded as impregnated by the divine activity, and
affording a substratum for the multiplication of finite
form (cf principium individuationis}. That the female
principle is really identified with the male is shown
from the fact that, nowadays at least, the wives of the
gods are not supposed to be worshipped apart from, but
rather in conjunction with their husbands, though
the unreflecting masses may not always discriminate.
So far in the abstract. Practically, however, the
idea of the female principle did at one time develop
into a distinct cult—and one both professedly licentious
and deeply superstitious—under the name of Saktism,
or, from the writings which embody it, Tantrism.
Curiously enough, the female was not regarded as the
passive but as the active principle, so that Saktism
(as implied by the name) was a worship of active
force. It included at once the most debased use of
magic, and the practice of promiscuous intercourse in
the temple precincts. It is said that in the twelfth
century A.D., Saktism was prevalent throughout
India, though at the present time it seems to survive
only in a few parts, of which Bengal is one. During
that period Hindus were divided into “ right-hand
worshippers,” who made the Puranas their real Veda,
and were devoted in the ordinary way to Siva,
Vishnu, Krishna, and their wives taken in practical
identity with them, and “ left-hand worshippers,”
who made the Tantras their real Veda, and worshipped
the female counterpart of the deities (Durga, Radha,
Sita, etc.) as separate goddesses presiding over the
two operations of sexual intercourse and magic.
This corrupt state of things soon gave rise to several
reforming sects, called after their founders the Nimbarkas, Madhvacaryas, Vallabhacaryas, Ramanujas,
�Hinduism
19
Ramandas, and Chaitanyas, dating from the twelfth to
the fifteenth centuries, and many others later—all ot
which worked for the betterment of religion in various
parts of India, and, though now merged and forgotten
as sects, seem to have succeeded in bringing Hinduism
back from the lower abyss of degradation into which
it had sunk,and leaving the less objectionable Puranism
of the “ right-hand worshippers ” for the most part in
possession down to this day.
It is to be remarked that Sivaism, which is charac
terized by its linga or phallus worship, was the source
whence Saktism or Tantrism was developed. Yet
this development was not an outcome of phallus
worship, but of the worship of female fecundity.
Secondly, that lihga-worship is not, as one might
expect, licentious, but, on the contrary, rather austere.
It is significant to note in this connection that in
modern times, since Tantrism has practically disap
peared, sanctified licentiousness is not attached to the
worship of Siva and the linga, but to that of Vishnu,
the god of divine grace and condescension, especially
in connection with the worship of Krishna, who is
supposed to derive sensuous pleasure from seeing the
immodest caresses of his maharajas or priestly repre
sentatives on earth. These favours are regarded by the
people of that sect, even married women, as the
greatest honour and privilege they can receive. To
what extent this immoral view prevails is unascertainable. It certainly cannot be imputed to Hindus in
general, especially educated ones, and at most it
exists only among the professedly Vishnuite section.
The Puranas
~ Modern Hinduism is undoubtedly much more com
prehensive than the Puranas; but as.it is so often
called by that name, we ought to add just a word on
those documents. The existing works are eighteen
in number, of which the Vayu Matsya and Vishnu
puranas are the oldest, dating possibly from the fourth
�20
The History of Religions
to the sixth century A.D. They are very miscellaneous
in contents, and most of them probably composite,
embodying much historical tradition, inextricably
intermingled with legend and moral or theological
teaching, as well as rules for ceremonies. Six
(Rajasa) relate mainly to Brahma, six (Sattvika) to
Vishnu, and six (Tamasa) to Siva. They seem all to
have been compiled with a view of promoting some
phase of Brahminical teaching, especially the tri
murthi and the idea of incarnations or avatars. They
came to be called “the Veda of the common people
and of women, ’ and form the staple religious reading
of the ordinary Hindu who cares to read at all.
Extracts from them are habitually recited or embodied
in songs.
The almost total severance between the later
Puranic and the earlier Vedic Hinduism has been
sufficiently remarked as regards the objects of worship.
