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S

VEDANTISM, BRAHMISNM,

AND

CHRISTTANITY

EXAMINED AND COMPARED.

A PRIZE ESSAY.

BY THE

REV. JOSEPH MULLENS,

MISSIONARY OF THE LONDON MISSTON.ARY SOCIETY.

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CALCUTTA :

PRINTED BY J. THOMAS, BAPTIST MISSION PRESS, FOR THE

CALCUTTA CHRISTIAN TRACT AND BOOK S0OCIETY.

1852,

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ADVERTISEMENT.

In Seiatember,

1849, the Committee of the Calcutta Christian

Tract and Book Society issued the following notice :

Hundred Rupees to

«« Tt is proposed to award a Prize of Three

the best Essay, either in English or Bengali, on Vedantism, or

hat name.

the systems included under t

<« The Essayist will be requ

ired to give an account of the Origin

and of its true characters and dog-

and Antiquity of Vedantism,

ations from Vyésa and his fol-

mas, illustrated by copious quot

Jowers ; and to discuss in like manner the question whether any

such system is really to be found in the Vedas.

« He will then examine whether the modern system so called,

as taught in the Brémha Sabhé, be identical with the Vedanta of

Vyasa ; and if not, what its peculiar doctrines are, and on what

foundation they rest.

Finally, the Essayist will be required to point out the insu-

perable difficulties which lie in the way of receiving either of

these systems as a revelation from God ; and to contrast them

with Christianity, as adapted to be the religion of mankind.”

The present Essay was among others written in reply to this

notice, and to it the prize was awarded.

ARSI AN AN SN A

CONTENTS

A~

P(!Q’L’

INTRODUCTION,

Reasons for giving up all faith in Puranic Hlndmsm,

O B

Sketch of the Hlstory of the Tattwabodhini Sabha,

PART I

TaE DOCTRINES OF THE VEDANTIC SCHOOLS

g

11

CuaprEr I.—The Vedant of Vyés and his Followers,

Origin and Antiquity of Vyas's System his Commentators

Vedantic Authorities,

Sec. 1.—Definition of Vedantism ; its scope and aim ; the

authorities from whence 113 is derived ; the conch-

tions and mode of studying it,

19

2.—Of Brahma; his Attributes; his relation to the

Universe,

24

3.—Of the Umverse and 1ts Elements

©

(1))

QK

4.—Of Man ; body and soul,

5.—The State of Man in 1elat1on to Brahma and how

he may be freed from it,

42

—_—

62

CuarTER IT.—The Vedantism of the Vedas,

63

Introduction.—Description of the Upanishads,

Sec. 1.—The Scope and Aim of the Vedic doctrine; the con-

65

ditions and mode of Study,

2.—Of the Supreme Brahma ; h1s attrlbutes relation to

the Universe ; extensive ev1dence of Panthelsm

73

3.—The Universe and its Elements : including the Gods,

90

9¢

4,—Of Man, body and soul : Pantheism again,

98

5.—The State of Man, and how he may be Freed from it,

——

CaAPTER I11.—Modern Brahmism,

109

Introduction.—Authorities which define the modern system,

110

Sec. 1.—The Sources of Divine Knowledge,

112

2.—The Supreme God,

114

3.—His Attributes,

b

4.—His Relation to the Unwor@e,

115

117

5.—Gods and Debtas,

ib

—Of Man

P

Vi

Page

See. 7 —Of Momhty,

118

8.—Family Duties,

120

9.—Man’s Duty to Himself,

121

10.—Of Motives to Virtue,

122

11 —Of Sin,

b

2.—The Punmhment of Sin,

123

13 —The Way of Salvation,

2b.

14.—Of the 'lransmlcrmtwn of Souls,

127

15.—The Future World

. 128

Summary. Points on which the ancient and modern

sys-

tems agree : and on which they differ,

129

PART II.

THESD SYSTEMS ARE NoT oF DiviNE ORIGIN.

Introduction.—Principles of enquiry, derived from the Con-

stitution of Man,

134

Sec. 1 —The Vedas are not a Revelatlon from God

136

2.—Difficulties in Studying the Vedas,

142

3 —Vedic Science,

143

—The Doctrine of May4,

147

———Panthelsm

150

6.—The Morahty of Panthemm,

153

7 —Defence of 1dolatry,

156

8.—On Transmigration,

165

172

9.—On Caste and its Effects,

10 —The Religion of Nature, its Uncertalnty, Deficien-

cy and Want of Power,

. 176

PART II1

Tuae CriiMs oF CHRISTIANITY,

Sec. 1.—The History of the Way of Salvation,

196

2.—What Christianity is and what it means,

201

3.—The Moral Precepts of the Bible,

206

4.—The Character of Christ,

211

5.—The Jews Witnesses to the Truth of the Blble,

215

6.—The Miracles, of the Bible,

218

7 —The Prophecies of the Bible,

223

8.—Christianity a Universal Religion,

239

9.—The Effects of Chmqtlamty,

233

CoxcLusIon,

245

AN U,

et e e TV USSR

VEDANTISM, BRAHMISM,

g

AND

CI‘IRIS'FIANITY.

R

INTRODUCTION.

Durine the past few years, the spread of English Educa-

tion, of European Science, and of moral and religious truth,

;1

in Bengal, has produced a most powerful impression upon

native society. Great numbers of young men, especially in

Calcutta and its neighbourhood, have given up a blind and

bigoted attachment to the idolatrous system long honoured

by their forefathers; and have exhibited an anxiety to seek

a better and purer faith.

With their enlarged views of

§

scientific and moral truth, with a finer standard of judgment

than that possessed by their untaught countrymen, in all

that concerns their best interests, it was impossible that they

should continue to receive, in silence and respect, the legends

which their ancestors devoured without question. Looking

at Puranic Hinduism any way, they can see only foolish

theories, abominable gods, sensual worship and degrading

dogmas, leaving fearful traces of evil in the character and

practice of their unthinking worshippers. While believing

that in #ke creation of the Universe is seen the most glorious

Z;

proof of the power and wisdom of God, they learn from the

description of it in the Shastras, the most humiliating evi-

dences of his indecision, imbecility and folly. While believ-

ing that God is one, they find two rival deities claiming their

regard, and sometimes quarrelling with each other. While

believing that God is all-wise, they find that Brahm4 knew

B

2

not the coustitution of the world that he bad formed; and

Vishnu could not reproduce the universe without the Vedas.

Rdm was not aware of the capture of Sita; nor did Kali

God is all-power-

know that she was dancing on her lord.

Jul

But Brahm4 wept because he could not create : Vishnu

could not conquer Réban without Hanuman ; nor save himself

from the curse of Bhrigu.

Krishna could not get king

Danda’s mare even by stealing, nor conquer the Kurus with-

out a lie.

Siva could not save his ling, nor preserve from

destruction the head of his son: mor could Surya provide

himself with a new set of teeth. Men must believe that

God 1s true.

But Brahmd was cursed for lying: Vishnu

became incarnate to deceive king Bali: Ram lied to Raban;

If God

and Yudhisthir lied at the suggestion of Krishna.

is pure, how can the superior gods of Hinduism claim that

character ; when according to the Shastras, they were guilty

of adultery, harlotry, incest and drunkenness. Brahma wished

to violate his daughter: Vishnu seduced Jalandhar’s wife:

Mah4dev was openly profligate : Indra deceived the wife of

Goutam: R4m was put out of caste for killing Brdhmans :

and Krishna’s adulteries and murders are known to the wide‘

world.

While standing aghast at the character of these gods, they

cannot think well of the mode of their worship.

Base,

brutish idolatry ; the adoration of mud and wooden images,

are enjoined by the Shastras, and practised to such an extent

as to make the Hindus the most idolatrous people on the

face of the earth.

The Charak Puj4 cannot teach them

kindness ; nor the Rés, moral purity. The Snén Jattra will

not impress them with a conviction of God’s holiness ; mor

the songs of the Rath Jdttrd elevate it in their esteem. A

wise man must feel that the endless ceremonies enjoined by

the Puréns contain no ¢rue way of salvation.

They see that

thousands who daily bathe in the purifying Ganges are among

the vilest people of the country; and that long pilgrimages

to see a wooden Jagannith lead only to immorality, disease

3

and death. They cannot see any virtue in the name of Hari

to purify the heart and pardon sin: nor discern the justice

of God in the fact that, when the wicked Ajamil on his death-

bed accidentally called his son Nérdyan, he was reckoned as

having appealed to Vishnu, and was therefore saved from the

vengeance of Yam. The rite of Sati, they know, was encourag-

ed and fostered by this system; and the cruel exposure of

the sick at the Ganges’ side is so encouraged to the present

day.

Compelled to abjure the system both for its objects and

mode of worship ; for its cruel dogmas and unsatisfying rites,

their condemnation of it is confirmed by surveying its con-

stant fruits.

They see every where religious error, gross

darkness and grievous superstition.

The gods are feared,

never loved. The scream of the owl, the chirp of the lizard,

the sight of an empty pitcher, the sound of the word

¢ Kachchhap,” are believed to determine the fortunes of men

for good or evil.

The most grovelling notions prevail con-

f

cerning the nature and character of the supreme; the most

grovelling notions of moral duty and religious obligation.

They see the worst vices extensively prevalent, yet fostered

by the religion which all believe.

Men and women are made

the slaves of a lordly priesthood ; while the whole female

population are consigned to the depths of ignorance and

%

degradation.

When they see all this, they cannot but feel ashamed and

disgusted with the faith of their fathers, and desire, in any le-

gitimate way to provide themselves with a better. In this they

feel rightly. True religion is an all-important blessing ; the

I

¥

salvation of the immortal soul is an all-absorbing care.

But

many have forsaken the old belief, only to adopt another

system which has errors of its own.

Avoiding the rocks of

\

Scylla they dash upon Charybdis; and cannot escape the

18

dreadful ruin which falls upon all, who die unreconciled to

ps

an offended God. Such an error some of their best friends

¢

have seen with great regret; and with a view to open their

B 2

4

eyes to the true character of their position, they have sug-

gested the present enquiry into the Vedantic and Christian

systems, which now above all others claim their homage.

To this enquiry they request their candid and prayerful atten-

tion,

For their good alone it is intended : may that good be

its result !

Among those who, in modern days, were the first to throw

aside the Puranic system as an abominable error, stood fore-

most the RasA Rimmonan Rovy.

He was learned in the

Shastras beyond many Pandits of his time, and gave especial

There he found the

attention to the study of the Vedas.

doctrine of one God, ‘the God of the whole world,” and

believing that that was the basis and sum of true religion,

Unlike

he desired that his countrymen should embrace it.

the apathetic many of this land, he felt a love for his degraded

countrymen, and having, as he believed, found the true light,

he determined to make efforts to communicate that light to

others,

““He appeared among his countrymen as a champa-

tree in a wood of thorns.”

At a great expense of money

and trouble, he collected certain of the Upanishads, trans-

lated them into Bengali and, with other works, caused them

to be circulated.

Though much opposed by his family and

friends, and suffering much from obloguy (as all reformers

do), he steadily persevered in his efforts.. With a view to

give a public expression of his opinions, in January, 1830, (or

according to the Bengali Sakabda, 11th Magh, 1751,) he and

his friends established the Brahma Sabhé ; that is, a regular

meeting

tebd

after the model of Christian meetings, in which the

Upanishads should be read and explained, and the worship

of BRauMA celebrated with hymns and prayers.

The anni-

versary of this day is still observed with ceremony among

his followers.

After his departure to Europe, the Sabha

gradually lost its members ; it fell to the ground, and nothing

The con-

was heard of its objects for a period of six years.

viction, however, that the gross idolatry of Puranic Hinduism

cannot be. sustained, continued to gain strength; and in 1839

-

5

another attempt was made to revive the opinions and re-

embody the purpose of Rammohan Roy

On the sixth of October (Aswin 21st

1761), the Pandit

R4m Chandra with his scholars and friends, ten in number

met in the house of Babu Dwarkanath Thakur, established

the present TarrwasopuINi SaBHA, and determined, by

actively advocating their views, to endeavour to gain converts

to their faith

In 1840, the Katha Upanishad was published

and a school established

The members slowly increased in

numbet

being 112 in 1841

but falling of to 83 the follow-

ing year

In 1843, a kind friend presented the Sabha with

a press and fount of types, and from that time it increased

m 1mportance

Larger meetings becan to be held

new

members enrolled their names ; a spirit of activity was infused

into the leaders

and strong efforts were made to spread far

and wide the doctrines which they had embraced

The time

was most favourable for such an advance

English education

had produced in the minds of Aundreds, the very conviction

from which the Sabha started

namely, the falsity of Puran-

ism ; a conviction which in the days of Rdmmohan Roy had

been shared by comparatively few

The special aim of the Tattwabodhini Society, as recorded

in its own papers, is to “make known the Religion of

Brahma ;”’ to induce men to believe that religion, and practise

what they believ

This end it seeks in no narrow sphere.

It desires that the licht of wisdom ¢“should brighten the

whole of India

that each man of the 140 millions living

between the Himélaya and Cape Comorin should become a

and that hence the Hindu race

member of the society

should enjoy the respect and honour, which were shown to

their great ancestors, in the days when Hindustan was the

chief seat of learning and religion.”

z

For the accomplishment of this end, it purposes to employ

special means, described in its Reports

The relicion of

Brahma must be drawn out from the Shastms

2. The

wisdom and power of God must be demonstrated from his

B 3

6

works.

3. The rules by which men may be guided to a

religious practice, must also be laid down.

Under the firs¢

of these, is to be determined what the original Shéstra is;

what rules it prescribes for sacrifices, ceremonies, conduct,

and worship ; and by what changes the modern system, con-

tained in the Tantras, Puréns, Six Darsans and Smritis, came

to arise.

To discover these important facts, a complete col-

lection must be made of the four Vedas, all the Smritis, the

Six Darsans, all the Puréns and all the Tantras: and pandits

and scholars must be appointed to read, translate, examine

and describe them. The second item in the plan also requires

much labour.

For a complete illustration of the wisdom,

power and goodness of the Creator in his works, treatises on

Physiology, Mental Science, Astronomy, Natural History,

Chemistry and the like, must be written in the native tongue ;

and that boys may study them, the whole country must be

filled with schools.

To accomplish the tAird plan, that of

inducing men to win the favour of God by doing works

approved by him, a complete system of morals must be pub-

lished.

In a review of this great object to be composed by such

gig

194

antic means, the society might well confess; (Report for

1847) that ‘“its labours are mountains, its duties wide as the

sea;”’ and its prospect of success a distant one. But this did not

deter the members from attempts to achieve it.

With the

press they felt they had an important agent at their command,

and accordingly established the TarrwaBopHINTI PATRIKA.

This periodical has been considered from the first their mal-

yantra or chief engine of action.

It has now been established

eight years, and has circulated considerable information con-

cerning the Shéstras.

It has published large portions of the

Sanhitds of the Rig Veda; several of the Vedantic Upani-

shads, with Sanskrit commentaries and an English translation :

discourses delivered at the

Brahma Sabha; treatises by

Rdmmohan Roy on the subject of their faith ; discourses on

Natural Theology; Moral Proverbs: Essays on the Vedas

7

and some of the Purans; accounts of Hindu Sects; a Ben-

gali translation (in part) of the Mahdbhdrat; reports of the

and so on

The Patriké

Society ; defences against attacks

)

has been given gratis to all the members of the Society, and

circulated in Calcutta, Krishnaghur, Suksdgar, Burdwan,

[}

Hughly, Dacca, and Benares

Several of its papers have

been reprinted in a separate form

and other valuable works

have been issued from its press; among them the Katha,

the Veddanta

Mundaka, and five other Vedantic Upanishad

Sdr, the Brihma Dharma and the Panchadosi, a treatise

8

by Sankar- Acharjya.

ly

As a further means of securing their proposed end, four

i

young men were despatched as students to Benares, with a

y

view to purchase, or if necessary, copy out a complete col-

lection of the Vedas and other Shdstras; and also to study

4

them under the most experienced pandits

One of them in

)

the course of two years made considerable progress, and on

his return to Calcutta became assistant-Secretary to the

§)

Society and one of the Achérjyas of the Brahma Sabhd. The

others, after making some advance, were compelled to return

to Calcutta before their studies were finished

ch

i3

A considerable library has been collected, partly in Benares,

16

partly in Calcutta

including the Vedas, Veddngas, Darsans

and various Purdns, with commentaries

treatises,

&e

0L

he

Sanskrit

Other works are in Bengali and English: th

d,

library contains more than thirteen hundred volumes, great

and small.

§

/

The Society likewise began to establish Schools, in whlch

el

Vedantic writings should form an important part of the class-

bodks, and their doctrines hold an equally important place in

)l

he

the daily instructions

The first school was established in

0l

Calcutta, but was soon closed, the youths of this city being

more anxious to learn English than study the Vedas

A

I}

mofussil school was determined on, and opened at Bdnsbariya

by

This school also was closed

(il

near Hughly, in May, 1843

after three years for want of funds, and the land and school-

dos

e

8

house were sold to the Free Church Mission.

No similar

effort has since been made.

Again, the Society has from the

first endeavoured to consolidate itself, and cultivate devout

feelings amongst its members, by the celebration of regular

worship. For this purpose the followers of this doctrine,

whether members of the Tattwabodhini Society or not, meet

on Wednesday evenings as a Brahma Samdy, *“an assembly of

3

the worshippers of Brahma,’

at the premises of the Society

in Chitpore Road.

Their long hall has been neatly fitted

with pews, rising backward from the centre to the two ends,

and well lighted by chandeliers and wall-shades.

In the

middle of the hall upon a dais of grained marble, sit the two

pandits, the leaders in the worship: and in a recess imme-

diately opposite to them are the musicians. The service com-

mences with the reading of various passages from the Vedas.

The Gdyatri is recited and meditated on.

A hymn from

An

one of the Upanishads is then chanted by all present.

exposition of texts from the Vedas, or an Essay on some

branch of Natural Theology, follows; and is succeeded by a

short discourse by some member of the Sabha, frequently by

its President. The service closes with the singing of Brahmic

hymns by the professional musicians, who accompany it with

their instruments.

The whole occupies about an hour.

The impulse given to the Society in 1843 continued to

increase its numbers and power for nearly five years.

The

meetings for worship were regularly held, and were numer-

ously attended.

Their present house was (we believe)

purchased ; and several branch societies were established ; of

which the most flourishing were at Krishnaghur, Sukségar,

and Dacca.

But in 1847, the Society reached its zenith and

since then its numbers, and especially its income have steadily

declined.

The Reports ascribe its first decrease to the com-

mercial distress of 1847: the revolutions of Europe also,

according to the same authority, were not without their influ-

€nce.

The last two Reports contain no mention of the

branch societies: they show that the number of members has

g

considerably decreaéed; that the monthly subscriptions have

fallen lower than in the nine years previous; that the expen-

diture has, in consequence, been greatly reduced ; and that

the Press has saved the Society from debt by the profits of

its job-printing. The following table, drawn up from the

Society’s own publications, contains evidence of these facts.

Whether the decrease will be a permanent one remains to

be seen.

Income

Monthly

Expendi-

Report of the year,

Members.

%

Subseriptions

including

tllYie.

105

1538 6 &

1077

1487 0 10

1

1762 i, e. to April, 184

1

2

4

112

2476 12 10

2389

[

2304 15 5

2

1843

83

3476 9 O

2892

—

2896 15 15

1764

bR

3388

4682 13 0

1765

bR

1844

138

4416

7 10

1767

2

1846

500

unknown.

4000

unknown,

1768

bR

1847

573

6727 7 0

4850

6045

1769

3

1848

574

*6113 4 5

4450

*6361

8 10

1770

pE]

1849

505

3116 110

2386

3720

0 0

1771

”»

1850

481

3031 13 O

2086

3301

6 0

1772

by

18561

488

31556 0 10

2066

1

PO HRICOONIO

() Heml e Ham) il e e lom)(aw) (<]

3124

9 10

An attentive examination of these Reports develops a

significant fact which does not appear upon their surface.

In <April, 1847, the Society contained five hundred and

seventy-three members, of whom only two hundred and sixty-

seven remained members in April, 1850 ; so that out of the

five hundred and seventy-three, more than three hundred had

left the Society within three years.

May not this decrease

arise from the fact that much of the power of the Society

and of its apparent increase of numbers arises from what it

repudiates, not what it teaches. There are hundreds of

young men in Calcutta who cannot be Puranists; they do not

however wish to shake off all the restraints and forms of

religion, nor do they wish to break their caste by professing

themselves Christians; they therefore enter the Tattwabo-

dhini Society as a convenient resting-place.

But the repeti-

An extraordinary

* This is the ordinary income and expenditure.

sum of Rs. 3,425 was also paid for the building of the third story of the

house : but was given by Babu Debendranath Thakur,

—_—

10

tion of the same Srutis, of the same addresses on the works

of creation, of the same moral precepts, without an all-

powerful motive to enforce them, soon wearies them and

compels them to leave.

If however this notion be incorrect,

and their members continue to be worshippers in the Brahma

Saméj though they resign their places in the Tattwabodhini

Society ; it at least shows that they do not care much for

their religion, since they are unwilling to pay three rupees a

year for its extension or for the reading of its periodical.

Such is the early history of that Society which hopes “ to

cut the net,”” which Christians are said to be weaving for the

people of India.

Pleasant it may be to see so many educated

young men, meet together regularly for a calm and simple

worship ; and to find them putting forth efforts to promote

(as they think) the welfare of their countrymen. But if that

system which leads them to do so be a system of error, those

efforts can only add to existing evils, while the precious life

of those who follow it will be spent upon seeking a soul-

destroying bubble.

To shew that that system s erroneous

in its basis, its superstructure, its end :—and to point out a

divine system as satisfying and as purifying as it is wise, is

the object of this little work.

In carrying out this object we shall endeavour—

Firsr: To state the opinions and doctrines of the VEDAN-

TIC SCHOOLS.

SeconpLy: To show that they are Nor REvELATIONS of

religious truth: and

TraIirDLY : That CHRISTIANITY possesses cCLAIMS to be

so considered, and is in every way superior to these systems,

in its origin, its doctrines, and its fruits.

5

PART L

THE DOCTRINES OF THE VEDANTIC SCHOOLS.

The Vedantic system has not always been the same.

Like

other systems both of ancient and modern Philosophy, it

exhibits a variety of stages.

All the great features of the

system existed in the time and works of Vv4s: in later days

arose different ©Schools,” produced by varied interpretations

of his language on obscure points; or by the natural endea-

vour of their leaders to account for certain dogmas and to

ward off their legitimate consequences.

The germs of the

system and its chief doctrines are to be found in the Vepas

themselves, though not taught with that fulness and elabora-

tion, which we find in other and later works. The system

recently introduced into Calcutta by the TaTTwaBODHINI

SocieTy is not strictly speaking the Vedant, though on some

points closely connected with it.

Each of these varieties we

shall examine in its turn.

CHAPTER I.

Tae VEDANT oF VYAS AND HIS FOLLOWERS.

The unanimous voice of Hindu antiquity points out the

oreat sage BApArAvaN, otherwise called VEDA-Vv4s, as the

first writer upon the Vedantic system.

None of the Hindu

Sages rank higher in learning, and yet very little is known of

his life and history. The manner of his birth is related in

his own work, the Mah4bhdrat.*

It is said that Parasar a

)

brahman, the grandson of Vashishtha, passing along the

banks of the Yamuna, saw a fisherman’s daughter, with whose

beauty he was much struck.

He accordingly attempted to

seduce her and succeeded, having produced an island in the

* Mahabharat : Adi Parba.

12

st

river and covered it with a mist, in order to prevent a dis-

Covery.

The injured maiden gave birth to a son, who from

being born on the island and from having a dark complexion

From

was called Krishna Dwaipayan, ¢the dark islander.”

the time of his birth he left his mother and became an ascetic

in the woods. All his time was spent in the practice of

religious austerities (tapa) and the study of religious subjects.

With the affairs of common life he busied himself but little.

Sometimes he was present at a celebrated sacrifice, or endea-

But he

voured to advise his relatives in their quarrels.

quitted his retirement on one occasion for a very special

object, which deserves mention.

His mother, through the

blessing of Pardsar, had become the wife of Sintanu, the

celebrated king of Hastindpur, and by him had borne two

sons.

Of these the elder died young: the other, R4jd Vichi-

trabirya married Amb4a and Ambalik4, two daughters of the

king of K4dsi, but died without issue.

Most anxious to save

the celebrated race of Kuru from extinction, the royal mother

Satyabati, re-called her son Vyésa from his studies and with

many tears besought him to save the race, by raising up

issue from his brother’s widows.

He did so.

From Amba

was born Dhrita-rashtra; and from Amb4lik4, Pandu.

From

the former of these sprung a hundred sons: from the latter

came Judhisthir, Bhim and Arjun.

Thus the three great

heroes of the Mahabhérat were Vyas’s own grandsons.

E

The age in which these events occurred was not the first

in -which Vyds had appeared.

We are informed by his

great Commentator that he had formerly been born as a

brahman, named Apantara Tama : and having by his faithful

?:

performance of the requisite ceremonies

attained perfect

‘wisdom,” he became entitled to complete beatitude, absorp-

tion into Brahma.

His later birth was not occasioned by any

error on his part, but arose out of the special commission he

had received to compile the Ved4s.

This story is consistent

with another in the Vishnu Puran, that Vyas is Nardyan

himself.

13

By the force of his austerities (ydg-bole) Vyasa attained

astounding wisdom, and prepared within his mind an immense

It is said* that as he was

1

Encyclopaedia of Hindu learning.

thinking how to obtain a worthy scholar to write it down,

Brahmé himself appeared, praised his acquisitions and advised

Ganesh to be sent for.

t

The god of wisdom himself became

his Secretary and, among other productions, forth came the

Mahdbharat.

But the greatest work attributed to him is the

compilation and division of the Vedas, from whence he has

attained the name of VEpA-Vyisa ““divider of the Veda.”

The Vedas or their doctrines seem to have existed before his

|

time as ancient traditions, even bearing to some extent their

present names ; but he was the first to arrange in a systematic

form the heterogeneous mass of hymns and prayers, cere-

monial rules, doctrines and fables of which they were com-

posed.

In this task he was assisted by various co-adjutors

¢ well read in those works.” Paila aided him to form the Rig

Veda; Vaisampdyan to arrange the Yajur; Jaimani the Sim

Veda; and Sumanta the Atharbba.

|

These learned pandits

were members of the school which Vyésa seems to have formed

i

for the study of religious questions.

“This original tree of

the Vedas, having been divided by him into four principle

stems, soon branched out into an extensive forest.”

Besides

this important compilation, Vyds wrote a treatise on the

theology of the Vedas, in which he reduced to system the

various doctrines they contain.

This work is variously called

the Uttar Mimdnsd, the Sdaririk Sttras and the Brakma

Statras, &c.

He is said also to have written the Purdns. His

|

works thus constitute an immense body of Hindu learning.

The age in which he lived, in which the Vedas took a

definite shape and the Vedanta was reduced to system, cannot

be exactly determined. The language, the grammatical forms

and the style of the Vedas prove that they are undoubtedly

t

most ancient, but the works contain no system of chronology

which will infallibly connect them with contemporaneous

* Mahéabharat : Ac.ii Parba. - Tattw. Patrika, No. 67, p. 192.

C

14

events in other well-known countries.

We are able however

to determine their date with some approximation to truth,

from two independent sources which give a somewhat similar

result.

In the Vishnu and other Purdns we have lists of the

Hindu kings of various dynasties, who reigned over the

districts of Hindustan in ancient times.

Two of these, the

families of Ikshaku and the kings of Magadha, agree toge-

ther very well, and incidental notices occur which show them

to have a foundation in fact.

In the latter list occurs the

name of king Nanda who was to exterminate the Khetriyas

“and bring all the earth under one umbrella.”

Now king

Nanda immediately preceded CHANDRAGUPTA, Whose reign,

we know, began 315 B. C.

and thus we find a basis on

which Hindu chronology may be built.

From Parikshit, the

grandson of Arjun (with whom the Kali Jug began) to Nan-

da, the sum of individual reigns makes up 1500 years ; but the

sum total of the same period is stated in the Vishnu Purén

at 1015, and in the Matsya and Vayu Purdns at 1050 years.*

During this time there were (according to the best accounts)

forty-seven kings, who therefore reigned on an average fwenty-

#wo years each, the average of the reigns of the Jewish kings

who were their contemporaries.

The above period of 1050

years, added to the reign of Nanda and his sons (about forty

years according to Col. Wilford), and to the date when Chan-

dragupta mounted the throne, will give the date B. C. 1405,

as that of the birth of Parikshit and conclusion of the Great

War.

The Vishnu Puran gives B. C. 1370 for the same

date. As however there is some confusion in the earliest reigns,

the best authorities, (Wilson, Colebrooke, and others) agree

in considering the total as somewhat too large, and estimate

;

the real date a little later.t

These calculations are strangely

confirmed by the Calendar attached to the Vedas, and made

in the time of Pardsar, the father of Vyés.

The position of

the Colures at the time the table was made, is mentioned in

* Vishnu Puran, pp. 484, 5.

1 As, Res, IX, 87, 116.

15

er

it, and from the astronomical data given, it has been calculated

h,

by Mr. Davis that the table must be dated B. C. 1391.*

ar

From these considerations it appears that the great war, de-

he

scribed in the Mahabhdrat, the leaders in which were Vyés’s

he

grandsons, took place in the middle of the FOURTEENTH

he

CENTURY.

The compilation of the Vedas by Vyas, and the

formation of the Vedéntic system by him immediately pre-

ceded it. At that period the Israelites had conquered Canaan,

1

relapsed into idolatry and were in subjection to the kings of

i

Moab and Hazor, to be delivered from the latter by Deborah

114

and Barak. One hundred years after, the victories of Ninus

)‘n,

consolidated the Assyrian Empire and led to the foundation

on

of its wondrous palaces.

Before two hundred years had past,

he

came the war of Thebes, the Trojan war, and the founding of

the city of Tyre.

Thus the civilization and learning of Hin-

e

dustan long preceded that of western Asia and of Europe.

all

They were preceded only by those of Egypt; and no written

works are known older than those of Vyas, except the Penta-

teuch and Book of Joshua.

)

by

The Vedant is the last of the six ¢ Darsans’ or systems of

128

Hindu Philosophy. This is proved from the fact that in it

50

the authors and opinions of the other schools are often referred

£y

to chiefly for the sake of being controverted ; and even the

Ll

doctrines of the Buddhists and Jains are objected to and

00,

refuted. The Veddnt does not stand perfectly alone.

It

uat

adopts the modes of argument employed by the Nydy Dar-

me

san, and is still more closely connected with that of the

13,

Purbba Mimdnsd attributed to Jaymani. The systems indeed

as their names imply, form parts of one whole; the Purbba

;ree

1te

Mimansa dealing with the ritual ceremonies of the Vedas, the

ey

Uttar Miménsd or Ved4nta, with its doctrinal theology.

ade

The AvurnoRriTIiES from which the Veddntic system must

be learned, authorities which enjoy the reputation of a divine

M)f

B!

origin are, besides the Vedas, the Brakma Sitras and the

* As. Res. IX. 87.

M. Bentley reckons the same 1153 B. C. VIII.

233

¢ 2

16

Bhagabat Gitd, both which are the work of Veda Vydsa.

The Dharmae Shdstra of Manu is also reckoned such.

The Bhagabat Gits forms part of the Bhisma Parbba, the

Sixth book of the Mahabharat.

It 1s divided into eighteen

Sections, and professes to describe a conversation between

Krishna and Arjun immediately preceding the battle of Kurt-

khyetra. Arjun was in deep grief at the slaughter which had

taken place; and because the warriors on both sides were

sprung from one family. Krishna in order to remove his

grief teaches him, that from the nature of things, it was

useless to mourn or to vejoice; and enters into the whole

Vedéant doctrine to defend his position.

The dialogue is

related by Sanjay, the charioteer, to the blind Dhritardshtra,

Krishna

who had enquired from him the news of the battle.

declares himself to be the author of its doctrines: and as a

proof exhibits himself to Arjun in his divine form.

Some ecritics doubt whether the Mahdbhdarat is the work

of Vyisa.

It is possible that the present work is not his,

and was written on a basis which he originally composed.

But however that be, the work itself declares again and again

that Vyés s the author; and Hindu scholars universally

receive it as a divine composition from his pen.

The Sdrérik Sitras are aphorisms, 555 in number, stating

in a few words the principles of the system.

They are

divided into four Books (adhyéay) each of which has four

Chapters (pada) ; these again are divided into Sections (adhi-

karana) according to the subject.

The number of Sections

is 191.

Each Section should, (if perfect) contain five parts:

the subject to be treated of ;—the doub¢ respecting it; the

plausible solution of that doubt; the rewl solution ; the rela-

tion of the subject to other works.

The five are however

not often found complete.

Frequently the real solution only

At other times

is given and a plausible one not hinted at.

the latter is examined with all its arguments and attempts are

made to refute them.

The Siutras, unhappily, treat their

subjects so concisely, that it is most difficult to understand

17

them. The obscurity is increased by the old forms of lan-

Like the ¢ paragraphs’ of a

guage in which they are written

< text-book’ they just state a principle or argument and leave

(4

(/]

1t

Hence from the first, commentaries have been necessary

for their explanation, and doubtless the original commentator

1

was the author himself, when he delivered the Sdtras to his

scholars. The greatest of all the numerous commentators

on the Sutrds of Vyés is SANKAR ACHARIYA.

This learned

Hindu bears a name second to none in the range of Indian

8

He is the most

18

philosophy, except that of Vydsa himself.

illustrious disciple of the Vedant, and did much by his

3

1§

lectures, discussions and writings to increase the number of

its followers

Of his parentage we know nothing

He is

by

said to have been an incarnation of Siva; to have been born

)

at Srmoagm where he founded a celebrated school, and to

have died at Kancha. He appears to have travelled much and

to have lived to a great age; he is known even more in South

India than in Bengal.

The age in which he lived can be

B

pretty well determined from the following considerations,

dl

In the Buddhist perse-

though it is not absolutely certain.

I

cution which began at the opening of the sixth century A. D.

y

Kumarila was a chief agent.

This persecution had concluded

before Sankar’s birth and he himself names an immediate

4

predecessor of Kumarila.

The Malabar history puts him a

6

hundred years after Kumarila: and if the reign of this king

I

be placed about 550 A. D., the time in which Sankara flourish-

ed may be reckoned between 650 and 740 A. D. This view is

5

confirmed by an allusion in the History of Cashmir to a great

discussion amongst the learned, in which the victory was

16

given to some Bengali strangers

Lalitddya, who reigned

between 710—750 A. D., was then living.

Now we know

bl

that Sankar repeatedly held discussions with various classes of

y

pandits, and thereby greatly promoted the growth of Vedan-

68

tism ; also that one of the places which he visited was Cashmir

16

on this account the above allusion is thought to apply to him.

I

His philosophical victories are celebrated in the Prabodh

d

c 3

18

Chandroday, and from his time, the -Vedént held the fore-

most place among the schools of Hindu philosophy.

As we

have said, he travelled far and wide and disputed every where

for his views of theology.

He gathered many disciples, and

left to them an immense mass of Veddntic learning as the

result of his own studies.

Amongst these writings, which

are highly honoured to the present day, stands first his Com-

mentary on the Sdririk Stéras, entitled Sarfrik Mimansa

Bhdsya. His Scholia to the Ved4ntic Upanishads and Bha-

gavat-Gita rank next in value; and lastly, the Atmdbodh,

Upadesh Sahasri, Panchadosi and other original works, in

which he describes the system in his own way.

Next to the writings of Vyds, the Sitras and Bhagavat-

Gita, the COMMENTARIES OF SANKARA on these works and

the Vedas, are the best authorities for the Veddnt system.,

Hence they have been commented on and expounded by

others, as Anandagiri, Adwaitdnanda, &c.

The great number

of these commentaries is a proof of the impulse given by this

In addition to them

great scholar to the Vedantic school.

various elementary works have been published on the system.

One of the latest and most popular is the VeEpAnTaA S4R ; it

1s mentioned here, because it has recently been made accessi-

ble to students in Bengal.

This little work was written by

Sadénanda, the disciple of Adwaitdnanda and gives a syste-

matic outline of the chief doctrines of the Vedant with argu-

ments in their favour.

It dwells especially on those parts of

the science which describe the mode of learning it and the

way in which the necessity for it (caused by the world’s ig-

norance) arose.

It is therefore in some parts exceedingly

abstruse and difficult to comprehend.

The edition published

in Calcutta by the Tattwabodhini Sabha, contains the San-

skrit text, with a Bengali translation and two Sanskrit com.

mentaries.

There is also printed with it a celebrated work

by Saunkara Acharjya, the Hastdmalakam accompanied by a

Bengali translation and Sanskrit commentary. .From these

sources of information, let us now describe the system and its

19

doctrines. The Veddnta S4r treats of it under four heads : the

person qualified to study the system ; its object, the reunion

of the supreme and individual souls ; the connection as shown

by various categories, and the four means to be employed in

the study. As there are various objections to this arrangement,

when brought into comparison with that of other authorities,

we have made one of our own, with a view to exhibit in the

clearest way information derived from the whole.

SectioN L.—Definition of Veddntism ; its scope and aim ;

the authorities from whence it is derived ; the conditions

and mode of studying t.

V

A brief definition of the term Vedanta is contained in the

Veddnta Sdar.*

“The name Vedanta applies to the argu-

b}

ments of the Upanishads; also to the Saririk Sttras and

1}

other Shéstras auxiliary thereto B2

The object of the system

is to show ¢ the unity between the sentient soul and Brahma,

the soul in its pure state.”’+ IHence it may be described as a

1t

desire of knowing Brahma.

In the first Sutra, Vyés says:

¢ Athato Brahmajigyasa iti:” 1. e. after proper preparation

for the study, and because the knowledge of Brahma is the

)

chief end of man,{ an enquiry after Brahma remains.

He

I

f

must be known, and therefore sought after.

The knotty

If

10

point then arises; ‘“Is this object known or unknown ?”’

known, there is no need of searching after it.

If unknown

4

and unknowable, 1t cannot de known.

Sankara replies to

¥

1

these questions thus : ¢ Every man perceives the existence of

himself.

If he does not, he does not exist: That self is

i

Brahma.

If you reckon Brahma as self, is not all known?

1l

No.

For the chief dispute is about its proper qualities.

ik

* Vedanta Sar: (Calcutta Edition) p. 2,

il Ditto, pe 9

1 ¢ Brahmabagatirhipurushartha ; Tasmadu Brahma jigyasitobyam.

50

Commentary of Sankara A'chdrya on the BRAHMA Svu’rras: p. 4.

11§

Calcutta. Edition, 1818.

20

Some assert it is the body only; others the vital senses;

others the mind; others space; and so on.’

‘“ Wherefore

the desire of knowing Brahma, which the doctrines of the

Vedant examine, conjoined with reasoning not opposed to the

traditionary system, and having felicity for its end, is praised

in this introduction.”’

How then is the true knowledge of Brahma to be attained.

All the schools of Hindu philosophy recognize three ways of

obtaining knowledge in general : the perceptions of the senses ;

the deductions of reason; and tradition or revelation.

In

the search after Brahma, however, the first two methods are

inadmissible.

He is beyond the sphere of sense; and reason

will fail to understand him.

Sankara remarks this in many

passages of his commentary.

“By the eye of none is he

perceived, from its defect of form ; neither is he understood

by the voice, since he cannot be named, nor by the other

senses.”’ *

““The senses have naturally for their object exter-

nal things, not Brahma.”{ Again, it is clear from the Shds-

tras that he is not to be reached by reasoning : that doctrine

18 not to be acquired by discussion.”’]

¢ This is true ; not by

the senses nor by arguments is the Supreme to be proved;

‘“ Brahma we can follow

but by tradition he really is so.”

after, not by reasoning, but by the doctrine of teachers given

by perpetual tradition.”’||

““The knowledge of Brahma is

employed in explaining the sense of the passages in the

Shastras; it is not employed about other kinds of proof,

such as reasoning and the like.”q These and numerous

similar passages show that the Vedantists keep to one kind of

proof, which is called pramdn ¢ proof,” dggama ©tradition,” and

8rati ¢ hearing,” ¢ authority.’

The revelation or tradition on which the system is based,

is embodied in the Shéstras. (Sank. Br. Sdt. p. 6.)

““ For

understanding the true nature of that Brahma, the cause and

* Sank. on the Mund. III. p. 1.

+ Sank. Br. Sit. I. 1.2: p. 6

1 Sank. on the Ken. p. 7, line 12.

§ Ditto ditto, p. 14, line 5,

II Ditto ditto, p. 13, line 10,

9§ Sank. Br. Sat. p. 5.

21

authority are the Rig Veda and other Shéstras mentioned.

For by the authority of the Shistras is Brahma, the cause

of the origin, preservation and destruction of the world,

understood

That Brahma, omnipresent, almighty, the

E

cause of the production, preservation and destruction of the

world, is known by the Veddntic Shéstras. How? On account

of their tendencies.

For in all the Veddnta Shastras, the

passages are so written, that men may see Brahma and under-

But the knowledge of the Shastras is

stand his meaning.”

not altogether sufficient.

A scholar may find a difficulty in

getting at their true meaning. This meaning is to be obtained

from masters, pandits and others, well acquainted with the

Shéstras, who themselves recéived it from others who were

their teachers.