Another difference is the introduction of images or
idol worship in the later religion; the building of
numberless temples, pilgrimages to famous shrines,
the upgrowth of many fantastic rites, including bath
ing in sacred rivers for the instantaneous washing
away of sins, etc. In addition should be mentioned
the observance of signs and omens, and the magical
use of incantations in connection with every important
incident of daily life, and an elaborate code of caste
and social ceremonies regarded as of vital importance
and as integral to religion—so much so that it has
been said that in India “ caste is religion, and religion
is caste.” Among peculiarities which would specially
strike a Christian, it should be mentioned that the
essentials of worship are all strictly domestic. When
(as on feast days) temples are visited, this is always
individually, there being nothing in Hinduism analo
gous to collective public worship, or our system of
preaching sermons or giving public instructions. The
management of the domestic observances is in the
hands of the family priest (always a Brahmin). The
�Hinduism
%i
children pick up the practices of their mothers with
out anything like a course of instruction on their
meaning or on the fundamental truths of theological
belief—although in the better educated families such
instruction is said to form part of the domestic pro
gramme. But it is extremely difficult for the outsider
to penetrate into the domestic workings of the Hindu
religion.
Meaning of Idol-worship
As regards the use of idols or images, it is well to
be on our guard against the somewhat naive idea of
“ stock-and-stone worship” prevalent among many,
viz. the notion that image worshippers really worship
material objects, viewing them at the same time
simply as such. Among students of comparative
religion no such idea prevails. All writers I have
seen are unanimous in understanding that image
worship (and even the grossest fetish) is animistic in
its lower forms and symbolic or representative in its
higher.1 Where the concrete object is directly made
an object of adoration, this is always because it is
viewed not merely as the material thing which it
appears, but because it is invisibly permeated or
animated by the presence of spirit, of which it is
merely the dwelling-place and vehicle; cf. the
doctrines of consubstantiation and transubstantiation
in the Blessed Eucharist.
Hindus have their
recognized ritual for inducing the presence of the god,
and even of causing its cessation. At the beginning
of the Ganpati feast the images, hitherto nothing but
clay, are consecrated, and then worshipped as divine.
At the close, the god is literally cast out by another
ceremony, after which the images are thrown away,
eg., into the sea. Apart from this, the presence of
a god can be induced by the simple expedient of
covering any suitable object with vermilion paint, a
1 Cf. i. 4; xiii. 3, 16 note.
�22
The History of Religions
modern substitute for the original use of blood. In
country parts the villagers will smear any fantasticallyshaped boulder they find in the neighbourhood, and
thereby set up what may in time become a per
manent shrine. Most of the ancient monuments
have been spoiled in this way by smudges of red
paint placed on the sculptures, eg. Elephanta, Ellora,
Pandu Lena, etc.
The more educated, especially those under Western
influences, adopt the higher or symbolic explanation,
viz. that the image is merely a symbol of some
attribute of the deity, or a representation of some
legendary fact—to be venerated by association as
Catholics venerate images, but not to be directly
worshipped. Thus one Brahmin priest said, “The
common people believe that the God is here, but we
believe that God is up there” Another said, “We
call this God and that God, for this is Siva and that
is Vishnu. They are all Gods, and yet there is only
one God.” A third explained, “We adore not the
image but the God in the image, because he dwells
there.” On asking them whether God was not
everywhere present; and if so, why say that He dwells
in this image? I managed, with a little help, to
elicit the answer, “ God is present everywhere, for
He is everything and in everything. What we mean
is only that He is more operative towards us in the
image than apart from it.” An educated layman told
me that three-quarters of his fellow-countrymen
believed in the real presence of the god in the image,
and that the other quarter, who reduced it to a symbol
merely, were not true Hindus. The educated
Brahmin, however, with his esoteric philosophy, would
probably not admit this latter aspersion.
The Mind of the People
Among the great mass of the people there is
nothing like a reasoned belief. Even among the
�Hinduism
23
educated, who will talk of the Sacred Books as the
great charter of their religion, the Vedas are little
read, if only because the knowledge of Sanskrit is so
rare as to attract attention where found. Those
interested in scientific theology are, it would seem,
generally Vedanists; but opportunities of meeting
men who show knowledge in this subject are few and
far between. The general attitude is one of implicit
and unreasoned practice of whatever the Brahmins
tell them to do, and a blind following of ceremonial
hereditary in the family. The least touch of Western
education seems to act as a solvent even of this amount
of orthodoxy; with the result that the men become
totally indifferent, and leave the religious usages of
the family to the women-sort. Intercourse with
educated Hindus shows that they possess a great
capacity for religious discussion, and generally a keen
interest in listening to religious teaching; but the
tolerance and sympathy thus shown rarely issues in
any practical result. The Hindu mind is so imbued
with the spirit of heredity that when he gives up the
practice of his own religion he feels no disposition
to embrace any other ; he thinks that being born a
Hindu, he must inevitably remain a Hindu, and a
Hindu means in religion Hinduism or nothing. The
result is that many at the present time absorb a large
amount of Christian thought and feeling and
appreciate its moral and mental value, but are no
nearer the prospect of embracing Christianity as such
than they were before hearing a word of it.
Chief Blots
on
Hinduism
The chief blots on the social-religious system of the
Hindus—for “ social ” and “ religious ” among them
are inseparable—are as follows:—
(1) The iron-bound system of caste, though useful
in certain respects, stands in the way of all social
expansion and development, and especially of any
�24
The History of Religions
thing like racial or national unification. It places
artificially a far wider gulf between pure Hindu and
pure Hindu (otherwise equal in mental and social
qualities) than nature itself seems to have placed
between European and Asiatic, or between the white
and the coloured man. On the other hand, the
formal means by which one who has broken caste can
secure recovery tend to expose the system itself to
ridicule and contempt.
(2) The inability of the higher castes to touch food
unless prepared by one of a caste equal to or superior
to their own. An orthodox Hindu servant of high
caste recently starved himself almost to death for five
days on board ship from Calcutta to Madras, and had
to be put on land and sent back by his master simply
for this reason: a more incapacitating piece of
ceremonialism could hardly be imagined, or a more
dismal slavery to superstition. Apart from such
emergencies, the system is an insuperable barrier to
the intercourse required in modern times if social
progress is to have place. Nothing brings home
more clearly the unhuman effects of this system than
the fact which I have personally experienced more
than once, that a European pedestrian in the country,
half-dying with thirst, may ask dozens of times for a
“ cup of cold water” in vain—even from those actually
drawing water from a well. This comes not from
any ill-nature or want of friendliness, but from a
mortal dread of having their drinking-vessels defiled
by the touch of a stranger.
(3) The practice of infant marriage, and, above all,
the prohibition of those thus married in infancy to
marry anyone else in case their tiny husband dies.
These enforced widows are looked upon with the
greatest contempt, and the usage is rife with evil
consequences in the form of illicit intercourse and
prostitution.
(4) The supreme emphasis laid on formal observ
ances, not only for the securing of good-luck, but
�Hinduism
25
also for the attainment of sanctity, forgiveness, and
salvation—thus putting the importance of a virtuous
life in the background, and robbing sin of its penalties
by means of an extravagant and debased sacramentalism. One who bathes in the Ganges or the
Godavery is made wholly clean, and he who dies at
Benares goes straight to heaven, and so on.
(5) The mortal dread of misfortune if the ceremon
ial observances of religion are even for any excusable
motive omitted. This dread of the penalties of omis
sion is the great mainstay of Hindu practice, and the
result is to rob it of all real religious value and reduce
it to a mere policy of “saving one’s skin.”
(6) The total stoppage of the most important busi
ness enterprises at a critical moment simply because
an unlucky omen has been observed. Only the other
day a bargain in land was just on the point of being
signed when the purchaser, looking at the plan,
perceived that the plot was “ tiger-shaped ”—what we
should call leg-of-mutton-shaped, more or less—and
therefore bound to bring ill-luck. At no price what
ever would the man entertain the purchase after
that.1
(7) The supremacy of the Brahmin and the Jogi,
involving as it does a cruel incubus 0^ the people, and
the encouragement of professional vagabondage and
roguery. Mortal dread of the power of a Brahmin’s
curse drives people to do whatever is demanded of
them, thus turning what might be charity into brutal
compulsion. Moreover, this no doubt stands as a
strong obstacle to the people entertaining the idea of
any change of religion.
Other blots are of a more local character, and would
be repudiated by the better kind of Hindus as outside
the range of true orthodoxy. For instance, Thuggee,
of course, or the religious sanctificationzof murder,
now extinct; dacoity or highway-robbery similarly
sanctified (both peculiar only to a few remote tribes);
1 C/. xiii. 23, 24.
f
�26
The History of Religions
Sati, or the burning of the widow beside the pyre of
the husband (now made penal by English law, but
occurring occasionally on the sly); the use of obscene
language on certain festival occasions; prostitution in
temples under the cloak of “ espousal to the gods,”
etc.
More attractive Features
Of the more attractive points in Hinduism are the
following:—
(1) The way in which religion permeates the whole
life—in diametrical opposition to the idea that religion
is a Sunday affair, or a separate department in which
a small fraction of life must be given to God and the
rest taken for ourselves.