“He who knows the Shéstras, will search

after the knowledge of Brahma, not from his own judgment,”

but from the instructions of his master.

Hence the great

honour paid in Hindustan to learned instructors, and the large

number of scholars who in former days attended them. All

the Shdstras exhibit examples of the teacher instructing his

disciples, and holding discussions with them on their subjects

of study.

It is this circumstance that has given rise to the

many branches, that have sprung up in the various schools of

philosophy, and which have derived their weight from the

skill with which any pandit advocated a peculiar interpretation

of his book of authority.

The series of teachers, through whom the doctrine hasg

come down to us, must have had a beginning : and it is plainly

declared that the beginning is Brahma himself.

Many state-

ments to this effect will be quoted in the next chapter ; at

present it will be sufficient merely to cite the following.

113 Of

the great body of Shastras, beginning with the Rig Veda,

embracing many sciences, like a light, illuminating all things,

and possessed of the quality of omniscience, the origin and

cause 1s Brahma.

For such a Shéstra as the Rig Veda, en-

dowed with the quality of omniscience, can have no other

origin than an omniscient one.”

22

one

- But the knowledge of Brahma isnot to be attained by every

Desirable as it may be, for the results which professedly

follow it, Brahma has his favourites for whom it is reserved.

In the Brahma Sttras (1.3. 34-38) it is decided after some

discussion that none but the twice-born are competent to

study the Shéstras.

“The purification of the #panayan (the

investiture of the sacred thread) is the ground of instruction :

therefore none but Brdhmans, Khetriyas, and Vaisyas have

authority to study the Vedas: Sudras are forbidden to do

s0.” But not only are women, Sudras and Mlechhas excluded

from a knowledge of the science, even among the twice-born

a man will neither possess the ability nor the power to attain

On

that knowledge, unless Brahma causes him to do so.

this Sankar says; Sometimes a scholar endowed with a good

intellect and free from errors, understands even a difficult

thing as soon as it is heard ; another not so.

‘We see this in

the Shastras.

Thus after it had been said; ¢ The being who

is beheld in the eye, he is the soul, the immortal, the fearless

one; he is Brahma,” Virochan, king of the Asurs, though

instructed by Prajdpati himself, on account of the perversity

of his nature, understood that that soul is the body. Even

the king of the gods, once, twice, thrice did not understand

1t; but his natural perversity being removed, he at once

understood that it was Brahma.

So in the daily life of

students one understands a thing well : another, its opposite :

another, nothing.”

We notice next the manner in which the study is to be

prosecuted.

It is reckoned most important in itself, and can

be taken up only in the most serious way. Before a student

betakes himself to a master, he must be properly qualified.

The description of the qualified person [Adhikéri] is given in

the Veddnta Sdr, (pp. 3-10, Calcutta Ed.) and in the Com-

mentary of Sankar on the Brahma Sdtras.

He must first

find out the sense of the Vedas, by the study (according to

rule) of the Vedas and Veddngas.

He must in this or a pre-

vious birth renounce all the objects of desire, such as sacri-

23

v'

fices which gain heaven; also works which are forbidden,

such as killing brahmans and the like.

By the performance

J

of the Sandhydbandhan and other appointed ceremonies ; by

1

offering expiations ; and engaging in acts of internal worship,

he must purify his mind from errors and fix it upon Brahma.

16

He has then to perform ¢ the four means,” sddhan chatushtay.

a

He must distinguish between the real and unreal thing ;

that is, must consider every thing unreal except Brahma. 3.

((:

He must free himself from all desire of enjoying the fruits of

““The cast-

merit, whether given in this world or the next.

ing away of all desire must necessarily precede the knowledge

Ity

of the Supreme Soul.” ¢

He must exclude from his mind

ji

and from his senses every object which does not refer to

0

Brahma.

He must endure cold and heat without knowing

It

a difference between them.

He must be prepared to contem-

1

plate Brahma alone and to believe all that his teacher says. d.

0

Lastly, he must have an earnest desire after liberation from

5

self and absorption into Brahma.

These exercises completed,

h

he will be duly qualified :* he may then repair to a teacher

for further instruction.

“ As a man with a blazing head goes

y

il

into a pool of water, so the qualified person, burned by the

d

fire of birth, death and other worldly misery, with offerings

in his hands, repairs to a teacher learned in the Vedas and

of

putting his faith in Brahma, and becomes his follower.” (Ved.

Sar, p. 10).

Implicit confidence in the teacher is the first

condition of receiving instruction.

Only from the master is

)6

the knowledge of Brahma to be obtained at all : Guru prasd-

da labhydn. The whole process is however so difficult that

11

of

few can be expected to go through it, and reap the benefits

which it is intended to secure ; and this the Veddnt confesses.

A few among ten thousand mortals strive for perfection ;

n

I

and but a few of those who strive and become perfect, know

of

me according to my nature.”’*

{0

* Sir Charles Wilkins’s Blagavat- Gita, Chap. VII. p. 69.

I

24

Section 2.—Of Brakma.

The existence of the Supreme Brahma is a point which the

Vedéntic authorities take no trouble to prove. It appears to

them self-evident: and indeed cannot be proved ; Brahma

being entirely superior to human reasoning. His various

attributes, however are enumerated again and again at great

length : especially in the Satras and the commentary upon

them. Thus: ¢ Brahma is eternal, omniscient, pervader of

all things, ever satisfied in nature, ever pure, intelligent

and free; wisdom and delight.”

“That being is the true,

unchanging, eternal one. Like ether he penetrates all things ;

he is free from all change, ever satisfied, without limbs, in

El

nature light itself.

He, in whom right and wrong with their

effects, and the three times have no place, is without body,

and is freedom itself.”’*

““That supreme Lord pervades all

things, and is independent and one; there is no one like him,

no one superior to him; the whole world obeys his will.

Why ?

He is the internal spirit of every thing that is; who,

%

by means of the divisions of an impure delusion in names

and forms, makes himself, the oNe God, having always but

one taste, and renowned for pure intellect, multiform.”’¢

The tenth and eleventh Sections of the Bhagabat-Gits con-

tain noble descriptions of the majesty and splendour of the

il

Supreme.

(

As to his nafure, Brahma is declared to be Supreme Intel-

“On account of the eternal essence of intellect in

q

ligence.

il

Brahma, (as light is the essence of the sun,) no regard can

il

be allowed to other supports of intelligence.”

This intel-

ligence is not only compared to light, as in the passage just

o

quoted, but is said to e light.

“Though Brahma is in his

(

very nature intellect, yet the word light (jyd¢ih) describes

him, as it does the cause of the illumination of the whole

b

world.”f So in the following striking passage; ‘“As a mass

T

2 Sankara on the Brahma Sutras, pp. 8, 10.

t Commentary of Sankara on the Katha Upanishad.

% Sank. on the Br. Sut. pp. 19, 37.

to

Mi

-

of salt is, not internally, not externally, but entirely, a mass

of savour; so that spirit is, not internally, not externally, but

entirely, a mass of intelligence.”’*

He is also described as

ti

existence pre-eminently, and as enjoying perpetual delight

8

These notions are all combined in the term ¢ Sachchidananda

i

Brahma is not always invested with these attributes.

In

the intervals between the great ages, termed Kalpas, he is

and to

said to be altogether Nirgun ©without qualities ;

§

recline upon the leaves of the Banyan tree in a state of pro-

)

found repose. The Sétras (I111. 2. 13, 14.) declare the latter

'y

to be the Zrue description : not the former, nor the two toge-

1l

ther

It is only in relation to the creation those qualities are

I

attributed to him

Really ¢ he is unaffected by the modifi-

)

cations of the world; as the clear crystal, seemingly coloured

|

by the red blossom of the hibiscus, is not the less really

s

pellucid.”

¢¢ He changes not

all change is expressly denied

“The lumi-

him by texts in the Vedas:”’ (IIL. 2. 11, 12.)

0y

nous sun, though single, yet reflected in water, becomes

S

various ; and so does the unborn divine soul, in various

1t

bodies.”” (IIL. 2. 20).

t

His relation to the Universe in general is clearly stated in

the shdstras

He is the cause of it

«All the Veddntic

\7

authorities show the Spirit to be the cause of the Universe

(Br. Suat. I. 1. 10.) One text to this effect has already been

|

quoted

““ He is the Almighty Creator of the world, and the

Il

all-wise author of the Shastras

(Li 3 29

‘¢ Brahma 1is

almighty, ready for every action, without any organs or instru-

ments of action

His will alone is a sufficient cause of the

|

st

creation of the Universe

and he has done it for sport.”

15

L. 1. 30, 33.)

¢ This whole world was spread abroad by

%)

me in my invisible formn

All things are dependent upon me,

le

but I am not dependent upon them.” [Bh. Gita, Ch. I1X.]

§s

The mode of creation is also described. He issaid to have con-

* Vedanta or Brahma Satras, III. 2

16

The edition we refer

to is that published in Calcutta, in 1843, by Babu Nimai Charan

Mittri

D

26

ceived the desire to create, and to have used certain special words

in the process.

“From Vedic words, the universe, beginning

with the gods, has sprung.” Respecting the words employed, it

is said ; ““ Uttering the word bA#r he created the earth.”” ¢ He

formed bodies with two feet and four feet, and becoming a bird

he entered into them,” filling them as their creator spirit.

[1II. 2. 22.]

He is also the des¢royer of the universe. At the

end of a fixed period, by a certain necessity of his nature,

Brahma destroys and absorbs into himself the universe he has

created ; only however to reproduce it when another period

returns.

This subject is fully described in the Vedds, and we

shall see more of it in the next chapter.

Brahma is the ¢nternal ruler of the universe: this may

readily be conceived ; but he is also said to be its material

cause.

[The expression material cause is most generally

employed to denote the meaning here intended: but is un-

suitable in the case of the Vedant because, as we shall imme-

diately see, in its theory no such thing as matfer exists.]

Thus the second Sdtra affirms: He, from whom are the

birth, preservation, and destruction of the universe, is BRAH-

3

MA

Here the word *birth,” Janma,* is employed, not

‘ creation,” Srijan.

The doctrine follows immediately from

another, that Brahma is himself the wvery substance and

material of which the universe is made.

This undisguised

Pantheism is taught in the clearest manner in the Veddntic

authorities which we have cited above.

It is the great dasis

on which the system rests.

If it be not taught, the very aim

of the system is set aside, and the ignorance which man

possesses of the real union between the individual soul and

the Supreme, can never be put away. But to put it away is

the very end and object for which the system has been framed.

The fact therefore of the real identity between Brahma and

the soul, between Brahma and the whole universe, is asserted

It

again and again, and illustrated by numerous examples.

is carefully laid down in the Sttras of Vyas, (I. 4. 23—26.)

* YIRS

27

L

and defended by a long course of reasoning.

More than this,

the opinions of the Sdnkhya philosophers, who advocate a

¢ plastic nature’ and a real ‘material cause’ in its proper

T:

sense, are shown to be opposed to the doctrine of the Vedads.

These Slitras say (L. 4. 23 ;) “Brahma is also the substance

(prakriti) of the universe ; for so the propositions [in the

Vedds] and their illastrations require : the reference to his

desire and the distinct mention of both [lead to the same con-

clusion].

Because he makes himself by transformation [both

active and passive].”

The commentary of Sankar Achdrjya

elucidates this concise and obscure statement: it contains

among other things the following passages.

“Tt has been

J

said above that as we ought to know the laws, since they are

the cause of our comfort, so ought BRArMA to be known as

the cause of endless felicity.

It has been declared that from

him are the origin, preservation and destruction of the uni-

verse. Now as this description may apply both to the mate-

rial cause (as clay and gold are the material cause of pots

[7

and bracelets), and to the eficient cause (as the potter and

goldsmith are efficient causes), a doubt arises, of what kind

ot

is the causality of Brahma.

Brahma must be reckoned both

the ¢ substance’ (that is the material cause) and the efficient

cause. Why ? Because ‘the propositions [of the Vedas] and

d

ed

their illustrations,” found in the shéstras, ©require’ us to

believe it. The ¢ proposition’ is this ; ¢ Hast thou asked (the

10

teacher) about that notion by which the thing unheard

1§

becomes heard, the thing unthought becomes thought, and

that which is unintelligible becomes understood?

This

all

knowledge of other things respects the knowledge of their

d

18

material cause, since the effect differs in no wise from that

cause ; but it is different from the efficient cause, as a car-

d

penter differs from a house.

The ¢illustrations’ given point

id

ed

out the same cause; viz. ‘as by a ball of clay, all clay is

known, and the change is one of name (produced) by words

It

only, while in the thing itself there is clay only,” &c. This

)

example points out the material cause, as it does also in the

D 2

28

»

following eases: ¢ As by one golden ornament, every golden

thing is known ; as by one knife for cutting the nails, every

iron thing is known, &c.’

Again when it is said, ‘he from

whom all these creatures are born,” the shdstra points out

their origin, that is, their material cause, for he who begets

any thing is its origin.”” On the 24th Sttra, Sankar says;

“ The reference to his ¢desire’ shows him to be both the

efficient and material cause.

For in the passages where it is

said, ¢ He desired : I will become manifold and will produce ;’

the desire has reference to him as the efficient cause; and

from the words I will become manifold the material cause

follows.

Again, the same fact is learned from the *distinct

declaration’ (see the 25th Siitra] that both the production

and destruction of the universe are from him. This shows

him to be the material substance of the universe; ¢ All these

creatures spring from the sther and into the sether fall.” That

from which any thing springs and into which it is dissolved,

must be considered its material cause, as the earth is the

cause of rice and barley,

Again [see 26th Sttra] Brahma is

proved to be the substance of the universe from the words of

the shdstras, ‘he himself transforms himself.” “He himself

speaks of him as an active agent; but transforms himself

points him out as passive.”

Of the reasoning of the great comtentator in these pas-

sages, I shall at present say nothing; I-only wish to show

that in his opinion these Sitras of Vy4s distinctly declare

Brahma to be not only the efficient cause of the universe, but

its material cause likewise ; in other words the very material

of which it is made.

But the Sitras do not leave the subject here.

They not

only state the doctrine positively, but take up objections and

opinions contrary to it. The philosophers of the Sdnkhya

school assert that the universe is made of a ¢ plastic nature’

and a ‘material cause’ independent of the Deity.

This asser-

tion the Sttras endeavour to disprove, showing that that

material cause is the Deity himself: thus establishing their

(

29

Pantheistic doctrine on the firmest basis, by the direct denial

of the proposition which contradicts it.

The objections to

the doctrine are also taken up by Sankar, and in the best way

he can, he endeavours to answer them.

‘ How can this uni-

verse, [it is asked] which is manifold, void of life, impure,

irrational, proceed from him who is one, living, pure and

rational ” [He answers] : ¢ The lifeless world can proceed

from Brahma just as lifeless hair can spring from a living

man

b

‘But in the universe we find him who enjoys and him

who is enjoyed: how can he be both ?’

¢ Such are the

changes of the sea. Foam, waves, billows, bubbles, are not

different from the sea which is in its native waters.

Still a

difference is perceived in them by turns, and an activity which

agrees with their mutual union.

Nor, though they are iden-

tical with the sea, do these changes obtain the condition of

each other; nor does the difference follow from the nature of

In

the sea, if they do not obtain these conditions by turns.

the same way, he who enjoys and he who is enjoyed do not

by turns gain each other’s condition, nor are they different

from the supreme Brahma.”

Again, ¢ There is no differ-

ence between the universe and Brahma.

The effect is not

different from its cause.

He is the soul ; the soul is he. The

same earth produces diamonds, rock-erystal, and red or-

piment.

The same sun produces many kinds of plants.

The

same nourishment is converted into hair, nails, and so on.

As milk is changed into curds, and water to ice, so is Brahma

variously transformed without external aids.

So the spider

spins its web from its own substance ; spirits assume various

shapes ; cranes propagate without males; and the lotus grows

from swamp to swamp without organs ef locomotion, &c.”

(Br. 8it. 11. I. 14—26, with commentary). Again ; Nothing

exists but he, although different texts of the Vedds seem to

imply the contrary.” [111. 2. 29].

The BaacaBAT GiTA is not silent on a doctrine so vital.

The following are some of its statements.. [Chap. IV. p. 24]:

“ Brahma is the oblation ;. Brahma. is 'the clarified butter ;

D 3

30

Brahma is the fire of the altar; by Brahma is the sacrifice

performed ; and Brahma is to be obtained by him, who makes

Brahma alone the object of his works.”* [C. VII. p. 70] -

“T am the creation and dissolution of the whole universe.

There is not any thing greater than I: all things hang on me,

even as precious gems upon a string.

I am moisture in the

water ; light in the sun and moon ; invocation in the Vedds ;

sound in the firmament ; human nature in mankind; sweet-

smelling-savour in the earth ; glory in the source of light:

in all things I am life; I am zeal in the zealous; and know,

O ArJs6n, that I am the eternal seed of all nature.”

[C: XV. p. 113] :

“ Know that the light which proceedeth

from the sun and illuminateth the whole world, and the

light which is in the moon and in fire, are mine.

I pervade

all things in nature, and guard them with my beams.

Iam

the moon, whose nature it is to give the quality of taste and

relish, and to cherish the herbs and plants of the field.

I am

the fire residing in the bodies of all things which have life,

where joined with the two spirits which are called Pran and

Opan, 1 digest the food which they eat.” [C. VL. p. 68]:

“ The man, whose mind is endued with this devotion, and

looketh on all things alike, beholds the Supreme Soul in all

things and all things in the Supreme Soul.

He who beholds

me in all things and all things in me, I forsake not him,

and he forsaketh not me.”

« T am the sacrifice ; I am the

worship ; I am the spices; I am the invocation ; I am the

ceremony to the manes of the ancestors; I am the provisions ;

I am the fire and I am the victim. I am the mystic figure Om ;

the Rig, the SAm and YasUr Vedas;” [C. IX. p. 80].

The VEDANTA SAR takes up the doctrine at the very out-

set, and lays down principles, the ultimate development of

which is intended to establish it upon the strongest ground.

1 will quote only one passage.

‘“ There 1s no distinction

* FHiofda IHER IFIY) TSN |

ITHT OH AVLIN T HIIEH ||

31

e

between the universality and the speciality,* [names denoting

68

Brahma and individual souls respectively ;] as there is none

between a forest and the trees; and water as one thing and

{7

water as many waters.

There is likewise no distinetion be-

e,

tween the Supreme Ruler and individual intelligences, in

he

which that universality and speciality are inherent; as there

55

is none between the sky which covers the forest and the trees,

fo

and the sky which is reflected by the ocean and many waters.”

lt

“ Brahma is by his mdyds manifold.”

‘When the teacher

W,

has properly instructed the qualified scholar and by the

1

appointed means has ¢ purified’ the terms ¢kat and ¢hou, and

th

has examined the meaning of the infinite one by the °great

he

sentence,” that scholar can say; ‘I am the eternal, pure,

de

omniscient,

free,

true, self-existent,

ever-blessed,

infinite

i

Brahma, the being without a second.’

He to whem it was

id

said, ¢ Thou art He,” can for himself now say; ‘I am He.

m

The following passage is from the HastAmavrAkAM already

fe,

mentioned as a book of authority, and printed at the Tattwa-

ud

bodhini press.

The work opens with the following questions

put by the writer, the celebrated Pandit Sankar Achérjya,

]

nd

to a beautiful boy whom he professes to have seen in the

all

course of his travels for scholastic victories ; * Who, O child,

art thou? whose son art thou? what is thy name? whither

s

m,

wilt thou go!? and whence hast thou come? for the love of

he

me give me a true answer to these questions.”

The boy

replies: “ I am not a man, nor a god, nor a fairy ; I am nei-

he

Sy

ther a brdhman, nor a khetriya, nor a house-holder, nor a

My

sannyési, nor a beggar, but I am the all-pervading, omniscient

Spirit.”?

He then describes himself in twelve sentences con-

uf

taining a brief view of the Veddntic doctrine.

The fifth of

of

these is as follows: ¢ He who in his own form is separated

from the mind, the eye, and other senses; who is the mind

nd

0%

of the mind, the eye of the eye, the ear of the ear, the life of

life, and cannot be perceived by the mind, the eye, and other

* {ufP ; qufP. Vedanta Sar: pp. 17, 18, Calcutta edition; pub-

lished at the Tattwabodhini Press, 1849,

32

senses, that Spirit who is eternal Intelligence, am 1.”

[6]

“Asin the water of numerous vessels the reflections of one

sun are rendered manifold; so he, who is himself light and

pure wisdom, although without a second, is illusively manifested

in many ways by the numerous instincts of numerous living

things; that eternal and omniscient Spirit am I.”

The

testimonies from these authorities might be greatly multiplied ;

but those adduced are surely sufficient to satisfy any unpre-

judiced mind that the doctrine of Pantheism is one of the

most important and clearly stated doctrines of the Ved4ntic

system as taught by Vyas and his followers.

Among Euro-

pean scholars who have read their works without reference to

their religious bearings, the opinion is unanimous that the

doctrine is unquestionably there.

SecTiON 3.—Of the Universe and its Elements.

In the preceding Section it has been shown that the uni.

verse has for its substance and material the Supreme Brahma

himself : that it was created or produced from a desire in his

own mind ; and was called forth by special words.

In this

Section we shall notice its various divisions, the elements of

which it is said to be composed, the qualities it possesses, and

similar topics.

In the Vedantic authorities we read of no splendid theory

of astronomy, based on the great law of gravitation and

turned to the most practical uses.

We read of no geology

showing, from the very structure of the solid world, the mode

of its formation and the ages through which it has passed.

A different philosophy altogether awaits us: and strange

theories take the place of well-authenticated facts.

According tosome of the authorities, the universe is divided

into three ¢ Loks’ (7rilok) heaven, earth, hades.

By others

the division is made more particularly into two, ealled the

Upper and Lower worlds; each of which contains seven divi-

33

sions placed one above the other.

In the Upper Lok there

is first Bhir-lok, the earth: then BhAuba-lok, the region

between the earth and sun, the abode of the Munis; Swar-

3

lok, the heaven of Indra; next Maha-lok, the abode of

Bhrigu and other saints; Janra-lok, the residence of the sons

of Brahma; Tapa-lok, the residence of the ¢ Vairagis:’ and

lastly Satya-lok or Brahma-lok, the abode of BRAHMA him-

self.

Below the earth are the lower worlds with their seven

divisions placed one beneath the other, the residence of various

evil beings.

They are named, Atala, Bitala, Sutala, Rasatala,

In various texts are mens

Talatala, Mahatala, and Patal.*

tioned other regions which must be considered as subdivisions

of those now enumerated. Thus in ascending from the earth

through Bhuba-lok to the heaven of Indra, the soul of the

perfect follower of Brahma passes first to the realm of fire;

thence to the regents of the day and of the half lunations ;

thence to the abode of the gods ; to air or wind ; thence by

a straight road to the moon (which lies therefore far beyond

the sun) ; thence to the region of lightning (beyond the

moon).

Above that is the realm of Varina the ruler of rain ;

then follows the kingdom of Indra.t+ All the universe

sprang from the great egg of Brahma. ¢ The illusive power

of ignorance creates the universe from the internal organisms

t

|

of Brahma’s Egg.”’{

The various organic bodies existing in this universe are

distributed into four classes.

They are either (1) produced

Jrom the womb, or (2) from egys, or (3) from damp, or (4)

from germs.

Those produced from the womb are born alive ;

as men, animals, &c.

The oviparous came forth from an

egg ; as birds, serpents, &c.

Those produced from damp are

[Ej’

worms, insects, &c.

which are born from hot moisture.

Those produced from germs are those which emerge from the

earth ; as creepers, trees, &c.”’§

|

These bodies all spring from five subtile elements ; viz., air,

4

* Vedanta Sar, p. 40.

1 Vedanta Sar, p. 23.

t - Brahma Sttras; IV. 3. 6.

§ Vedanta Sar, pp. 40, 41.

34

ether, fire, water, and earth

‘ Ether and air are created by

Brahma

But he himself has no origin, no procreator, nor

maker ; for he is eternal

So fire, water, and earth proceed

mediately from him, being evolved successively, the one from

the other

as fire from air, and this from ether

The ele-

ment of earth is meant in divers passages where food is said

to proceed from water ; for rain fertilizes the earth

It is by

and

his will, not by their own act that they are so evolved

conversely, they merge one into the other in the reversed

order and are re-ahsorbed at the general dissolution of worlds,

The following

previous to the renovation of all things.”*

passage from the Vedanta Sar shows how these elements are

compounded and re-compounded with each other, so as to

produce an immense variety of objects

“The gross elements

are composed of the subtile ones according to the combination

of five (panchikritam)

The combination of five is—to

divide each of the five elements into two parts

then equally

to divide each of the five former of the ten parts, into four

parts ; to separate these four of the one-half from their own

parts, and to join them with the parts of the other elements.

The combination of five is proved beyond doubt by the Sruti.

L

In that state, sound is manifested in the ether

sound

and feeling in the wind ; sound, feeling and colour in the

fire

these three with taste in the water

and these four with

smell in the earth. From these five elements combined in

this manner were produced the different Lokas or worlds.”’

The order, in which the original elements were created, is

differently stated by the authorities

The difficulty and

uncertainty originated with the Upanishads, as we shall see

and are distinctly acknowledged in the Sitras, where an effort

is made to explain them

The universe thus made rests upon Brakhma by whom it

is sustained and preserved : hence he is called Stithi-karttd

¢ This doctrine is the bridge of immortality.’]

It will con-

% Brahma Sttras; JI. 3. 10

Colebrooke’s Essays, I. 353

Brahma Sttras; 1. 3. 1

t+ Vedanta Sar, pp. 36—40

35

tinue so to rest till the Mahdpralay, destruction of all things,

At the end of the days of Brahma [a kalpa] the first three

of the Upper worlds are consumed by fire : and at the end of

one hundred of his years, the whole of the universe is re-ab-

sorbed into him from whom it was first evolved.

¢ Those

who are acquainted with day and night know that the day

of Brahma is as a thousand revolutions of the Yuas, and that

his night extendeth for a thousand more.

On the coming of

%

that day, all things proceed from invisibility to visibility ;

)

so, on the approach of night, they are all dissolved away in

['q

that which is called invisible.

The universe having existed

7

is again dissolved : and now again, on the approach of day,

0

by divine necessity it is re-produced.”

““ At the end of a

]

Kalpa all things, O son of Kunti, return into my primordial

)i}

source; and at the beginning of another Kalpa, I create

0

them all again.”*

It is important to notice that according to the Vedantic

ly

ur

authorities, among the objects of creation, various Deities

In the Satras, Vartna

i

hold a real and conspicuous place.

S

and Indra are distinctly mentioned as ruling over certain

{1

regions of the Upper worlds.

In the Vedénta Sdr, the cere-

nd

monies which are regularly performed by brahmans and which

he

include the worship of debtas, are declared to be an important

ith

part of the preparation of him who would be a successful

1

disciple of the system.

But chiefly in the Bhagabat Gita,

”,t.

numerous deities are clearly recognized, not as poetical per-

sonifications, but as real existeut beings ; and their worship is

18

nd

approved and shown to be beneficial.

¢ Remember the gods,

20 )

they will grant you the enjoyment of your wishes :”’ (Ch. III.)

Yort

“ Those who worship the debtds go unto them :”’ (Ch. VIL.)

Other passages will be quoted hereafter.

| lt

t

t

SecTtioN 4.—Of Man.

colle

Man is regarded by the Vedant as formed of two elements ;

the individual soul and the wvehicle made for 4ts use.

We

* Bhag. Gitd; Chs. VIII. and IX.

36

shall consider the latter first.

The wehicle or abode of the

individual soul consists of two bodies ; one more refined, the

other more gross.

The former is called the S#khma Sarir or

subtle body; the latter is the S¢A4l Sarir or gross body, and

is made of those limbs or organs visible to us.

The Stkhma

Sarir is clearly described in the Vedanta Sdr, pp. 25, &e.

“ What is the subtile body ? It is the Linga Sarir possessing

seventeen organs. What are the seventeen organs? They

are the five organs of intelligence, the understanding, reason,

What are the five

the five organs of action and the five airs.

organs of intelligence !

The ear, touch, the eye, tongue, and

smell.

They are formed from parts of the first quality (the

Sattwa gina*) of the ether and other elements, respectively ;

that is from the first quality of the ether is the ear; from

that of the air, touch ; from that of the light, the eye; from

that of water, the tongue; and from that of the earth, smell.

What is the understanding ?

It 1s that action of the mind

which asserts.

What is ¢ reason ?

That action of the mind

by which it weighs arguments for and against any thing.

Thinking and consciousness are the only two actions included

in understanding and reason.

What are they ?

Thinking is

that action of the mind which enquires; and consciousness

that by which it makes its actions its own.

(Understanding

and reason) both spring from the united first qualities of the

ether and other elements: that they do so spring is evident

from the fact that they have power to manifest.”’+

The

subtile body is formed of ¢4ree cases included one within the

other, and made up of the organs mentioned. The Vedanta

Sér goes on to mention these.

The understanding joined

with the five organs of intelligence is called the °intelligent

case’ of the soul; (bigydnmay kosh.) This intelligent case

possessing the consciousness of power, enjoyment, pleasure,

and pain, journeying to this and the other worlds, is called

* Respecting these ¢ qualities,” Guna, see a passage from the Bhagabat

Gita, quoted in the next Section.

+ Vedanta Sar, pp. 26—27.

37

the administering sentient soul. The reason, joined with the

the mental case of the soul (manomay

five organs of action is

kosh). What are the five organs of action? Speech, hand,

foot, evacuation, generation.

These spring in order from

parts of the five elements of the second quality (the Rajo

guna) respectively.

That is; speech is: from the second

the foot from

quality of ether; the hand from that of air;

that of light, and so on. What are the five airs? They are

respiration, inspiration,

circulation, the guttural air and ‘the

Respiration is the air which

equalizing air (of digestion).

;

goes upwards through the nose ; inspiration is that which

goes downwards to the intestines and other parts; that of

circulation goes throughout the whole interior. The guttural

air moving upwards turns back again and has its place in the

throat. The equalizing air passing through the middle of

the body equalizes the food which is taken by eating and

drinking.”” Other philosophers, as for instance those of the

S4nkhya school, maintain five airs different from these; viz.

L el o DR o

those of eructation, of winking, of hunger, of yawning and of

nourishing. Others consider that the latter are included in

the former.

«“The five airs are produced by the united

second qua

lities of the five elements and form together with

Gl 0% - SR ke

the organs of action the vital case (prdnmay kosh). Among

14

these cases the intelligent case, having the faculty of know-

ledge,

is the originator; the mental case, having the faculty of

desire, is the causal; and the vital case, having the faculty

They are called,

of action, is the performer of works.

when united, the subtile body of the soul.” This lengthened

ez

extract describes very clearly and fully the Vedantic theory

if

of Human Physiology, and has been quoted on that account.

e

The same is also taught by the higher authority of the

7

Brahma Satras. (II. 4. &c.) From them we learn that the

aumber of organs existing in the body is properly eleven, viz.

five organs of sense ({ gydnendriya), five of action (karmmen-

at

driya) and one the ‘inner sense,” the ‘understanding,” which

includes intellect, conscientiousness and sensation. ¢ These

E

38

organs are finite and small ; not however minute like atoms,

nor

gross, as the coarser elements. These senses and organs are

not modifications of respiration, but are different from it!”

[IL. 4. 17—19]. The prin above-mentioned, in its original

meaning denotes vital action, especially respiration. In this

sense it is a modification of Brahma,

It is not wind, nor the

air breathed; nor is

it the vital act of a special organ. It

includes five such acts,

viz. those above mentioned as the acts

of the ‘five airs.” The mode in which the body is sustained

is stated most curiously in the Sitras.

The passage is as

follows. It is the Supreme Ruler, not the individual soul,

who is described in various passages of the Vedas, as trans-

forming himself into divers combinations ; assuming various

E

names and shapes, deemed terrene, aqueous or igneous, accord-

ing to the predominance of one or the other element.

When

nourishment is received into the corporeal frame, it undergoes

a threefold distribution, according to its fineness or coarseness,

Corn and other terrene food become flesh : but the coarser

portion is ejected, and the finer nourishes the mental organ.

Water is converted into blood: the coarser particles are

j

rejected as urine, the finer support the breath. Oil or other

combustible substance deemed igneous becomes marrow :

t

the coarser part is deposited as bone, and the finer supplies

d

the faculty of speech.”* When the dissolution of the gross

8l

organism takes place, a process occurs the reverse of that

1

“ development’ which has now been described.

““The speech

t

of a dying person, followed by the ten exterior faculties (not

i

the corporeal organs themselves) is absorbed into the mind,

for the action of the outer organ ceases before that of the mind,

{

This in like manner retires into the breath, attended likewise

e

by all the other vital functions. The breath, accompanied

ar

by them is withdrawn into the ‘living soul’ which governs

the corporeal organs, as the attendants of a king assemble

8

round him when he is setting out upon a journey. The

f?lt

‘living soul’ attended with all its faculties, retires within a

*.Br, Sitras, IIL. 4, 21.

Colebrooke, I. 357.

39

rudimenﬁ of body composed of light, with the rest of the

five elements in a subtile state.

In that condition the soul

united to a subtile elementary frame, conjoined with the vital

faculties, remains till the dissolution of world, when it merges

in the supreme deity. That frame is imperceptible to those

who see the death of the body.

It is not injured by the

burning of the body or by any thing else. It can be known

by its heat as long as it remains in the gross body ; and that

body which was warmed by it becomes cold on its departure.”

[IVLe. 1-—11].

It is most important to notice, that “ these

vital acts do not take effect of themselves; they are directed

and influenced by a divinity who presides over them: the

living spirit is, however, conscious only of the enjoyment and

not of the presiding power.”

[IL. 4. 14].

Such is the structure of the organism which forms the

abode of the sentient soul.

The various sfates in which it

exists are also points dwelt on by Ved4ntic writers. During

life these are three in number, viz. waking, dreaming, and pro-

found sleep. A fourth may be added that of death: and a

fifth that of fainting and coma. These states are thus com-

pared by Sankar. ‘When awake, a living man, owing to the

illusion of mdyd, perceives an inherent distinction between

the objects of sense: in dreams the mind retires into itself

and from its own imagination creates new worlds : in profound

sleep both these illusions are wanting, and the mind reverts

to its true union with the Supreme.’* The latter state is

thus specially described.

“ When a man sleeps, speech goes

into the mind; the eye into the mind ; the intellect into the

mind ; the ear into the mind ; when he wakes, from the mind

they again return.”’t+ “In profound sleep the soul retires

to the bosom of the Supreme by the way of the pericardial

arteries,” and obtains its own form. [Br. Stt. IIL. 2. 1—10.]

For whom is this organism with its strange structure and

states provided?

Who abides in it?

The answer is: The

indiwvidual soul.

In the last Section it was shown that all

* Sankar on the Br. Sit. L. 1. 9, p. 23,

T Br. Sat. p. 43.

1.2

40

matter is only Brahma himself, and that he is the substance

and material of every thing in the universe.

We shall natur-

ally expect therefore that, when we enquire into the nature

of the individual soul, we shall be referred at once to the

Supreme ; and this we find to be the case.

The chief part of

man is the spark of the Supreme Soul, shining by its own

light : the living soul (or life) joined with that, is as it were

its shadow.

Both reside in a cavern of the heart.

“In the

Supreme sether, seek the soul which has entered the cavern

(of the heart).”

This ether is stated to be exceedingly

diminutive, and possessed of such other qualities as neces-

“The

sitate its being considered the Supreme himself.

distinction between the living soul and the Supreme Ruler

arises from an illusion, not from the thing itself.”

QOther

philosophers think that the form of the living soul is a real

one. To refute all these, who oppose the, true doctrine of

the soul’s unity, is this work composed. The Supreme Ruler

is one, eternal, of one form, the source of mind, who by a

“The soul is

deceptive ignorance has become multiform.”’*

a portion of the Supreme Ruler, as a spark is of fire. The

relation between them is not that of master and servant,

[B. S.

ruler and subject : but like that of whole and part.”

I

¥1413.548).

«It is even a portion of myself that in this

4

It draws

animal world is the umiversal spirit of all things.

D

together the five organs and the mind, which is the sixth,

tf

that it may obtain a body, and that it may leave it again:

T]

and Iswar, having taken them under his charge, accompanies

&

them from his own abode, as the breeze the fragrance from

It

The foolish

the flowers. He presides over all the organs.

It

see it not, attended by the gunas or qualities, either in expir-

ing, in being, or in enjoying; but those that are endued with

all

(Bhag. Gitd: Ch. XV.

the eye of wisdom behold it.””

it

p. 112).

«There is no distinction between the Supreme

th

Ruler and individual intelligences, as there is mone between

il

the sky which covers the forest and the trees, and the sky

i

* Br. Sutras, pp. 80, 81.

W

41

which is reflected by the ocean and many waters.”

(Ved.

Sar. p. 18).

On this subject the Upanishads speak not less

plainly. Possessing the nature of Brahma, the soul is endowed

17

with his attributes. The soul isnota thing of which a man

of

Jil

may say ; ¢ It hath been, it is about to be, or is to-be here-

after;” for it is a thing without birth : it is ancient, constant

(7

and eternal ; and is not to be destroyed in this its mortal

16

frame.

The weapon divides it not: the fire burns it not:

n

the wind drieth it not away.

For it is indivisible, inconsum-

It is eternal,

able, incorruptible, and is not to be dried away.

universal, permanent, immovable : it 1s invisible, incanceiv-

e

able, and unalterable.”

(Bhag. Gité: Ch. IL p. 37.)

ler

This soul of man, however, which in European philosophy

16!

is reckoned one, is, according to Vedantic authorities, strange-

eal

ly compounded. The understanding, as well as the organs

of

of sense and action, is made up from the five elements; and

(&

on the death of the body is re-absorbed into those elements,

»yﬁ

according to the order in which it was developed from them.

| 18

This is not the case, however, with the real soul.

This is

The

uncompounded.

It is compared to a blazing spark from a

anty

burning flame, and is declared to be eternal and uncreated.

It is not subject like the body to decay and death.

It is

this

ever active, from its own nature: even in sleep, it fails to

WS

perceive, not from any weariness in itself: but solely from

th;

the want of sensible objects on which to exert its power.

int

This activity is a gift from the Supreme, but may be laid

e

aside. ““Just as a carpenter with his tools in his hand may

1om

rest: so the soul in its union with its instruments may enjoy

dlish

repose also.”

gpil'-

The community of origin attributed in these passages to

with

all the souls of men, and their perfect consubstantiality with

i

the Supreme, has not prevented the establishment among

reme

them of important divisions and ranks. The system of casTe

bweetl

finds a place even in the Vedantic Philosophy : and though

o 8K

little is said about it, enough occurs to show how thorough

was the distinction it had developed between various classes

B

42

of Hindus, even in those early times

¢ Mankind was created

by me of four kinds distinct in their principles and in their

duties.”’

(Ch. 1IV.: Gitd.)

““The respective duties of the

four tribes of Brdhman, Khetriya, Vaisya, and Sudra, are

also determined by the qualities which are in their constitu-

tions

The natural duty of the Brdhman is peace, self-re-

straint, zeal, purity, patience, rectitude, wisdom, learning, and

theology. The natural duties of the Kkeériya are bravery,

glory, fortitude, rectitude, not to flee from the field, genero-

sity, and princely conduct

The natural duty of the Vaisya

1s to cultivate the land, tend the cattle, and buy and sell. The

natural duty of a Sudra is servitude. A man being contented

with his own particular lot and duty obtaineth perfection.”

(Ch. XVIIL.) A passage has already been quoted from the

Sutras in which the privilege of studying the Vedas is allow-

ed only to the °twice-born

but Vaisyas and Sudras, the

Gita declares, together with women and sinners, may obtain

1ts rewards in another way ; (Ch. IX.) = The ample details of

the Ménava Sdstra, the ¢Institutes of Manu,’

respecting

caste, might be cited here, but they are too well known to

render it necessary.

SecrioN 5.—The State of Man in relation to Brahma, and

how he may be freed from it

Pantheism thoroughly contradicts the numberless acts of

man’s every-day life; it is therefore only to be expected, that

on so vital an element in their system the Vedantists hav

much to say, and many explanations to offer.

In order to

prove it, they boldly assume at the outset that man is in a

that he believes in a sha-

very peculiar and unnatural state

dow, and fails to grasp the substance

and hence a special

process 1s necessary to restore him to a proper and healthy

condition

1. They assert that man is in a state of the greatest

ignorance.

When Brahma, say they, evolved from himself

43

the various objects from which the universe is apparently

composed, these objects were, from the first, under the influ-

ence of an extraordinary illusion, which prevented their

knowing what was their own real character. That illusion is

specially developed ¢n man, who reckons himself distinct from

the Supreme.

But it arose in a peculiar way from Brahma

himself ; the consequences are felt in himself ; and from him

is the deliverance.

y a. Every portion of the Universe, and especially man, is

marked by one of the ¢hree gimas. Mr. Colebrooke thus de-

scribes them: “The Sdnkhya, as other Indian systems of

philosophy, is much engaged with the consideration of what

is termed ¢ the three qualities : if indeed, quality is the pro-

per import of the term; for the scholiast of Capila under-

stands it as meaning, not quality or accident, but substance ;

a modification, fettering the soul, conformably with another

acceptation of guna, signifying a cord. The first and highest

f

is goodness, (sattwa.) It is alleviating, enlightening, attend-

8

ed with pleasure and happiness; and virtue predominates in

1t.