(2) Beautiful traits -of religious symbolism, some
times underlying what to the outsider seem to be
grotesque and monstrous forms. Thus a hideous idol
often embodies a sublime thought, or at least is made
the vehicle for it—according to Hunter, “the precious
metal mingled with the dross.”
(3) A deep and far-reaching family-spirit, which
binds the members together throughout their lives,
generation after generation—proving no doubt an
intolerable nuisance at times, but certainly a powerful
object-lesson to the West, where the spirit of family
life is so badly on the wane.1
(4) A tender regard for life and for the sufferings
of the lower creation—which, regarded as a system, is
not perhaps theologically sound. It probably rests
on the belief in transmigration, according to which any
particular plague-rat may be a man’s ancestress. But
it is nevertheless a beautiful feature in itself, and an
eloquent set-off against all tendencies to recklessness
and cruelty.
It is curious, however, that this
tenderness for life, and even the belief in the divinity
of the cow, does not for a moment prevent a driver
1 Cf, ii. 13 ; xiii. 9.
�Hinduism
from habitually twisting his animal’s tail till it
becomes one long string of knotty disfigurements.
This may sometimes be his only way of getting the
beast to move, and so facts become too strong for
faith; which perhaps may excuse the inconsistency.
When it comes to pass that a Hindu will rather
let himself be bitten into a piebald condition than
lift his hand to kill a flea, it seems going a little
too far.
(5) Almsgiving as a regular habit of life, not only
to strolling Jogis but also to all and sundry beggars.
A well-to-do Hindu carries a pocketful of small
copper coins ready for all applicants. He never
rebuffs a beggar rudely, or refuses him an alms until
his pocket is empty, and then politely indicates the
fact by a sign, which is always respectfully accepted
as final. The literal teaching of the Gospel on the
one hand, and the economic, social, and moral
objections to indiscriminate almsgiving on the other,
here begin to loom strong on the horizon. So we
must confine ourselves to remarking on the beauty of
the trait, whatever criticism may be involved.
(6) A certain stability in the social order, and a
certain habitual discipline borne in upon the individual,
through the rules of caste. The'existence of caste
has hitherto made the Hindu an easy people to
govern, and its breaking down is opening the way
to a perilous unsettlement and unrest.
Relations to Christianity
(1) Down to quite recent times the influence of
Christianity on Hindu thought and worship may be
safely regarded as nil, with the exception of the later
aspects of Krishna-worship. An attempt has been
made to show that the portrayal of Krishna as a
baby-god, which occurs as a late development, is a
conscious imitation of the child Jesus; and the
spiritual doctrine of personal devotion and renuncia-
�28
The History of Religions
tion, or of giving oneself over to the divinity by
faith and self-abandonment (embodied in the Bagavad
Gita), is also probably the outcome of Christian
influence. The Brahmo and Arya Samajs, instituted
for the purification of popular Hinduism, though
professedly returning to the purity of the Vedic
religion, show themselves imbued with an ethos
borrowed from non-Catholic Christianity. At the
present day educated Hindus, including Brahmins,
show a marked tendency to explain matters in
Christian terminology and in analogy with Christian
belief and practice. They do not, as a rule, acknow
ledge indebtedness, but endeavour rather, by searching
their own books or by free allegorizing, to show that
Hinduism already contains everything, and needs no
help from outside sources.
(2) The antagonism between Christianity and
intellectual Hinduism is most marked.
Vedantic Hinduism
Christian Theism
(1) God, as He is in Himself,
absolutely unknowable and in
capable of definite attributions.
(1) God, as He is in Himself,
knowable correctly though in
adequately under definite attri
butions.
(2) The universe a creation
of the divine power, real, and
substantially distinct from the
divine substance.
(2) The universe an emana
tion of the divine substance,
unreal and delusive when
viewed as distinct from the
divine substance.
(3) The universe eternal
before and after, and in a
state of unending cyclic flux.
(4) Spirit, soul, and body, all
three distinct, and yet all in
different ways identical in
essence with the One and the
All.
(5) The spirit in each indi
vidual man identically the one
same infinite spirit pervading
all.
(3) The universe finite, with
a beginning in time, and not
(at least of necessity) to last
for ever.
(4) Spirit and soul identical,
but neither soul nor body
identical in essence with the
One or the All, but only
“according to his image and
likeness.”
(5) The spirit in each indi
vidual man a self-contained
entity, separately created by
�Hinduism
Vedantic Hinduism
(6) An eternal series of lives
(by transmigration) brought to
an end only by achieving a
conscious identification of self
with the Supreme.
(7) Probation continued in
definitely until a man has
attained absolute perfection.
No finality of the state of
punishment.
(8) The inexorable reign of
karma, or the causality of
actions; the effects of evil
actions being cancelled only
by equivalent good actions—a
system of rigid causality in
volving the denial of anything
like mercy, forgiveness, vicari
ous atonement or redemption.
(9) The consequent negation
of moral and personal relations
between God and man. In
God no such attribute as
holiness, love, freedom of will,
providence, retributive judge
ment, or the prerogatives of
Creator, Lord, Master, Re
deemer, etc.
(10) No idea of personal
service, sanctification and sal
vation being self-centred and
autonomous. Each man at
once master and slave of his
own karma ; no real fear,
loyalty, gratitude or love to
God, and no proper idea of
the meaning of sin.
29
Christian Theism
(6) One life only, followed «
after death by perseverance of
individual existence — capable
of moral union with, but not
physical absorption into, the
Supreme.
(7) Probation closed ab
solutely at the end of this one
life, and followed by eternal
fixity either in heaven or in
hell.
(8) Causality of actions of
secondary import ; moral effect
all-important, viz. outrage of
the divine law. Effects of evil
actions cancelled by repentance
and by gratuitous forgiveness
through the mercy of God, and
this on a basis of vicarious
atonement.
(9) The consequent belief in
personal and moral relations
between God and man. In
God there are the attributes
of holiness, love, freedom of
will, providence, retributive
judgement, and the preroga
tives of Creator, Lord, Master,
Redeemer, etc.
(10) Personal service the
very essence of religion ; sancti
fication and salvation the work
of God, requiring only the co
operation of man. Hence the
spirit of loyalty, gratitude, and
love to God, and an intense
realization of the proper mean
ing of sin.
The radical antagonism is therefore strongest in
Vedantic Hinduism. The more theistic philosophies
obliterate some but substitute other points of
difference; eg. the Nyaya system, which, while
representing God as eternal and personal, regards
souls as also eternal and independent of Him; and
�30
The History of Religions
similarly with the Vaiseshika system, which is
developed on atomistic lines. But it is the Vedanta
which prevails most widely among those who cultivate
speculative theology at all.
(3) Strange to say, with all its aberrations in the
way of superstition, popular Hinduism is not so
radically opposed to Christianity as is the philosophical.
The mass of Hindus, even if tinged with pantheistic
ideas, do practically regard God as a personal being
with attributes, and by them religion is viewed as
service. They believe in the divine governance of
the world, though in a way sadly degraded to a kind
of fatalism. They seem to have a notion of the
divine mercy and forgiveness, though again debased
into a hideous sacramentalism, more or less inde
pendent of repentance and a virtuous life. The use
of images and of symbolical ceremonies would be
theoretically unobjectionable, at least from the
Catholic point of view, were it not centred round
objects both mythical and unworthy of the Divine
Being, and associated with astrology and magic. The
radical antagonism between the popular religion and
Christianity lies rather in these main points: (1) The
idea of heredity (Hindu by birth = Hindu by religion).
(2) Hence no notion of truth as a criterion of religion,
or of rational inquiry into the truth of religion on a
basis of historical fact. (3) The identification of
religion with caste, so that no Hindu can change his
religion, even on conviction, without being penalized
as an outcaste; and, of course (4) the mythology,
superstition, magic and fatalism which run through the
system.