In fire it is prevalent, wherefore flame ascends and

sparks fly upwards.

In man when it abounds, as it does in

beings of a superior order, it is the cause of virtue.

The

second and middlemost is foulness or passion, (raja or tejah.)

It is active, urgent, and variable, attended with evil and

misery.

In air it predominates, wherefore wind moves trans-

f

versely.

In living beings, it is the cause of vice.

The third

I

and lowest is darkness, (¢amah.)

It is heavy and obstructive

attended with sorrow, dullness and illusion.

In earth and

(7

to

water it predominates, wherefore they fall or tend downwards.

In living beings it is the cause of solidity. These three

qualities are not mere accidents of nature, but are of its

1

al

essence and enter into its composition.

‘We speak of the

qualities of nature, as we do of the trees of a forest,” say the

Sankhyas.”* The Bhagabat Gitd says, (Ch. XIV.)

‘ There

sf

are three gunas or qualities arising from Prakriti, [the sub-

of

* Colebrooke’s Essays. 1. 248, 249.

44

stance of which the universe is composed] viz. ; Sattwa, truth ;

Raja, passion; and Tama, darkness ; and each of them con-

fineth the incorruptible spirit in the body. The Sattwa-guna

because of its purity, is clear and free from defect; and

entwineth the soul with sweet and pleasant consequences and

the fruit of wisdom. The Raja-guna is of a passionate

nature, arising from the effects of worldly thirst, and impri-

soneth the soul with the consequences produced from action.

The Tama-guna is the offspring of ignorance [in a former

birth] and the confounder of all the faculties of the mind;

and it imprisoneth the soul with intoxication, sloth and idle-

ness.

The Sattwa prevaileth in felicity : the Raja in action ;

the Tama having possessed the soul, prevaileth in intoxica-

tion.

When the Tama and Raje have been overcome, then

the Sattwa appears.

When the Raja and Sattwa [are sup-

pressed), the Tama [becomes prominent]; and when the

Tame and Sattwa [disappear] the Raja prevails.. . .. The love

of gain, industry, and the commencement of works; intem-

perance and inordinate desire are produced from the preva-

lency-of the Raja-guna : whilst the tokens of the Tama are

gloominess, idleness, sottishness, and distraction of thought.

When the body is dissolved, while the Sattwa-guna prevails,

the soul proceeds to the regions of those immaculate beings

who are acquainted with the Most High. When the body find-

eth dissolution while the Raja-guna is predominant, the soul

is born again amongst those who are attached to the fruits of

their actions. So, in like manner, should the body be dis-

solved, whilst the Tama prevails, the spirit is conceived again

in the wombs of irrational beings. . .. Those of the Sattwa-

guna mount on high ; those of the Raja stay in the middle

whilst the abject followers of the Tama sink below.”” ¢ There is

not any thing in heaven or earth, or amongst the hosts of

heaven, which is free from the influence of these three gunas

or qualities.”” (Ch. xviii.) From the Chaps. xvii. and xviii. we

iearn that these three qualities affect men in every thing

according to their natural tendencies: and thus, in their

45

desires, propensities, temper, mode of worship, objects of

worship, actions, aims, power of understanding, and enjoy-

ments, men are, and can be, only what the ¢ quality’ they

possess allows and compels them to be.

. The natural result of these qualities is to subject men

%

to an entire ignorance of what they really are.

In spite of the

fact that Brahma is every thing, and every thing is Brahma

(samasti byasti), men draw ¢ distinctions’ between themselves

and him, and between him and the universe in general. ¢ That

-

supreme light, to whom the Shéstras say we must come, is

the Supreme Brahma, endowed with freedom from faults and

other qualities ; and this is the true form of the living soul,

reckoned different from him by illusion. For so long as the

human soul, retaining the ignorance belonging to human

reason and possessing duality, does not obtain that firm and

ever-seeing soul, so that it can say I am Brakma, so long

the condition of the living soul (as a separate soul) endures.”’

.

.. * How then, says an objector, can that nature and divine

light in us be obscured? The glitter of goldis hidden by

other things, but when they are removed, returns to its ori-

ginal splendour. The stars, obscured by the glory of the

sun, shine at night by their own light: but in no way can

)

that divine light be extinguished or obscured, because it is

superior to all lights.”.. .. SANKAR replies ; * The soul can-

not be united to that light because it does not yet possess

I

¢ wisdom :* the light itself is not diminished, but we want a

f

*

This ignorance,

discerning power to perceive its glory.”

which vitiates all his opinions and views, leads man continu-

ally into the error of ¢ improper attribution’ [adydrop] ; 1. e.

of falsely ascribing to persons and things qualities which they

do not possess. “ Just as a man may, from gloom or distance,

1§

attribute to a piece of rope, the quality of being a snake, so

of

has the individual soul, under the influence of the glooms of

18

ignorance, created for itself an outward world. From this

6

cause it has erroneously considered that the gross body in

12

* Br, Satras: Sank. p. 80.

Il

46

which it resides, with all its various organs, the place which

supports that body, the ether and other worlds, in fact the

whole egg of Brahma (the universe), are © real things’ (bastu 3k

instead of unreal (abastu) and have their origin in the gross

elements. From the same cause it believes that these elements

with their three qualities, are separate existences instead of

being identical with the ¢ fourth Brahma,’ ¢ the uninherent

soul,” who is their support.”* ¢« When the soulis covered by

this power (the dbaransakti), there arises the impression of

dominion, possession, happiness, misery, and other notions

f

connected with material things ; as from a rope, which is not

perceived to be a rope, the idea of a snake is produced. As

{

the ignorance with regard to a rope, produces by its own

power (the idea of) a snake and similar things upon a rope

which is not perceived to be a rope, so ignorance, by its power,

shows all the expanses of the universe upon the soul which

t

is covered by ignorance. This power is called the illusive

power.”+ The same fact is asserted again and again in the Br,

Stitras, that man labours under ¢ tgnorance’ of his own true

::t\

nature ; and that from that ignorance alone all the variety of

names and forms in the universe has arisen.

This ignorance

a]

fr

is compared not only to the illusion which turns a rope into

a snake, but to the mir_age in the desert; or to the image of

{

the sun in water; however these objects may succeed in

i

deceiving men for a time, they are unreal after allf.

tn

(4

The consequence of this ignorance is that the soul is

by

led into various errors, in all of which, however, it is still

b

under the influence of the supreme. ¢ Blind in the darkness

C

of ignorance, the soul is guided in its actions and fruition, in

b

its attainment of knowledge and consequent liberation and

fr

bliss, by the supreme ruler of the universe, who causes it to

g

act conformably with its previous resolves : now, according to

I\

sh

former purposes, as then consonantly to its yet earlier pre-

th

* Vedéanta Sar. 62. 64,

T Vedanta Sar, pp. 21, 22. Br. Sat. II1. 2. 27.

of}

T Sank. on the Katha : also Br. Sat. III. 2. 26-30. p. 261.

[,

47

dispositions, accruing from preceding forms with no retro-

spective limit : for the world had no beginning.

The

supreme ruler makes the individuals act relatively to their

virtuous or vicious propensities. As the same fertilizing

rain-cloud causes various seeds to sprout multifariously,

producing diversity of plants according to their kinds.”*

[0 3404 1-42).

“ The man who is born with divine des-

tiny is endued with the following qualities : exemption

from fear, purity of heart, self-restraint, &c.: whilst those

who come into life under the influence of the evil des-

tiny are distinguished by hypocrisy, pride, presumption,

anger, harshness of speech and ignorance. .. .. They know

;;

not what it is to proceed in virtue or recede from vice ; nor i

purity, veracity, or the practice of morality to be found in

them. They say that the world is without beginning, and

without end, and without an Iswar (alord); that all things

are conceived by the junction of the sexes; and that love is

the only cause.

These lost souls, and men of little under-

standings, having fixed upon this vision, are born of dreadful

and inhuman deeds for the destruction of the world. They

trust to their carnal appetites, which are hard to be satisfied ;

they are hypocrites, and overwhelmed with madness and

§

intoxication. Because of their folly they adopt false doc-

trines, and continue to live the life of impurity. They abide

by their inconceivable opinions, even unto the day of confu-

sion, and determine within their own minds that the gratifi-

cation of the sensual appetites is the supreme good. Fast

bound by the hundred cords of hope, and placing all their

trust in lust and anger, they seek by injustice the accumula-

tion of wealth, for the gratification of their inordinate desires,

é

They say; This, to-day hath been acquired by me. I

shall obtain this object of my heart. This wealth I have and

this shall I have also. This foe have I already slain, and

others will I forthwith vanquish. I am Iswar, and I enjoy ;

I am consummate, I am powerful and I am happy: I am

* Colebrooke, I. 354,

48

Tic

h, and I am endued with precedence amongst men; and

where is there another like me: I will make presents at the

feasts and be merry.’

In this manner do those ignorant men

talk, whose minds are thus gone astray. Confounded with

various thoughts and designs, they are entangled in the net

of folly; and being firmly attached to the gratification of

their lusts, they sink at length into the Hell of impurity.”’*

— ¢« What happiness can he enjoy who hath no rest? The

heart which follows the dictates of the moving passions carrieth

away his reason, as the storm the bark in the raging ocean.”’

To free it from this gross ignorance and debased views, many

l;f

¢ransmigrations are in the ordinary course of things necessary.

The great object to be aimed at, throughout the history of the

I

individual sou

], is its ultimate restoration to its original form.

In the ordinary way its frequent entrance into new bodies will

aid the destruction of its ignorance ; and transmigration is

therefore spoken of as a necessary part of every one’s history.

ributed to Brahma, because some are

}E

« Injustice cannot be att

happy,

<ome miserable, and some are both. Every one has

his lot in the world accor

ding to his merit in a former stage

tl

of the universe. So the rain cloud distributes its rain equally ;

th

but the plants vary according to the seed whence they spring.”’

al

0o

[Br. Sat. II. 34—37]. ““ As a man casts off his old garments

and puts on new ones,

so the soul having quitted its old

i

th

mortal frame, enters into another which is new.” ¢BothI

and thou, [said Krishna to Arjun] have passed many births :

mine are

known to me, but thou knowest not of thine.”

<« The wise man proceedeth not unto me until after many

r

births.” The general course of such transmigrations is thus

¢

«The soul, on leaving the body

tl

described by the Sttras.

there clothed

which it has occupied, ascends to the moon ;

with an aqueous body

it receives the recompense of its actions,

dy bringing with it the influence

8¢

and then returns to a new bo

of its former deeds.

When about t

o revisit the world, it

li

through

lea

ves its watery frame in the moon and comes down,

% Bhag. Gitd. Ch. XVI, « Of good and evil destiny.”” (FTSTSH)

49

vapours, in the rain; thence it gets into vegetation, and

d

thence into an animal embryo.” (iii. 22. 27.) More will be

e

mentioned on this subject in our next chapter.

Such is the

el

dark and gloomy state of man in relation to Brahma.

th

2

The process of restoration, of which transmigration

16t

forms a part, may be shortened by another and divinely

of

appointed plan: viz. a course of proper instruction that shall

%

enlighten and purify the mind of him who undertakes it. To

he

teach this is the special object of the Veddnt : by it the qua-

il

1}

lified Hindu will be made aware of the ¢ errors’ under which

his mind is labouring, of the way in which they have arisen,

ny

and of the mode of their removal.

He will be shewn what

1y

he really is, that by a proper course of effort, he may be de-

the

livered from what he is not.

il

It has already been shewn, that previous to a study of the

il

Vedént and a practical performance of its precepts, a scholar

}

must make careful preparation: he must become ¢ qualified’

ory

[adhikdri] and may then go to a proper master, who will

¥il3

instruct him in all the mysteries of the science. All however

o

will not be able to undertake the same course.

The science

t

20

therefore has been divided into two branches : one the énferior,

l”va

the other, superior : a distinct routine is appointed to each :

33

g

and both conduce to the accomplishment of the great oject

nents

of the science, the re-union of the individual soul with Brah-

§ 01(1

ma; though the higher branch is much more efficacious than

of

hl

the inferior, and its results follow more speedily.

ths

a

The inferior is no other than the doctrine of the

ne

Purbba Mimdnsa, viz. that liberation is to be obtained by

many

religious merit, by the fruit of sacrifices and other appointed

fhot

rites. The Aigher is the attainment of < wisdom® [gydn], of

hody

the knowledge of Brahma, through the Vedantic precepts,

lothed

These two are pithily contrasted by Sankar Achéarjya; « Dpg;-.

of10n3s

ma-gydn receives the fruit of happiness, but looks to the oh-

Juencé

servance of rites ; Brakma-gydn receives the fruit of perfect

olld) i

liberation and has regard to no other rule:” (Br. Sit. i, 1.)

)10

ol

The mode in which the inferior is carried out need not be

F

2l

50

here specified a£ any length. It is only required to show

clearly that the rites and ceremonies enjoined by it are ac-

knowledged as a distinet (though preparatory) part of the

Vedant system. Evidence of this may be found in all the

authorities we have named. ¢ The inferior has for its objects

the fruits of the performance of meritorious works and their

opposite.”

““They desire to know that soul by sacrifice.””

¢ What any accomplishes by ¢ knowledge’ is much more effi-

cacious than that done by faith and revelation.”

“All this

effort and knowledge of which we have spoken, rightly

observed, aid the man who desires liberation and is free from

worldly longings, in purifying his nature : and if he is in want

of that knowledge but has the desire, still all the works enjoin-

ed in the Ved4s and other Shastras are efficacious only in the

acquirement of salvation by the southernroad.” The Vedanta

Sdr teaches the same thing.

As however the ceremonies

help only to purify the mind and prepare it for a ‘ higher’

course of instruction and effort, their reward is merely tem-

porary. Still it is sure, and the mode of acquiring it is really

acceptable to the supreme.

¢ When in ancient times BrRaH-

I

MA, the lord of the creation, had formed mankind and at the

I\

same time appointed his worship, he spoke and said : ¢ With

this worship pray for increase, and let it be that on which ye

shall depend for the accomplishment of all your wishes.

With this remember the gods, that the gods may remember

Remember one another, and ye shall obtain supreme

you.

§

happiness.

The gods being remembered in worship, will

¥

grant you the enjoyment of your wishes.

He who enjoyeth

what has been given to him, by them, and offers not a por-

tion of it to them, is even as a thief.

Those who eat not but

what is left of the offerings, shall be purified of all their

Those who dress their meat but for them-

€

transgressions.

selves eat the bread of sin.

All things which have life are

I

generated from the bread which they eat. Bread is generated

from rain; rain from divine worship; and divine worship

i(;:

tfrom good works. Know that good works come from Braum,

51

whose nature is incorruptible ; wherefore the omnmipresent

BrauM is present in the worship.”” (Gitd iii. p. 43.)

17

Again, “ Janaka and others have obtained perfection even

14

by works.

Thou shouldst also observe what is the practice

13

I

of mankind, and act accordingly. The man of low degree,

followeth the example of him who is above him, and doeth

9

that which he doeth.

I myself, Arjun, have not, in the

1§

three regions of the universe, any thing which is necessary

for me to perform, nor any thing to obtain which is not ob-

y

tained ; and yet I live in the exercise of the moral duties. If

mn

I were not vigilantly to attend to these duties, all men would

nt

presently follow my example.

If I were not to perform the

it

moral actions, this world would fail in their duty; I should

he

be the cause of spurious births, and should drive the people

t

from the right way. As the ignorant perform the duties of

(]

life from the hope of reward, so the wise man, out of respect

ot

to the opinions and prejudices of mankind, should perform

the same without motives of interest.

He should not create

lly

a division in the understandings of the ignorant, who are

:

inclined to outward works.

The learned man by industrious-

he

ly performing all the duties of life, should induce the vulgar

ith

¢« Some devout attend to the

to attend to them.” (p. 46).

ye

worship of the Devatas ; others, with offerings, direct their

QSQ

worship to Brahma in the fire ; others sacrifice their ears and

her

other organs in the fire of constraint ; whilst some sacrifice

ne

sound and the like in the fire of their organs.

Some again

ill

sacrifice the actions of all their organs and faculties in the fire

eth

of self-constraint, lighted up by the spark of inspired wisdom.

0F

There are also the worshippers with offerings, and the wor-

but

shippers with mortifications ; and again, the worshippers with

nelt

enthusiastic devotion ; go there are those the wisdom of whose

il

veading is their worship, men of subdued passions and severe

are

manners. Some sacrifice their breathing-spirit and force it

ted

downwards from its natural course ; whilstothers force the spirit

hip

which is below, backward with the breath, and a few with whom

gy

these faculties are held in great esteem, clgse up the door of

F 2

52

each ; and there are some who eat by rule ; who sacrifice their

lives in their lives.

All these different kinds of worshippers

are, by their particular modes of worship, purified from their

offences. He who enjoyeth but the 4mrita which is left of

his offerings, obtaineth the eternal spirit of Bramm the

Supreme. This world is not for him who doth not worship ;

and where, O Arjun, is there another fit for him? A great

variety of modes of worship like these are displayed in the

mouth of Brahma ;

(i. e

in the Vedas].”

‘“ Whatever

image any individual is desirous of worshipping in faith, it is

I alone who inspire him with that steady faith ; with which

he being endued, endeavours to render that image propitious

and at length he obtaineth the objects of his wishes, as it is

appointed by me:” (Ch. vii.)

* Those who worship the

Devatés go unto them ; and those who worship me alone g0

unto me.” “They also who serve other gods with a firm

belief, in doing so involuntarily worship even me. I am he

;

who partaketh of all worship and I am their reward.”

‘(I

accept and enjoy the holy offering of the humble soul, who

in his worship presenteth leaves and flowers, and fruit and

water unto me;”’ (Ch.ix. p. 81).

No clearer proof can be

needed than these passages afford, that 1poL-woORSHIP 45 dis-

tinctly recognised by the Veddnt authorities, as eneficial to

fi

the worshipper and acceptable to the Supreme.

P

Another mode of deliverance taught by the Bhagavat Gitd,

i

is the supreme efficacy of raiTm.

This must be considered

ff

as connected with the branch of the process we are now

b

speaking of.

It is not inculcated in the S%¢ras, nor in the

Veddinta Sér. But in the Gitd it is enforced again and again.

“ A man also, being engaged in every work, if he puts his

4

ur

trust in me alone, shall by my divine pleasure obtain the

)

eternal and incorruptible mansions of my abode.”” (Ch. Xviii.)

[

¢ He who serveth me alone with due attention, having over-

d

come the influence of the ¢ qualities,’ is formed to be absorbed

a

in Brahma the supreme.”

(Ch. xiv.)

““Those who serve

me with constant zeal and are endued with steady faith, are

Wl

I

53

I

esteemed the best devoted.”

(Ch. xii.)

‘“ Place then thy

0]

heart on me, and penetrate me with thy understanding ; and

It

thou shalt, without doubt, hereafter enter unto me

3

of

Shouldst thou find thyself unequal to that task, put thy trust

16

in me alone

(Ch. xii.) ““I am not to be seen, as thou hast

)

seen me, even by the assistance of the Vedas, by mortifications,

i

by sacrifices, or by charitable gifts

but I am to be seen, to be

16

known in truth, and to be obtained by means of that worship

T

which 1s offered to me alone

(Ch. x1.)

1§

b

The superior mode of obtaining ¢liberation’ from the

h

ignorance in which men have been born, is that which the

us

Veddnta system specially develops and teaches. As ‘igno-

18

ance’ of Brahma is the disease ; so ¢wisdom’ in relation to

he

Brahma (Brakma-gydn) constitutes the cure, a cure that may

20

be made perfect and eternal.

By thls wisdom’ is meant the

m

true and complete understanding of what Brahma is, and of

he

man’s relation to him

The soul has been accustomed to

‘1

consider itself independent, a separate being, a voluntary

ho

agent

living in a body formed for its use from material sub-

nd

stances ; and residing upon a world and amidst a universe

he

external to itself and also formed of matter

These views

18

have sprung from its ignorance, by ‘improperly attributing

to

to these varied objects qualities which they do not really

possess

But under the instruction of teachers learned in the

iy

science, the scholar after various processes comes to know

ed

that all this is Brahma

that he himself is Brahma

that his

)

body is not what he formerly took it to be, but a form of

Brahma : that the universe is Brahma and has no existence

the

11

apart from him

that his passions, pleasures, pains, are all

his

unreal

his thoughts unreal

his relations in life unreal

and that there is but oNE REAL thing in the universe

the

Tais 1s HE ; the immortal, fearless Brahma

Those who

i)

7

deny that the system is Pantheistic, cut out from it the very

hed

assumption on which it is based; and the consummation

176

which it is intended to secure.

An examination of the ¢ four

e

means,” as taught by the Veddnta Sdr, will shew that this

F 3

54

view of Brakma-gydn can alone be the correct one.

It is the

full development of those ¢ means’ that makes that ¢ wisdom.’

“ When the teacher has by means of the ‘improper attribu-

tion’ and ¢ abstraction,” (apabdd) purified the two terms (of

the ¢ great sentence’) ¢ha¢ and ¢hou ; and the meaning of the

infinite one has been explained by the great sentence, there is

produced in the mind of the ¢ qualified person,” the act of the

understanding, formed by the form of the infinite Brahma,

viz. I am the eternal, pure, omniscient, free, true, self-existent,

ever-blessed, infinite Brahma, without a second. This act

together with the likeness of the omniscient being, by making

the all-pervadin

b b4

o undiv

ided, unknown, supreme Brahma its

object, destroys the ignorance with regard to him.”*

This

is the great point of the whole science : the man who knows

the Vedanta knows Brahma.

So say the Sitras and all the

authorities.

The mode of attaining this wisdom is very systematically

stated in the Veddnta Sdr

The scholar must have implicit

faith in his teacher.

‘¢ Faith is a belief in the words of the

master and of the Veddnta; and this fuith [Sraddkd] is

included in the ¢ four means’ by which the qualified scholar

prepares himself for further instruction.

Thus endowed, he

must receive the master’s instructions according to special

rules.

The four acts enjoyed are the following.

(1.) Hear-

ing, that is, fixing in the mind the opinion of the Vedanta

respecting Brahma : by regarding the commencement and

end of the passages which speak of him ; by constant practice

and repetition : by excluding other arguments than those

advanced ; by regarding the fruit of knowledge ; by praising

the subject explained and by demonstration of it.

(2:) e~

tention to Brahma by the demonstrations offered concerning

him. (3.) Contemplation of him in the way taught.

(4.)

Meditation ; especially meditation which regards no difference

between him who knows the object of knowledge and the

knowledge itself. This kind is especially termed ° Y og’ and

* Vedanta Sar, p. 79.

5

16

really inclucies all the processes enjoined under the Aigher

method of obtaining the end of the Veddnt absorption into

Brahma. It includes refraining from injury, from lying, from

of

stealing, and disobedience to the teacher ; also sitting in a

e

peculiar posture, as in the form of a lotus, and suppression

1§

of the breath. 1t also excludes listlessness, absence of mind,

16

passion, and propensity to pleasure.

When these are really

)

attended to, the student becomes immovable in mind, “ like

fy

a lamp protected from the wind.”

s

Descriptions of the ¢ wise

¢

man

[gyani, ydgi], in the Bhagabat Gitd are endless.

¢

' The worship of spiritual wisdom is far better than the

ts

worship with offerings of things.

In wisdom, every work is

I

to be found without exception.

Seek then this wisdom, with

78

prostrations, with questions,"and with attention ; that these

e

learned men, who see its principles, may instruct thee in its

rules.

Although thou wert the greatest of all offenders, thou

shalt be able to cross the gulf of sin with the bark of wisdom.”

y

i

(Ch. iv. p. 55.)

““The learned behold Him alike in the

reverend brahman, perfected in knowledge, in the ox, and in

he

1§

the elephant : in the dog, and in him who eateth of the flesh

ar

of dogs.”

(Ch. v.)

““The man who keepeth’ outward

he

accidents from entering his mind, and his eyes fixed in con-

al

templation between his brows; who maketh the breath to

)

pass through both his nostrils alike in expiration and inspira-

It

tion,.. .. shall obtain me and be blessed.” (Ch. v.) ¢ To the

Yogi, gold, iron and stones are the same.”” (Ch.vi.) “TheXog:

1

108

plants his seat firmly on a spot that is undefiled... .. There

)56

he should sit with his mind fixed on one object alone in the

exercise of his devotion for the purification of his soul, keep-

g

fi

ing his head, his neck and body, steady without motion, his

eyes fixed on the point of his nose, looking at no other place

g

1)

around. This divine discipline, O Arjun, is not to be attained

106

by him who eateth more than enough, or less than enough ;

e

neither by him who hath a habit of sleeping much, nor by

ol

him who sleepeth not at all... The Yogz of a subdued mind,

thus employed in the exercise of his devotion, is compared to

2

a lamp, standing in a place without wind, which waveth not.”

—

(Ch. vi.)

“He is my beloved servant, who ‘is the same in

friendship and in hatred ; in honour and in dishonour; in

-

cold and in heat; in pain and pleasure ; who is unsolicitous

about the events of things; to whom praise and blame are as

one

.,’

(Ch. xii).

“ Gydn (wisdom) inculcates exemption

from attachments and affection for children, wife and home :

and a dislike to the society of man, &ec.”

(Ch. xiii). Such

are the nature and influence of the ¢ wisdom’ which alone

acquires a true understanding of the nature of the supreme.

There is one ceremony, often referred to in the Hindu

Shastras, which accompanies both divisions of the Ved4nta;

which is one of the oldest ceremonials among the Hindus,

and is most influential evenin the present day. It is the repe-

j

tition of the great syallable Owm.

The Sétras declare that

this syllable has three elements of meaning; and according

§

to the sense in which the syllable is contemplated, will be the

efficacy.

If meditation is fixed only on one of these senses,

the soul is confined to this earth: if upon two, it gains the

second degree of happiness; if upon all three, then, like a

serpent which has cast its skin, it ascends to Brahma.

Ac-

[}

cording to the Bhagabat Gitd also, the FYogi must, in the

exercise of devotion, “repeat in silence Owm, the mystic sign

f

f

of Brahma.” ¢ Owm, Tar, and SaT, (€ ¥ 7<) are the three

mystic characters used to denote the Deity. Om precedes

t}

the sacrifices and ceremonies ordained by law.

TAT is pro-

L

1l

nounced by those who long for immortality, without looking

for the rewards of merit.

SaT is applied to attention in

t

worship, zeal, and deeds of charity.

The deeds performed

for TaT are esteemed to be Sat.”

(Ch. xvii. p. .122).

3

It only remains to describe the warious effects of

o

It

these processes, and our outline of the system will be com-

plete.

On this point the Sifras in the fourth book speak

fully and clearly.

We find that all who give their mind

8

to the study of the system, with the desire to enjoy its fruit

of absorption, obtain reward: but this reward has three

57

2]

degrees according to the degree of wisdom obtained by the

i

worshipper.

I

a

The kighest degree includes those who botain a perfect

b

knowledge of the supreme.

The moment the soul knows

i

Brahma, it overcomes death and sins, and, freed from all

n

earthly loves and desires, turns itself to its own nature.

Not

only can it sin no more, but the penalty of the greatest

h

crimes is blotted out and even the merit of good works is

despised ; [iv. 1. 13-19].

¢ The destruction of all works

16

(zood and bad) is known in the knowledge of Brahma.”

¢ Men who are endued with true wisdom are unmindful of

lu

«¢ At death he

4

good or evil in this world.” [Gitd, Ch. ii.]

passes by both merit and demerit ; for bondage is the same

18y

2

whether the chains be gold or brass.”’* The condition of the

at

Brahma-gy4ni while he still lives on the earth [jibanmikta]

is well described in the last paragraph of the Veddnta Sdr.

12

he

* Though during the time he is awake, he, by his body,

which is like a vessel of flesh, blood, &c.; by his senses,

£8

which are like vessels of blindness, bluntness and unfitness ;

he

4

and by his mind, which is the vessel for the sensations of

hunger, thirst, grief and error; performs the works which

{0

he

arise from the impulses of his former desires, and enjoys the

fruits of his undertaking, (which fruits are no obstacles to

g0

160

true knowledge ;) still he does not actually perform or enjoy

them ; since he has destroyed the whole creation of ignorance,

les

10

as a person who knows a thing which he perceives to be an

illusion of his senses, does not actually believe in its reality,

.in'g

mn

though he may perceive it.

He is (says the Sriti) like one,

who seeing does not see and hearing does not hear.”

ned

Upon the death of the body, the soul of him who has

obtained the knowledge of Brahma proceeds immediately to a

pﬁf

re-union with the Supreme, in whom it is entirely absorbed

o

«« Henceforth he is never separate from

ok

(lina). [iv. 2. 15].

Brahma.”

«“ All his

faculties and the elements of his

ind

subtile body are absorbed completely and absolutely, The

ruit

* Sankar on the Sitras.

frét

38

name and form equally cease.”

“The soul having retired to

its proper place, the heart, the summit of that organ sparkles

and illuminates the passage by which it will pass away.”

Here the solar rays meet it, night or day ; summer or winter ;

as long as the body lasts these rays are present and in contact

with it.

By these rays it reaches the sun.

Being destitute

:

of faculties and animated organs, it is like a blind man : and

f

is therefore conducted across the different regions of the uni-

verse by their presiding divinities to the.residence of the

f

supreme Brahma.

“The soul of him who has the most

perfect knowledge and therefore gets liberation’ (mukti),

goes to the supreme light, and is identical with him, as pure

L)

water, absorbed in a limpid lake is exactly in every thing

conformed to 1it.”

Other passages assert the same fact,

1

declaring in the strongest terms that the IDENTITY is com-

plete and final.

“So long as the mind is subject to fear, so

long it does not believe itself eternal; so long it wishes to

defend itself, but when it knows itself eternal and undivided

then against whom and what can it desire to defend itself ?"’*

¢ He who knows Brahma think thus, ‘T am Brahma; a thing

E

fit

different from him who was formerly thought to act and

enjoy ; which in the three times by its own nature neither

il

acts nor enjoys ; it was not I who formerly acted and enjoyed,

1§

neither do I now, nor shall I do so in the future ; this is libera-

tion.

If there were no cessation from works to be done, there

1n

3

would be no liberation.

No egress from the body or mi-

((

N

gration can fall to him WHO KNOWS BRAHMA AND BECOMES

BrRAHMA the pervader of all things, whose desires and works

§

are blotted out.”

From the Gita innumerable passages to

this effect might be quoted.

“The Yogi, who believes in

f

unity and worships me present in all things, dwells in me in

he

o

all respects even whilst he lives.” (Ch.vi.) ¢ He who con-

ceiveth the supreme, &c. to be evenas I have described them,

V

il

whatever mode of life he may lead, is not again subject to

mortal birth.”

I

(Ch. xiii.) “ A man being possessed of this

* Sankar on the Katha Upanishad.

en

59

confidence in the supreme, goeth not astray. Even at the

3

hour of death, should he attain it, he shall mix with the

3

incorporeal nature of Branma.” (Ch. ii.)

b

A lower degree of reward is obtained by him, who, by

06

various religious exercises and an incomplete study of the

system, has obtained a less perfect ¢ wisdom.’

The souls of

{7

d

such are conveyed at death across the regions of the universe

to the heaven of Prajapati or Brahma.

There they are en-

¢

dowed with very great power; a power somewhat analogous

A

to that of Brahma, though it will serve only for enjoyment,

not for action.

They can summon the pitris at pleasure and

)

16

exercise other super-human faculties.

They are independent

¢

and can assume many bodies or one, ‘“ as a lamp can nourish

more than one wick.”

The final end of all will be absorption

Cfy

into Brahma, though it would seem that even the highest of

this class must be born again in a new kalpa of Brahma,

§0

1]

There seems however a strange condition attached to the

happiness of this class.

et

It is thus stated by the Bhagavat

N

Gita: “Those holy men, who are acquainted with Brahma,

departing this life in the fiery light of day, in the bright

ng

season of the moon, within the six months of the sun’s

}nd

northern course, go unto him.

But those who depart in the

1l

ody

gloomy night of -the moon’s dark season, and whilst the sun

is yet within the southern path of his journey, ascend awhile

1

into the regions of the moon and return to mortal birth.”?

ere

(Ch. viii.)

This condition is mentioned in the Vedas; the

i

Sutras declare that those who attain perfect wisdom are not

{88

affected by it.

ks

(5

A lower degree of reward is obtained by another class:

10

those who have acquired lower merit.

They go to the

gl

heaven of Indra, where they remain till that merit is expend-

o0

ed, when they are born again.

¢ The followers of the three

o0l

Vedas being purified of their offences address me in sacrifices

ety

and petitions for heaven. These obtain the region of Indra,

i t.O

in which heaven they feast as on celestial food and divine

{hs

enjoyments ; and when they have partaken of that spacious

60

heaven for a while in proportion to their virtues, they sink

again into this mortal life.”” [Ch. ix. p. 80.]

One special consolation is reserved for both the latter clas-

ses. It is that though they may enjoy and expend the fruits

of their merits, the good influence of those merits will still

remain ; and thus from birth to birth, they will rise higher

:;

in the scale of holy men, until the final end is reached.

f

¢ As the arrow which is launched stops not till it finishes its

course ; and as the potter’s wheel stays not till the speed

0

imparted to it has passed away,” so the good works which

have begun to take effect are not annulled. Hence all kinds

U

of ceremonies are useful even in the special end at which the

{f

Vedant aims.

The son succeeds to the works of his father

al

and their good fruit is continued till absorption is arrived at.*

1¢

¢ A man whose devotions have been broken off by death,

W

having enjoyed, for an immensity of years, the reward of his

al

virtues in the regions above, at length is born again in some

{0

holy and respectable family, or perhaps in the house of some

q\

learned yogi. . .. Being thus born again, he is endowed with

¢l

the same degree of application and advancement of his

¢l

understanding that he held in his former body, and here he

th

begins to labour again for perfection in devotion.” (Ch. vi.).

an

Sh |

Such is a brief outline of the Vedantic system, according

i

to its ancient authorities, the St¢ras and Bhagabat Gitd of

dif

Vepa Vy4sa. By numerous quotations we have endeavour-

dif

ed to let the great philosopher speak for himself and describe

S

his system in his own words.

On some of the inferior points

These

8

we have also extracted largely from the Veddnta Sar

LN

sources of Hindu philosophy teach ; that there is but one

€0

real, existent Being, the supreme creator of the universe:

Cal

that all the productions and forms of matter in that universe

P

are only emanations from him : that man also both in body

Con

and mind is but a product of the sole entity ; that whatever

appears to prove him an independant and separate being is

is

i

* Br.;Sut. iv. 1. 14.

it §

61

the offspring of illusion and ignorance; that to that illusien

and its imaginations alone the whole universe owes its exist-

.

ence

that the effect of that illusion on man is to fill him

with gloom and doubt, and to lead him to actions called

Il

sinful and wicked

and that by peculiar processes this gloom

T

may be removed, he may recognize his real nature and thence-

L

forth lose that individuality which seems a prime element in

ts

his being

As a system of philosophy the Vedant is certainly

d

h

curious : but as a system of religious truth, every enlightened

mmd must consider it full of dangerous' error.

Had the

ls

purpose of this little work been to regard it in the former of

]

those aspects only, we should have added much to our sketch

(7%

and made our outline clearer and more full

But as it is the

religious bearings of the system we are discussing, our space

b,

will not allow this extended enquiry. We should have dwelt

1N

also on the Zistory of the system and the changes it has under-

e

gone

In the outline above presented, the three authorities

me

quoted fully agree

the chief doctrine especially is most

ith

clearly stated by each and all

But on some points, and

his

chiefly on the prominence given to the individual doctrines,

he

they in a measure differ

Thus for instance, in the Sitras

)

and Gitd, while Pantheism is taucht most plainly, it is not

shown how the doctrine can be consistent with that notion of

ng

individual existence, of which every man is conscious

The

of

difficulty is carefully passed over

but it is precisely this

I

difficulty which the later system (as seen in the Ved4nta

e

Sar) endeavoured to meet. ¢ The whole universe is Brahma ;”

ntd

sald Vy4sa, ‘man is Brahma ;” and having proved his point

636

as he thought, left it there.

An after-age replies;

We are

one

conscious that we exist separately and independently. How

5

can this be, if we are Brahma? The later philosophy, taking

prse

up a hint or two in the Vedas, answers ;

“ Your supposed

;Ody

consciousness is an error and illusion.

Man is ignorant : man

AL}

is blind : he attributes to himself and to the universe around

[g 1

him an existence purely imaginary :

bR

and from this point

1t starts i the process of restoration.

While therefore we

G

62

agree with Mr. Colebrooke, that the doctrine of Mdya or illu-

sion is found not in the Sttras, but in the later age of the

Vedanta, we cannot but consider it a most natural and legiti-

mate deduction from the pantheistic doctrines of earlier times.

Either pantheism is false ; or man’s consciousness is a delusion.

;‘:

The Vedantists accept the latter alternative.

Had time and

space allowed, it would have been curious to trace the points

{

of agreement between the Vedéant of Vyds and the philoso-

t

phies of Europe ; and to shew how in numerous points, the

Eleatic School; the Eclectic school of Alexandria, under

P

k

Ammonius and Plotinus ; the school of Spinoza, and (in a

§)

few points) the idealism of Fichte, have arrived at conclusions

fh

which Vy4s and his successors reached long before the first

Q

Greek philosopher was born.

But all ‘such topics we must

0

pass by, and proceed to consider how far the system is to be

W

found in the Vedas.

di

Ll

ADASAAAAANA NN AANAANANANANAAANANAAAAN A

4

8y

CHAPTER II.

iy

Tae VEDANTISM OF THE VEDAS.

Jee

Tuat the Veddntic system, in whole or part, should be

Ve

U1l

found in the Vedas is readily supposable.

For first, its very

the

name implies that it embodies the ‘end,” “scope,” and ‘ mean-

ing’ of the Vedas, as derived from the treatises which ‘con-

Con

clude’ those sacred books.

Secondly ; the author of the

SW

system is universally declared to have been the Compiler or

Ifl

Editor of the Vedas as they now stand, and must therefore

On this account, while

ed

have understood their meaning well.

all the chief systems of Hindu philosophy claim agreement

por

Ty

with the Vedas, the presumption of that agreement is entire-

othy

ly in favour of the Veddnt. Thirdly ; in his greatest work

on the subject, the Sdrérik Shtras, the author continually

app

B}'(

refers to the Vedas ; he quotes their texts in support of his

assertions, compares their texts, discusses the various senses

ot

63

drawn from their texts, rejects false meanings, establishes true

he

ones, and exhibits throughout an anxiety to develop exactly

what the teaching of the Vedas really is.

Fourthly ; the

f1

08

greatest commentator on the Sttrasis also one of the best

commentators on the philosophic parts of the Vedas, and

it

appears ever to keep in mind the same end, and to adopt the

nd

1t

same plan, as his illustrious predecessor, Vyasa. Lastly; the

very name of Veddnt is found in two or three passages of

30

the Vedas themselves implying that at the time of their com-

he

let

pilation, such a system was being formed or was already

known.

It is asserted, however, by recent writers, that the

04

0n§

system of Vyas and Sankar is a spurious system : and that

the real Vedanta is to be found in the Vedas alone.

The

st

question raised seems to us one of name merely: if we find

ust

he

out what those sacred books teach, we can judge for ourselves

whether Vyéas teaches the same or not, and if there be a

difference between him and them, it can be determined by

authority, to whose system the name Veddnta properly

applies.

It is quite possible and even probable, that the two

systems will be found almost identical.

Be this as it may,

laying aside all theories and pre-conceived notions on the sub-

ject, we propose to enter on a careful examination of the

Vedas themselves, and comparing one book with another, and

[ be

one text with another, shall endeavour faithfully to describe

very

the doetrines advocated therein.

oall

To accomplish this important task will not require the

|°n

complete study of the whole of the Vedas.

The more philo-

the

sophic and religious doctrines of these ancient books (or

r 0f

rather of the sages among whom they rose,) have been collect-

ofore

ed into separate tracts or treatises, distinct from the ritual

While

portions.

These tracts are called UpANISHADS.

Their

ment

number is not quite certain; some writers reckon only 52 ;

e

The greater number have been

others as many as 95.

otk

appended to the Atharba Veda; but some are found in the

allf

Brdhmanas of the first three Vedas; a few are included in

f s

both : all these Upanishads are authoritative, and enjoy the

eﬂies

G 2

64

respect and weight attached to the Vedas themselves, of

which they form a distinet part.

Amongst them, those

which are considered more definitely and clearly to expound

RV G

the Vedantic doctrine, that is, the end and aim of the whole

of the sacred books, are fifteen in number, in name eleven.*

These names are as follows : the MunpAkA, KaTHA, CHEAN-

DAGYA,

BriEAD ARANYAKA,

AITAREYA,

TAITTIRIYA,

SwETAsWATARA, TarLABAkAR (or Kens,) BAssaneva (or

Is4,) Prasna and MANDUKYA.

The Mundaka, Katha,

Prasna and Mdndukya Upanishads form part of the AruArBA

Veda ; of which the Mundaka stands first and the Prasne

second. The Aitareyd is from the Ric Vepa, and is composed

[

of four chapters of the second book of the Aitareyd Upani-

shad, properly so called. The Brikad Aranyaka and Bdjsa-

b

t

neya form part of the WaiTE YAJUR.

The formeris a most

voluminous treatise and is comparatively little known : the

W

latter is exceedingly brief. It forms a part of the Saenkite

th

of the Veda, and not the Brdhmana, as is the case with

other Upanishads.

The Taittirtya is found in the Brack

t

tl)

Yasur Veda.

A most ridiculous story has been invented to

account for its name.

The Chhindagye and Talabakdr Upa-

W

nishads belong to the SAm VEDa, a Veda to which peculiar

le

hs

holiness is,attached, from its alleged efficacy in removing sin :

the former is one of the longest and most abstruse of the

i

Vedic treatises, though most important for its doctrines : the

(o

latter is also abstruse but short.

It bears the names of the

u]

Kena and Keneshit Upanishad. The Swetdswatar belongs

the

to the Yasur Veda.

The recent publication in Calcutta of

$hy

the whole of these Upanishads has contributed much towards

fa

a complete exposition of the system which they contain.

fh

b

The age in which the Upanishads were written cannot be

determined with exactness.

The Vedas, of which they form

li

a part, were evidently written by numerous authors and at

an

different periods.

I

The hymns and prayers are naturally set

down as the oldest of all, and the philosophical treatises as

Th

* Bibliotheca Indica, No. 34. p. v.

of

65

somewhat more recent. Native scholars attribute the whole to

of

the time and labour of Vepa VyAisa.

Modern Euaropean

3

d

scholars reckon the Upanishads to be a few centuries later.

e

The age of these treatises matters comparatively little to our

present discussion : it is rather to their contents that we wish

N

to draw the attention of our readers.

4

or

SectioN I.—The scope and aim of ths Vedic doctrine ; the

lly

conditions and mode of Study.

A

e

The term UpanisHAD and its meaning are thus defined

’Ed

by Sankar Acharjya in his preface to the Katha Upavishad.

¢ The word Upanishad is formed from the root Sad, which

Nl

{0

has the notion of ¢ destruction,” ¢ going,” ending,” and which

the prefixes upa and ni precede, while no affix follows. By the

st

he

word Upanishad is denoted the science, which has for its object

it

the being to be known and explained by this book, the Katha,

which we are about to annotate.

¢ With what meaning at-

ith

(K

tached can the word Upanishad denote a science?” (Answer) ;

They, who desire freedom, and who having laid aside the

0

wish for visible things and pious works, acquire the know-

pﬁ

it

ledge denoted by the word Upanishad and hold it firmly,

have their ignorance and other defects (the seed of world-

I

the

liness) removed, slain and destroyed ; and from this meaning

the

(of the root sad), the knowledge (they acquire) is called

¢ Upanishad.”

¢The man who knows him is delivered from

he

the mouth of death.’

0gs

In his comment on the Mundaka, he

says the same thing : ‘“They who, by their nature and firm

aof

faith in a teacher, attain to the knowledge of Brahma, are by

11'(15

that knowledge removed from a multitude of evils; as being

begotten, born, growing old, affected with diseases and the

the

o

like, or it brings them to the supreme Brahma, or removes

and destroys the ignorance which is the cause of worldliness

| ot

in them, on this account the science is called Upanishad.”

et

5 08

That this is the meaning is evidently shown by the contents

of the treatises themselves ; and it will not be inappropriate

G 3

66

in this place to describe the general character and structure

of one or two of these works.

The Munpaka Upanishad professes to be a discourse or

series of instructions delivered by Angiras to Sounaka, in

answer to his appeal, ¢ Tell me, illustrious sage, what is that

science, by the knowledge of which, this universe is under-

stood 7’

The treatise is divided into three chapters, each of

which has two sections.

Itis entirely didactic ; and describes

in various ways and with varied illustrations, the nature and

attributes of the supreme: the connection between the uni-

verse and him: the way by which men may acquire the

knowledge of him ; the fruits of that knowledge and so on.

The Karaa Upanishad is divided into two chapters, and

six sections (balli).

It describes a dialogue between Yama

Nachiketd had been

and Nachiketa, the son of Vijasravasa.

devoted by his father to Yama, and arrived at the house of

that deity during his absence.

The servants informed Yama,

on his return, that a Brahman had been waiting for him for

three days and begged him to offer the usual attentions in

order to prevent harm.

He did so and promised Nachiketa

three favours.

Nachiketd asked first, tranquillity for his

father’s mind ; secondly, an account of the sacred fire by

which men ascend to heaven ; and thirdly, a full explanation

of the nature and attributes of the absolute and supreme

Brahm. Yama consents to grant them : though the last is

bestowed with great reluctance.

The doctrine called forth

{

by the third request occupies five out of the six sections of

the treatise.

This Upanishad is a very important one, but

from the frequent ellipses in its language, is somewhat diffi-

cult to understand.

The SweTAswaTtara Upanishad consists of a number of

il

oracular sayings concerning the supreme, the universe, and

I}

man, delivered by Swetdswatar to his diseiples.

They are

k

divided into six chapters or sections ; and are strung together

b

without any logical order; the same subject recurring again

and again at different intervals.

To a scholar accustomed to

§

67

continuous trains of thought, these works present very dry

and unattractive subjects of study. The wonder is, that any

disciple of the Baconian philosophy can regard them as any

thing better than an ancient curiosity.

The object of the Upanishads is to teach the true doctrine

of the supreme, and they themselves contain that doctrine as

taught by the great masters of ancient days.

Thus the

Swetdswatar says, * Brahm4 knew the supreme Creator, who is

hidden in the Upanishads, the most abstruse part of Vedas.”

“Tell me, oh! tell me the Upanishad.”” The teacher replies ;

1 have already told you the Upanishad about the supreme :”

(Talab). The request of Nachiketd to Yama, which is

answered in the Katha, is ¢a solution of doubts about the

existence and mature of Brahma.’

In the Talabakdr, the

:

scholar asks, ¢ Who is the creator and governor of all things,

)

both in the mind and body of man,” and the Upanishad

supplies the answer.

“ Meditation [Zapa] is the root of the

ot

knowledge of the supreme Spirit ; that Brahma is the theme

of the Upanishad: that Brahma is the theme of the Upani-

7

shad.” (Swet. i. 16.) The same is true of the Chhdndogya,

AN

Mundaka, and other Upanishads.

Thus wherever we look,

o

we shall find that the aim of these treatises is, to describe

08

truly the nature, existence, attributes, and works of the

supreme, in order that men, by a proper study of these im-

portant subjects, may attain to those superior fruits which

W

that study only can secure.

vl

The sources of knowledge are distinctly pointed out.

The

uv

supreme is not to be learned by the exercise of the senses,

b

nor by the reasoning faculty. ¢ The eye cannot reach him,

neither can speech attain him, nor the mind; we know him

not and cannot understand him ; how can any one explain

him : he is different from the known and higher than the un-

B”L

known. ...... He who cannot be conceived by the mind, but

‘by whom the mind is made to conceive, is God.. .. He, who

cannot be seen by the eye, but by whom the eye is made to

see, 1s God

. To him who thinks him inconceivable, He is

68

conceivable and he who thinks him econceivable, knows him

not.”’* ¢ He who is smaller than the minutest atom cannot be

learned by reasoning. The knowledge of his doctrine cannot

be acquired by reasoning.””t The interpretation of these last

passages given by Sankar is ; that the true doctrine concerning

THE SOUL is not to be learned merely from the speculations of

the mind, because they are not placed on a firm basis ; and of

the former extracts he says : the doctrine concerning Brahma

is not to be learned from the perception of the senses and other

modes of proof. Whence then is it to be acquired ? It is from

qualified teachers who themselves learned it from others, by

whom it has been handed down from generation to generation.

“Not through the instructions of an inferior man can the

Being, who is variously thought of, be weli known, but after

the instructions of one well versed in his doctrine there will be

é

no more room for doubt.” (Katha,ii. 8.)

“To know Him,

1

(the student) should go with some slips of wood in his hand,

to a teacher learned and acquainted with Brahma.

To such

a disciple, who has subdued his passions and obtained tran-

quillity of mind, the enlightened guide should communicate

accurately the knowledge by which the imperishable, perfect,

In the

and true Being may be known.”

(Mund. i. 2. 13.)

Upanishads, such teachers are constantly represented as ins

2(1:

structing scholars gathered around them.

In the Chhéndagya

we have many mentioned : as Gautam,who teaches Satyakdma ;

(

who next teaches Upakosal.

We have also Uddalaka and

Swetdketu and Aswapati.

In the sixth chapter we have the

0

dialogue between Swetiketu and his father Uddakal. The

celebrated Ydjnyawalkya taught the WaiTe Yasur with its

two Upanishads.

Swetdswatara taught to his followers the

I

Upanishad now called by his name.

Angiras taught the

th

Mundaka to Sounaka.

Many other teachers succeeded them.

It is in consequence of the number of such instructors and of

1

the mode in which they taught, that so many varieties (Sd-

1

khas) have sprung up in the arrangement of the Vedas or its

ol

¥ Talabakdr, 3,5, 6 & 11,

+ Katha, ii. 8, 9.

th

69

interpretation, numbering in all more than eleven hundred.

Still this series of teachers is acknowledged to be human ;

A

But

however excellent their birth or deep their erudition.

i

the doctrine claims to be superhuman and to be derived by

Its

8

direct succession from the supreme BramMm himself.

claim to be considered a divine revelation is presented clearly

i

and distinctly.

In the following passage Brahmé is said to

14

be its origin.

s« Brahm4, the Lord of the universe and the

el

preserver of the world, came into existence before all the

Jil§

Gods.

He revealed the doctrine of Bramm, the most excel-

by

lent of all knowledge, to his eldest son Atharbba.

That

1l

doctrine of Brahma which Brahméa revealed to Atharbba,

he

Atharbba communicated to Angird ; he revealed it to Satya-

7

baha of the race of Bharadwdj ; he made it known to Angirds.

be

The great house-holder Saunaka approached Angirés accord-

1,

ing to rule and said: ¢ Tell me, O! illustrious sage, what

d,

is that science by the knowledge of which the universe is un-

ch

derstood.” The Mundaka Upanishad is the Sage’s reply.

all

(Mund. i. 1—3.) Again: * This (doctrine) Brahma spake to

ate

Prajdpati; Prajipati to Menu; Menu to created men.”

.0y

(Chhind. viii. 15.) In the Katha, Yama himself instructs

the

Nachiket4. The sun instructs Ydjnyawalkya ; as the Veda

e

declares: These pure texts, revealed by the Sun, are pub-

g

lished by Yajnyawalkya, the offspring of Véjasani.” And to

14

complete the chain the following passages bring us up to

nd

Braam himself.

« He, the all-resplendent, who formerly

the

created Brahmé and placed the Vedasin him, is the displayer

The

of divine knowledge.”

(Swet. vi. 18.) “The sun,” says

18

Yijnyawalkya again, ““is BRAHMA ; this is a certain truth,

the

revealed by the sacred Upanishads and in various Sdkhas of

the

the Vedas.”

e

We enquire next into the conditions and mode of study.

dof

The Upanishads contain no proofs that their doctrine is

Indeed their dry and abstruse

(S

intended jfor all classes.

)8 its

character at once removes them entirely from the sphere of

the uneducated. They contain no scheme of religion or way

of salvation intended to elevate the poor, cheer them amid

distress and sorrow, make them contented in their poverty

and sweeten the bitterness of earthly life with the prospect of

a glorious eternity. Even in those early days, learning was

reserved entirely for the ‘twice-born’ and especially for the

Brihmans who even then were the lords of the country of

Bharat. Thus in the Mundaka, Angiras, when describing

the proper method of studying the great science, says: The

Brihman should not have a blind fondness for perishable

things: to know him, let him go with wood in his hand to a

wise teacher;” (i. 2. 12) implying no reserve on behalf of

others.

One of the great qualifications of the student is the silbju-

gation of his passions and freedom from all those desires

which naturally spring up in the hearts of men all over the

world. We have already quoted the following passage from

the Mundaka.

“To such a disciple, who has subdued his

passions and has attained tranquillity of mind, the enlighten-

ed teacher should give the knowledge of the supreme.” (i. 2.

i

13.) ““ This being can be gained by truth and devotion, by the

fulness of knowledge and by the daily observance of rigid and

i

temperate habits.”” (iii. 1. 5.)

“The knowledge of duties

preparatory to a future state does not present itself to that

childish and foolish being who is engrossed by the fascination

{f

of gain.”

““The vicious, the passionate, the discomposed

by

and those of disturbed minds, gain not the supreme through

i

a mere knowledge of him.” (Kathae, ii. 6, 24).

Of this vie-

N

tory over the ordinary love of wealth, Nachiketd as mention-

ed in the Katha, furnishes an illustrious example.

Yama

£

says to him : ¢ Ask from me long-lived sons and grandsons,

elephants and cattle, gold and horses, an extensive dominion

W

on earth, and the longest term of life that you can desire for

i

yourself. Desire, if thou knowest any other favour akin to

such, together with longevity and wealth. Yea, be the lord

1

{

of a vast empire, O Nachikets, and all the wishes that spring

up in your bosom will I crown.

Ask for any rarities of the

of

71

world which you choose, ask for these exquisite damsels with

their music and equipages : they are rarely obtained by men.

f

Through these things which I give you, O Nachiketd, make

1§

yourself happy ; but ask not from me the solution of the diffi-

4

cult question respecting the existence and nature of God.’

f

Nachiketa replied : €O Yama, these precarious pleasures ra-

0

ther enfeeble the physical powers of man. Even the age of this

4

Wherefore let dance and

universe is comparatively short.

o

song and equipages remain thine.

No man can be satisfied

with worldly possessions,.

As I have fortunately beheld thee

of

I may obtain them should I feel desirous; and I also may

live as long as thou exercisest authority ; but the only object

I desire is what I have already begged of thee.

Why should

(%)

the mortal of this lower world, subject to disease and death,

he

be delighted with beauty and amorous dalliance, knowing that

he, by approaching the celestial beings who are free from

18

disease and decay, can gain superior knowledge ; and knowing

il

too that those sources of pleasure themselves are fleeting

though enjoyed even through a long life.

Confer on me

he

then, O Yama, the favour of a solution of the doubts about

nd

the existence and nature of God for the sake of fruits eternal.

168

No other favour but this difficult one did Nachiketa ask for. *

1ab

But this is not all.

Beside this spirit of self-controul eertain

01

ceremonies must be performed, and certain studies carried on,

sed

before the high and glorious doctrine of Brahma can be com-

oh

municated to the scholar by a competent Pandit.

Thus

10

Narad, having solicited instruction from Sanatkumér, and

o

been asked by him what knowledge he had acquired ; replies :

na

“I have learned the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sém

NSy

Veda, the Atharban whichis the fourth, the Itihds and Purdn

101

which are a fifth; and grammar or the Veda of Vedas: the

for

obsequies of the manes, the art of computation, the knowledge

) 10

of omens, the revolutions of periods, the maxims of ethics. .

lord

the art of the soldier, the science of Astronomy, the charming

1

of serpents, &c. all this have I studied, yet do I only know the

he

* Katha, i. 23—29. Tattwabodhini Patrika, i. 317.

text and have no knowledge of the soul.”” (Chkdnd). Other

passages to the same effect are foundin other Upanishads:

““ The means of possessing it, (i. e. the Upanishad) are medita-

tion (¢apa), control over the senses (dama), and good works ;

its supports are the Vedas and the Vedangas, and truth is its

sphere.” (Tal. 33.)

¢ To those who are pious, observe ritual

institutions, are versed in the Vedas, &c. themselves give ob-

lations to fire with reverence, should the doctrine of Brahma

be communicated ; if the ceremony about the keeping of fire

upon the head be performed. What Angirds said before is all

true. He who has not performed the above ceremony, should

not read this.”” (Mund. iii. 2. 10, 11.) These ceremonies, as

part of the due preparation, are not unlike those mentioned in

our previous chapter, in the extract from the Vedanta Sar.

We trust that all the modern adherents of the Upanishads

have, for the sake of consistency, rigidly performed them.

Nor should they omit the following : ¢ Making the three upper

parts of the body quite erect and withdrawing the mind and

senses within the heart ; the scholar sitting upon the canoe of

Brahma, should cross all torrents following fearfully. Curbing

the senses and the appetites, and breathing gently through the

nostrils when meditating, the scholar, like a charioteer who

B N R T e < e Yy o I e N e e e e

has to drive vicious horses, should concentrate his thoughts.

Kt

On a clean and smooth spot, free from pebbles, from gravel

or from scorching sand, where the mind is tranquillized by

pleasant sounds, a stream of water and shelter from the heat,

with nought to offend the sight, a retreat free from storms, he

should apply himself to his task.” (‘Swet. ii. 8-10.) With

f

{

such conditions to be fulfilled we agree with the writer of the

Katha when he says: The path of divine knowledge, say

(5

the poets, is difficult, and as hard to get along as the edge of.

60

a razor.”

The student will however gain at least one benefit

il

from his austerity.

“They say that from the first in his

th

efforts to meditate, (he will enjoy) lightness, health and fre-

dom from greediness : his colour will become fair, his voice

W

melodious, his smell sweet, his secretions scanty.” (ii. 13).

Considering the high standard of qualification it can only

be expected that very few will ever attain the knowledge

offered ; and this the Upanishads confess.

“ Few are they

who speak of Him, who is not gained by many for want of

opportunities to hear of him; and whom many know not,

though they do hear; few are they who understand well the

words they have heard from such a teacher ; few are they who

have been well instructed.” (Kath. ii. 7.) Even the few who

i:

succeed have been destined to it by the object of their study.

I

‘ He who regulates both ignorance and knowledge is God.”

i

(Swet. v. 1.)

“ For He makes him to do good deeds, whom

1

he wishes to bring out of this world ; and him he makes to do

i

evil deeds, whom he wishes to bring into the world [by ano-

ther transmigration.]””*

“ Whom he chooses, by him can he

s

be perceived, to him the soul makes himself manifest.”’+

Thus aided by divine choice : thus prepared by ritual services,

!

by self-subjugation and by the desire of obtaining the know-

ledge of the supreme; and thus provided with a ecompetent

id

of

teacher, learned in the science, the student must place him-

self at his master’s feet, to receive with undoubting faith

I8

e

whatever he may teach ; ready if need be, like Indra, (Chkdnd.

vii. 11.) to wait patiently a hundred years before that know-

0

]

ledge be given, but resolved to get it in the end.

el

s —

)Y

SecrioN 2.—Of the Supreme Brahma.

t

The Upanishads being treatises which have for their end

he

ith

the teaching of the knowledge of Brahma, [ Brakma-bidyd),

they are of course crowded with passages descriptive of his

he

existence, attributes and deeds.

Some of these contain sublime

1Y

conceptions, expressed in the highest forms of poetic language

of

ot

and illustrated by most striking metaphors. But other pas-

sages are puerile and mean: while constant repetitions and

hla

thread-bare descriptions, confined to a narrow range of topics,

(9

weary the reader without instructing him and lead him to

ice

* Kaushitak Upanishad in the Br, Satras.

T Mund. iii. 2, 3.

H

e

74

abandon the study as unprofitable and dry. Of all this any

one may satisfy himself, who will read two or three of the

longer Upanishads right through. We shall endeavour to

extract specimens of these passages in the course of the

%

present section and to arrange them under various heads

suggested by a logical view of the subject.

The existence of Brahma is considered by the Upanishads

as seif-evident.

It is chiefly on his a¢¢ributes that they dwell

and that at considerable length : indeed they have completely

exhausted the subject and are obliged to repeat each other’s

statements.

“ He cannot be gained by speech, nor by the

How can he be obtained except by

mind, nor by, the eye.

the declaration of his existence. He can be known by a belief

The

in his existence and the knowledge of his attributes.

éi

knowledge of his attributes is gained by him who first believes

in his existence.” (Katha, vi. 12, 13.)

“He who, while all

[

creation sleeps, is awake and is preparing various enjoyments ;

He is the: immaculate ; . He is Brahma; He alone is said to

be immortal.

All beings are under his protection.

This is

He.” (v. 8.)

“ He is without hearing, touch, form, taste or

smell.

He is without beginning or end, mighty and supreme.

{

He who knows him thus is delivered from the mouth of

i

death.” (iii. 15.)

¢ Whom the whole Vedas declare; of

0

whom all worshippers speak ; for whom men subject themselves

to religious austerities, Him I describe in few words; He 1s

He who

oM.

This om is Brahma ; this oM is the supreme.

knows this oM gains whatever he desires.

This support is

the chief support: this support is the best of all. He who

knows this support is honoured in Brahma-16k.” (ii. 15, 17.)

%

His size is thus described.

s« He is less than the smallest

i

atom ; he is the greatest of the great.”” (ii. 20.)

““ The one,

h

though motionless, runs swifter than the mind. The senses

cannot reach him: He always outstrips them.. .. Through

{

That

him do the faculties and vital powers of man operate.

Being whois every where, and is pure, without spot, nerveless,

:}l

pure, free from defect, «ll-seeing, all-knowing, supreme and

75

)

self-existent, dispenses their requisites to the everlasting times.”

17

(Bdj. 4, 8.)

¢ [t is he who is to be known, existing in him-

self through eternity : after him, there remains nothing to be

3

known.” (Swet. i. 12.)

¢« Brahma is supreme, supreme and

all-excellent ; and pervading the body of each, dwells deep in

all existences. He alone encompasses and regulates the uni-

verse. They who know him become immortal.” ¢ To him

there is none high, nor low, nor great, nor small.”” He is

the mighty Lord, perfect, the inciter to all good.. .. Without

hands or feet he runs and handles: without eyes, he seesy

(4

He knows all, but they know him

without ears, he hears.

)

not.

He is said to be before all perfect, mighty.. .. I have

of

known him, who is without decay, ancient, universal spirit,

16

They who know Brahma assert him to be

all-pervading.

S

without birth ; they assert him to be eternal.” (Swet. iil.)

s He is supreme among the gods, the great god, the supreme

'y

debta of the debtas, the lord of lords; supreme over all.”

t

He is the

« He is the creator and knower of the universe.

It]

origin of the soul, the lord of time, knowing all, the lord of

or

matter and of the soul (%hetragya) ; the lord of qualities,

17

the cause of liberation, abode and slavery in the world.”

of

{vi. 7, 16.] ¢ The wise know him as one who cannot be seef

of

or felt; he is without tribe or race, without eyes or ears,

(5}

without hands or feet; eternal, all-pervading, within every

15

thing, most subtle, irreducible, the producer of every thing

10

which is.” (Mund. i. 6.)

These extracts might have been

1§

greatly multiplied ; as the attributes of whiche they speak are

ho

repeated again and again in the few Upanishads of which

they form a part. In the following extract from the Taitte-

est

¢« Having produced delight,

riya he is described as ‘ happy.’

i(#)

he became happy : for who would inhale and breathe, unless

568

the joyous ether existed, since he is happy; this enquiry

gb

therefore is about the happy one: he who knows the joy of

b

Much

hat

Brahma goes to that happy spirit and fears nothing.’

)

more might be said, but we must proceed to another topic.

ud

Brahma, being thus the supreme, is the cause of all that

H 2

e

exists apart from himself : its ereafor and sustainer. There

was a time when there was nothingin existence beside himself,

either apparently or in fact. ¢ When there was neither day

nor night, He was, who is without darkness and is pure

goodness alone.” (Swet. iv. 18). But when the time arrived,

he made all.

““One deity produced the heavens and the

earth.” (i. 3).

““This deity is the architect of the universe.”

(iv. 17). Hence he is often termed ¢ biswasrashtd,’ ©biswa-

yonih, ‘the creator of all,” ¢the. producer of all.’ Again :

¢ Sakdrana :

|

‘He 1S THE cAuse.

The origin of the uni-

verse is thus described in the Aitareya Upanishad. (ii. 4.%)

“ Originally this [universe] was indeed souL only, nothing

I

else whatsoever existed, active [or inactive.] He thought ;

tf

* I will create worlds :* thus He created these [various] worlds ;

water, light, mortal [beings] and the waters. That water (am-

0l

bhas) is the [region] above the heaven, which heaven upholds ;

the atmosphere comprises light ; the earth is mortal ; and the

[l

I

regions below are ¢the waters’ (apas). He thought ; ¢These

are indeed worlds ; I will create guardians of worlds.’ Thus

He drew from the waters, and framed an embodied being. He

e

o

viewed him; and of that being, so contemplated, the mouth

opened as an egg ; from the mouth speech issued ; from speech

T

fire proceeded. The nostrils spread ; from the nostrils breath

(0

passed ; from breath air was propagated. The eyes opened ;

[h

from the eyes a glance sprung ; from that glance the sun was

to

produced. The ears dilated ; from the ears came hearkening ;

ha\

and from that the regions of space. The skin expanded : from

i

the skin hair rose ; from that grew herbs and trees. The breast

(

opened ; from the breast mind issued ; and from mind the moon.

[k

The navel burst ; from the navel came deglutition ; from that

a

death. The generative organ burst : thence followed produc-

he

he

tive seed ; whence waters drew their origin. These deities,

being thus framed, fell into this vast ocean ; and to Him they

(0

came with thirst and hunger : and Him they thus addressed ;

(b

¢ Grant us a (smaller] size, wherein abiding we may eat food.’

I

* Mr. Colebrooke’s translation : As. Res. viii. 421—425.

ha

L]

77

¢

He offered to them [the form of ] a cow : they said ; that is

not sufficient for us.

He exhibited to them [the form of | a

f

He

horse: they said ; ¢ Neither is that sufficient for us.

i

showed them the human form : they exclaimed, ¢ Well done !

{7

ah! wonderful! Therefore man alone is [pronounced to be]

)

i

well formed. He bade them occupy their respective places.

1

Fire becoming speech, entered the mouth. Air becoming

breath, proceeded to the nostrils.

The sun becoming sight,

penetrated the eyes.

Space became hearing and occupied

| ¢

1

the ears.

Herbs and trees became hair and filled the skin.

The moon becoming mind entered the breast. Death, becom-

ing deglutition, penetrated the navel ; and water became pro-

;

ts

ductive seed and occupied the generative organ. Hunger and

thirst addressed him saying; Assign us [our places]. He replied,

35

e

You I distribute among these deities ; and I make you parti-

cipant with them. Therefore is it, that to whatever deity an

9

he

oblation is offered hunger and thirst participate with them. He

reflected ; ¢ These are worlds, and regents of worlds ; for them I

S0

will frame food.’

He viewed the waters, from waters so con-

10§

e

templated, form issued ; and food is form which was so pro-

duced. Being thus framed, it turned away and sought to flee.

th

oh

The [primeval] man endeavoured to seize it by speech ; but

could not attain it by his voice; had he by voice taken it,

th

[hunger] would be satisfied by naming food. He attempted

¥

to catch it by his breath ; but could not inhale it by breathing :

ti]

had he by inhaling taken it, [hunger] would be satisfied by

)

O

smelling food. He sought to snatch it by a glance ; but could

not surprise it by a look: had he seized it by the sight,

a5t

[hunger] would be satisfied by seeing food. He attempted to

o,

catch it by hearing: but could not hold it by listening : had

hat

he caught it by hearkening, [hunger] would be satisfied by

ice

hearing food. He endeavoured to seize it by his skin; but

165,

could not restrainit by his touch : had he seized it by contact,

hey

[hunger] would be satisfied by touching food. He wished to

edy

reach it by the mind; but could not attain it by thinking :

ol

had he caught it by thought, [hunger] would be satisfied by

H 3

78

meditating on food. He wanted to seize it by the generative

organ, but could not so hold it : had he thus seized it, (hung-

er] would be satisfied by emission.

Lastly, he endeavoured

to catch it by deglutition ; and thus he did swallow it.

That

air, which is so drawn in, seizes food ; and that very air is the

bond of life.

He (the universal soul] reflected ; ¢ How can

this [body] exist without me? He considered by which

extremity he should penetrate.

He thought, ¢ If [without

me] speech discourse, breath inhale, and sight view; if hear-

ing hear, skin feel and mind meditate ; if deglutition swallow,

and the organ of generation perform its functions ; then who

am 17

Parting the suture (simdn), he penetrated by this

route.

That opening is called the suture (vidriti), and is the

road to beatitude (nandana).

Of that soul, the places of

recreation are three ; and the modes of sleep, as many ; this

(pointing to the right eye) is a place of recreation ; this,

(pointing to the throat) is [also] a situation of enjoyment ;

this, (pointing to the heart) is [likewise] a region of delight.

Thus, born (as the animating spirit), he discriminated the

elements, [remarking ;] “ What else [but him] can I here

affirm [to exist] and he contemplated this [thinking] person,

the vast expanse, [exclaiming;] ‘It have I seen.’

Therefore

is he named It seriNe (IpaM-DRA). It-seeing is indeed

his name : and him, being I¢-seeing, they call by a remote

appellation, INprA; for the gods generally delight in the

concealment [of their name]. The gods delight in privacy.”

Brahma is the sustainer of all.

“By the command of

the Imperishable, O Gargi, the sun and moon stand firm.”

[Brikad Ar.]

“ Him the sun cannot enlighten, nor the

moon and stars; nor can the lightning enlighten him ;

i

much less can fire ; but they all borrow their light from him

and shine by his effulgence.”*

“All things in the world

proceeded from the supreme and in him they move. . Through

fear of him, the fire flames; through fear of him the sun

* Mund. ii. 2. 10; also Swet, vi. 14, and Katha, v. 15.

This is

evidently a favourite passage.

79

shines; and through fear of him Indra, Viyu and death

keep in motion.” (Katha, vi. 2, 3.)

¢ At his bidding the

sun rises and sets: on him all the gods live dependent.”

1

(iv. 9.)

“ If God leave the system of man which he per-

7

vades ; then what of it can remain. This is he. Not through

their vital powers (prdn-apdn, §c.) do mortals remain alive:

they live through him, by whom those powers themselves are

1t

sustained.” (Katha, v. 4, 5.)

<« All rest on that great Being

who displays all things, has his seat in all things, and per-

Ty

vades all hearts and all objects visible and unseen.” (Mund.

10

i 2. 1.)

s This universe compounded of the perishable and

1§

imperishable, of the apparent and the real, the Lord of the

16

universe maintains.”’ (Sweé. i. 8.)

In a dialogue between

of

Yéjuyavalkya and his wife Gérgi, the latter asks; “ On what

It}

were woven and sewn the heavens, the earth, and the trans-

5,

parent region between them.”

He replies; “ Upon the

3

ether.”

« On what then was the ether woven and sewn ?”

it

*“On the being who is always the same and unchangeable :

he

whom the Brahmans affirm to be neither thick nor thin ; neither

A7

short nor long ;” that is, the supreme Brahma. (Brikad Aran.)

He is also the Destroyer of creation.

“The one destroyer,

1,

)16

the being without a second, who dwells in every one and who

ned

regulates these worlds with his regulating power, after creat-

ofe

ing all worlds and sustaining them, destroys them in the end.”

the

(Swet. iii. 2.)

«“He is also called the Ruler and Destroyer

11

« The mighty spirit creates with

of the universe.” (iii. 4.)

of

power innumerable tissues in the universe and then destroy-

b

ing them, creates them anew and reigns as Lord over all.””

(v. 3.)

« His food is even both Brahmans and Khetriyas,

the

M

and death is his sauce.” (Katha, ii. 25.)

The time of this

him

destruction is defined as arising periodically at the end of the

various Kalpas which mark out the progress of time; when

1ld

;U”'h

Brahma, according to the necessity of his nature, absorbs all

his works into himself, to produce them again when another

aull

appointed time arrives,.

hlp 18

But the connection between Brahma and his works is even

80

more intimate than these passages declare it to be. 1In these

we find him the eficient and witimate cause of the universe,

and of the myriads of objects of which it is composed.

There ave other passages, however, which shew the relation

between him and them to be more direct and simple, declar-

ing him to be their internal ruler, their substantial and mate-

rial cause ; or in other words, that their substance is identi-

cal with his own.

This is not the first time that such a

doctrine has been imputed to the Upanishads of the Vedas :

but that doctrine has been denied, in modern days, in the

1;

strongest terms by those who profess to follow the Vedas as

their guide to religious truth.

Our enquiry on the subject

has led to the full conviction that the doctrine is there, and

we shall lay the evidence of it before our readers in three

classes of passages; first, those that most strongly imply it :

secondly, those which contain llustrations, that can be

g

explained on no other principle; and thirdly, those which

assert ¢t in the plainest terms.

We might enter here into the Vedic view of cause and ef-

Ject as bearing upon the question, but a mere mention of

the subject must suffice.

The old doctrine that ¢ Out of no-

thing nothing comes,” seems to have required from the first,

for the work of creation, something beyond the efficient causa-

tion of the Supreme Brahma.

In other words, Hindu philo-

sophers have endeavoured to find out the material of which

1

the universe was made.

The Sdnkhya philosopher finds this

1

in his prakriti or pradhdin, the eternal matter that never had

beginning : the Nydyist in his eternal atoms (enu). With

2

these philosophers, the Supreme is reckoned only as an agent

not a creator : and certainly in their frequent use of the word

yoni [production, birth] and anu [atom] the Vedas have in a

measure countenanced the idea.

What the Vedas themselves

more directly sfate on the subject, we shall now see; at all

events the principle of causation seems certainly that on which

the above schools and the Veddnta of Vyds have based their

respective theories.

7

o L T e g W B e

s

-

81

h(’ae

a.

No one that reads the Upanishads can fail to notice

136,

the continual reference to the supreme Brahma, as pervad-

sed,

ing all things. The fact is asserted again and again in every

tion

page, and put in various lights : and as if to shew that this is

clar

not an unmeaning assertion, it is declared to be true not only

fe

concerning the universe in general, but in reference to its

nil

individual parts: which parts are named in detail, great and

h 4

small.

The epithets most commonly employed are sarbbaga-

as

tam, sarbbabydpi, bibhima and antardtmd : that is, ¢ moving

the

in all,’ ¢all-pervading,” “internal,’ ¢internal spirit.” In Mund.

a8

ii. 3 ; Katha,v. 9, 10 ; and other passages, we find the expres-

ject

sion Sarbbabhitantardémd, ¢ the internal spirit of every thing

and

which is.” The attribute of ¢ Omnipresent’ is a very different

18

one from this.

The following are passages in proof: This

it

spirit is every where : He isin Swarga : he makes every thing

he

to-abide in him: he is in the wind: he is fire: he is in the

1oh

earth : he is the juice of the moon plant ; he is in the pitcher

of the sacrifice: he is in men: he is in the gods: heis in

space : he is in the productions of water: he is the produc-

of

tions of earth: he is Om; he is the productions of moun-

10

taing; he is unchangeable and vast.”’* (Katha, v. 2.)

“As

15t

one fire, entering this world, is seen with the varied forms of

158

various combustible things, even so does the internal spirit

\110

of all things assume the varied forms which they assume. He

ich

1s also without.

As one air entering the world is manifested

hig

in the various forms of different things, even so does the in-

ad

ternal spirit of all things assume the varied forms which they

ith

assume. He is also without.” [v. 9, 10].

“He goes: he

ent

ord

* The Bengali comment on this passage, in the Tattwabodhini Patri-

ka i. 450, takes particular pains to point out that the meaning of the

&

passage is different from its assertions: and cautions ‘those of small

yes

intellect’ against believing that productions of earth and water, that

all

fire, the juice of plants and so on really ARE Brakma.

The comment

occupies two columns ; but the original speaks for itself.

We may add

ich

here that No. 43 of the Patrika, in which the passage occurs and which

eit

contains complete the Katkha Upanishad, its Sanskrit text, Sanskrit

Tika and Bengali translation, is an exceedingly valuable contribution to

the publication of ancient Hindu literature.

82

He is far: He 1s near: He 1s in all : He is out of

attr

goes not.

all: He who sees all in that Spirit, and that Spirit in all

54

‘¢ He 1s the ear of

1§ §

things, despises not any.” (B#. 5, 6].

det

the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech of speech, the life

of life, the eye of the eye.” (Tal. 2).

“ He is glorious and

sul

the

form-less, the perfect; he pervades all things without and

within.” (Mund. ii. 1. 2).

““ As the spokes of a carriage-

]

doc

wheel are to its nave ; and as the arteries are to the heart, so

are all the operations of mind to Him who dwells within. He

Teal

oth

who is all-knowing, and all-wise: whose glory is in the earth,

that soul dwells in the ether in the city of Brahma.

He

st

dwells in all space. He pervades the mind, and rules over

the

life and body : he is in the body close to the heart.” (Mund.

ii. 2. 6, 7.)

¢ This Brahma is immortal : Brahma is before :

wor

the

Brahma is behind : He is on the right and on the left : above

and below. The universe is filled with the extended Brahma.”

s

He was in

{hi

(ii. 2. 11.)

¢ This divine being is on all sides.

beings bornin former times: he is in beings now in the womb.

0]

bOt

He was in beings that have been produced: he isin the

things that are being produced. He dwells in every living

Ieg

£00

thing : he has all things for his face. To that divinity who

is in fire and in water ; who is in the universe, in the earth,

Con

in plants and trees, to him be thousands of praises.” (Swet.

fro

ang

ii. 16, 17.) * His face, his head and neck are in all things ;

he is within all hearts ; he is all-pervading, and mighty : from

Lo

froy

him is the all-pervading Siva ... The perfect one with a

thousand heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand feet, pervades

are

the earth and illimitable universe.

pre

That perfect one is every

thing which has been, and which will be,

In all things are

Fre

his hands, his feet, his eyes, head, face, ears.

He abides in

the

all worlds, over-shadowing them. In this body, a city of nine

thi

gates, the all-pervading one enjoys himself : he is the Lord of

J

all worlds, of the fixed and of the moveable.” (iii. 11, 14, 15,

th

16, 18.)

“The deity who is one is hidden in all things; he

thy

is all-pervading, the internal spirit of all thatis. Heis the

Ruler, he dwells in all: he is witness...and he is without

83

of

attributes [nirgun)

(

11.)

*“ He who is in this world

all

is also in that

nd he who is in that, is also in this

He

rof

is subject to frequent deaths who looks on him as many. The

life

deity is to be gained by the mind: he is not many: he is

and

subject to frequent deaths who looks on him as many.” (Ka-

and

tha,iv. 10, 11.) These passages may be thought by some

120

to be conclusive of the matter and to shew the Pantheistic

doctrine of the identity between Brahma and creation as

80

He

really supported by Vedic authority. But we shall extract

others.

th,

He

6. That ¢the universe is Brahma’ is taught by some

ver

striking dllustrations, and taught without reserve

Thus

i

the process of creation and destruction is compared to the

(]

work of the spider and the economy of the human body. ¢ As

Ve

the spider spins and gathers back (its thread ; ;) as plants

"

al

sprout on the earth; as hairs grow on a living person ; so is

1

this universe produced from the imperishable nature. By

nb

contemplation, the vast one germinates; from him food [or

body] is produced

and thence successively, breath, mind

the

ng

real (elements,) worlds, and the immortality arising from

good deeds

ho

The omniscient is profound contemplation,

consisting in the knowledge of him who knows all; and

thy

Wt:

from that, the (manifested) vast one, as well as names, forms,

08

and food proceed; and this is truth.”’* (Mund. i. 1. 7-9.)

m

Again the universe is produced from Brahma as sparks are

from fire. “ He alone is a real being : as a thousand sparks

are emitted from blazing fire : so, beloved, all kinds of beings

de:

ery

proceed from that Supreme, and to him again they return. .

are

From him have been produced life, the mind, all the senses,

the ether, air, light, water and the earth, the container of all

y 11

things

ne

Fire is his head: his eyes the sun and moon : the

points of direction his ears; his speech the revealed Vedas,

of

the wind is his life ; his heart that of the universe ; his feet

1y

the earth : e is the internal spirit of all that is.” (Mund. ii.

he

1. 1,3,4.) Again we have an illustration from the silk-worm.

the

ouf

* Mr. Colebrooke’s translation : As. Res. viii. 475

84

¢ Like the silk-worm, the deity has from his own nature

§ta

wrapped himself up in the universe, sprung from the intellec-

has

tual pradhdn.”* (Swet. vi. 10). Again he is compared to @

un

tree.

«This eternal universe is like a tree of enormous mag-

nitude, whose root is on high and whose branches are below.

it

He is the illustrious: he is Brahma.” (Kath. vi. 1).

The

1l

the

same figure is employed in the Brikad Aranyaka (As. Res.

viii, 447).

Y4jnyawalkya, discussing with a number of Pan-

i1

dits to whom he proves himself superior, says: ¢ Man is in-

div

i

deed like to a lofty tree; his hairs are the leaves; and his

skin, the cuticle.

From his skin flows blood, like juice from

ma

the bark : it issues from his wounded person as juice from a

of

stricken tree. His flesh is the inner bark ; and the membrane,

un

near the bones, is the- white substance of the wood. The

of

bones within are wood itself ; and marrow and pith are alike.

lig

If then a felled tree spring anew from the root, from what

Wit

root does mortal man grow again, when hewn down by death ?

P

Do not say ¢ from prolific seed s’ for that is produced from

ih

Thus a tree, indeed, also springs from

the living person.

i

seed ; and likewise sprouts afresh (from the root) after seem-

bo

ingly dying. But if the tree be torn up by the root it doth

§0v

From what root then does mortal man rise

Th

not grow again.

afresh, when hewn down by death?”