Hints on Interpretation
Finally, I deem it necessary to warn Europeans
approaching Hinduism against certain prejudices
which tend to putting the worst instead of the best
interpretation on things read or seen—thus making
Hinduism in many respects appear far otherwise than
�Hinduism
3i
a more intimate knowledge shows it to be. These
prejudices arise partly from pure and simple precon
ceptions, based no doubt on an appreciation of the ex
cellence of Christianity and the inferiority of paganism,
etc. But they arise also from the totally different con
stitution of the Eastern as compared with the Western
mind. The Western temperament is primarily matterof-fact, or, if you like, historical and scientific ; while
the Eastern temperament is primarily romantic, poetic,
and artistic. Whereas in so vital a matter as religion
our first query would be, “ Is it a fact ?”, the oriental
mind, left to itself, would hardly ever dream of asking
such a question. Instead of the fact, he always looks
to the idea; and the acceptability of the idea is his
criterion of assent. To him it is a matter of supreme
indifference whether Vishnu ever made his nine
“ descents ” in history or not. Enough if the idea is
there as part of his traditional inheritance and
edifies his mind. He would be just as ready to
worship Christ as he is to worship Krishna, if only
Christ were presented to him in an acceptable light
and embodied for him in his code. Moreover, the
power of the Hindu to work in symbols is enough
to amaze the Western spectator. He will tell you
how a certain god—I forget his name, but he is repre
sented in scores of rustic shrines under the form of a
shapeless trunk without arms or legs or nose, but with
two eyes of porcelain glaring monstrously out of a
pudding-face where the breast ought to be—how this
god lost his limbs through nameless diseases contracted
by.a licentious life ; and will then go on to explain it
to mean the divinity labouring and suffering out of
love for mankind ! The instance is an extreme one,
but illustrates my point—viz. that the various gro
tesquenesses of the Hindu religious apparatus must
not .be judged altogether by their surface appearance
or literal sense, but by the sometimes far-fetched but
sometimes apt and beautiful imagery which may
underlie it in the worshipper’s mind.
�32
The History of Religions
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Sacred Books of the East described and examined, Christian
Literature Society for India, London and Madras. Vol. I., on the
Vedas and Brahmanas, three tracts; Vol. II., Philosophical Works
and Law Books, five tracts; Vol. III., Epic Poems and Puranas,
three tracts ; Hindu Philosophy, seven tracts under the heading
Hinduism and Christianity; Popular Hinduism, five tracts;
Papers for Thoughtful Hindus, sixteen tracts, especially Nos. 2, 7,
10, 11, 14. These tracts are most useful for gaining a clear idea
of Hinduism.
The Hymns of the Rig Veda, translated by Griffith, 2 vols., Lazarus &
Co., Benares.
The Hymns of the Sama Veda, by Griffith, 1 vol.
The Hymns of the Atharva Veda, by Griffith, 2 vols.
A metrical translation of Valuiski’s Ramayan by Griffith, 1 vol.—
illustrates extravagance of the Hindu imagination.
Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, London, 1868, 5 vols. Excellent for
Vedic age, giving many translations, but chiefly useful for orientalists.
Muller, Sacred Books of the East, especially vols. on Upanishads,
Vedas, Puranas, Law-books—important but costly works.
Williams, Brahminism and Hinduism, or Religious Thought and Life
in India ; also Hinduism, S.P.C.K., 1885 ; also Indian Wisdom ;
also Modern Hinduism and the Indians.
Barth, Religions of India, Triibner.
Davies, Hindu Philosophy, also The Bhagavad Gi.a, Triibner.
Jacob, A Manual of Hindu Pantheism, Triibner.
Gough, Philosophy of the Upanishads and Ancient Indian Metaphysics,
Triibner.
Madhava Acharya, The Sarva Darsana Samgraha, translated by
Cowell and Gough.
Ballantyne, The Sankhya Aphorisms of Kapila.
Burnell. The Ordinances of Manu.
Wortham, The Satakas of Bhartrihati—a sample of Hindu poetry,
sensuality, asceticism, and pessimism.
Wilkins, Hindu Mythology ; also Modern Hinduism, Fisher Unwin,
1887 ; also Daily Life and Work in India.
Crooke, Popular Religion and Folklore of R orthem India, Constable,
1896.
Wheeler, History of India, 4 vols. ; or Short History, I vol.
Padfield, The Hindu at Home.
Dubois, Hindu Manne/s, Customs, and Ceremonies.
Hull, Studies in Idolatry ; also Studies in Hinduism, part i., “Examiner”
Reprints, Bombay.
Dutt, Civilisation in Ancient India, 2 vols.—paints India in rather
glowing colours.
Hunter, Indian Empire.
Macdonell, Sanskrit Literature, Heinemann, London.
Central Hindu College, Elementary and Advanced Text-books of Hindu
Religion and Morals—considerably tinctured with ideas borrowed
from the West, but otherwise enlightening.
Cyclopadia of India, introductory article, Thacker, I9°9—a g°°d
summary conspectus.
�
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Victorian Blogging
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Hinduism
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Hull, Ernest R. (Ernest Reginald) [1863-1952]
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Place of publication: London
Collation: 32 p. ; 19 cm.
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Catholic Truth Society
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[1910]
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Hinduism