He points out that

Wa

that Root is Brahma.

off

Now these illustrations all point to one fact, that the creation

fat

is of the same nature asits cause. They shew not merely that

the

the universe has an author and that he is Brahma ; but they

il

declare beyond this, that the nature of the one is the same as

wh

that of the other.

The web of the spider ; the hairs on the

ho

human body ; the sparks of a fire; the trunk, branches and

leaves of a tree, are all identical in nature with the source

gra

whence they physically proceed : the substance, the material

of |

The authors of the above extracts have en-

thar

is the same.

by

deavoured elaborately to shew that the same ideutity of sub-

fad

* This word denotes the maferial from which the universe was pro-

duced.

ot

85

e

stance exists between Brahma and the universe ; the universe

has the same nature as he, and he therefore, the same as the

universe.

This is Pantheism.

c

Other passages of the Upanishads directly assert the

W|

same.

¢ All this universe is Brahma :* from him it springs,

16

into him it is dissolved : in him it breathes : So meditate

)sl

thou with a calm mind.” (Chkdnd. iii. 14.)

“This divinity

is fire; he is the sun; he is wind; he is the moon. This

divinity is the morning star ; he is Brahma ; he is water ; he

I

is the Lord of all creatures.

Thou art woman ; thou art

man ; thou art boys ; thou art girls; thou goest in the staff

&

of the old man; thou art all things born; thou hast the

The birds of blue [plumage] ; those

16,

universe for thy face.

he

of yellow; those with blood-red eye; the womb of the

Thou art

el

lightning ; the seasons; the sea [art Thou].

at

without beginning and pervadest all; the universe and all

¥

produced things in it [art Thou].” (Swetdswatar Upani-

om

shad, iv. 2, 3, 4.)F

«“ He, who standing on the earth is

different from the earth, whom the earth knows not, whose

i

body is the earth, who rules the earth internally, he is thy

th

soul, the internal ruler, the immortal > (Brihad Aran. v.)

156

The same fact is asserted in the same passage concerning

hat

water, fire, ether, Wind, the sun, the Vedas, &c. Bhrigu the

offspring of Varuna, approached his father saying, ¢ Venerable

father, make known to me Brahma.’

Varuna propounded

on

18

these : namely, food [or body], truth [or life], sight, hearing,

16y

mind [or thought], and speech : and thus proceeded : ““ That,

whence all beings are produced ; that by which they live when

28

the

born ; that towards which they tend ; and that into which they

aid

* In the pamphlet Veddntic doctrines vindicated, this passage is thus

gratuitously paraphrased ; ¢ [Verily] this universe is [the manifestation

(44

of the power of ] God.”

This is called a translation: and by such

il

translations, attempts are made to remove the very appearance of pan-

theism from the Upanishads.

The reader can judge for himself of the

el

fairness of such proceedings.

3ﬂb

+ STAATTABRIMTTIRATIRT SHIM2 |

pro

TTHT YFA TTT SAIAHS AP Ee 11

I

86

pass; do thou seek for: that is Brahm.

He meditated in

devout contemplation : and having thought profoundly, he re-

cognised food [or body] to be Brahma.

Again he discovered

breath to be Brahma ; intellect to be Brahma : and felicity to

be Brahma. Such is the science attained by Bhrigu, taught

by Varuna and founded on the supreme etherial spirit.”

(Taitt. Up. ; As, Res. viii. 454.)

““This soul is Brahma ;

he is Indra ; he is Prajdpati [the lord of all creatures] ; these

Gods are he ; and so are the five primary elements, earth, air,

the ether, water and light; these and the same joined with

Zj

minute objects and other seeds [of existence] ; and again

other [beings] produced from eggs or born in wombs or

originating in hot moisture, or springing from plants ; «whe-

ther horses, or kine, or men, or elephants; whatever lives,

and walks, or flies, or whatever is immoveable, ALL THAT is

the eye of intelligence.

On intellect every thing is founded :

I

the world is the eye of intellect and intellect is its founda-

tion. Intelligence is Bramma, the great one.” (Aitareyd

Up. ii. 6.) According to this pantheistic theory, the uni-

verse must be @ portion if not the whole, of Brahma.

The

18

creation must be ¢aken jfrom him; and on the destruction of

f

all things must return to him.

It is a fair deduction from

the fact to ask, Aow much of Brahma exists in the varied

4

forms of the material universe.

The Vedas acknowledge the

gl

Justice of the question, and SUPPLY THE ANSWER.

‘AL

10

CREATURES ARE ONE-FOURTH of him; THREE-FOURTHS

il

are immortal in the divine abode.” Again ; Satyakama says

to his teacher: I wish, O illustrious sage, to speak to thee

of the fourth part of Brahma: tell me about it.”

He

A

replies : ““The east is one particle : and the west: the south

is one particle, and the north; this is the fourth part of

Y

Brahma, my son, composed of foar lesser parts and to it

L

thus declared is there a name.”

He afterwards learns, that

fi

another fourth is made up of the earth, the air, the ether and

the sea, and is called, the infinite: fire, the sun, the moon

al

and lightning belong to a third quarter : which is called the

al

bright: and the last fourtb embraces life, the eye, the ear

Thus in Brahma there

and the mind : this is called, space.

are sixteen minor parts. (Chhdnd.iv. 4—9.) In another pas-

sage (vi. 7) the Chhdnd. asserts; The perfect one is said to

have sixteen parts.”” Again; “ The embodied spirit which

I3

hath a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet,

})

stands in the human breast, while he totally pervades the

earth. THAT BEING IS THIS UNIVERSE AND ALL THAT HAS

7

BEEN OR WILL BE : he is that which grows by nourishment

and he is the distributer of immortality. Such is his great-

y

ness : and therefore is he the most excellent embodied spirit.

THE ELEMENTS OF THE UNIVERSE ARE ONE PORTION OF

n

§

HIM ; AND THREE PORTIONS OF HIM ARE IMMORTALITY

IN HEAVEN.

That threefold being rose above [this world]

and the single portion of him remained in this universe,

Iby

1§

which consists of what does, and what does not, taste (the

reward of good and bad actions). Again he pervaded the

universe. From him sprang Virdj, from whom (the first)

L

man was produced.” (Tajur Veda: As. Res. vii. 251.)

I

Again: “Fire is THAT [original cause] : the sun is that: so

he

is air: so is the moon: Such too is that pure Brahméd; and

those waters; and that Prajapati [lord of creatures].

Mo-

of

mn

ments proceeded from the effulgent person, whom none can

ed

apprehend, above, around, or in the midst; of him, whose

e

glory is so great, there is no image ; he it is who is celebrated

Even he is the god who pervades

L

in various holy strains.

all regions ; he is the first-born : it is he who is in the womb :

it)

By

he who is born; and he who will be produced ; he, severally

and universally, remains with all persons.” (Yajur Veda;

hee

He

Sarvameda ; As. Res. viil. 431,2.)

The last passage we will quote is from the Brihad Aran-

uth

yaka.

“This was before soul, bearing the shape of a man.

of

) 1t

Looking round he beheld nothing but himself. He said

first : ¢ This am 1.

Hence the name of ‘I’ was produced.

hat

aud

Therefore even now a man when called says first, ‘It is I

and tells afterwards any other name that belongs to him ;

000

and because he, as the first of all of them, consumed by fire

the

T 2

ear

88

all the sins, therefore he is called PurusH.

He verily con-

sumes him, who before this strives to obtain the state of Praja-

pati, he, namely, who thus knows,

He was afraid ; therefore

man when alone 1s afraid.

He then looked round : since

nothing but myself exists, of whom should I be afraid?

Hence his fear departed : for whom should he fear, Since fear

arises from another.

He was unhappy.

Therefore no body,

when alone, is happy. He was desirous of a second.

He

was in the same state as husband and wife are when in mu-

tual embrace.

He divided this self twofold. Hence were

husband and wife produced. Therefore was there only a

half of himself, as [one half of a] split peais [of the whole].

Thus verily has Ydjnawalkya declared it.

This void is thus

completed by woman.

He approached her : hence men were

born.

She verily reflected ; How can he approach me,

whom he has produced from himself? Alas! I will conceal

:ii

He

myself.’

Thus she became a cow, the other a bull.

f

approached her: hence kine were born. The one hecame a

mare, and the other a stallion: the one a female-ass, the

other a male-ass.

He approached her; hence the one-hoof-

ed kind were born.

The one became a female-goat, the

i

other a male-goat; the one became a ewe, the other a ram.

He approached her : hence goats and sheep were born.

In

{

this manner he created every living pair whatsoever, down to

the ants.

He knew ; ‘I am verily this creation ; for I creat-

tf

ed this all.’

Hence the name of creation is derived. Verily

i

he who thus knows, becomes in this creation like him. Then

a!

he churned. From his mouth, as the place of production,

f

and from his hands he created fire.

Both therefore are

{]

inside without hair, for the place of production is inside

th

without hair.

Thus they speak there this word ; ¢sacrifice

of

to this, sacrifice to that:’ hence sacrifice to the one or the

W

other god is not proper : He is really this creation: for he

a

verily is all the gods.” (1. 4.)

Was the creation then a

real one : or was it done for any great object ? The Swetds-

of

watara Upanishad gives us an answer.

It was done in

af

illusive sport.

“ Know that the power divine is called m4y4

89

and that he who is endowed with this méy4 is the supreme.”

(iv. 10.)

The passages above quoted seem to us to teach, without

doubt, that the whole universe is Brahma himself, and thus

to illustrate in the clearest way the oft-repeated expression

Sarbbam Khalbidan Brahma ; ¢ the whole universe is Brahma.’

There is no room here for excuses about figurative language.

The statements of the Upanishads regard plain facts, and

pronounce themin a plain way. They not only state the

dogma simply, but describe it in detail ; and the last passage

from the Brihad Aranyaka describes it in a way that does

any thing but confer honour on the being of whose work it

tells.

It may be said however that there are many passages

in the Upanishads which speak of Brahma and his creation

as separate existences and describe men, gods and animals, as

acting for themselves.

Most true is this; but not observed

)

for the first time now.

Sankar Achdrjya pointed it out long

The

since, and when he did so endeavoured to account for it,

perceptions and consciousness of man are quite opposed to

the pantheistic theory and will be antagonistic to it down to

the end of time.

Whatever attempts therefore men may

make to establish that theory, the natural consciousness of

the independent - existence of self, will always develop itself.

But this, Sankar Achérjya declares to be quite consistent with

the theory.

It is apparently true, says he, that men are

independent of Brahma, but the true doctrine proves they

are not so.

it

If pantheism be taught, we can easily account

for the repeated appearance of the opposite theory. But if

Iy

the Vedas allow only the separate existence of men and gods,

3

the appearance of any pantheistic passages at all, much more

of the numerous clearly stated passages we do find is, in

(6

16

works professing to come from Brahma himself, utterly un-

accountable.

16

An attentive consideration of the extracts above given and

of others like them in the sacred: books will shew the reader

at once, whence the Veddnta of Vyas derived its pantheism.

n

13

1

950

The same illustrations, the same terms are employed by Vyas,

as are used in the Upanishads: and hence without impro-

priety did he call his theological system, ¢the end and aim of

the Vedas.’

In some respects the doctrine of the latter is

not so fully drawn out, to its consequences, as is the system

of the former: but the doctrine itself, its basis, its illustra-

tions, its defence, are all there, and it only remained for the

philosophérs of a later age to carry forward what their pre-

decessors had begun.

In confirmation of this view of the

Upanishads, I will only quote a short extract from a Euro-

pean scholar, whose duty it has recently been to read the

whole of these Upanishads through, with the commentary of

Sankar Achérjya upon them.

In No. 34 of the Bibliotheca

Indica, on completing the publication of the Sanskrit text of

Pl

these treatises, the Editor, Dr. Roer, says: p. iv.

“ It will

ere long be decided, even to the Hindus themselves, that in

a religious view, the Upanishads have no authority; and if

the question of their truth be shifted to the province of

philosophy, that the ontological notions of the Upanishads

and the systems derived from them, are no more correctly

conceived than those of other pantheistical systems, or that

that they must be dissolved by the agency of a more exact

thinking.”

SectiOoN 3.—The Universe and its Elements.

Of the different worlds into which the universe is distri-

buted, the Upanishads do not frequently speak.

In one

passage, we have three worlds’ mentioned (Swet. i. 9);

alluding probably to Aeaven, earth, and the lower regions. In

Katha, 1. 12 ; ii. 11, we have swarga ‘heaven’ and Brakma-

lok spoken of.

In vi. 5, three divisions are noted in the

b

Upper Regions, in which different degrees of happiness are

enjoyed : these are Brakma-lok ; Pitri-lok ; and Gandharva-

lok : again in Mund. i. 2, 3, the ‘retributive worlds of

Other minor

happiness’ are spoken of as seven in number.

divisions of these upper worlds are described in terms similar

91

to those quoted in the last chapter.

We shall hereafter

quote a passage on the subject.

The various classes into

which organised bodies are divided are also seldom spoken of

In the Aitareyd, they are spoken of

with any distinctness.

as oviparous, born in the womb, originating from Aot mots-

ture, and springing from plants.

They are all spoken of on

some occasions as included under two heads, the fized and

moveable.

In the Mund.ii. 1. 4: we read ; “From him is

fire, whose fuel is the sun: from the moon comes rain, and

In the Chhdndogya, we find a

plants upon the earth.”

curious theory about the sun: ¢ That golden man, who is

beheld in the sun, with a golden beard, and golden hair, has

The

eyes like lilies and his name is the Rising one.”” (i. 6).

order in which these bodies are produced somewhat contra-

{

|

dicts our pre-conceived notions.

Rain comes from the moon ;

I

and when it falls and is evaporated, it returns to the moon

f

again.

The moon, at the conjunction disappears within the

sun and from him is produced again.

The sun is born of

)

s

fire ; fire from air. Lightning comes from the rain. (ditareya

y

Brahmana, As. Res. viii. 417, 8.)

About the original elements of the universe, there is less

it

doubt, as they are several times enumerated.

From him

of

have sprung ether, air, light [or fire], water and the all-con-

taining earth.” (Mund. ii. 1. 3.)

“ By him preserved this

universe, consisting of earth, water, light, wind and mind,

remains unchanged.” (Swet. vi. 2.)

“ These gods are he ;

and so are the five primary elements, earth, air, ether, water

16

and light.” (4itar.) From these alone the whole of creation

has sprung ; its various objects having arisen solely from the

1

numerous combinations of which they are susceptible. ‘¢ He,

by his own power, at the time (of creation) combined ele-

he

ment with element, in the proportion of one, two, four and

\1e

Dl

eight.”” (Swet. vi. 3.)

The order in which they were creat-

ed is not the same in all passages of the Upanishads.

Some-

of

times one element precedes, sometimes another.

The com-

0!

mentator on the Sttras gets rid of this difficulty, by saying

Jar

92

that the péssages merely intend to point out the ereator and

not the exact order in which his works were produced.

P

Among the classes and orders of living beings found in the

Il

universe only two claim special notice.

Of men we shall

t

speak in the next section : in this we shall refer to the gods.

The gods are often mentioned as forming a part of the

universe. Whatever may have been their poetic origin at

(tj

the beginning, in the Upanishads they are spoken of as real

I

existences.

“ He produced the gods.” (Swet.iv. 12.)

113 He

is the Lord of the gods.” (iv. 13.)

““ The sacred sages and

i

the gods devoted themselves to him.” (iv. 15.)

‘“ He 1s the

§

great God of gods, and the supreme debta of the debtas.”

il

wi.7.)

“From him have proceeded many gods.” (Mund.

i, 1.07.)

* Brahma, the lord of the universe and preserver

of the world, came into existence the first of the gods.” (i. 1.)

‘“ Brahm4 was once victorious for the sake of the deities :

0

at his victory those gods boasted.” (7al. 14.) ¢ Agni, Vayu

I

and Indra became superior to the other gods.”” (27.) When

Nachiketd sought from Yama the knowledge of the nature

i

and attributes of the supreme, Yama told him: ¢ Formerly

t

even the gods were in doubt about this question.” (Katha,

al

i 21.)

The names of some of these deities are mentioned : among

I

them chiefly we find Indra, Vayu, Agni, Rudra, Varuna,

dl

Mitra and others.

It is asserted however that they constitute

but three deities with different titles.

h

The deities are only

&

three: whose places are the earth, the intermediate region,

and heaven; namely, fire, air, and the sun: [AgNi1, VAyv,

and INpra:] Prajépati is the lord of them collectively ;.

other deities, belonging to those several regions are portions

4

of the three gods; but in fact thereis only one deity, the

£

GREAT SOUL.

He is called the sun, for he is the soul of all

beings.” (Nirukta.) Again it is said : ¢ The lord of creation

meditated profoundly on the earth and created the gods : the

Vasus, the Rudras, and ddityas.” (Taittiriya.)

“ These

gods are he.” (4z't.)

f

93

These clear and definite statements of fhe Vedas themselves

17

preclude our receiving the dogma that these gods are purely

imaginary and poetical creations.

For they are ¢produced ;’

I

they ¢ boast ;’ they ¢ worship ;° they ¢doubt’ about religious

questions.

Besides the Vedas contain proof that they were

e

f

worshipped with sacrifices and offerings : while they allow

that such worship is actually deneficial to the devotee.

Thus

|

in the Chhdndogye Upanishad, v. a number of sages go to

Aswapati to enquire about Brahma.

He asks them indivi-

dually whom they worship. One worships heaven as the

Z;

soul :* another the sun (Indra:) another Vayu: another the

ether: another water; and another the earth. The kingly

sage acknowledges and declares to each the benefits of his

worship, though in the end he points them all to the higher

worship of Brahma by contemplation.

Yet these worshippers

of the works of creation and not of its creator, were wise

sages! Again; In that solemn sacrifice which the gods per-

formed with him ag the victim, spring was the butter, summer

the fuel, and sultry weather the oblation. . .. By that sacrifice

é

the gods worshipped this victim : such were primeval deities :

and thus did they attain heaven, where former gods and

113 It

mighty demi-gods abide.” (Yaqjur. As. Res. vii. 252.)

is said that by ritual observances is gained one kind of fruits,

So have we

o e X B <2

and by the worship of the deities another.

heard from the wise who told it to us.

They who are devot-

ed to both the performance of ritual observances and the wor-

ship of the deities, being extricated from death by the former,

enjoy, through the latter, a durable divinity.”” [Bdj. 10, 11.]

Here the benefit of the worship is distinctly declared, as well

as the fact of it announced. Can we then doubt, that the

existence and worship of other beings than the ONE living

God is really a tenet of the Upanishads.

é

SectioNn 4.—Of Man.

Concerning the &ody of man, the vehicle and residence of

the soul, but little is said in the Upanishads.

It is called in

94

th

several instances the ¢ity of Brakma (Brahmapur) ; and is

Sl

said to have ‘eleven gates’ (Katha, v. 1.) Itsfive senses

I

are constantly recognised ; also the five ¢vital airs,” (Mund.

({3

i, 1. 25.) and five organs of action.

Seven orifices are

W

noticed in the head ; (Mund. ii. 18;) besides the important

suture in the plates of the skull, through which the soul is

P

b

said to enter the body at birth and to leave it at death.

There is only one passage worth noting of a decided physio-

logical character ; but that is quite sufficient to show the

il

Il

extent of knowledge possessed on the subject in ancient

{hy

times, and to illustrate the worth of the statement made by

the Vedas themselves, that they have come forth from the

fn

mouth of Brahma.

ha

The passage is as follows : it is spoken

by Yama himself, who, <if he be a god,’ certainly ought to

i

81z

have known better : *“ A hundred and one arteries issue from

lor

the heart, and the main among them proceeds through the

brain.” (Katha, vi. 16.) The various states in which the

he

%

body lives during its stay in the world are also little spoken

of. Waking, sleeping and dreaming are of course allowed ;

he

but a little speculation is indulged in concerning dreams :

af

the

““When a sleeper sees no dreams, then life in him is sim-

ple : speech with all its words goes into the mind: the eye

Wh

with all forms, the ear with all sounds, the imagination with

8¢

the

all its fictions [do the same] : when he wakes up, as sparks

come forth from a blazing fire, they return again.” (Kaushit.)

the

hiy

“ As those who know not [what is in] the ground may pass

over a treasure and not find it, so all creatures daily go (in

{h

sleep) to that world of Brahma, but find him not.” (Cik.

th

be

viii. 3.)

“When a sleeper, perfectly still, sees no dreams,

then he departs to those arteries [by which the soul leaves

any

the body] : in him no errors can arise ; for he then becomes

2

united to the supreme light.”” (viii. 6.)

\

IR

The sour of man occupies more attention in the Upani-

Ul

an

shads : and it is the liberation of the soul from the body

and from its union with the system of creation, that they

have in view.

If it be true, as we have endeavoured to shew

lbe

fays

95

1§

that the whole universe is represented as a form of the

€8

supreme, it will of course be expected to appear that the

human soul, amongst other things, possesses a like substance.

.

(7

¢ He, the universal soul, reflected ; how can this body exist

without me? He considered by which extremity he should

u}t

1§

penetrate.

He thought; If without me, speech discourse,

breath inhale, and sight view : if hearing hear, skin feel, and

0

mind meditate ; if deglutition swallow and the organ of gene-

he

ration perform its functions, then who am I? Parting the

nf

suture, HE penetrated by this route ; that opening is called

the suture and is the road to beatitude.”” (4itar. above quoted

0y

he

from the As. Res. viii. 424.)

““The supreme and the soul

il

have both entered the cavity of the heart, they are as light

1)

‘and shadow.” (Katha, iii. 1.) “The perfect one, of the

m

size of a thumb only, abides in the centre of the soul: the

lord of the past and the future : hence he fears not.

This is

e

he

he. The perfect one of the size of a thumb only, is like a

@i

light free from smoke : the lord of the past and the future :

he is to-day and will be to-morrow.”” (iv. 12, 13.%)

““In the

d;

15

city of Brahma abides a small water-lily, and in the centre (of

the flower) is a diminutive ¢ ether;’ it is now to be asked

what is in that ether.. .. As great as is the external ether, so

xye

ith

great is the ether in the midst of the heart: both are placed

there : the sky and the earth, both : the fire and wind, both :

ks

the sun and moon, lightning and stars, all that belongs to

)

88

him and all that is not his, every thing is placed in it. To

this if any one should say ; ‘But if every thing be placed in

(m

i

this city of Brahma, all creatures and all desires, what would

be left if old age should come or happen to it? It would be

0y

[

answered : That grows not old with the age of the body, nor

168

is destroyed by its destruction: real is the city of Brahma :

n it all desires are placed : that soul is without faults, with-

il

out old age, without death, without sorrow, without hunger

and thirst, true in its desires, truein its will.”” (Chhdnd. viii.)

y

16y

* In the Tattwabodhini Patrika, i. 321, the ¢ size’ is attached to the

¢ heart :’ whereas the Sanskrit makes

(il

says ; Angushthamdtrah pURUSHO.

it a quality of the Divinity and

E

96

This passage has been illustrated at great length by Sankar

Achérjya, who decides that the diminutive ether spoken of

{

is Brahma himself: and the ¢city of Brahma,’” the human

body.

¢ By him the mind is produced.” (‘Swet. ii. 6.) ““The

perfect one, the internal spirit, of the size of a thumb, ever

abides in the hearts of men.” (Swet. iii. 13.)

¢ In this city

é

of nine gates the all-pervading god revels.” (iii. 18.) “ With-

in the golden sheath of the mind is Brahma, without passion

“« He dwells in the ether

without form.” (Mund. ii. 2. 9.)

in the city of Brahma.’ (ii. 2. 7.)

¢ Intelligent, a life,

fr

dwelling in a body, bright shining, true in its purposes, ethe-

fh

rial spirit, performing all works, possessed of all desires, all

it

smells, all tastes, penetrating every thing, without speech,

il

without wonder, this soul of mine dwells in my heart, smal-

i

ler than a grain of rice or barley or mustard. . This soul of

i

fl

mine in my heart existed before the earth, before the atmo-

sphere, before the sky, before the worlds.” (Chhdnd. 1. 14.)

he

Again Brahma is said to dwell not only in the heart, but in

the eye.

¢ That being who is seen in the eye, he is the Rig

(]

[Veda), he is the S4m, he is the Uktam, he is the Yajur, he

is Brahma.” (Chhdnd. i. 7.)

““That being who is seen in

th

the eye, he is the souL (says he;) Heis the never-dying,

hi

the fearless, he is Brahma:’ (iv.) In the Jabal Upanishad

be

We

he is said to be stationed also between the eye-brows.

i

have already quoted a lengthened passage from the Chhdnda-

86|

gya, in which man is compared to a tree whose root is

i

Brahma.

We will only add an extract from the Swet.

il

(v. 9))

«If the end of a hair be divided into a hundred

Cl

parts and one of these into a hundred, the soul is like any of

01

the last hundred.

It is made up in countless ways.”

Asa

be

consequence of this consubstantiality with the supreme, the

W

human soul is, like him, indestructible.

It is not born,

he

neither does it die; it has not proceeded from any, nor has

€]

it been changed into any, nor does it perish w‘hen the body

€)

dies.” (Mund. ii. 2-18.%)

tl

* The translation of this passage in the Tattwabodhini Patriké can-

o

not be regarded as correct.

-

!

-~ Buch then is the high origin of man and the nature of hig

of

eonstitution,

He is a part and parcel of the supreme Brahm,

il

both body and soul.

Little beyond this fact is to be found

16

concerning him in the Upanishads; content with advanc-

el

ing, and to their satisfaction proving, this great speculation,

0y

they left no room for developing his duties to God or to his

fellows ; or for advocating the principles and grounds on

n

thich those duties should be carried out.

78

. It only remains to enquire whether the great Rishis have

&

treated all men alike, or whether they set up differences among

them. In reply we find, that though on their theory all

ll

have a similar origin, the Upanishads advocate the distinc-

»h’

tions of cASTE.

They do not however speak of it with all

ol

the fulness with which the Mdnava Shdstra does.

In their

of

day its details were comparatively few and simple.

Still

there exists in the Upanishads the dasis of the system which

)

has been carried forward until it has reached the point which

we view with our own eyes.

In a hymn of the Yajur Veda

lig

descriptive of the creation, occurs the following passage :

he

¢ Into how many portions did they divide this being, whom

1n

they immolated ? What did his mouth become? What are

10,

his arms, his thighs and his feet now called? His mouth

ad

became a priest: his arm was made a soldier : his thigh was

e

transformed into a husbandman : from his feet sprang the

/i

servile man ”’ (As. Res. vii. 252.)

This seems an unmistake-

1§

able description of the origin of the different classes of Hin-

dus

of

But if the Upanishads be consistent, the process of

red

creation must have been somewhat slow, and accomplished

of

only by degrees.

““ The Brahmans alone existed in the

Lba

beginning.” (Brikad Aran. iv. 11.) He was not satisfied

the

with producing them ; the desire to multiply himself not

il

being sufficiently gratified.

““ All being one, he did not

has

enjoy it: He therefore largely created the Khetriyas of

oy

excellent nature.”

Next he created the Vaisyas: but as

there was still a want of slaves, he ¢therefore made the

(Al

order of Sudras.” The' respective ranks which these classes

K

98

of beings were to occu;&y, are not merely pointed out figura-

tively by the limb of Prajdpati from which they sprang ; but

plain statements are made that there may be no room for

doubt.

The first three of the races are widely separated

from the fourth : their condition is referred to as one alike

honorable and happy: ¢ Those who do well in this world

attain to excellent races hereafter, agreeably to their works,

whether it be the race of Bréhmans, or Khetriyas, or Vaisyas.”

(Chhind. v. 6.) The rank of these three is also indicated.

Honorable and powerful as was the station of the Khetriyas,

they had to confess: ‘The Bréhmans are our superiors.”

(Taitt. xi. 3.) Again it is said : “ Do not respect those who

hate the Brahmans.”

¢ Kill those who hate the Brahmans.”’

(Sdm Veda.) Though the same divisions therefore existed

among the Hindus before the days of Ninus, which exist at

this day, yet the mixed castes, which gradually sprang from

inter-marriages and improper connections between the differ-

ent races, and which seem to constitute almost all modern

native society apart from the Brdhmans, find scarcely a place

in the Upanishads.

Only two are mentioned, the Chanddla

and Paulkasa, the former of which is one of the lowest

castes even in the present age.

From these few extracts, we

see that even in the Upanishads, a four-fold division of castes

is declared to be a divine institution, and to owe its origin to

the circumstances of the creation itself!

Section 5.—The state of man, and how he may be freed

Jrom it.

1

However intimate may be the connection between

man and the supreme, it is acknowledged by the Upanishads,

that man is really ignorant of it.

He is unacquainted with

his nature, his character, his destinies.

He revels in the

present, in the seeming enjoyments around him, and especi-

ally in the gratifications of sense: and the more he does so,

the greater is the pleasure he feels in the indulgence. No

wonder therefore that in his ignorance, he should be led to

99

all kinds of frail and fleeting delights : or give himself up as

a slave to headstrong passions.

But this is the case, how-

ever to be lamented, with the large majority of men; they

are blinded by their ignorance and led astray to evil courses,

ending in wretchedness and suffering. This condition of man is

strongly implied by all the exhortations to an opposite course

which the Upanishads address to the wise s> such as to the

study of the Vedas and to meditation, which will lead to a

better and nobler end. But a few passages speak it plainly.

¢The dependent soul is bound by worldly enjoyments.””

(Swet. 1. 8.)

¢ Living in the midst of ignorance and believ-

ing themselves to be wise and knowing, fools frequently are

led astray through crooked paths, like a blind man led by a

blind man.” (Katha, ii. 5.) The human soul is a part of

Hence 1t thinks

the divine essence; but it knows it not.

itself independent.

“Two birds, associates and friends,

rest on the same tree: one of them eats the fruit of it ; the

other without eating looks on.

The human soul, dwelling in

the same tree [with the divine], immersed in trouble groans

with dejected mind.” (Mund. iii. 1. 1, 2.) This passage is

also in the Katha and Swet. Upanishads. For this ignorance

the soul itself is not altogether responsible.

“ Knowledge

and ignorance are both hidden in him who is the imperishable

Brahma, the being without end....He who governs both

knowledge and ignorance is God.” (Swet. v. 1.) ¢ For he

makes him to do good deeds, whom he wishes to bring out

of this world: and him he makes to do evil deeds, whom he

wishes to bring again into the world.” (Kaushit.)

¢« Whom

he chooses, by him can he be obtained: to him does the

spirit manifest himself.” (Mund. iii. 2. 3; also in Katha, ii.

2, 3.) With him therefore rest the consequences also. * He

is the cause both of our bondage in this world and of our

liberation from it.”’ (vi. 17.) Those consequences are serious :

¢ The worlds of ignorance, wrapped up in impervious gloom,

do they enter after death, who are destroyers of their own

souls.” (Bdg. 3.)

K 2

100

The most important consequence of this state is, that until

the soul gets free from it, it is compelled to undergo a series

of transmigrations: ever reaping the rewards of its acts,

either in punishment or happiness, and then returning to

another body to undergo the same round.

In time all its

pollutions may be purified and it will be re-united with its

originel essence. This doctrine of transmigration constantly

recurs in the Upanishads.

It is held up to men as the one

great evil they have to avoid: and from which the xxow-

LEDGE taught in those books will effectually deliver them:

The following are illustrations. ¢ Man is like a blade of corn ;

he rots away ; but like the corn, sprouts forth again.” (Katha,

1. 6.) Yama, thelord of death, says; ¢ He who thinks that

this world only is and no other, comes repeatedly under my

control.” (ii. 6.)

““He who is without knowledge, who is

of fickle mind, and ever impure, obtains not the supreme

glory, but goes again into the world.”” (iii. 7.)

“ O Goutam,

I will now discourse about the hidden and eternal Brahma

and on what the soul becomes after death.

According to

their works and attainments in knowledge some enter the

womb again to obtain a body ;. others are united to fixed

forms.” (v.7.)

«If, in this world, before the death of the

body, the soul obtains the knowledge of Brahma, it is freed

from worldly bonds ; but if not, it assumes a body again in

l;

these created worlds.”” (vi. 4.) Other passages will be quot-

ed subsequently from other U panishads: the above are the

professed teaching of Yama himself; with whom transmigras

tion is especially connected.

9

Ll

Left to itself the soul will only increase its ignorance

and add to its misery : it will receive the reward of its follies

and irreligion, by being born in a body corresponding to its

deserts : the same round of evil and of sorrow will go on in

a lower grade : the reward of the same will be experienced ;

and thus in process of time, age after age, it will sink to

lower and lower degrees of wretchedness till the kalpa in

which it exists comes to an end.

To obvidte this misfortune

f

101

the Vedas propose to direct the erring mind to religious truth,

enlarge its conceptions of the supreme and stimulate it to

aim at the highest end of all men, a re-union with Him.

In

doing so however, it reckons upon ¢wo classes of followers,

those of a higher and lower grade : those who are able to do

more for securing the desired object and those who will do

less.

Its rules for each and the fruits of their studies we

shall now describe. They constitute the Vedic theory of

¢ deliverance.’

When Sounaka asked from Angiras a knowledge of the

supreme Brahm, the sage replied : ¢ There are two sciences

to be acquired, as they who know Brahma declare; the

supreme science and another.

This other is the Rig Veda,

the Yajur Veda, the Sdim Veda, the Atharva Veda ;* the

rules of accentuation, the rites of religion, Grammar, the

Glossary and explanation of obscure terms, Prosody and

Astronomy : also the Itikds and Purdna ; and Logic, with the

rules of interpretation and the system of moral duties.

But

the supreme science is that by which the imperishable is

apprehended.” (Mund. i. 1. 4, 5.) “In other passages both

these modes of attaining to Brahma are severally dwelt on :

in this passage the employment of both is directly sanctioned

and taught.

Thus in the Kathea, Yama first teaches Nachi-

keté the nature of that primordial fire, by the right employ-

ment of which, a worshipper may enter Swarga.

¢ Listen

attentively, for I am going to reveal the nature of that sacred

fire, which is the means of gaining Swarga.. .. He then

explained to Nachiketd the nature of the fire ; and the kind

and number of bricks requisite for performing the ceremony

of that fire and the mode in which it must be celebrated.”

He also honoured his pupil, by affixing his name to it and

calling it the ¢ Nachiketic fire.” “ He who thrice performs the

ceremony of this Nachiketic fire, after knowing the kind and

number of bricks requisite for it, and the manner of its per=

1

* Note by Mr. Colebrooke : ¢ Meaning the prayers contained in the

four Vedas, disjoined from Theology.’

K 3

10

formance, and after subduing the influence of the passions,

being extricated from sorrow, gains fruition in Swarga.”

(Katha, i.) After this Yama teaches the higher science

referred to above.

In the Mundaka also ritual ceremonies

and sacrifices are praised, as one means of elevating the soul

and preparing it for enjoyment in the next world,

The

mode of performing them is also spoken of : and it is declar-

ed that the ¢ sacrifices and ritual observances’ of the Vedas are

of divine origin. (ii. 1. 6.) ¢ By ritual observances is gained

one kind of fruit and by the worship of the deities another.

So have we heard from the wise who told it tous,” (Bdj. 10.)

Various kinds of worship, and among them (as we have seen)

the worship of different gods, are not only recognised but

described in the Vedas, even in the Upanishads. Thus the

Aswameda is described in the Brikad Aranyake, and so on.

These constitute the lower mode of reaching happiness.

The higher method, the supreme science, is that which

conveys a KNOWLEDGE OF BRrRAHMA himself, of his nature,

attributes and acts.

While approving the former mode, the

Upanishads look on this as the method most desirable, and

make it their business to teach it.

Meditation on the cha-

racter of the supreme as described by them is the higher

science.

“ MEDITATION [Zapa] is the root of the knowledge

of THE spiriT: that Brahma is the theme of the Upani-

shads.” (Swet.i. 16.)

“ The wise apply their mind and

understanding to that great all-pervading and intelligent one,

who has ordained all our actions and who knows all our

thoughts.

This is the noblest worship of the divine creator.”

(Swet. ii. 4.)

¢ When the senses with the mind rest in him,

and when the understanding is not engaged, this is the best

mode of obtaining him.

This concentration of senses and

powers is called yog or ¢ meditation.’” (Katha, vi. 10, 11.)

“He who knows him as the knower of every thought of

every individual mind, obtains immortality. By self-effort is

gained energy; by knowledge is gained immortality.. Con-

‘templating him through object after object, the wise, on

103

departing from this world, become immortal.” (Tal. 12, 13.)

«¢ This spirit is to be gained by truth and devotion, by com-

plete wisdom, and by constant bodily mortifications.” (Mund.

jii. 1. 5.) “They who know the Vedant and observe its

meaning well, who exercise devout meditation, [sannydsydg]

and who are pure, at last in Brahma-lok, are altogether deli-

vered [mukta) and become immortal.” (iii. 26.) The mode

in which this meditation is carried on, the external circum-

stances attending it, the position of the devotee and so on,

have already been quoted in our first Section. The following

statement of the gradual development of its benefits cannot

be omitted: ‘“In the first stages of meditation Brahma is

displayed as frost and smoke, as wind and light and fire, as

the sun and lightning, as crystal and as the moon.” (Swet.

fi. 11.) In other passages, the use of the sacred syllable is

declared to be a part of this meditation, and the mode of

employing it is illustrated by striking similes. * After shar-

pening thy arrow by devotion, fix it to that great weapon, the

bow found in the Upanishad, and after drawing it and careful-

ly aiming at thy mark, pierce him (O beloved) who is the im-

perishable.

It is said that Om is the bow, the soul is the

arrow, and Brahma the mark.

He must be pierced by atten-

tion : and as an arrow penetrates its mark, so do thou pene-

trate him.” (Mund. ii. 2. 3, 4.)

““ As fire within two slips

of sacred wood.. does not display itself till they are rubbed

together, so is it with Om and the mind. Having made his

mind one slip and Owm the other, let a man rub them together

by meditation [dhydn] that he may behold the supreme.”

(Swet. i. 13, 14.) The following passage immediately suc-

“ As oil in sesamum, as butter

ceeds the one now quoted.

in curdled-milk, as water beneath dry channels, as fire in slips

of wood, so is the spirit obtained by those who worship him

with intelligence and meditation.

The all-pervading spirit is

like butter contained in milk.” (i. 15, 16.)

3. We pass on to consider the benefits resulting from the

two modes of serving the supreme which the Upanishads

104

describe. Benefits are derived even . from the ZJower kind of

worship paid to him. The mind of the worshipper is elevat-

ed and purified in this world : he obtains some reward in the

next: and enters into a more honourable body and position,

on his return to this world, than he enjoyed before. Thus

will he rise till he finally reaches the highest bliss, absorption

into Brahma,

The Upanishads teach that the rewards of

sacrifice and of the worship of the deities, are real; and

therefore encourage men to seek them: but they also clearly

describe them as perishable and short-lived.

““ The ritual

observances in the Vedas, which poets saw, are various and

bear genuine fruits. Practise them frequently, O you who

are desirous of future fruition : for this is your path to the

worlds of reward.. .. Him, who pours offerings on the lumi-

nous points of the sacrificial fire, the sun-beams carry to the

mansions of the king of the gods.” (Mund. i. 2. 1, 5.) “He

who thrice performs the ceremony of the Nachiketic fire,

according to the instructions of the three [his father, mother

and guru], and who performs the three works (study of the

Vedas, sacrifice and gifts] is delivered from birth and death.

Having become properly acquainted with that fire which is

sprung from Brahma, the knower of ritual observances en-

dued with splendour and worthy of praise, obtains exceeding

peace.” (Katha, i. 17.) <1t is said that by ceremonies is

obtained one kind [of reward] and by the worship of the

gods, another.

So have we heard from the wise who told it

tous.... 0O Agni, thou witness of our religious acts, purge

us from our malign sins, and guide us through the right

path to the dwelling of joy.” (B4j. 10, 18.) “Frail and

perishable are such worthless observances, for the celebration

of each of which are required eighteen performers. Those

fools, who rejoice in them as the cause of bliss eternal, return

again to disease and death.” (Mund.i. 2.7.) *1I know that

the fruition attendant on ritual ceremonies is transitory, be-

cause the imperishable cannot be gained by means of the

perishablg. Kunowing this, however, I perf.ormed [says Yama]

105

the ceremony of the Nachiketic fire and have gained, by

perishable objects, this eternal authority.” (Kathe, ii. 10.)

¢ At this Agni, Vayu, and Indra became superior to the rest

of the gods as they approached and touched Brahma, and

knew him first as such, and to them all Indra became superior

as he approached and touched Brahma, and was the first to

know him as such.”

These last two passages shew us the

influence of this service even upon gods themselves!

The fruits of the Zigher doctrine are naturally higher, and

though greatest in the next world, begin even in the present

one,

a. The following passages describe the. state, during

life, of the man who has obtained the knowledge of Brahma.

“When one bird [the human so‘ul] sees the other [the

supreme], it becomes freed from sorrow.” (Mund. iii. 1. 2.)

¢ Whatever worlds he desires in mind, and whatever enjoy-

ments he wishes for, with a.pure heart, those worlds and

those enjoyments, he who knows Brahma obtains.. .. What-

ever he desires he obtains, all the desires of the satisfied

devotee vanish away even in this life.”” (Mund. iii. 1. 10.

L1259

“ He even here enjoys God.” (Katha, vi. 14.)

“ Among those who know the supreme, he is pre-eminent

whose amusement is God, whose enjoyment is God, and who

practises active virtue.” (Mund. iii. 1.4.) &. He holds a

peculiar relation to good and evil.

“ The knot of the heart

is divided ; all doubts are dissolved, and his works [both

good and evil] vanish, when that supreme one is seen.”

(Mund. i1, 2. 8.)

“He can do neither good nor evil.,” (iil

1.3.) “He does not become greater by good deeds, nor

less by evil ones.” (Kaushit.)

¢ He comes forth from all

sins who knows this.”” (CZ4. 1. 6.)

¢ As water wets not the

leaves of the water-lily, so sin touches not him who knows

this : as the combings of a comb when cast into the fire are

consumed, so are sins consumed.” (iv. 14.) * He who steals

gold, who drinks spirits, who ascends his gura’s bed, and

who slays a brdhman, these four fall [into hell]; and the

fifth is he who has communion with those.: but Ze who knows

106

this doctrine, though ﬁé have communion with them, is not

contaminated by sin, s holy, is pure and is fit for the pure

worlds.” (v. 10) !

[4

After death he is united with Brakhma and is absorbed

into him. “He who completely understands this [part of

the] Veda, after being free from sin goes to Swarga and abides

there for ever: abides there for ever.” (Tal. 34.)

* Those

who are well acquainted with the meanings of the Veddnt,

who have given themselves to devout meditation and who are

of pure mind, in the end, in Brahma-lok, are altogether free

and immortal.

The fifteen members of their body are resolv-

ed into their primary elements, the senses are not controlled

by their operant causes ; their acts and the mind all become

one when the latter dwells in the supreme.” (Mund. iii. 2. 6,

7.) There will be no more transmigration to such : hence-

forth they will be completely free from that dreaded evil.

““The man, who becomes wise, thoughtful and ever pure,

reaches the divine glory and descends no more from it into

*“ The man who knows him

the world.” (Katha, iii. 8.)

obtains freedom and dies no more.”

¢ They who know him

become immortal.” (vi. 8, 9.)

‘¢ Nachiketd, having gained

from the mouth of Yama a knowledge [of the supreme] and

all the rules of meditation, was freed from all earthly sorrows

and obtained Brahma.

They who obtain the same knowledge

in the same way obtain Brahma also.”” (vi. 18.) ““They who

.

know him as present in all things, and are acquainted with

the science of Brahma, are ABSORBED [line] into Brahma,

and are freed from transmigration.” (Swet. 1. 7.)

« He, who

knows the supreme is free from all bonds, from all miseries,

and is freed from birth and death. Through meditation up-

on him, by the dissolution of the body, he gains the third

state, and has the universe for his wealth.”” (i. 11.)

““Those

::

gods and Rishis who in former days knew him became im-

mortal.”” (v. 6.)

¢ The wise, who worship the perfect one,

avoid another birth.” (Mund. iii. 2. 1.) This absorption is

1

complete and final : nothing remains of the individual, who

107

has obtained the benefit. ¢ That soul rising from the body,

having arrived at the supreme light, possEssEs HIs ForM.”

(Chhind. viii. 12.)

““ As rivers flowing go into the sea and

lose their name and form: so fhe wise FREED FROM NAME

AND FORM, GAIN HIM who is supreme, perfect and splen-

did. He who knows that supreme Brahma, BECOMES BRAH-

MA.* No one, in his race, becomes ignorant of Brahma,

He escapes from sorrow, he escapes from sin, and freed from

the knots of the heart dies no more.”” (Mund. iii. 2. 8, 9.)

¢ Recognising heaven, earth and sky to be miM; knowing

the worlds, discovering space and the solar orb to be the

same ; he views that being : he BECOMES THAT BEING : and is

IDENTIFIED WITH HIM, on completing the broad web of the

solemn sacrifice.” [Yajur : Sarvameda : As. Res. viii. 433.]

We would add here, though not strictly belonging to this

branch of the subject, that absorption into the supreme will

eventually happen to the whole universe at the expiration of

the Kalpa : and that ¢ absorption’ is referred to, when we read

of the creation refurning to the Being from whom it sprang.

Thus: “In mim this world is ABSORBED; ¥rROM HIM IT

ISSUES ; in creatures he is twined and woven, with various

forms of existence”. (p. 432.)

A second and lower degree of happiness is obtained by

éi

those who have by meditation, sacrifice, and ritual ceremonies

served Brahma much, but not so as to obtain the highest

reward.

“They who are devoted to both the performance of

ly

ritual ceremonies and the worship of the deities, being extri-

10

cated from death by the former, enjoy through the latter a

]

* In the translation of this passage in the Tattwabodhini Patrika and

)

in the Pamphlet of ¢4 Hindu,’ great liberty has been' taken: both

omissions and insertions having been made at pleasure.

Thus: ¢ He

d

who knows God, becomes [like] god, [in knowledge and happiness.]’’

The Sanskrit is as follows :

§

AW 2T B AITA I (A¥ ILH B |

In the Veddnta Sdr, this passage is quoted as a Sriti: and the Ben-

6y

gali translation of the Tattwabodhini edition has most correctly and

1§

idiomatically rendered it thus:

10

TR e wieay, B aw® z7)

108

durable divinity.”” (Bdj. 11.) “If he desires the worlds of the

pitris, from his own wish the pitris rise

having gained that

world of the pitris he is exalted.”

‘“ Whatever end he

wishes for; whatever desire he experiences, from his mere

wish that rises; having gamed it he is exalted.” (Chhdnd:

viii. 2.)

The course which these have to follow, and that whlch ¥

taken by others of still lower rank in merit, is well desecribed

in that section of the Chhdndagya Upanishad, v. which ig

ealled Panchignibidyd

The passage is as follows: ¢ They

who know this, and who in the woods exercise faith and

practise bodily mortification, obtain fire

from fire they get

licht; from licht, the crescent half of the bright moon ; from

that the six months in which the sun goes toward the north

from those months the year

from the year the sun

trom

the sun the moon; from the moon lightning ; the regent of

lichtning conducts them to Brahma

this is the way of the

Gods

They, who in villages perform works of merit and of

benevolence, go to smoke

from smoke, to night

from night

to the time of the moon’s waning

from that, to the six

months in which the sun is going southward

they reach the

year ; from the months they obtain the world of the pitris ;

from the world of the pitris, the ether

from the ether the

moon

He is king Soma

that is the food of the gods and

After thev have lived there a suitable time,

they feed on it

they return by the same road as that they came by ; they go

to the ether; from ether to the wind

the wind becomes

smoke ; the smoke, cloud

the cloud pours down rain; hence

they become a grain of rice or barley, or plants or trees

hence their progress is more difficult

whoever eats that

nourishment and marries secures this

They who here do

works of merit, obtain a womb in high rank, as that of a

Brdhman, Khetriya or Vaisya: mother.

They who do evil

deeds obtam a vile womb, as of a dog, a boar or a chandal.”

Such is the Vedxc theor y of rewar ds and punishments.

109

CHAPTER III.

MoperN BramMisMm.

IT now remains to examine the peculiar opinions of the

modern worshippers of Brahma.

This school of religionists

was founded, as we have already described, by the late R{s4

Rimmonan Rov.

For a long period, the doctrines they

professed to believe ; the agreements they acknowledged with

the old school of Vedantists ; and the points of difference in

which they departed from them, were matters of considera-

ble doubt.

Both friends and oppounents, on enquiring into

their opinions, were met with uncertain and unsatisfactory

replies.

This difficulty has however lately been entirely

removed, as the following facts will show.

More than a year ago, the author of these pages address-

ed a note to the Secretary of the Tattwabodhini Sabh4,

requesting that he might kindly be furnished with informa.

tion on the following vital points, as he was anxious to gain

a clear and correct knowledge of their system: (1) ¢ What

are considered, by the modern school of Vedantists in Cal-

cutta, the standards of authority in religion, from whence

their faith is derived and by which it is expressed and defin-

ed? (2) On what points, whether of more or less importance,

does the modern school differ from the ancient one? (3) In

what modern works do the present Vedantists consider, that

their peculiar opinions are in general correctly expressed !”’

The note was laid before the Brdhma Samdy at one of their

0

Wednesday meetings, and by their directions a most courte-

ous reply was despatched to the author, containing among

it

other things the following passage.

““The doctrines of the

0

Brdhmas or spiritual worshippers of God, whom I presume

you mean by ¢ modern Veddntists,” are founded upon a broader

il

and more unexceptionable basis, than the Scriptures of a

1

single religious denomination in the earth. The volume of

nature is open to all, and that volume contains a Revelation,

clearly teaching, in strong and legible characters, the great

L

110

truths of religion and morality ; and giving us as much know-

ledge of our state after death, as is necessary for the attain-

ment of future blessedness; yet adapted to the present state

of our mental faculties.

Now as the Hindu religion containg

notions of God and of human duty, which coincide with that

Revelation, we have availed ourselves of extracts from works

which are the great depositories of the national faith, and

which have the advantage of national associations on their

side, for disseminating the principles of pure religion among

our countrymen.

You will not find fully the information

you are desirous to obtain about our doctrines in the Tatfwa-

bodhini Patrikd, or in the reports of the Tattwabodhini

Sabhd ; the Brdhma Samdj having no reports, as it is simply

a meeting for the purposes of worship. The information

you want can be obtained from & work, whick will soon issue

Jrom the press.

This work contains a complete exposition of

the principles by which we are guided in our religious belief.”

The work thus referred to, as containing an authorized ex-

position of their opinions, was published by the Tattwabo-

dhini Sabhd, about the first of October 1850 : its title is,

Briama DuHARMA.

It is a small and neat book, written in

Sanskrit and Bengali, the counterparts of one another. The

Sanskrit precedes, occupying 123 pages, and is accompanied

by a Commentary, printed under the text.

The Bengali fol-

lows, occupying 94 pages: it is an exact translation of the

Sanskrit text.

The matter of the work is divided into two

¢ Parts’ (Khanda ;) the first of which contains sixteen chap-

ters (adhydy), and the second, seventeen.

Three or four

appendices, containing ° Statements of principles’ and ¢ Pray-

ers’ conclude the work.

Its price is one rupee.

The First

Part relates chiefly to the attributes of the supreme, and

consists almost entirely of passages taken from different

Upanishads, many of which were quoted in our last chapter.

The Second Part consists of moral precepts and reads very

like a book of proverbs.

Portions of it seem to be taken

from the Institutes of Manu.

111

From this little book, then, we shall endeavour to develop

the creed of the society founded by Rammohan Roy, refer-

ring occasionally to other publications, written by members

of the society, with a view to gain light on certain points

which otherwise have been left a little obscure.

There is al-

ways an advantage in a society like this possessing a distinc-

tive name.

From want of it in the present case, numerous

errors have arisen and will arise until the defect is remedied.

Sometimes the members have been called Veddntists ; at

other times, Deists.

Yet, as we shall immediately see, they

are not followers of the school of Vyés; they repudiate some

of the doctrines taught by the Vedas; and have certain

points, both of belief and practice, which decidedly distin-

guish them from the European Deists. They call themselves

BrAnmas (3t7,) that is ¢ worshippers of Brahma,” the one

supreme God of the Hindus: and their religion, Brdhma

Dharma : i. e., ‘the religion of the worshippers of Brahma.’

I would suggest, therefore, that in our English idiom their

system should be called BRArM1sm : and themselves BRAmM-

1sTS or BRAEMAS.*

The first appendix to the BrArMA DHARMA gives a brief

outline of the Bréhma system, and we therefore quote it

first.

It is as follows: (p. 87.)

¢ PRINCIPLES OF RELIGION.

1.

¢ Before the production of this world, there existed only

the one supreme Brahma ; nothing else existed whatsoever.

He created all this.

% In the course of this work the words Brahma, Brahmd and Briéhma

have frequently occurred and will occur again.

As the three names

denote different persons and have each a different pronunciation, it may

be well to say a few words in explanation for the benefit of our native

readers.

A little attention to the matter will obviate all confusion.

Brahma, denotes the One Supreme Deity, and is pronounced Brum-

ho or Brum.

Brakmd, denotes the chief God of the Hindu Triad and is pronounced

Brum-ha.

Brdhma, denotes a worshipper of the Swupreme and is pronounced

Bram-ho.

2

112

2.

He is wisdom, eternity, joy and goodness personified :

the everlasting, ruler of all, all-wise, without form, one only

without a second : most wonderful in power.

3

¢From his worship alone is happiness produced both

here and hereafter.

4

¢ That worship consists in loving him and performing

ac.tions which give him pleasure.”

The next appendix is on the same subject and is entitled

Ter BrAamist’s COVENANT.

in

“Om. This day, the

day of the month of

4

the year

» I adopt the religion of the worshippers of

Brahma.

1

‘I will live devoted to the worship of that one supreme

Brahma, who is the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer [of the

universe ;] the cause of ¢ deliverance;’ all-wise ; all-pervading ;

full of joy; the good; and without form.

I will worship

him with love and by doing things that will give him pleasure.

2

¢ I will worship no created thing, as the supreme Brah-

ma, the creator of all.

3

¢ Except on days of sickness or calamity, I will every

day, when my mind shall be at rest, in faith and love, fix my

thoughts in contemplation on the supreme.

4

¢I will live earnest in the practice of good deeds.

5

‘I will endeavour to live free from evil deeds.

6

¢ If, overcome by temptation, I perchance do any thing

evil, I will surely desire to be freed from it and be careful

[for the future].

7

¢ Every year, and in all my worldly prosperity, I will

offer gifts to the Brahma Samsj.

‘0! God! grant unto me strength that I may entirely

observe this excellent religion.”

SEctioN 1.—The sources of divine knowledge.

Though the Brd/ima Dharmais the exposition of the Brahm-

ist Creed, it points out THE SOURCES OF DIVINE KNOW-

113

LEpGE as follows: “In order to obtain a special knowledge

of the Supreme Brahma, the disciple must go to a teacher.

The wise teacher, if he perceive the pupil before nim to be of

a thoroughly peaceful and tranquil mind, will instruct him in

that science by which the imperishable and self-existing Per-

fect One may be known. The Rig Veda, the Yajur, the Sam,

the Atharba Vedas, the rules of accentuation, the rites of

religion, grammar, the glossary, pr

osody and astronomy ;

That is the most excel-

these constitute the inferior science.

lent science by which a knowledge of the Imperishable Su-

preme Brahma is obtained.”” (iii. 1, 2).* In accordance with

this statement we find the following passage in one of the most

widely circulated pamphlet

s of the Tattwabodhini Sabhé,

called Vedantic doctrines vindicated.

« We will not deny

that the Reviewer is correct in remarking, that we consider

the Vedas and Vedas alone as the authorised rule of Hindu

theology. They are the sole foundation of all our belief. . ..

What we consider as revelation 1is contained in the Vedas

alone; and the last parts (the Upanishads) of our holy Scrip-

ture, treating of the final dispensation of Hinduism, form

what is called (by us) the Veddnt.” (p. 28.) Our humble

object is merely to revive and propagate an existing system

of truths. ... The Vedas are now what they were centuries

ago

They declare that the sole regulator of the universe

is but One, Omnipresent, Omniscient, far surpassing our

powers of comprehension, beyond external sense, and whose

spiritual worship is the chief duty of mankind and the sole

cause of eternal beatitude.

In this brief sentence is contained

the essence of our belief.” (p. 15.)

¢ Vedantism is our creed

and the Upanishads are our book of religion.” (Patrikd No.

32: p. 276.)

* This reference denotes the Zhird chapter and first paragraph of

Part I. When Part II. is quoted, it will be distinguished frowm the for-

mer by the letter B.

L3

114

SEcTiON 2.—The Supreme God.

It is often declared that the SuprEME Gobp is ONE, eter-

nal, uncreated, pure intelligence. Elkamebadwitiyam, < He

is one and without a second,’” is the motto of Brdhmism.

““ He is without birth, the great Spirit,” (ii. 1). ¢ He has

no producer, no master.” (vii. 3). ¢ He is the only eternal

one.”” (viii. 8.)

“The name of Brahma is the ether,”

(xiv. 11.)

PR

SEcTiOoN 3.—His attributes.

Various ATTRIBUTES are fréquently ascribed to him. In

the following places several are enumerated at once.

(13 He

is without organs of perception, without organs of action,

unborn, without form, without eyes or ears ; without hands or

feet ; excepted from birth and death ; all pervading

; moving

everywhere ; too small for sense to see ; without diminution ;

the cause of all things. . He is neither thick nor thin ; neither

short nor long : he is without blood ; without love ; without

shadow ; without breath, &c.” (. 3, 4.) He is Omnipresent.

““ His eye is present every where : his face every where ; his

arm every where ; his feet every where; he joins the arm of

man to his body ; he joins the bird’s wing to its body: th

(&

one god created heaven and earth.” (viii. 1.) e ig below,

he is above ; he is behind, he is before: he is on the south

side, he is on the north. He is the Lord of the past and the

future : he is to-day and will be to-morrow.”” (xiv. 3.)

He is also said to abide in all things and to pervade them.

‘“ Whatever things are included in this egg of Brahma, are

all pervaded by God.” (v. 1, 3; vi. 7.) The Brékma Dhar-

ma teaches of his power.

“His wonderful and sublime

power is everywhere heard : and works of wisdom and works

of might are natural to him.” (vii. 2.) Also of his wisdozm,

““ He knows all things which can be known.” (viil, 4.) All

things are under his mighty sway: he presides over all as

their king. “That supreme, illustrious and blessed Lord of

the world we know, who is the great God of gods, the

great

115

debta of debtas and the Lord of lords.” (vii. 1.) ¢ This

supreme Spirit is the Lord of all things, the King of all

things.” (ix. 10.) Heis the fountain of joy. * That supreme

Spirit is happiness itself and the cause of delight.” (i. 4.)

A few passages refer to MORAL ATTRIBUTES, though such

attributes are not numerous. Thus purity is ascribed to

him

“That supreme Spirit is.. spotless. . without sin. . and

pure in nature.” (v. 5.) He is good, and is called mangal

swarup. (ix. 5:) but again he is said to be *“ without love,”

(dsneha) (vi. 4.) Holy conduct is the fruit of Ass sugges-

tions and enfluence. “ That pure, wise and imperishable

God, with a view to produce pure peace, incites men to holy

deeds:t: (ix.\17.)

““He is the fountain of holiness, the

punisher of sin, the Lord of wealth.” (xiv. 5.)

“At all

times he decrees to all his subjects the rewards and punish-

ments which they deserve.” (v. 5.)

‘“ He is the refuge of

all and the friend of all.” (ix. 16.)

SEcTION 4.—His relation to the Universe.

In relation to the universe, Brahma is declared to be both

CreAaTOR and PrEsErvVER. The universe that he made, he

governs by his Providence.

Many passages speak of this.

“From the joyous supreme, all these living things sprang

and by him they remain alive.”

““He is the prime mover of

the animate creation.. all other living things enjoy but a por-

tion of his joy.” (i. 2, 8.) ““He alone appoints to all things

their peculiar natures.” (xii. 4.)

“He reflected about the

creation of the universe.. From this supreme sprang breath,

reason and all the senses; also ether, air, light, water, and

this earth which supports all things in the world.” (i, 2, 3.)

The following passages speak of his sustaining power very

fully. “ By the control of this imperishable God, O Gargi,

the sun and moon are firmly upheld. By his control, the

sky and the earth; minutes, hours, day and night ; th

€

phases of the moon, the months, seasons, years, are all firm-

ly established. By his controul, many streams flowing east

116

and west, burst forth from the white mountains.”

“ Through

fear of him the wind goes forward ; the sun rises ; fire flames ;

the clouds pour forth water ;'and death moves on.

From its

being the habitation of the living supreme, all this egg of

Brahma, which sprang from him, is sustained by well appoint-

ed laws.” (iii. 5-8, 12, 13.)

““He is the bridge on which

all worlds rest and by which their dissolution is prevented.”

(vii. 10.) A curious simile taken from the Upanishads,

exhibits the same truth.

“As all the spokes of a chariot

wheel are fixed into the nave and circumference, so are all

things, all debtas, all worlds, all lives, every living thing fixed

in the supreme. (ix. 11.)

Several pantheistic passages occur in the Brdhma Dharma,

quoted from the Upanishads, as the reader will at once see.

¢ He is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech

of speech, the breath of breath, the eye of the eye.” (iv. 1.)

¢¢ He who sees that all things abide in the supreme Spirit and

perceives the existence of the supreme Spirit in all things,

feels not dislike towards any.” (v. 4.)

¢« 1 offer a thousand

salutations to that illustrious God, who has entered into fire,

water and the universe ; and who abides in plants and trees.”’

(=7

« The knower of Brahma perceives that light of

light, the brilliant supreme, in the glittering sheath of hu-

man reason.”’ (vi. 4.)

« He abides thoroughly and always in

the (physical) hearts of all.” (vii. 4 ; vii. 6, 7.) Itis evi-

dent however that the Brahmists are not pantheists: they

have most fully repudiated the mnotion in their writings and

have endeavoured, though unsuccessfully, to shew that the

Besides, several

doctrine is not taught in the Upanishads.

passages occur in the Brdhma Dharma, which declare a dis-

tinetion between the Creator and his works, and we must sup-

pose therefore that the extracts just quoted are taken in an

accommodated sense. ¢ He is different from all things known

or unknown.”’

¢« Whatever men worship that can be measur-

ed, that is not Brahma.” (iv. 2, 3.)

¢« He has sprung from

no cause; neither has he become any thing else.”” (vii, 12.)

117

¢ He is the witness of all, and possesses none of the qualities

of created things.” (xii. 3.)

e o s

SecrioN 5.—Gods and debtds.

Among the works of creation, cops and DEBTAS are spe-

cially recognised.

“He is the supreme debta of all the

debtas.”

[His office and character are here shewn to be like

theirs, and theirs like his.]

““ The gods incessantly worship

the supreme Brahma.” (vii. 1, 8.)

In the simile of the

chariot wheel, above quoted, the debtas are acknowledged to

‘¢ He 1s the Lord of the debtas.”

be a part of the creation.

(xiii. 3.)

¢ All the gods offer him worship.”” (x. 1.) Of the

defence of idol worship contained in some part of the writings

of the Brahmas; and of the benefits alleged to be derived

from it by the illiterate, we shall speak more fully here-

after.

SecrioNn 6.—Of man.

Little is said concerning the sérucfure of MAN or those

features of his constitution which distinguish him from other

parts of the creation.

But in several passages it is declared

that the supreme dwells in the heart (literally); and that

sloka is quoted from the Mundaka Upanishad in which the

divine and human souls in the heart of man are compared to

two birds, sitting on the same tree : they are ¢ mutual friends,’

but one is independent, the other is not. (ix. 1, 2.) A simi-

lar passage from another Upanishad is quoted in xiii. 7. A

favourite description of man in the Tattwabodhini pamphlets,

is that of one of the Vedic sloks, ¢ the son of the Immortal.”’

The duties of man to God are but slightly touched on : the

duty of worship is spoken of most frequently : but we shall

reserve the statements concerning it to another paragraph.

At present we merely quote the following.

“Qur first duty

.. is constantly to think of God, to remember him in all our

ways, to fix our thoughts on him, whenever we are free from

the anxieties arising out of our worldly concerns, and to make

.....

118

him the starting post and goal of all our reasonings and actions,

This is the only adoration that can be acceptable to him, as

such devotions alone can make us really happy. Expressions

of gratitude will naturally arise, when we think of the multi-

farious benefits we have derived from him.

But adorations

are the offspring of the mind, and must therefore proceed

sincerely and reverentially from the heart.

The mind of the

worshipper of the true divinity must be led, by enquiries into

the phenomena of nature, to the perception of the beauty and

grandeur of the world, and from this perception to those hap-

py feelings of gratitude for the Creator and regulator of the

universe, and resignation to his will in which consist true

reverence and devotion to Him, and upon which depends the

true beatitude that we all seek for.,”” (Veddntic doctrines,

p. 40.)

SectioN - 7.—Of morality.

MorarLiTy, or the duties of man to man, occupies a much

larger space in the work than the higher duties of religion ;

but in drawing out its precepts no great originality has been

displayed. The following passages point out these duties »

general : we shall presently exhibit some precepts concerning

their particular branches.

¢ Patience, forgiveness, subjugation of mind, honesty,

purity of mind and body, control over the passions, know-

ledge of the shastras, knowledge of Brahma, speaking the truth

and freedom from anger; these are the ten signs of virtue.”

(B. xii. 1.)

“By forgiveness people are subdued; forgive-

ness is the highest wealth ; forgiveness is the excellence of

the weak, the ornament of the strong. (B. xii. 6.) Charity

is largely dwelt on in the tenth chapter of Part II.

“ Give

beds to the sick: seats to the weary : drinks to the thirsty:

food to the hungry.. No other gift is superior to the gift of

land : the gift of knowledge is more excellent than that.

To

the poor, the blind and other pitiable objects, give medicines,

food, unguents and other such things. The gifts of the

119

charitable man who disregards his own wretched family and

gives to others, are only apparently virtuous acts, in reality

they are not : at present they may be as sweet as honey, but

in time their taste will be like poison.” (p. 70.) Truth is

frequently recommended.

‘“Speak the truth: the man who

tells lies dries up root and all.” (xvi. 5.) “The witness, who

speaks the truth, does not depart from the object of virtue.

He shall truly tell all that he has seen and heard. The gods

esteem above all men the witness who doubts not that he has

spoken the truth.” (B. viii. 1-3.)

“The virtuous man pro-

claims not his own fame and excellence : nor the secret which

has been entrusted to him : nor his acts of kindness towards

others.” (B. vii. 1.) He is instructed to avoid bad company.

“By living with fools temptations arise: but from daily

intercourse with the good springs sure virtue.” (B iz 50)

Forbearance is also urged.

‘“ Bear all the abuse of others :

insult no one : having acquired human birth, you must make

no man an enemy.” (B.i. 8.) Covetousness must be avoid-

ed in every way.

“He who regards the wives of others as

his own mother : another’s wealth as clods of earth ; and all

living creatures as himself, regards them rightly.”” (B. xii. 8.)

The following sentences describe a good man, according to

the Brikma Dharma.

“ He who is intelligent, well-behaved,

gentle, kind, and a knower of Brahma, in this world gains

respect and in the next world prosperity ; he whose speech

and judgment are ever guided by prudence, who practises

meditation and charity, and who speaks the truth, obtains the

highest rank. He who is not a slave to sense, who takes

refuge in virtue and who is diligent in businegs, seeks not

evil and is not inclined towards sin.” (B. v. 7-9.)

The

grateful and sincere are included in the same rank, and

receive the same blessings as these. (B. ix. 6.)

Men are exhorted to heed these things when young. Be

virtuous in the days of youth : life is not eternal : who knows

who shall die to-day.. .. In early youth do that by which you

will enjoy comfort in old age: and through life ‘do that by

120

f

which you will enjoy happiness in thé next world.” (B. v. 6,

13.)

Death however must not be too earnestly desired :

under all circumstances men must be patient.

¢ Desire not

R

death : neither desire life : wait for the proper time: as a

servant waits for pay-day.” (14.) '

Section 8.—Family duties.

In a work among Hindus, raAMILY DUTIES Will of course

‘We will first consider what the

assume an important place.

Brahma Dharmae teaches about marriage.

We find in it

some ideas new to the Hindus in general.

“So long as a

man remains without a wife, he is only half a man,

The

house which has no boys in it is like a burning-place for the

dead. TFor the rearing of children, all wives are worthy of

kindness and respect: they enlighten a house.... A man

ought to marry a wife, perfect in form and gentle in disposi-

tion. . .. Husbands and wives must never till death commit

adultery with any one. This in few words is their chief duty.

....She is a true wife, who is the life of her husband. She

is a real wife, who has children. ... Like a shadow she will

be dependent upon him and will seek his welfare. . She will

be active in household duties.. She will quarrel with no one

and will not waste money.. A wife will possess the qualities

of the husband whom she marries : as the sweet water of a

river, when it mingles with the sea, becomes salt.” (B. ii. and

iii.) The marriage of young girls is not approved. “So

long as a girl does not understand the respect due to a hus-

band, or the work reqnired by him: and so long as she

remains ignorant of the control of virtue, so long her father

ought not to give her in marriage.” (B. iii. 4.) Again, the

giving of money for a wife is also reprobated.

¢ The wife,

who is bought for a price, is not a wife according to law.”

The father who receives money for such is declared to be a

seller of his child.

The duties and relations of the different members of «a

household are in some places touched on.

¢ The householder

121

should be devoted to Brahma and to a search after truth.

Whatever work he engage in, he should commit to the

supreme.” (B.i. 2.)

¢ A man should esteem his eldest bro-

ther as a father: his wife and sonsas his own body : his

servants as his shadow, and his daughters as objects of kind-

ness.””

“To a younger brother, an elder brother’s wife is

like his guru’s wife : and to the eldest brother, a younger bro-

ther’s wife is like a daughter-in-law : So say the munis.” (B.

ii. 14.) The householder is urged to educate his children :

and in particular to instruct his danghters well and marry

them to educated men. (iii. 1, 2.)

‘“ The householder must

look on his father and mother as a present deity and serve

them with all his might.” (i. 3.)

SEcTiON 9.—Ma}?;s duty to himself.

Man has also some duties towards himself, prompted by

self-love.

Self-restraint is one of these.

““In order to pre-

serve his body from decay, a man must subdue his senses and

accomplish the ends of life.” (B. xiv. 7.)

“ The man who,

every day, eats flesh of living creatures, does nothing wrong :

for God created both the eater and his food.” (B. iv. 1.*)

But he must be careful how this is done.

““ By eating too

much, diseases are produced,”” and other evils arise.

Neither

must he sleep too much, nor drink spirits ; nor indulge im-

proper desires, all these things must be enjoyed moderately.

Again, even the alternations of pleasure and pain must be

received with calmness.

¢ Men share pleasure and pain suc-

cessively : when pleasure is present they may enjoy it: and

when pain comes, should bear it.

Neither pain nor pleasure

lasts for ever.

The body is the refuge of both, whichever

happens let not the mind give way.

When you lose money

do not despair and do not give up virtue.

By grief beauty

goes : strength goes: wisdom goes: and disease arises.”

(B. vi.)

* The fourth chapter of the second Part in which this passage occurs,

has been withdrawn from the Brdhma Dharma, since it was published.

M

122

SecTioN 10.—Of motives to Virtue.

i

Philosophers have often disputed about the sasts of vir-

il

i

TUE and the ground on which it rests.

This question is

most important in morals, for upon it depends the power of

those motives by which men will be influenced to follow and

practise that virtue. Let the reader ponder the following

few sentences, in which Brahmism instructs us on this head.

“ All the actions which are unblamed (by others) you may

perform : actions which are blamed you must not perform.

“ Whatever virtue we practise, you may do: but do not

§

practise any thing besides.” (xvi. 9, 10.)

“ Apply yourself to that which yvou consider to advance

your own good.” (B. ix. 1.)

‘ Follow out with the greatest zeal, whatever course will

1

give satisfaction to yourself, and leave every thing opposed to

it.” (B. xiii. 4.)

Two other motives to goodness are preéented in the follow-

]

ing passages: ‘“The man who performs works of virtue ob-

tains holy praise, and goes to the world of virtue.”

Such a

man ¢ obtains respect in this world and prosperity in the

next,”’

;

SecTtiOoN 11.—Of Sin.

We may next enquire, what Bréhmism says of the NATURE

of siN.- Several kinds of facts are pointed out as illustrating

it. Ignorance of the supreme is one species of evil. Deliver

yourselves from the darkness of ignorance.

Ye souls! arise;

wake up from the sleep of ignorance and learn wisdom from

a fitting teacher.” (x. 3; xi. 4.)

Worldliness is another

kind.

¢ Men of small understanding being devoted. to exter-

nal things are enchained by death.” (xii. 8.) The siz pas-

sions cause men to stray.

‘ Anger is an enemy hard to over-

come ; covetousness is an endless disease.” (B. xii. 3.) “ En-

deavours to get others’ wealth : evil thoughts of others: and

unbelief in God and a future world, are three sins of the

123

understanding. Unkind speeches : lies : scandal about others :

Theft

and improper conversation are four sins of the tongue

§

improper envy and whoredom are three sins of the body

f

(B. xvi. 4-6.)

“ When the reason follows the passions,

man’s mind is destroyed ; just as the wind overwhelms a

vessel in the waves

Ingratitude 13 a sin

so also are injus-

““The man who 18

tice, envy, insincerity and hypocrisy

malicious, of evil nature, an atheist, cruel, artful, and a hater

of the good, Pundits consider utterly vile.” (B.xi. 6.) “The

sinner, though forbidden to sin, will sin still.”’ (xv. 8.)

SectioN 12.—The punishment of Sin.

|

These acts of wickedness are not to be committed with

A few

1mpunity

They will be followed by PUNISHMENT

passages assert this

“The supreme decrees to all his suba

jects the rewards and punishments which they deserve

(v

5.)

¢ According to the works and conduct of a man will be

his condition.

He who does pure things becomes pure ; and

he who commits sins 18 a sinner

¢ Foolish men obtain

those worlds which are without joy, and are covered with

dense darkness.” (xv. 3, 9.)

¢ The man who, influenced by

vice, thinks sin, speaks sin, and practises sin, loses thereby

all his good qualities

¢ The man who practises sin obtains

disgrace and reaps miserable fruits.”” (B. xv. 3, 13.) These

consequences of evil though not very strongly stated, being

)i

without authority, are declared to be very useful

“All

worlds are ruled by punishment

By the fear of punish-

ment the whole earth is preserved.” (B. xii. 4.)

Secrion 13.—The Way of Salvation.

Of the way of pELIVERANCE from these pumshments

and from the inherent love of sin, Bréhmism speaks much :

deliverance being the great object which the system proposes

to secure.

The most perfect deliverance is no¢ to be secured

M 2

124

by sacrifices or ceremonies.

The man who knows not the

Impérishable supreme, though he sacrifice in the world for

many thousand years, will not obtain lasting benefits.”’ (ii.

9.) Itis to be secured by the Znowledge of Brakma. A

have known the great perfect one who is full of light : the

worshipper only by knowing him overcomes death : there is

no other way of obtaining liberation than this.” (xvi. 13.)

“By wisdom may the supreme Spirit be obtained.” (xiii. 1.)

““They who know the supreme Brahma become immortal :

all others suffer misery.” (ix. 13.) What is meant by know-

wng Brahma is not very clearly defined.

It may mean know-

ing his attributes, knowing his actions, or knowing his rela-

tion to man. The term seems used in a comprehensive sense.

In one passage it seems to mean something like pantheism :

or if not meant to extend so far, at least points to the very

intimate connection between Brahma and the creation.

Thus

it is said, “They surely know that ancient and most excel-

lent supreme Brahma, who recognise him as the breath of the

breath, the eye of the eye, the ear of the ear, and the mind

of the mind.” (vii. 6.) Mere words will not suffice to un-

derstand him : the reason must perceive what he is and does,

and the heart must give him worship.

““ Not by many fair

words: nor by a good memory : nor by hearing oft, may he

be known.

The worshipper wko prays to him obtains him.

The supreme Spirit reveals himself to such a worshipper.”

(xi. 3.)

This worship forms an important part of divine

¢ knowledge.’

Several passages speak of it.

“ He is to be

understood by the mind: therefore, my beloved disciple,

pierce him by thy mind. Owm is the bow: the soul is the

arrow ; and the supreme Brahma is the mark.

Freed from

error, by means of that bow of Owm, pierce the mark Bramu-

MA by thine arrow-like soul.

And as an arrow, having pierc-

ed the mark and entered it, is entirely hidden by it; so the

soul having pierced Brahma and entered into him, shall be

entirely hidden by him.” (vii. 13, 14.)

““ He who may be

“ Meditate on the

known by O, he is Braama.” (x. 1.)

125

supreme v;ho is to be known by Om, and without hinderance

be delivered from the darkness of ignorance. The wise man,

by means of the syllable Om, obtains the peaceful, undecay-

ing, undying, fearless and mighty Brahma. We meditate

upon the excellent wisdom and power of that supreme Debta,

who gave birth to the world : and who sends to us the wealth

of wisdom.”*

Of this worship, thus expressed, love ought

to be one element.

In two passages only of the whole book,

if we remember rightly, is this important idea laid down.

¢« He is dearer than a son: dearer than wealth : and dearer

than all things else.”

““Worship the supreme Spirit as one

beloved : if a man worships the supreme as one beloved, his

beloved ones shall never die.”’

Here it may be noticed, that what is enjoined as a duty in

these passages of the Brdima Dharmea is, in outward form

In the weekly meet-

at least, observed among its disciples.

ing of the Brahma Saméj, such worship is publicly celebrated.

The following is a translation of one of the Sri¢is employed

therein.

« He who is the creator, preserver, and destroyer

of this universe: who is the Lord of all pleasure and pain :

who is the producer of my body, my life and all my prospe-

rity, and is the internal spirit of all things, both fixed and

moveable : HE is true, wise, eternal, Brahma supreme. Turn-

ing away my mind from all things, with singleness of heart

and full of joy, I reverence him who is good. The all-per-

vading, formless, faultless god, who is of pure nature, all-

wise, the pervader of all hearts, the most high, who manifests

himself, the eternal God, decrees to all his subjects, in all

time, the joy and sorrow which each deserves. By him have

been created breath, reason, all the senses; and ether, air,

light, water, earth, all the moveable and immoveable. By

his controlling power, in a proper way, fire blazes, the sun

gives heat, the cloud pours down water, the wind drives for-

* The reader will recognise this last passage as part of the celebrat.

ed GAYATRI.

The translation of it in the Brdsma Dharma somewhat

differs from that usually given by English Scholars.

M 3

126

ward; and death marches on.” Another prayer is: ¢ Thou

supreme Spirit | Deliver us from sin caused by illusion: and

separating us from evil purposes, make us earnest in obeying

thy laws. Make us bold in meditating daily, with faith and

love, on thine exceeding glory, supreme goodness and pure

joy : that so we may by degrees be enabled to obtain eternal

and perfect happiness.” Again; a morning prayer : * Thou

supreme Spirit! may I be influenced to accomplish my work

in the world, according to thy command, for the benefit of

men and for the love of thee.”

The knowledge of Brahma,” thus associated with the con-

templation of his qualities and the celebration of his worship,

is sometimes described by other names. It is sometimes

called, ¢ Gaining Brahma’ and very often, ¢ Seeing Brahma :’

terms which (as we learn from other sources) are here used

n an entively figurative sense. It only remains to point out

the external circumstances, under which this knowledge is to

be sought. In chapter vii. 15, 16, the Brdhma is taught that

he must do as the ancient student of the Vedas did. He

must sit in a smooth and pleasant solitude, near murmuring

streams, where gentle breezes and soothing sounds may tran-

quillize his heart. With head erect ; passions subdued ; all

earthly objects excluded ; he must meditate profoundly upon

Brahma, and <make him the boat on which he will cross the

sea of this world.’

This passage was quoted in our last

chapter from the Swetdswatar Upanishad. But the force of

this discipline is much broken by another precept of a more

spiritual kind. “The men who sin not with their reason,

speech, works and thoughts, are they who really meditate.

They who dry up their body (as the yogis), they donot medi-

tate.” (B. xv. 4.) Be this as it may, preparation must be

wade by the Brahmist, as by the followers of the Vedas,

Thus : *“The man who desists not from evil, nor refrains from

the active exercise of the senses, whose mind is not held

under restraint, and from desifing the reward of merits,

enjoys no rest,—such a man will not possess Brahma merely

oy

12

/

by knowing him

““To gain deliverance in the next world

gradually lay up virtue, as ants heap up ant-hills.” (B

°

xvil. 4.)

There is one doctrine in relatlon to purification from sin,

which deserves special mention, though it is laid down only

once in the book

It contains the Deist theory of forgive-

ness : but the origin of the passage declaring it is not stated

‘“ When a man has sinned and wmourns over his fault, he is

freed from it

Having declared he will do so no more, and

really refraining from it, he becomes holy.” (B. xvi. 8.)

SECTION 14.—Of the Transmigration of Souls.

The existence of a future world is distinctly and fully

recognised by the Brihma Dharma :

but the TRANSMIGRA-

TION of souls is a doctrine which it teaches clearly and from

which its followers profess to derive comfort

““ The man,

who is ignorant and impure, gains not the rank of Brahma,

but returns to the world

The wise man, having gained that

dignity, is born no more.” (xv

0. %)

““The man, who

practises holiness.. puts on the life of a holy being.” (B. xv.

2.)

“The man who in this world is able to know God,

accomplishes the object of his birth [as a man];.

hawng

perceived God, he is removed entirely from this world and

dies no more.” (iv. 8.) In B. v. 12, we read of mdnab

Janma, ¢ birth as a man

an expression always used in rela-

tion to transmlvratlon

On the subject of a future world, mcludmo' that of trans-

migration, we may quote the following passage from one of

the Brahmist pamphlets.

“Qur religion inculeates that our

good and bad actions shall all inevitably receive their propor-

tionate reward and punishment, with the exception only of

expiated sin, conformably to the exact extent which is neces-

sary for the purpose of reformation and encouragement : that

we shall thus have to pass a state of probation during succes-

sive lives of shorter or longer durations, until we are fitted

128

by sacred knowledge and enfire devotion to the will of God,

to enjoy that supreme felicity which may be said to be a par-

ticipation of divine nature ;....that man is mercifully des-

tined for everlasting happiness, but he is left to attain that

ultimate object of his creation by knowledge and devotion,

and by his labour in the ways of virtue and religion.”

(Ve-

ddntic doctrines vindicated, p. 42.)

Secrion 15.—The future World.

Beyond death, there are two species of worlds to which

the souls of men are conveyed, according to their merits.

We have already mentioned the worlds, ‘ bereft of joy and

covered with dense darkness,” which become the portion of

the ignorant and sinful, till their grossness is in a measure

purged off and they are brought back to another body. But

little else is said about them ; and what will eventually hap-

pen to the souls of the wicked, is a matter of doubt. One

thing only is certain that their punishment is declared not to

be eternal. (Do. p.42.) For the good, and especially for

those who ¢ know Brahma,’ there are worlds of delight. Even

while in this earth they are freed from sorrow and their

desires are accomplished.

They obtain a mighty moral

power ; so that the man whom they curse, ts cursed : *“ When

a man loves another thing more than the supreme, if the

worshipper of Brahma say to him, ¢ That which is dear to

you shall be destroyed :” he has a right to speak thus, and

what he says shall surely come to pass.” But the great

results of their ¢ knowledge’ are realized in the next world :

different degrees of happiness being attached to different

degrees of holiness : this fact is stated, but the details are not

given.

The lower degrees are enjoyed only for a time, in

accordance with the individual’s merit : but that merit ex.

hausted, he is born again. The Aighest of all is that of a

constant abode with Brahma in the most glorious heaven.

« They believe that state of the soul, in which it exists as a

129

pure immaterial essence, divested of all corporeal connectiong,

and yet possessing a consciousness of self-existence, to be a

state resembling that of its creator God, who is without body

and material qualities, and partaking of his wisdom and hap-

piness, to be a state which is the reward of the highest piety

and virtue.”” (Patrika, No. 51 ; p. 108.)

“They who know

God, die no more ;" i. e. by transmigration.

Their course of

wanderings ceases altogether. (iii. 13.)

“ By complete wis-

dom Brahma is obtained : the Rishis have so obtained him.”

(xiii. 1.)

“They obtain Brahma and having entered into

him, there abide.” (i. 2.)

““ He who knows the supreme,

becomes omniscient and enters info all things. (xvi. 16.)

¢ Brahma is the cause of liberation (mokhya).” (xiv. 6.)

¢ Desirous of liberation, I take refuge in that supreme.” (7.)

*¢ He is the great bridge of liberation.” (8.) The terms mukti

and mokhya here employed, are those used in the Upanishads

and Vedant, to denote absorption into the supreme: and

the above passage (xvi. 16) might certainly be used by an

ancient Vedantist to denote the thorough identification of

the soul with Brahma in his essence and his attributes.

Such

a doctrine the Brahmists have repudiated.

““The rational

Hindu believes. . .. that the doctrine of an eternal hell is not

consistent with our ideas of the justice and mercy of God;

and that there is a super-eminent stage of existence, superior

to the swargas or heavens above mentioned, in which the

righteous man enjoyeth all blisses with the intelligent God,

placed above the alternations of joys and miseries attendant

on this corporeal prison and this nether world.”” (On Vedant-

tsm: by o Hindu.) Such

are the doctrines of modern

Brahmism, and the authority on which they are based.

It only remains briefly to enumerate the points in which

these followers of the Vedas agree with, and differ from,

the ancient schools.

From the first it was evident that the

opinions of the modern school had a* close connection with

130

those of the ancient ones, and were in certain respects a mo-

dification of theirs.

The econstant reference to the same

authorities ; the use of the same names ; and in particular the

publication of several of the Upanishads, of the Sanhitas of

the Rig Veda, and of the Vedanta Sar, all implied that what-

ever might be the differences between the systems, they had

decidedly some points in common.

‘Their points of AGREEMENT seem to be as follows:

l.

The modern Brahmas recognise, with the ancient

Vedantists, the inspired authority of the Vedas, in matters

of religious truth : but they reject that of the Veddnt Darsan

and Bhagabat Gita,and deny also that the Vedas are eternal.

2

Their system has the same aim as the old Vedant, viz.

to communicate the knowledge of Brahma : self-mortification

is declared to be a part of the preparatory discipline ; and the

instructions of a Zeacher are necessary for a proper under-

standing of its dogmas.

3

The three systems allow that men are in @ state of

darkness ; that evil conduct and misery are the result ; and that

a ‘deliverance’ is necessary.

4. The modern system uses the same Zerms as the older

ones to denote the supreme, and ascribes to him many of the

same attributes and acts.

5

It adopts and defends the doctrine of ¢ransmigration.

6.

Though rather silent on the subject of caste, its

members by no means attempt to innovate on the established

system, but have joined others in its defence. They recog-

nise as inspired the book which describes its origin ; though

they do not, like that book, confine their system exclusively

to the higher castes.

7. The Brihmas, like the Vedént, recognise the wseful-

ness of idol-worship to the illiterate, who are unable to attain

the higher and more efficacious way of ¢ wisdom.” We shaH

speak of this again hereafter.

8

They believe also with the Vedant, in several heavens

in which different degrees of happiness are enjoyed ; as well

131

as in dyfferent hells possessing various degrees of misery. In

all these points the schools agree.

The p1rFERENCES, however, between them are very im-

portant and have been rendered more distinct by the efforts

of the modern Society to prove that some of the rejected dog-

mas are not found in the Vedas at all.

These differences are

the following.

1

While all the’ ancient authorities teach science and

religion on the same inspired authority, the Bréhmists sepa-

rate these two branches of knowledge and confine their sys-

tem to religion alone.

In developing that system they claim

the use of 7eason : which the Upanishads do not allow.

2

Unlike the Brihma of the Vedént, the supreme God

of the Brahmas is described as different from the works of

his creation ; as maintaining all by the decrees of his provi-

dence ; and as possessing more decided moral attributes,

3

Hence they distinctly repudiate the Pantheism of the

Vedas, and lcok on the supreme, not as the material, but as

the efficient cause of the universe : not as being the universe,

but as ruling it. < If by pantheism is meant, the opinion

of those who consider God and the universe to be one and

the same thing, or in other words, who believe that the Great

First Cause is not distinet from other existences, and that the

universe itself is God, we unhesitatingly assert that this is

not the doctrine of the [modern] Veddnt. Itis indeed this

Pantheism that we have all along disclaimed, as not forming

any part of our belief.”” (Ved. doc. Vind. p. 36.)

4

Man is also recognised as possessing an independent

soul, able to judge of his creator, of himself, his condition

and prospects ; impressible by motives ; exerting affections ;

and able to choose for himself between courses of good and evil.

9]

Brahmism thoroughly differs from the old Vedant, in

recognising a moral system : including the duties of man to-

wards his creator, his fellow-men and to himself: duties

which arise from his relation to them, and which his consti-

tution enables him to fulfil,

132

6. Among these moral relations, those of the family have

been especially mentioned ; including the duty of female

education and marrying daughters only at a proper age.

o

/

Sin is considered, not as a defect in physical constitu-

tion, but as a moral fault, consisting in the meglect of known

duties, or the commission of forbidden crimes.

8

It is declared that virtue also is moral, and that a

¢wise’ man, seeking the supreme, ought to be holy in his

f

practice.

Q

o

Brahmism repudiates the doctrine of absorption and

affirms that the ‘souls of the best reside not 4z Brahma, but

b

with Brahma and will enjoy happiness for ever.

Thus viewed, the doctrines of Brahmism will be found to

bl

differ but little from those of the ordinary Deistic systems :

Dy

although the Vedas, by which they are said to be confirmed,

are declared to be inspired. We would close this chapter by

€1

observing that there are some among the professed followers

i

f

of Brahmism who hold the assertion of the inspiration of

the Vedas to be of little worth. But whether members of

t

the society or mot, there is a large number of educated men,

W

th

in and around Calcutta, who give up such a‘theory altogether,

and ‘fall back upon the works of nature alone, for the religi-

of

ous and moral instructions which they desire.

These DEISTS

th

Ie

or disciples of nature, are not, however, all of one mind.

Some of 'them maintain the immateriality and immortality of

il

The

the soul: others as strenuously deny these doctrines.

he

th

views of all these schools, ancient and modern ; Vedantic and

Vedic ; Brahma and Deist, will now pass under examination

1t

and 'be subjected to a common test.

fo

by

th

B e )

N

I

b

Ce

it

1t

13

PART . 1I.

THESE SYSTEMS ARE NOT OF DIVINE ORIGIN.

In estimating the value of any system, whether philoso-

phical or religious, it is a matter of congratulation to both its

friends and opposers, that we must be guided by certain

PRINCIPLES of ENQUIRY, which are acknowledged by all

men to be the ultimate test of truth. These principles have

been implanted by the Creator in the mind of man ; they lie

at the root of his knowledge ; they are the very conditions on

which he thinks and feels; and without them he would not

be a‘man at all.

By their aid he carries on his multifarious

engagements in the world. By their aid he can discern truth

and falsehood, justice and injustice, right and wrong. By

their aid he can calculate, weigh, reason, judge of probabili-

ties, learn from experience, and trace out causes and effects,

with the connections between them. By their aid he judges

the moral qualities of actions ; the fruits of actions; the laws

of actions.

By them he finds out what is and what is not ;

that is, he finds out truth ; be it in the intellectual, moral, or

religious world ; be it in the past, present or future : be it in

the world of men, or the more awful world of spirits.

Per-

haps there is nothing more wonderful in the known universe

than the structure of the human mind, and the adaptation of

its powers to the sphere wherein it dwells. It has an intellect

for the acquisition and employment of knowledge : feelings

by which that knowledge affects it; and a will to carry out

the course of action, which its judgment, feelings and moral

principles desire or deem wise.

The ¢ntellect attains its ends

by certain powers which it employs as its agents.

By per-

ception it acquires knowledge; by memory it lays it up in

store ; by recollection it calls it forth for use; by émagination

it holds it up in consciousness for contemplation; by judy

N

134

ment it elaborates that knowledge, reasons upon it and deduces

conclusions. The feelings are of varied kinds called up by

f

varied circumstances : and in accordance with them and with

the mind’s convictions, the will forms its purposes and carries

them out.

But nome of these powers could act without

I

something to begin with ; something on which, as an unsha-

Hence

ken foundation, all human experience may be built.

every human intellect possesses some few original and native

notions ; and every human will starts with a few fundamental

principles as its standard of right and wrong. Neither can

fl

these powers act merely from caprice.

The judgment reasons

V

according to certain laws of thought written in its very con-

i

stitution ; the laws of morality, and the commands of the

Creator have been provided for the guidance of the will.

d

Thus when we state that of two contradictories, one must be

f

false; and that every effect has some adequate cause ; or

{¢

declare that lying cannot be right, nor theft be harmless ; we

b

fall back upon fundamental notions of the mind which in

many cases prove the ultimate appeal in reasoning. Several

such notions are contained in the mind, and they form a sure

I

foundation on which without error the gigantic superstructure

I

of all human knowledge is built.

{

It is in connection with, and as deduced from, such princi-

fy

ples, that the mode of philosophical enquiry, and the spirit

5

which ought to guide it, have been clearly defined by philoso-

phers.

If it be true that no effects can be greater than their

causes ; and that no conclusions-can be drawn beyond the

facts whence they are deduced, then there can be but one

possible method in philosophy, which, if truly observed,

‘Whether in science,

must lead us solely to correct results.

morals or religion, the method of enquiry is the same: ouly

35:

its objects differ.

In this method we have two processes, the

counterparts of one another, both of which are required be-

fore any esamination can be deemed complete and sound.

Analysis will exhibit all the principles which are contained in

fi

amass of facts. Synthesis will take those principles or simple

le

135

A

elements, will reconstruct them, deduce from them their legi-

J

timate conclusions, and shew whether we arrive at the exact

point whence we started, and whether, therefore, our analysis

A

was perfectly correct.

No philosophy can be truly such, un-

i

less it will bear the most ample test of these fundamental

modes of enquiry. Every thing must be tried in their cruci-

iy

ble.

The science and philosophy of ancient days in Europe

were submitted to it and were found woefully wanting. The

]

ancient philosophy of Hindustan must undergo the same

trial,

All religious systems must submit to it. The Sankhya,

Vedénta and Nyay philosophies: Purénism ; the tenets of

the Boishtobs and the Tantras of Shiva: Mahommedanism,

(4

Buddhism, the Parseeism of Zoroaster ; the idolatries of the

|

debased, and the Christianity of the enlightened nations of

e

the world, must all pass under these tests: and only that sys;

)

tem can be declared zrue which can bear them thoroughly

and to the last.

I

Acting on this method we find that TrRUE science will

il

give us a correct description of natural phenomena as they

1¢

really exist, neither falling short of, nor going beyond them.

I\

In true rELIGION the feelings, the understanding, the will,

the conscience of men must be recognised : the relations be-

e

tween God and man, between man and his fellows, fully de-

0t

scribed, and the duties arising from them be justly enforced.

As God must be a God of truth, any book which comes from

It

him must teach authoritatively only truth, truth in science,

\0

truth in religion ; truth, the first elements of which the very

ne

constitution of man contains.

The book of revelation must

d,

never contradict the book of creation.

It may confirm, it

(6

may go beyond it: but it must not contradict it: for the

Iy

Author of both is the same, ¢ God over all, blessed for ever.”

he

These principles are learned from fundamental truths,

e

which God has implanted in our constitution; which are the

d

very conditions of our existence as men: and which thus

i

form the divinely established basis on which all our know-

I3

ledge is to be built.

Without such a basis, without such a

N 2

136

starting point, men could never have learned any thing

much less could they have learned alike, and come to similar

conclusions.

Without it, if they could have judged at all,

they would have referred to different standards of judgment,

have had different modes of trying questions and of course

But

have had no common ground of union and agreement.

because all men have it, their mental constitution is the same

everywhere : men of all countries, of all ranks, of all degrees

of education, of all kinds of employment, reason on the

same principles and submit their conclusions to the same

test.

However confined, however imperfect their reasonings

may be, the laws of reasoning are the same ; and did not pre-

judices, passions and ignorance interfere, the same truths, the

same reasonings, would bring the same conviction to all hearts.

In this wonderful arrangement we find an illustrious instance

of the wisdom and goodness of God. Under his blessing it

forms the means, by which the human mind, surrounded by

errors, by falsehood, confusion and doubt, can really discern

with some exactness, what is and what is not the truth ; and

to prove that the arrangement is His, we shall shew hereafter

that he himself appeals to it to confirm his words.

In prosecuting our enquiry, upon these principles, into the

systems described in the preceding chapters, we shall merely

select some of their distingnishing doctrines, and by examin-

ing them, exhibit the general character of the systems in

which they are authoritatively taught.

SEcTION].—TaHEVEDAS ARE NOT AREVELATION FROM GOD.

In relation to all systems of religion, the first questions

naturally asked are such as these : What is your authority ?

Whence is that authority derived ? Has this religion a divine

origin oris it the offspring of human reason ? Isit from

man only, or is it revealed by God? In the present case,

these questions have met with a distinct answer. The Vedinta

Darsan claims to exhibit revealed truth; inasmuch as it

expounds the doctrines of the Vedas, and is the work of an

137

inspired author. The Upaﬁishads, as we have seen, boldly

18

assert that they contain the doctrine taught by Brahma him-

|

|

self. Brahmism joins with them in these assertions and bases

b

itself upon their authority.

Thus the three systems meet in

¢

one point and are unanimous in one doctrine, that the VEpas

16

are a REVELATION from the supreme.

The older systems

16

offer no proof of so important a fact; they take the matter

8

for granted, and never seem to suspect that it may be ques-

tioned.

The Brdhmas, however, have been more explicit :

and in more than one instance have offered reasons for their

belief.

The fullest defence of their opinion is eontained in the

pamphlet called Veddntic doctrines vindicated, pp. 29—35 :

a brief outline of it is as follows: (1) ‘“The Vedas having

existed from a time when Indian literature, and indeed all

i

i3

literature, was only, as it were, in a state of germination, ¢¢

is ¢mpossible to prove the divine origin of the sacred books

by any historical testimonies, the value of which was not

understood at the time.””

(2) The only evidence of it is

““what they themselves afford, by the drift and tendency,

It

the reasonableness and cogency of the doctrines taught in

them.”

(3) Still the belief and tradition of ages * give our

early writings a degree of credibility at least equal to that

to which any ancient history ean lay claim.”

(4) « What

authority could they offer besides that which they do actually

possess I’ (5) ““ The names of the Rishis who were inspired

are given ; and that is all the information that we have or

need on the subject.

Proofs of the inspiration.of these sages

may be collected from the Vedas themselves as well as trom

o

B

unanimous traditions ; hence,—we have proofs in abundance

of our sages having been inspired.”

(6). There is no histori-

cal proof of the truth of any religion.

The Bible history is

I

like the works of Herodotus and contains a mixture of truth

2

and falsehood.. «“ To prove the authority and irwth [of an-

cient writings] by any ewtraneous eviderce is tmpossible. .

t

Neither the Jewish Testament nor the Koran can lay any

claim to any historical proofs.in vindication of their heavenly

N 3

138

origin, . History strictly so termed had its rise at a much

later time.”” (7) *“ Mysteries do not come within the plan of

revelation.”

(8) ¢ Religion requires nothing that is uncon-

genial to our mind.”

(9) ¢ The knowledge derived from the

source of inspiration deals with eternal truths, which require

no other proof than what the whole creation and the mind of

man unperverted by fallacious reasonings, afford in abun-

dance.”

It 1s unnecessary to examine minutely every branch

of this strange argument, a compound of ignorance, error,

gratuitons assumptions and self-contradiction.

‘The Vedas

cannot have any other than internal proofs of their being

revealed ; and yet we kave other proofs in abundance’ !

A

few remarks will suffice : the best refutation of the argux'negt

being the bare statement of it.

1

If the ¢radition and belief of ages is sufficient to prove an

ancient writing to be inspired : then, we must believe its whole

contents are inspired. We must receive the Sé¢ras of Vyas and

the Bhagabat Gitd as inspired : for they are of the same age

as the Vedas ; they were studied in the same schools : their

names are always joined with the Vedas on Vedantic ques-

tions, and to this day, they enjoy among Hindu pandits the

credit of a divine origin.

The other five Darsans claim the

same honour on the same ground. More than this, tradition

and firm belief prove the truth of the Purans and of the

Tantras ; and that this is not our deduction only from such

premises, the following extract from the writings of Rammo-

han Roy will shew: ¢ The Purdns and Tantras are of course

to be considered as shastras ; for they repeatedly declare God

to be one and above the apprehension of the senses.”

The

same argument shews the inspiration of the Koran ; and from

the great extent of both tradition and belief in its favour

proves incontestibly the perfect truth of the Bible.

2. That there s no historical proof for the inspiration of

the Vedas, and that there can be none either for them or any

other shdstra, are merely dogmatic assertions unsustained by

any reasoning. They somewhat resemble the argument of a

139

celebrated mathematician who proved to the satisfaction of

many minds that steamers could not be made large enough

and strong enough to cross the Atlantic ocean. Or they may

be compared to the algebraical problem which is to prove

from undoubted reasons that the large hand of a clock can

never overtake the small one.

Such reasonings and such

assertions are instantly overturned by a single fact.

Steam-

ers cross the Atlantic every day. The minute-hand of a

clock passes the hour-hand eleven times in twelve hours : and

there are many facts which shew that God has given a revela-

tion to man. How is it possible for any one to prove the

assertion that no historical testimony can prove & fact—the

fact of a revelation.

The reasons advanced in defence of these arguments are

no better than the arguments themselves.

Strange is it to

find a writer of educated mind, utterly unable to comprehend

the nature and use of testimony ; and so ignorant as to assert

that authentic history does not begin till after the time of

Mahommed. He seems to consider that by ¢ historical evi-

dence’ is meant the history of a fact not the evidence for ¢f.

A few remarks on that subject, therefore, will not be out of

place. The principles which guide us in investigating the

claims of religion are the same as those which we adopt in a

court of justice to prove our title to an estate, or fix the guilt

of a murder.

They are the principles of evidence ; the

proofs that a fact ¢s or s not.

Such proofs are of two kinds.

In the case of a robbery, there may be the evidence of those

who saw the robbery : and found the spoil on the thief’s per-

son: or there may be the declaration and confession of the

party himself. The two kinds of evidence are not necessari-

ly connected. One may exist without the other : but where

both exist together, the proof must be considered perfect. In

the same way, when a book or an individual asserts as a fact,

s I am sent from God,’ that fact must be proved. The mere

claim is nothing: that claim must be supported.

If the

;f

book teach what God only can really know, it exhibits inter-

140

nal evidence of the truth of its claim: and if an individual,

making the same claim, is able in support of that claim,

plainly to do what God only can do, we are bound to believe

him. All men act on these principles : they are nothing new,

The Vedas claim to be received and honoured as books

revealed by God.

But they offer no proof of the claim.

Tradition repeats that claim, but likewise presents o proof.

What is the result ? Jotee Prasad claims a large sum of money

from the East India Compaay ; but unless he prove his claim

will they pay him ?

3. The only argument left is that ¢he contents of the

Vedas are sufiicient proof of their divine origin. It is thus

stated by a late writer. ¢ Besides the cogency and reason-

ableness of doctrines, no religion of the earth can furnish any

other kind of proof of its having proceeded from God. Truth

of whatever kind must proceed from him, who is the fountain

of all truth and who sends down truth into the hearts of men :

and it is reasonable to infer that the Vedas as depositories of

truth have proceeded from God.”* The writer of this

strange sentence seems to have but an indistinct notion of

what ¢ truth’ is, otherwise he could not have penned a senti-

ment which proves far more than ever he intended.

In its

ordinary acceptation in the English language, the word TrRuTH

denotes simply ¢ the undeniable statement of a fact,” of some-

thing that is, has been, or will be.

It may refer to a fact in

physical science, in natural history, in morals, or in religion.

It may be a fact in national, social or domestic life.

It may

refer to things on earth, or to things in the invisible world =

to things which we learn by the testimony of our senses, by

the testimony of men or by the testimony of God. Facts

proved by this last kind of testimony are called by Christian

writers, ‘revealed truths.

But according to ‘a Hindu,’

all statements of facts are such, of whatever kind, and from

whatsoever source.

Provided they be true statements, all are

from God, and all are inspired. On this ground, Euclid’s

* On Vedantism by a Hindu, p. 13,

141

Elements of Geometry isa ¢revelation ;’ it being pure truth.

De Morgan’s

Arithmetic ;

Dr. Carpenter’s

Physiology ;

Whately’s Logic ; Lyell’s Geology and Lennie’s Grammar are

divine revelations.

Herodotus, Xenophon, the public News-

papers, and above all the BiBLE can claim the same honour.

For they contain undeniable accounts of what has been or is

or will be ; and if not wholly correct, they are revealed so far

as they are true. This is all the reason given to prove the

inspiration of the Vedas, by one, who while he rejects the

Bible and laughs at its evidence from history, miracles, pro-

phecy ; from its pure morality and its perfect love to man ;

while he scorns the doctrine of an incarnate Redeemer and of

salvation through an atoning sacrifice ; while he ridicules a

day of judgment and the resurrection to eternal life—receives

as ¢rue, as inspired, these antiquated Vedas, with their strange

cosmogony, their pantheism and absorption into Brahm, and

thus receives them for suck @ reason.

May we not indeed

say of men like this ; “Ye blind guides ; ye strain at a gnat and

swallow a camel.”

In them is fulfilled the word ; ¢ Hearing

ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see

and not perceive ; for the heart of this people is waxed gross

and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they

closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and

hear with their ears, and understand "with their heart and

repent and be healed.”

¢If the blind lead the blind, both

shall fall into the ditch.”

It is allowed then, by the advocates of Vedic inspiration,

that the Vedas possess no proof from history that they have

been revealed by the supreme, and that they cannot have any.

They are inspired because ““they are depositaries of truth’

In the

and their doctrines are reasonable and cogent.”

course of these discussions we hope to show that the most

important of these doctrines are neither the one nor the

other,

142

SECTION 2.—DIFFICULTIES IN STUDYING THE VEbas.

The severe process prescribed by the Upanishads to those

who would obtain the knowledge of Brahma, proves that their

plan of ¢liberation’ has not been formed by a merciful God.

This process is also enjoined in the Sétras and Gitd, and is

repeated by the Brikma Dharma : all the systems therefore

must bear the odium attaching to it. This process includes,

as we have seen, the proper performance of all the ritual

ceremonies enjoined in the Vedas, whether daily or special

services; it includes the study of the Ved4s and Veddngas,

which constitute an immense body of antique learning. It

requires the thorough subjugation of all the passions and

desires of man, whether directed to lawful or unlawful objects,

Hunger and thirst: cold and heat: pleasure and pain, must

all be disregarded: the endearments of family connections,

the desire of gain, a regard for good and evil, must all be

laid aside.

The explanation of the Upanishads must be

received from a teacher, and the student must meditate and

meditate thereon, in some retired solitude, until he loses all

belief in his individual existence, in that of the outward

world, and of his relation to it, and perceives that he himself

is a part and parcel of the one supreme !

Can the religions which preseribe such rules be derived

from the God of all goodness ?

Does nature teach that such

a course is either wise or beneficial? Assuredly not. For first,

any rich individual who possessed the leisure to do so, would

find it excessively difficult to submit himself to the bodily mor-

tifications, the crushing of the passions, the abnegation of self

above commanded. How much less then will the poor, the

illiterate, whose leisure is small, whose understanding is limit-

ed, and who are destitute of scholastic learning, perform the

thousandth part of the heart-crushing task. Secondly : so

long as human nature remains what it is, it is utterly impos-

sible for the mind, consistently and continually, to yield assent

to the pantheistic doctrines tau.ght in the Upanishads. Hence

143

they who, at one time, assert these doctrines, are found at

another practically denying them. Even the Brahmagyéani

recognises the rights of property, the value of money and the

influence of praise.

Thirdly : the full carrying out of such

a system of study (were it possible) would immediately de-

If all men were seized with a desire to know

stroy society.

Brahma, (an excellent thing, according to the shewing of the

shastras,) society must stand still.

Who will till the ground ;

who will tend cattle ; who will manufacture ; who will trade,

when ofl must retire to meditate in solitudes and secret

places? Who will marry ; who will govern ; who will be mas-

ters ; who will be servants : when pleasure and pain, heat and

cold, good and evil are all laid aside as vanity. The world

would be wholly ruined.

Is it possible that the Bountiful Creator, who is ¢ goodness

personified,” can have invented and commanded a monstrous

scheme like this: which the poor, by far the great majority

of men, can never perform ; and which even the rich and

learned find it almost impossible to obey : which contradicts

the constituent elements of our very nature, and which it

would ruin society to carry out.

Is that His scheme, whose

rules belong to an exclusive few, while myriads cannot bear

them.

Is that His divine feast of eternal mercy, which is

reserved for a few pampered lords, while millions upon mil-

lions starve and perish. Nature teaches no such insulting

doctrine : it teaches THAT A RELIGION WHICH CANNOT BE

UNIVERSAL, CANNOT BE FROM GoD.

SectioN 3.—~VEDIC SCIENCE.

The admirers of the ancient Veddnt feel that the scientific

portions of the Upanishads and of the Sitras do no great

honour to an inspired system.

Hence they are careful to tell

us: “Theé Hindu system of philosophy [was] first taught by

the celebrated Veda Vyésa and is totally unconnected with

the principles of belief cherished by ourselves and our fellow=

144

believers in 'the truth of the Vedént.” (Ved. doc. Preface.)

“Our philosophy is not our religion.”

But against any

forced separation of the two subjects in the case of the Vedas

and other shastras, we enter a most decided protest. Even

among European philosophers, philosophy and religion are

not separated altogether.

Philosophy is the genus of which

Religion is a species, cognate with Morals and other branches

of Kthics: while the same principles of evidence are employ-

ed to ascertain both, and what is false in the one will never

be allowed true in the other.

Much less can the two subjects

be separated in our present enquiry. Thé writers of the

Upanishads knew no distinction which would enable a stu-

dent to say of one part of a treatise, ¢ That is philosophy ;’

and of another ¢This is religion:’ ¢That I reject ; this I

é

choose.’

To them all knowledge is one, and bears upon the

knowledge of Brahma: and that they made no attempt to

separate the branches of knowledge into inspired and unin-

::

spired, any candid mind that reads the Upanishads will at

once allow.

The subjects taught in the Vedant Darsan and

in the Upanishads are taught together, as branches of one

science.

The student is equally ignorant of all : the master

is equally instructed in all: and he delivers his instructions

with authority. He does no¢ teach them indirectly, implying

that such were the opinions current in his day, but he teaches

them directly as an authoritative description of facts.

Thus

in the Katha, Yama speaks of Swarga and Brahma-lok in the

same way as that in which he tells his pupil how to get there :

and similarly tells him as @ fact the connection between the

human heart and brain.

In the Mundaka, Angirds tells

Sounaka about the structure of the world with the same au-

thority as he tells him of the supreme rewards of Brahma-

gyan. The two branches of knowledge co-exist. The science

of the Vedas and their religion must stand or fall together:

the same authority sustains them both.

1

In examining the scientific views of the Vedantic sys-

tems, we will begin with Pyas’s theory of digestion, as de-

145

scribed in the S#¢ras. ¢ Corn and other earthly products be-

come flesh : the finer particles nourish the mind. Water is’

converted into blood : the finer particles support the breath.

Oil and other combustible substances become marrow ; the

coarser part is deposited as bone, the finer nourish the faculty

of speech.” How far this statement is true and revealed, as

Pundits say the Darsan is, let us judge by comparing it with

the account given, of the Physiology of Digestion, by modern

medical scholars who have, through Anatomy, traced it with

their own eyes.

All kinds of food, they tell us, of whatso-

ever nature, whether animal or vegetable, are formed into only

one substance, THE BLOOD, and from that blood are produc-

ed all the varieties of objects, contained in every animal sys-

tem. That food, whatsoever it be, when received into the

stomach, is subject to the action of a fluid there, called the

gastric juice, by which it is formed into a soft mass, called

chyme. The chyme passes on from the stomach into the

first part of the intestines and is subjected to the action of

two juices, from the liver and the pancreas, the former of

which is known as &ile. By these it is separated into two

parts ; the one, a pure white fluid termed chyle, is taken up by

various vessels, by which it is conveyed to the heart, and

thence to the lungs where it becomes pure blood ; the other

is ejected from the body as a useless residue. Amid the vari-

ous wonders of the animal frame, one of the most wonderful,

one which exhibits in the most striking way the resources of

the Creator, is the fact that the same kind of nutriment is

extracted from a thousand varieties of food, some of which

are opposite to one another. There is no animal or vegetable

product which may not become the food of some kind of liv-

ing creature ; and those plants which are poison to some are

wholesome and delicious food to others.

Again that blood,

which is thus formed from all species of food, affords to

every part of the body its appropriate nourishment.

To bone

the blood furnishes bone ; to muscle, the elements of muscle ;

to nerves it gives the element of nerve ; to skin, it gives skin ;

0

146

to vessels, vessels : and thus as each part gradually decays, by

the aid of the same material, blood, each part is reproduced.

How the wonder arises, mortal men know not: but the fact

they see every day. Vyés’s theory is very different from this.

2. The philosophy of the Upanishads is no better than

that of the S#tras.

Thus, in describing the regions of the

universe, they tell us, the nearest to the earth is the sun:

next the moon ; beyond that the region of lightning : beyond

that the region of rain.

Shall we stop to prove the con-

trary !

3. Again it is said, 7ain comes from ¢he moon and returns

to the moon : the moon, at the conjunction, disappears within

the sun ; the sun is produced from fire, including the golden

man inside it ; and fire from air.

Lightning comes from rain.

This is revealed Meteorology !

4

The Upanishads are not more successful in their views

of Chemistry. Like the old cosmogonies of the Greeks,

they teach that every thing is made from five primary elements.

Of these ether is not known to exist at all: and the remain-

ing four, so far from being primary elements, are all compounds

of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, &c.

5

One curious theory in Auman physiology, taught by

Yama to Nachiketa in the Katha, is worth mentioning.

“A

hundred and one arteries issue from the heart, and the main

among them proceeds through the brain.” The description

given of the heart by modern anatomists is very different

The correct number of veins and arteries which

from this.

enter and issue from the heart is seven; and their uses are

clearly defined. Two of them bring into the right auricle of

the heart the impure venous blood gathered from all parts of

the body ; two others carry the same blood from the heart into

the lungs, where it is purified : two others carry back the

pure blood into the heart again; and thence it is forced by

the aorta, the seventh and chief artery, throughout the body.

The temporal arteries, which branch from the aorta, do in-

deed supply the brain with blood; but they are fwo in

147

number and proceed to the sides of the brain, the temples,

not through its centre: least of all do they constitute a soli-

tary tube through which the soul travels from the heart

straight to the suture of the scull, where it is said to leave

the body.

. We might say more about the Vedic theory of dreaming,

about the ¢ five vital airs,” together with that of ¢winking ;

about the three ¢ cases’ of the soul, and so on, but it is un-

necessary. Such is the science of the Vedas. The Brdhma

Dharma of course contains no such foolish passages ; but

with great inconsistency it commands its disciples to study

the whole round of Vedic science, including its astronomy,

accentuation, prosody and the like : while its followers declare

the Vedas to be ¢reasonable and cogent.’

Think of a man

being told to learn grammar and prosody, with a view to the

salvation of his soul!

The -views of science now described

were not at all unnatural in the early age when they were

formed. The ancestors of Europeans knew not half so much.

As an ancient curiosity they are worth our study; but when

we are told that the: supreme God himself revealed them to

the Rishis who originally taught them, we shrink back in

horror from an error so awful.

For, apart from all revelation,

these views can be proved to be utterly unsound, by uninspir-

ed men whose mere eyes and human skill have taught them

better.

SeEcTioN 4.—THE DOCTRINE OF MAYA.

As shown in our first chapter, on the Vedantism of Vyis,

the doctrine that the whole universe is unreal and the off-

spring of illusion, was openly taught only by the later

school of Vedantists, and we see it fully developed in the

Vedinta Sdr. As however, it is a doctrine necessitated by

the pantheistic assertions of the Vedas and Sttras and must

be really true if they are true, it may be useful to say a

word or two on the subject.

According to this doctrine,

o 2

148

then, the world in which we dwell, which we recognize by

our senses, on whose objects we exert our intellect, and whose

elements we move at will, is unreal; it appears to be but is

noft

It is purely a creature of the imagination produced by

that illusion or May4 which is acting throughout the creation

and is thus cheating and deceiving the supreme himself.

¢ The illusive power of ignorance produces the universe from

the egg of Brahma.”

That glorious sun which enlightens

the world is 2 mock sun ; the moonis no better than a cheese ;

the sublime and stupendous sea, the glory of the world, has

no existence: the mountains, rivers, lovely landscapes, the

forests and woods with their warbling choristers are illusory ;

the mighty beasts that roam the unbounded wilds, or submit

The

with patience to the rule of man, are spectral shadows.

mighty cities with their palaces for the rich, and hovels for the

poor ; their marts of commerce ; buildings for works of art :

their courts of justice: their institutions of benevolence, are

all a lie. The relationships of society, father and son, hus-

band and wife, rulers and subjects, masters and servants ; of

fellow-citizens, companions and friends: with all the impor-

tant and solemn duties which those relationships involve ; the

pleasure and prosperity which attend them: the restraints

of law, the instructions of science, the pleasures of piety; all

that is wise, all that is holy, all that is good : are a creanTIC

LIE.

The whole universe is a gigantic lie, and the Liar is

the supreme Brahma !

What a system of philosophy for a

rational man to believe! and yet there are many in Bengal

who profess to believe it at this very hour.

1.

Only two observations need be made on the doctrine,

important though it is.

The first is ; that it represents the

Supreme in the most insulting light.

These various objects

in the universe, which attract so much attention from us, are

only appearances which He produces for his own sport. These

illusive scenes are the result of his power ; these sportive acts

are performed by him.

Whatever be their character, whe-

ther solemn, trivial, immoral or profane, He performs them

149

for sport to Himself.

Be they acts of devotion; of magnani-

mity, of benevolence ; or of grossest impurity, most shocking

profanity and harshest cruelty, it matters not; He has done

them all. Words of kindness, witty speeches, and foul-mouth-

ed blasphemy must all be attributed to Him and be declar-

ed to have originated in his illusive sport. Does nature teach

us thus to blaspheme the supreme and Almighty God ?

2

Secondly. This doctrine so thoroughly contradicts the

conditions of man’s thinking that it is impossible for him to

believe it. A man may truly say : ¢ If my consciousness is de-

ceived by Mayd, how am 1 to know it ?

My very knowledge

itself is illusion ; all things within me, as well as around me,

are products of illusion, deception and error. How then can I

know them to be such? The knowledge of the illusion is itself

an illusion : the power which recognises the confusion is itself

confused.’

A thoroughly insane man can never be believed

in any thing : least of all should we recognize his judgment if

he declared ¢ I am thoroughly insane.” To make the asser-

tion on good grounds requires a large amount of sagacity and

reason : and the man, who can carefully judge all his acts,

character and coundition, and deliberately conclude ‘I am in

every respect insane,’ belies by such a deliberate act the con-

clusion at which he has arrived.

In the same way, the fact

that Vedantists of the old school deliberately say ¢ Every

thing is May4’ is itself a proof to the contrary.

It is a proof

that there is within them as men, something which can, with-

out deceiving itself, recognize and examine the condition of

the universe and of the circumstances in which we live.

It

is a proof that within them there is something fixed amidst

general uncertainty : a power which can pronounce an affir-

mative judgment in the midst of delusion and error. Hence

the knowing mind denies the illusion altogether: and the

effort to deny it proves it is untrue.

If I can see the uncer-

tainty of other things, I must in myself be so far certain.

3. A third difficulty, akin to the above, is this.

If the

doctrine of a universal mdyd be really true, how is that illu-

o3

150

sion to be cured: how is it that the knowledge of Brahma

can be communicated to those whose every act, thought and

word are involved in the illusion; and above all, how is it

possible that the beings so involved can take up a lengthened,

continuous and most painful course of study in order to get

out of it.

This is a difficulty whick the Ved4dnt does not ex-

plain.

But it is insuperable : and the fact, that it exhorts its

disciples to take up that course, that it furnishes a complete

system of truth, and incites them to go onward by hope of

reward, implies that, in relation to man himself, it cannot

afford to apply its own doctrine,.

In other words the require-

ments of the system prove that, as far as he is concerned, the

doctrine of Mdyd must be untrue.

SECTION 5.—PANTHEISM.

¢ The charge of Pantheism,” says ‘e« Hindu,” * has been

so often urged against the Vedanta and that too with so little

reason, that the public is sick of it.”’

It matters little whe-

ther the Brahmist public is sick of the charge or not.

The

The most emi-

real question is whether the charge is true.

nent Sanskrit scholars in Europe have asserted that it is, and

we have endeavoured to prove it distinctly ; not by one or

two isolated passages from the Upanishads, (such as those

brought on the other side, all of which are quite consistent

with the Vedantic theory) but by a large number of quota-

tions from different parts, including the illustrations which

those very writings employ to explain it. The doctrine of

the final absorption of all things into Brahma is confirmatory

of pantheism and is indeed a branch of it.

This dogma is

taught by the words ‘absorbed’ (lina) ‘return to him:’

‘loses name and form :’ ¢ dissolved into him’ and so on ; the

references to which have already been laid before the reader.

The doctrine is further confirmed by the passages which

teach that the creation takes up one fourth of the substance

of Brahma,

The mere mention of such a doctrine is almost

151

sufficient to procure its condemnation among men of reflec-

tion ; so thoroughly does it contradict the notions and feelings

of daily life.

Earth, water, spiders, rats and cats, as well as

intellectual men and women are all Brahma! How human

nature shrinks back from so revolting an assertion.

1

Our first objection to it is that it is virtual dtheism.

By raising all created objects, the meanest as well as the

most elevated, to the high rank of the supreme God, it vir-

tually degrades him to their low position and annihilates that

distinction between creator and created, which is the basis of

It annihilates the rela-

all religion and all sound morality.

tion sustained by all creatures towards Him, the duties there-

by established and the motives by which they are enforced.

It brings therefore sinful men to the awful conclusion ; ¢ There

is no God, separate from us, whose behests we are bound to

obey.’

2.

1t destroys all the distinctions which prevail in hu-

man society, between man and man, between men and things.

The various ranks and society, of ruler and subject, rich

and poor, master and servant, father and son, wise and igno-

rant, honoured and scorned, must all be laid aside : all human

beings must stand on a common level, claiming not merely a

common origin but a common substance.

Not only so, the

carpenter is the same as his tools ; the potter differs not from

his wheel, his mud and his store of pottery ; the brazier is of

the same substance as his metals and the vessels which he

forms : the washerman and his clothes are alike : and the

blacksmith must confess himself on a level with his fire,

hammer and anvil.

The rider is no better than his horse ;

the householder than his dog ; the housewife than her pots

and pans, Is this a just description of the teaching of na~

ture?

Or has God taught such things concerning himself?

Never.

3. The dogma directly contradicts the individual con-

sciousness of every rational being. Every act and every notion

of which we are conscious, implies to us that we differ from

152

other things and other beings.

A thousand times a day we

act on the conviction that thereis a world without us, in

which we move, among beings like ourselves, and of which

we are singly independent,.

We are conscious of differences

between our states of mind at various periods. We feel we are

not machines, but living, moving, intelligent men : acting for

reasons, working out those reasons, able to calculate conse-

quences and to prepare for them.

We do not act from com-

pulsion ; but we choose between different courses of conduct,

feel ourselves independent, and sometimes pride ourselves

on our self-will.

We see others also acting like ourselves,

free in their thoughts, their speech and their conduct, re-

sponsible indeed, but free to choose.

We see myriads of

objects around us, which we use for our daily profit, and

every thought concerning them implies a mental affirmation

that we and they differ from one another.

The pantheistic

theory requires us to believe ourselves on a level with stones

and other inert matter.

Every moment of active existence

denies the assertion, not in one human being only but in all :

not in one land only but in all countries ; not in one age only

but in all ages of the world from the beginning to the present

If there be one thing believed among men more than

day.

Sl

any other, established by universal experience and universally

acted on, it is this, that men have a free will and that in

They are men, not

accordance with that will, they act.

Brahma. The right of property; the mutual acknowledg-

g

ment that there is such a thing as ¢ mine’ and ¢ thine ;’ the

right of freedom; of public protection to life and limb, are

:l

standing memorials against such a dogma ; and are utterly in-

One or other of the two must fall.

8

consistent with it.

Even did no other reasons exist for questioning the inspira-

by

1

tion of the Vedas, the assertion by them of this gigantic error

A work

would of itself be sufficient to disprove the claim.

which so insults the supreme God, which so contradicts the

tl

acknowledged distinctions between men and things, and vio-

§r

lates the very first conditions of individual consciousness ; in

—_—

153

other words, which denies that truth which-He has written

in the works both of His intelligent and inanimate creation,

cannot have sprung from Him.

SectioN 6.—TaHE MORALITY OF PANTHEISM.

There is one consequence of pantheistic system which we

consider worthy of special mention, because of its great

It is that it can acknowledge No MORAL RULES.

importance.

It must, if consistent, deny to man those moral feelings, by

which he may be affected in relation to the qualities of actions,

and also those moral laws by which his will is to be regulat-

ed in their performance. It will disallow both his feelings

and his conscience.

In accordance with this deduction we

find that the Upanishads are especially defective on this vital

share of man’s constitution.

They speak exceedingly little

about the relation of man to God, of man to his fellows, of

the moral qualities of actions and of his power of discerning

them.

We find no royal law, simple, grand and comprehen-

sive, that may serve to guide all nationsin the path of truth.

Nor could we expect otherwise.

Pantheism implies that

whatsoever is done by any being, man or animal, is done not

by that being, but by the creator : for that being is a portion

of himself. The thief is no thief: the Being who steals in

his person is the creator : the liar is no liar : the murderer no

murderer : the adulterer is not really vile.

The love we feel,

the hate, the joy, the pain; the hopes, the fears, and other

emotions of which we are conscious, are all illusive and have

no real existence.

Good and evil are all done by Him : and

as it is only He who does them on Himself, morality and reli-

gion, right and wrong are really non-entities.

The shastras

themselves recognise this as a legitimate inference from their

great doctrine. Thus the Gitd says; (p. 13.) Throw every

deed on me; and with a candid heart resolve to fight.”

In

the Brahma Sitras (iii. 2.) Vyas having shown from various

Sriitis of the Vedas that the supreme Brahma pervades all

1

J

»

4

things like the .ether, and that his pervading power exists

only on the supposition that there is no difference between

Brahma and the universe, concludes thus : (38. 41.)

¢ The

Vedas declare that Brakma is the cause of virtue and vice,

as of every thing else.”

Again in ii. 3. 41. he quotes the

passage which we have given in chapter second from the

Kaushit Upanishad, in which it is said that Brahma incites

men both to good and evil, and then adds, ¢“ If God incites

one man to do good and another to do evil, no fault is charge-

able on him.”

Thus both the Upanishads and the Siéras

assert the same doctrine.

Again they say; ¢ God is not

pained by the troubles of the soul, nor does he rejoice in

their happiness: this is the doctrine of the Gitd and other

Smritis.”

E

Men are similarly unfeeling : they are not affected

by each other’s sorrows. As by the trembling of one reflec-

tion of the sun in water, other reflected images do not trem-

ble; so while souls are the reflected images of God, the

pleasures and pains of one soul are not perceived by another.”

Vy4s might have added that the same doctrine is taught in

the Katha Upanishad (vii.)

¢ The internal spirit of all that

2

The natural result

is is not affected by the miseries of men.

of such callous teaching, must be to deaden all sensibility to

the misfortunes of others, to destroy all mutual kindness and

mutual sympathy between friends and neighbours, and deprive

3

them of that counsel and aid which are so beneficial to all

classes of men in times of distress.

A notable illustration of

such a result is seen in the heartless and unfeeling advice

|

given by Krishna to Arjin before the battle of Kurukhetra.

He exhorts him to go boldly and fight against his relatives

and benefactors, without any reference to the justice of his

cause, because he cannot hurt their souls and they must die

at some time or other!

1. The one great fact in human nature which disproves

these deductions from Pantheism is, that man is born with a

moral sense, and that he possesses @ conscience which compels

him to make a distinction between right and wrong. HQW-

155

ever imperfectly that conscience may be developed ; however

much instruction and habit may lead it astray, all men pos-

gess it; and no persuasion, no sophistry will ever lead the

mass of mankind consistently and completely to deny an

innate difference between good and evil. = On such a subject

the common people are wiser than the Vedas, for they follow

nature, and they obey those convictions which the wise God

implanted within their hearts. They feel too that such a

distinction between virtue and vice must be recognised fully

and perfectly by God himself; for He is the standard of

right and the punisher of evil. Add to this that all men feel

a sense of responsibility, and that the fear of punishment in

the future ever exercises a most beneficial influence in re-

straining from evil those who feel it.

2. . Men not only judge their own character and the quality

of their own acts by such rules, they apply the same to the

conduct of others, and that generally with greater justice than

to their own.

Thus it is that certain courses of conduct are

universally approved and others as generally condemned.

The benevolent, the charitable, the self-denying, the just, the

forbearing, are always commended. The obedient son, the

affectionate daughter, the friend faithful in adversity, are

honoured and esteemed. DBut the thief, the liar, the seducer,

the murderer are always reprobated, and, by the virtuous,

their society is shunned, however powerless men may be to

punish them. Thus it is that love, justice, self-denial ever

give happiness to those who practise them : while oppression,

hatred, selfishness yield no enduring satisfaction and leave a

sting behind. How can this be, with such regularity, among

all men, in all ages and all countries, unless the constitution

of man had moral notions implanted within it, to be the

é

guides of human conduct.

3

Again, what is Jaw, both criminal and civil, but a pub-

lic protest against this confounding of right and wrong.

In-

dividual errors there may be; legal systems may not be

perfect, but they are founded on certain great points, con-

156

fessed by common consent to be good or evil in their very

nature.

Stealing, murder, disobedience to parents, violence,

sacrilege are universally regarded as evils, though the extent

to which they are reprobated and punished may vary with the

enlightenment or ignorance of different communities.

Let

the Vedas then, the Sitras, the Gitd and other great autho-

rities assert their pantheism, with its annihilation of morality

and of human sympathy, we can appeal to the universal con-

victions of men, that they are not stones nor machines, but

that they are free to act, are able to enjoy, can sympathise

with misfortune, and that their conscience accuses or excuses

them in reference to.good and evil.

In this too the Brdhm-

ists join us ; for they have both repudiated Pantheism and

given in their adherence to a moral system.

But having

done so, to be consistent, they must throw off their belief in

the Vedas as a revelation from God, seeing that those shds-

tras contradict one of the most striking and universal facts

which the creator has established in his works.

The man or

book, which flatly denies in words, what the God of all says

in his works, cannot be His messenger.

!\

SecrioN 7.—DEFENCE OF IDOLATRY.

The encouragement given to idolatry by the Bhagabat

Gitd is most decided. The passages quoted in the early part

of this Essay declare it to be in truth the worship of the

supreme, fully approved by Him ; and that men who believe

it folly, should, for the encouragement of the common peo-

ple and for the sake of a good example, continue to practise

it.

It will be thought strange that the modern Brihmas

speak in somewhat similar terms of this great evil.

They

have opposed Purédnic Hinduism from the days of R4mmo-

han Roy; have circulated a tract against it; and mutually

covenanted not to practise it themselves ; yet they are found

defending it, to a certain extent, as beneficial to the vulgar.

The poor, who have been living on poison for centuries and

157

thereby lost their moral health, have been informed of their

folly ; and are now encouraged to feed on it still until

they are wise enough and strong enough to seek for better

food. That this is no exaggeration, a few extracts from the

““These as well as

writings of the Brdhmists will show.

several other texts of the same nature are not real commands,

but only direct those who are unfortunately incapable of

adoring the invisible supreme Being, to apply their minds to

any visible thing rather than allow them to remain idle.”

(Rémmohan Roy.)

«“We now come to that part of the

doctrine of the Vedas, which inculcates that those who can-

not turn their minds to God in spirit should worship Him

through the medium of matter. There are men of that

grovelling class whose minds are incapable of making a pro-

per degree of exertion; and these are required not to lose

themselves in the mazes of irreligion, the bane of society,

but rather to fix their attention on some of the grandest ob-

jects of the world, and consider them to be so many mani-

festations of the supremacy of the only true God, who per-

vades all creation ; and to worship them as so animated by

his influence, that thus their minds may be gradually trained

by spiritual tuition to the true mental adoration of the su-

preme Being.. Such injunctions were mercifully made for

the benefit of the ignorant and untrained.”’

““The rites and

ceremonies inculcated in the Vedas are intended to be prepa-

ratory to the spiritual worship of God, and are expressly

declared to be useful to men, who cannot raise their minds

from nature up to nature’s God.” (Veddntic doctrines vindi-

cated ; pp. 43 and 18.) It is allowed in these extracts that

the Vedas permit to the vulgar not only the performance of

certain specific ceremonies, but the actual ¢ worship’ of some

of the grandest objects in nature, as being ¢animated by the

influence’ of the supreme ; that this worship will be ¢ benefi-

cial’ to the illiterate, and may prepare them for higher know-

ledge and faith, This is confessedly taught in the Vedas, as

well as by the Gitd ; and the Brahmas, holding the same opi.

P

158

nion, pride themselves on their great liberality and congratu-

late themselves on not being so intolerant as the Christians are

declared to be.

The following statement of their views is so

important that we cannot abridge it. ‘“We believe that every

kind of worshipper will have his own species of reward, from

the savage Polynesian who addresses his ejaculations to a rude

misshapen block of stone, to the Veddntist who adores God

in spirit and in truth.. We do neither believe that our be-

nighted countrymen who worship idols, would be plunged into

eternal hell fire, nor do we believe that the Brahma ought not

to wean them as gently and leniently as he can from their

gross and debasing polytheistic notions of the divinity.. We

should beg you to know that such nominal polytheism (as the

Vedas contain) is taken by them in a light totally different

from that in which it is so done by the scriptures of the Jews,

the Christians and the Mahommedans.

The writers of their

scriptures believed God to be a jealous God, and all polythe-

ism and idolatry to be produced through the influence of

satanic agency.. By them, therefore, polytheistic worship,

even in its mildest and most tolerable forms, had been consi-

dered as a heinous and damnable sin; while by our scrip-

turalists, it, if followed according to their design, had been

considered as harmless and innocuouns; as nothing but the

adoration of the all-excellent and all-benevolent, as resplen-

dent and conspicuous in particular objects of creation; as

nothing but a ladder to rise by degrees to the worship of the

Light of lights through contemplation and truth.” (Tattwa.

Patrikd, i. 352.)

According to this passage, (1) polytheistic

idolatry is not to be punished : (2) it is to meet with reward :

(3) the reward will be proportioned to the spirit of the idola-

ter : (4) in its mildest forms, it is really ¢ adoration of the all-

excellent:’ (5) as such, IT 1S HARMLESS AND INNOCUOUS :

(6) the means for overthrowing its grossest forms must be

lenient and gentle.

Such are the opinions of the modern

Brahmas ; let us proceed to test their value.

1.

The worship of created objects is allowed to the illite-

159

rate, because i¢ ts difficul¢ for them to ador\e the invisible

supreme. Allowing, for the sake of argument that spiritual

worship is difficult, is idolaéry less difficult if the same object

is to be accomplished?

Illiterate men are encouraged to

adore the grandest objects of creation, the sun, moon, earth,

fire, lightning, rain and the like, and to present gifts to them,

with thanks and prayers.

But is it less difficult for common

sense, of which even the poor have a large share, to conceive

that material things, possessing only material properties, inani-

mate and gross, are fit representatives of the self-existent and

eternal Spirit? Is it easier for common sense to believe that

the sun or moon can hear prayer, than to trust that an unseen

Being, present every where and omniscient, is listening to us:

that a huge mass of matter, without intelligence, and inferior

to man himself, can grant all we require, than to lift our

thoughts to Him who made them? Is it less easy for common

sense to invest these material objects with the attributes of

the one spirit than to meditate directly on that spirit himself?

The human mind cannot believe such contradictions ; it can-

not mingle such perfect opposites.

It must separate them,

and either it will give up the notion of Godhead altogether ;

or it will let go the material and confine itself to the Godhead

alone,

Which of these courses idolaters have invariably fol-

lowed, the history of idolatry will show.

2

That history shows that idolatry evenin its mildest

forms has ever contradicted the theory advocated.

It never

has raised men, it has ever led to their abasement.

Accord-

ing to the Patrikd, the earliest worship among Hindus, as

described in the Vedas, was the worship of the personified

elements.

The Bible and Ancient History shew that the

If the Brahmist theory

same practice was almost universal.

is correct, nothing could have prospered better: and in a

generation or two all nations ought to have laid aside their

ignorance and to have worshipped the supreme by contempla-

tion and truth. But what is the fact ?

That first departure

from purely spiritual worship, was the first step in a course

P 2

160

that led, not upward but downward. That step was followed

by many others, until in modern days, the spiritual worship-

pers are almost extinct and the debased idolaters are number-

The Hindus have never risen one atom since

ed by millions.

they forsook the true God; but have sunk lower and lower,

till they can sink no more.

They have gone from the wor-

ship of one God to that of 'six or seven others: thence to

the worship of others, till their gods reached 330 millions in

number.

Not content with these they proceeded to invent

new ones, as Dakhinroy and Oladebr.

They hLave fallen not

only in the objects of worship, but also in the mode of it.

From offering those celebrated sacrifices, the Purushamedha,

the Aswamedha, the Nachiketic fire, and the like, they have

come down to worship the linga of Siva, and present flowers,

fruits and rice to painted idols. Men now cut their flesh or

pierce their tongues, arms and sides in honour of their gods.

They cover their idols to keep them warm, put them to bed,

bathe them, clothe them, paint them, fan them, sound music

in their ears or sing pleasant songs ; or swing them in the air,

or ride them on triumphal cars.

They have come down from

those celebrated ceremonies to the Tantra orgies celebrated at

dead of night, where men meet together, with spirits to drink,

and naked harlots to sport with, and call their brutish abo-

minations the worship of God. They have fallen too in the

dignity and form of their gods. From the sun and moon,

the work of God’s creation, they have come down to adore

the work of their own hands.

Now they give homage not to

those splendid orbs, but to Durga and her lion ; Kali and her

long red tongue: Gonesh with the elephant’s head ; Krishna

with his flute ; Gopal with outstretched hand, begging sweet-

meats from his mother ; the obscene linga; the pot-bellied

Shiva ; and the peak-nosed, legless Jagann4th.

In whatever

way we look at the idolatry of the Hindus; whether at the

objects of their worship, the mode of its celebration, or the

forms of their idols, throughout its history we see its follow-

ers sinking lower and lower, till they can sink no more.

161

3. There is nothing strange in such a course ; it is accord-

ing to the natural tendency of things.

Just as a wife who

has left her husband knows not where to stop in the practice

of vice; as the drunkard, who has once yielded to the habit

of intemperance knows not how to return, but becomes more

and more debased till his career ends in a premature death ;

0 when men have once forsaken the true worship of the true

God which was original and commanded, however high they

may stand at first, they are certain to go lower. Having once

given up the sole object of their love what object may they

not choose to serve ?

If a man with an immaterial, immortal

soul, once surrenders that soul to the worship and adoration

of material things inferior to himself, when shall he of his

own accord return from the debasement in which he has

voluntarily placed himself, and in which he finds his pleasure ?

Idolatry is but a question of degree. Whether men worship

grander or more contemptible objects, their worship is still

idolatry ; it is still the voluntary debasement of the immate-

rial mind below material things.

The Bréhmas argue that

through such worship their views will be elevated. The his-

tory of idolatry proves the contrary; and the nature of it

will effectually hinder such a result. The practice of theft

furnishes no road to the love of honesty. The practice of

adultery does not lead to purity of thought. Continuance in

rebellion does not increase a reverence for national law. = Low

habits do not elevate men. Ignorance does not civilize them.

Neither then can the worship of material things tend to pro-

mote spiritual views of the character of God. Whenit shall

do so, we shall find the sun producing darkness: and the

vicious rewarded for promoting virtue.

The law of nature

forbids it. Every effect must proceed from an adequate

cause.

As is the cause so will be the effect.

Men always

assimilate to the gods they worship. Those gods become

their model ; and the character and likings of the deity are

the rule of conduct to his worshippers.

On this principle

the followers of the Sri¢ Bhdgabat Puran, wander about the

P 3

162

country in licentious bands, imitating the deeds of their

f

idol Krishna, and defend themselves by a reference to his

example. What Hindu will learn purity from the songs of

the Rds and D6l Jéttras ; the love of peace from the quarrels

of the gods; or the love of purity from the legends about

Brahma, Vishnu and Mahadeb ?

(1;

4

The fact that idolatry of any kind will never make

men rise in spirituality is especially true of that class, in rela-

tion to whom the practice has been defended.

In the wise it

is reckoned folly, because they can see its true character.

How then shall it benefit the ignorant who have not that

power? Nature teaches us that a good thing will always pro-

duce good results: and bad froits must spring from bad

sources. Whence sprang the present debased condition of

the Hindus? It has sprung from the religion held by their

Lo 30 (L s R L SRR S, S

forefathers and which has slowly but surely sunk and fallen

till it has reached the position in which we now see it.

If

the fruit be so bad, can the tree be so good?

That the defence of idolatry by the Brahmists will tend to

perpetuate these evils, is. evident from the following consider-

ations. An ignorant Hindu declares the idol Jagannith to

be God. The wise Brahmist tells him : ¢ No: itis not so:

but it will do you good to worship it, and most assuredly you

will be rewarded in the next world.’

What higher assurance

does the idolater want.

He will not perplex himself with

hard questions, as to how a thing can do him good, get him

future reward and yet be wrong. But he will feel that he

has been confirmed in his practice by a man wiser than him-

self, and be still more an idolater than he was before. Does

not the utter powerlessness of the Tattwabodhini Sabhd

against the present Puranic idolatry illustrate this argument

and confirm its soundness ?

Their hands have been tied by

themselves in relation to the subject, and hence their utter

want of influence.

5. Ifit besaid ; The Hindus do not really worship these

idols or objects in nature, but worship the supreme God by

163

their means ; we reply : This does not improve the state of

the question against them.

For, (1) it is as great an exertion

of faith, if not a greater one, to worship the Supreme God

indirectly as directly.

(2) It is not less foolish than the

%

direct worship : for how can material ¢Aings possessing mate-

rial attributes, be in any way adequate representations of Him

who is a spirit ?

(3) If they are not real gods but only ima-

ginary, then we may apply to them the statement of the

Mahéntrvdn : ¢ If making a god in imagination constitutes

him such in reality : then the man who dreams that he is a

king becomes a king in fact.”

(4) Those who are well

acquainted with the Hindus plainly declare that they do not

look on their idols as mediators, but as being themselves

gods.

R4ja Rammohan Roy distinctly and fully states this

in his preface to the Isopanishad.

6.

We deny in toto the ¢ruth of the assumption on which

the defence of idolatry is based.

The poor and illiterate,

when properly taught, can understand the character and

attributes of the unseen God. They cannot understand hig

Jorm ; for he has none: but they can understand the attri-

butes which adorn his character, their relation to him as his

creatures, the duties arising therefrom, and the motives by

which those duties are enforced.

Similar attributes on a

smaller scale they see in themselves and others.

Similar

relations, similar duties, and similar motives to enforce them,

exist in their own circumstances.

They can love a benefactor

whom they have never even seen ; obey a master who seldom

appears among them; remember their parents when far

distant ; and submit to the authority of a Queen though she

never set foot upon their soil.

Their nature and constitution

therefore are fully prepared to render true worship to the

true God, and that they can render it, is proved from a

thousand facts.

We need not refer to the poor Christians of

Great Britain amongst whom idolatry is unknown, and whose

faith, devotion, obedience and purity of conduct, prove how

thoroughly the uneducated are elevated by the knowledge of

164

a true religion.

But we may refer to the fact, that during

of

the last few years, negroes in Western Africa have learnt

ol

from the Bible to give up their Fetish and honour an unseen

0]

Saviour ; Hottentots, Fingoes and Bushmen at the Cape of

fi

Good Hope have done the same: and among the Polynesians,

of whom the Brahmists speak, during the last twenty years

60,000 of them in the Navigators’ Islands, have given up their

brutish idolatry to worship Him who is a Spirit, in spirit and

§

in truth.

i

7

Lastly. Another consideration, that lies at the root

of the question, will show how erroneous this defence of

0

idolatry is, and how utterly unworthy its advocates are to be

the guides of their countrymen into religious truth. WuaT

1s IporLaTRY?

fe

It is the rendering to some chosen object,

€l

the worship, trust and love of the heart which are due to the

one true God alone.

Because He created, preserves, supports

fo

and guards men, He has unlimited right of possession over

18

them.

They are his, both body and soul.

Intellect, heart

and will are all exclusively His, even on this ground alone.

i

But He has other claims to their service.

He has given to

Ie

men all their sources of happiness; the materials of enjoy-

de

ment ; the faculty of enjoyment; the varieties of enjoyment

U

in the senses, the understanding, the feelings, the will:

il

derived from them singly, derived from them in combination.

08

It is He who has bestowed them all.

Gratitude therefore is

superadded to right and makes the grounds of obedience

stronger.

If then we are so thoroughly His, all our love,

all our worship are due to him, and to give them to another

is to rob him and thus rebel against his authority. The

€}

Queen of Great Britain claims the obedience of all her sub-

10

jects to the laws of the realm, because they are members of

i

the society which she rules.

To disobey these laws, even the

of

least of them, is reckoned a public injury; and to call in

1§

question her authority or attempt to set another in her place

o

is counted treason and is punished with death. Just such is

tl

idolatry. In its very nature it is the rejection of the authority

th

165

J

of God, and the willing submission of the heart to another

1t

object that has no claim to it.

Submission to several gods

il

only makes the matter worse. He who takes many pretenders

of

for his kings is not less a rebel than he who takes but one.

S;

His act is rebellion still : and in no case can rebellion on a

1§

small scale lead to obedience on a large one.

It matters not

1

who is the pretender that robs God of his due.

It may be

d

of a higher or a lower kind; it may be an intellectual, a

moral, or a physical object : the act of worshipping it in the

t

place of God is an act of open rebellion.

It may be Agni

{

or Jagannith ; Varun or Mahédeb ; Indra or Dakhinroy ; it

8

may be the Sun and Moon ; or Sitola and Ola Debi : this mat-

ters nothing.

The act of idolatry is the same, though exer-

b

eised towards different objects, and can never be defended.

16

That the Vedas permit it, sanction it and promise rewards

£

to its followers, proves incontestibly that they are not the

T

revealed word of God.

That the Brihmas allow it, and

1t

declare it to be ¢ harmless,” shows how little they understand

©

the teaching of Nature, and how unworthy they are to be

to

religious teachers.

That the Bible condemns it wholly, in all

degrees, and in relation to all objects, shews how truly its

nf

precepts accord with the lessons of nature, and with the

duties and responsibilities of men; and how fully those pre-

cepts are calculated to promote their welfare.

9

)

SecTtioN 8.—ON TRANSMIGRATION.

(48

The doctrine of the transmigration of souls has long been

he

exploded from the philosophy of Europe.

But it is deeply

rooted in the faith of the common people of Bengal, is taught

of

in their Shdstras and still occupies a place in that new system

16

of Brahmism which is intended to regenerate the country. It

n

is necessary therefore to make a few observations upon it.

06

1

No direct proof of the doctrine is contained either in

1§

the Vedas or the works of the modern Brdhmas: though

ity

the burden of proof lies with those who teach it.

However

166

unable its opponents may be to disprove it, unless its advo-

cates furnish geod and sufficient arguments in its favour, it

fa

must be disbelieved. Of such direc

.t proof the;r furnish

P

nothing,

d

2

The only argument we are acquainted with in ‘its

favour is an indirect one, and is thus stated. Many men are

born into the world as lepers, blind, lame, poor and so on :

i

As these sufferings must be the punishment of sin commit-

ted before their present birth, it must be supposed that they

Tl

il

existed previously. This argument is based upon the assum-

ed principle, that such persons are suffering punishment,

by

which must of course be for errors of their own.

The ques-

I

tion is : Is this the only possible explanation of such a fact?

If a better and sounder explanation can be given ; and if

f

30

other arguments can be brought against the doctrine, it must

fall to the ground for want of any support whatsoever. The

of

fact that some men are born lepers, blind and so on, without

bl

any fault of their own, may be explained on other princi-

ples; and in a way which has quite satisfied the minds of

The close connections

b

the wisest of European philosophers.

subsisting between human beings, various in their nature and

a8

very numerous ; derived from blood-relationship, from fellow-

citizenship, from living near to one another and so on, tend

¢l

entirely to destroy all human independence. No man stands

th

alone.

T

He is bound to others in many ways, and they are

bound to him. He exerts varied influence upon others, and

{

Sometimes he is a means

is influenced by others in return.

of distributing good among them, and sometimes he does

L

evil :" he can scarcely do a single thing which does not exert

f]

some influence upon them.

If he do good they will be bene-

fited : but if evil, many may suffer solely through his fault.

Sl

They supfer, it is true, but it often happens that in their

bl

suffering, there is no personal punishment involved. A boy

fa

playing with fire, carelessly sets fire to his father’s cottage.

k

A high wind is blowing : the fire spreads from hut to hut ;

it

a whole bazar is burned down ; much proprety is destroyed ;

ke

167

0

many persons are scorched and a few lives lost.

For whose

1t

fault do the sufferers feel ?

Not for their own : this is not a

sh

punishment for a peculiar crime which each and all have

done ; but they suffer because they are all connected together

1ts

and a fire in their neighbourhood injures them all.

Again, a

e

man introduces the infection of disease into his house, quite

unintentionally, One or two members of his family catch it

and die.

t

It gets among his neighbours; it passes through

y

villages, towns, districts, sweeping a wide tract of country

and destroying many lives. The same effect, injury "inflicted

h

by another, without any reference to personal character, fol-

lows in this as in the former case.

0

Such examples are numerous.

It is on this principle of

i

the close connection subsisting between the members of a

56

society, that the family of a murderer, though guiltless

16

of his crime, share in the disgrace brought on by it.

In this

1t

way the son of a rebel loses both the title and the property

i

which would have fallen to him.

The children of a profligate

of

man are idiots or sick or weak ; for no fault of their own ;

but for their father’s errors.

It

A whole people may be led

d

astray by the false doctrines of one man: or a whole people

The more

i

may be restored by one man’s good instructions.

id

closely society is bound together, the more thoroughly will

Js

the good or evil acts of its individual members be felt by all.

The lesson we learn from this, is a strong argument against

doing any kind of evil, whether in the pbysical, mental or

1§

moral world ; because of the many who will suffer from it:

]

and a strong encouragement to do good of every kind, from

the number of our fellow-men whom it is sure to benefit.

1t

Now all suffering is no doubt the consequence of sin : and ag

sin pervades all society, suffering and in many cases, punish-

ment will be extensively felt.

But many will suffer without

1t

fault on their part.

In this way it is that some men are born

)]

leprous, blind, lame ; or become so during life; or lose their

&)

name, their health, their property. God wishes by this to

;

keep in the minds of the community a remembrance of their

168

sin and hold up a standing warning against it, by the dread-

ful sight of its effects on an extended scale even in the pre-

sent world. He wishes also by the same arrangement ¢o test

and ¢ry the character, feelings and principles of men in this

scene of their probation.

For the purposes of such a trial,

it is necessary that good men suffer adversity and wicked men

enjoy prosperity. A mother’s love is tested more by the ill-

ness of a child than by its health. The patience and prinei-

ple of men are tested by unfavourable circumstances which

call them into exercise.

If we would try gold well, we must

put it in the fire.

::i

If this explanation be sound, and if it féirly account for

the fact of some men being born lepers and blind, on princi-

I

ples which accord with the usual course and intentions of

i

God’s all-wise providence, the necessity for explaining it by

L

reference to former births of men is entirely obviated, and

th

the hypothesis of transmigration (for it is nothing more) falls

£

to the ground; unless it be taught-as an inspired doctrine

revealed by God himself.

Besides the explanation of such a

phenomenon by the supposition that such men are punished

¥

for the faults of a previous birth, by no means teaches or

Ui

gives a shadow of proof, that the souls of men will be born

A

again in the future.

It is possible, nay, judging from the

al

sense of accountability in man, it is most probable, that each

th

will receive a final judgment after his present life.

That part

Al

of the doctrine at least, and by far its most important part,

the

is entirely gratuitous.

1

3. There is again, an unanswerable argument against

sl

transmigration drawn from one fact in our mental constitution,

al

about which its advocates say very little. =By transmigration

th

of souls is, of course, meant that the same soul in the course

tuf

of time takes up its residence in different bodies.

Only the

iy

body is changed, the mind is the same mind. 'This is essen-

£X

tial to the hypothesis.

The mind therefore being the swme

8

possesses the same constitution and retains the same faculties

de

and powers in its present as in its former births.

It still per-

€0

169

ceives, remembers, recollects what it learned long ago, ima-

gines, judges, reasons.

Let us look especially at its memory.

i

So powerful is this faculty that, judging from numerous

15

illustrations of its phenomena, many philosophers consider

that it never loses a single atom of the information which it

oncé receives.

The greater portion of that intelligence may

;.1

be out of consciousness and may not be recalled into con-

sciousness for many years; much indeed may be never

recalled during life.

But it is all there; laid up in the

i

recesses of the mind and entwined into its very constitution.

Hence it is that, though the body of a man changes ten

)t

times during seventy years; or even oftener, the mind can

i\

trace out the man’s history from beginning to end, and de-

of

scribe the numerous events which have distinguished that long

by

period of time.

Not only so; but how many old men, as

d

their powers begin to decay, lose the remembrance of recent

ls

events, while that of the scenes and incidents of their younger

ne

days becomes more vivid.

In how many cases has it hap-

14

pened that in a severe sickness, the patient has been heard to

speak the language of his youth, the words of which had not

el

or

passed his lips for perhaps more than twenty years.

In

i

America, this phenomenon is constantly exhibited to this day

the

among the German emigrants.

It 1s for the same reason

ich

that, under circumstances of disease and derangement, unedu-

cated servants have been heard to repeat long passages from

it

iy

the Greek, Latin and Hebrew classics, which had been merely

read in their hearing accidentally. The mind received but a

st

slight impression, and yet retained it; retained it perfectly,

0l

and retained it for years.

The phenomena of memory, like

those of other faculties, are interwoven with the soul’s consti-

jon

156

tution and form part and parcel (so to speak) of the mind

itself. Hence it is that men can voluntarily recal with perfect

the

e

exactness the trivial events of their early days; while,many

such continually present themselves to consciousness unbid-

it

den and unexpected. But who ever heard of a man, who

ties

pef

could recal the history of hig former birth, and describe the

Q

170

details of time, place and condition in which he lived. Yet if

the theory be true, the mind ought to retain such knowledge :

it cannot do otherwise, and every man in the world ought to

experience it.

A traveller, who journeys through the earth

from city to city, carries with him the remembrance of his

native land whence he started, of the relatives he left, the

place where he lived, the language he spoke ; he recollects too

the condition and appearance of each city he has entered,

the appearance of its buildings, the occupations of its people,

R e e s e o oot Nl BT ek = |

and the incidents that happened to himself. Now the body

fl

we are told is ‘the city of Brahma:’ and the soul as it enters

A

new ¢ cities’ in the course of ages ought from its very consti-

1l

tution to carry with it a complete remembrance of all its

past history ; events of which may occasionally appear in

i

consciousness of their own accord (especially in dreams) or

f

may be recalled at pleasure.

But not one such phenomenon

has ever been experienced by a single man.

No soul remem-

L)

bers aught that has happened to it previous to its present life.

The proof then is almost perfect that it never lived before.

4

To this it may be answered, that something takes

place at every new birth, such as drinking the waters of

ji

Lethe, by which that remembrance of its previous history is

It

destroyed. Allowing the possibility of such a destruction,

this theory implies that a change, a compulsory change, takes

I

place in the mind, by which it is made no longer the same as

0

it was. As a consequence the man on whom it is wrought is

tk

no longer the same man.

He is cut off from all the events

that happened to him in former days.

The pleasures and

pains he enjoyed, the good and evil which he did, are no

longer Ais: as far as he is concerned, they are annihilated.

8

This supposition at once sets aside (1) an essential element

i

in the definition of transmigration, viz. that the soul remain-

t

ed the same soul; for the substance of the soul is the same,

but it is entirely emptied of all it ever had and is to all intents

and purposes a new soul, (2) This supposition destroys the

very end for which the transmigration exists, namely, that of

§

/

171

purifying the soul by lessons of warning, drawn from its past

history. All the crimes of former lives have been forgotten ;

a man knows not what he did and why he is punished.

If

he be punished, he can certainly say that, as he has now been

made an altered being, it was not /e who did the things, the

punishment of which he bears.

The result of the whole is

... VOACaRD . G AENDT S EN, TIC.

that we are led to this conclusion, to avert which the doctrine

A "

-

of transmigration was laid down; that ome man is really

—

punished (not merely made to suffer accidentally, but is pos-

sitively PUNISHED) for THE FAULTS OF ANOTHER.

Its

advocates wish to escape from an imaginary injustice and run

into a real one.

5

That this doctrine cannot be true we see again from

i}

the effects it has produced on the Hindu community. They

r

feel that they are under the burden of a blind fate, which

compels them to suffer for some crime or other of which they

are unconscious. That punishment must be borne; they

3

have no help for it ; there is no way of escape so long as they

live.

Hence they are fatalists both in belief and practice.

2]

Again ; Is this world a place, where the soul is likely to get

of

purification in the way which transmigration teaches? With

18

its endless temptations, its wicked example, its countless sins

I

both of the heart and life, is it a school where the soul will

b§

learn lessons of wisdom, purity and obedience ? If it be, the

i}

community subject to its discipline ought ever to be rising in

the scale of improvement.

But the Hindus have only been

)

sinking for ages.

nd

Considering then that the doctrine of transmigration hasno

no

positive evidence in its favour : that it is merely an Aypothe-

sis intended to explain a fact which its advocates misunder-

i

stand and which may be explained far better in another way ;

that it contradicts in its essential conditions the nature of the

I

human mind and especially the power and effects of memory ;

Iy

ofs

that it involves the injustice of punishing one man for faults

which he has not committed and rewarding another for merits

e

i

to which he has no claim; and teaches that this world is a

Q 2

172

place suitable for the purification of a soul that is enslaved

L

by the doctrines of fatalism :—considering these things, we

d

have no hesitation in believing the doctrine to be an error

of human invention ; and in declaring it as our opinion, that

the shastras which teach it are the opposite of inspired and

the religion of which it forms an important partis both a

folly and an injury to society.

v

SecrioNn 9,—~ON CasTE.

E

Another error, upheld by the three Vedéntic systems in

common, which from its injurious effects is alone sufficient to

[/

show that they are not from God and cannot promote man’s

€l

prosperity, is the theory and practice of CasTE.

The origin

§

of the institution we have described from one of the Upani-

A

shads, and have shewn both from them and the Vedant, that

the very knowledge of religious duty is mixed up with its

regulations,

On the subject of Caste the modern Brahmas

have spoken little in words, but their opinion is not the less

known.

For first : they have not condemned the system,

:%

which, if they are wise men desirous of their country’s wel.

)|

fare, they ought to have done.

Secondly : they yield authos

w

rity in religion fo the Upanishads, which declare it to be a

L

divine Institution.

Thirdly : they maintain its rules both

[

among themselves and in regard to others: and fourthly :

they have exhibited the most determined enmity to those who

f

are endeavouring to weaken and destroy it.

Thus they have

I

fairly pledged themselves in its defence and must bear the

consequences.

The system of Caste in its very nature enforces the supe-

riority of one class in Hindustan and the debasement of

§

another. The superiority of the Brahmans is maintained by

making their persons sacred ; by demanding the profoundest

reverence for their order; by conferring on it especial privi-

leges and powers ; by making partial laws in its favour; by

not enforcing the penalties of crimes; and by making injuries

é

t;gainst them severely punishable. The inferiority of the

degraded class has been established by an opposite course:

by making their persons impure ; by confining them to servile

employments ; by enacting severe laws against their delin-

quencies, and strictly enforcing them ; by denying to them

%

the blessings of knowledge; and by rendering it impossible

that they can ever enter the superior order. This difference

between the two orders has been established under the express

sanction of the Vedas, and is declared to have originated in

the decrees and actions of the very Creator himself.

1.

The first evil we notice in the Caste system 1is its gross

tnjustice.

We do not see in it merely the necessary differ-

ences in the ranks of human society, where some are rich,

some poor; where some are rulers, others are subjects; some

are learned and others ignorant.

‘We do not see in it one

class benefited for a time by the ordinance of God’s provi-

dence with a view of communicating those benefits on a large

is

scale to others. 'But we see a permanent, an eternal distinc-

tion established by it between two classes.

The one is made

a tyrannical master, without reference to superior moral fit-

ness ; the other is made an abject slave ; and means are cuns

s

ningly provided for keeping him so.

However intelligent,

active, or benevolent a Sudra may be, according to law, he

can never rise in this life to become a Bréhmin,

‘Where is

the justice of this?

2‘

It tends to destroy all sympathy between the different

individuals and classes of a community. Separated as they

6

are from one another in interests, customs, and the ordinary

intercourse of social life ; and liable to degradation where

caste rules are broken through, how much inhumanity to the

{

sick, and inhospitality to strangers must necessarily result,

Thence succeed deadness of heart, unkindness, selfishness

1

and readiness to quarrel.

They understand little of human

Je

nature, who think that to prohibit classes of men from eating,

smoking and intermarrying with one another, is no great

d

hardship. Far otherwise does the result prove. How many

Q3

174

of the roughnesses of life are smoothed down in that expan.

fh

in

sion of the human heart which takes place in the free inter-

course of a social meal

How many a quarrel has it settled

al

or prevented.

How many bargains in trade ;

how many

political agreements have been facilitated by its means.

How

i

often has the affection of famllles, the union of neighbours,

the increase of friendships been promoted by such free and

social intercourse,

But of these means of cultivating, sustain-

i

ing and increasing mutual goodwill to the fullest extent, the

Hindus have been unjustly deprived.

4

3

il

Caste fights against the law of nature, in compelhng

men to follow occupations according to their birth, not theit

ability. - Whatever theory men may entertain on the subjeet;

few facts are better established among free-minded nations

than this; that sons differ greatly from their fathers both in

‘lfl

their kind of ability and its degree. It often happens that

the son of a wise man possesses a very common amount of

intelligence : while the son of an uneducated peasant is found

to be gifted with the most splendid abilities

In the same

way sons do not generally follow their fathers’ employs

ment, but choose one for themselves

By so doing every

8

man is able to take up that pursuit for which he is naturally

fitted, and can carry it on with interest and pleasure.* The

rules of caste’ have compelled the Hindus to act on an oppos

site plan

They have compelled every son, whether he liked

t

it or no, to follow his father’s ‘trade

and as it was most

natural that he should not like it, his efforts to carryit on

must have wanted the stimulus and ‘energy which spring only

from the willing mind. This case has happened in thousands

of instances during successive ages

The consequence has

been, labour has been forced mot voluntary.

Thence it has

been unproductive.

The mode of carrying on each trade has

become stereotyped and fixed. No energy, no enterprise has

been exerted to improve it : eSpeclally when the trader knew

* Many illustrations of this plan and of the beneﬁts which resujt

from it are given by Mr, Clift in his ¢ Political Economy.’

Y R PO A 7 Oy v —

175

2

thdt his Brahmin masters would seize the larger share of his

)

increased profits, All labourers have been degraded ; and all

d

arts depressed. No prizes, no honours have encouraged the

manufacturer and artist

while knowledge has been denied

Inde,-

W

to them and human leeches have sucked their blood

5

pendence, activity of thought, ingenuity, have all been lost,

d

and the Hindus have made no progress for full 2000 years.

The way to make men strong and healthy is to let them grow

naturally and to foster their natural powers. The North

American Indians flatten their children’s heads on a board

and spoil their beauty. The Chinese tie up the feet of their

E

women and make them cripples

But caste has erippled the

Hindu mind ; and by swaddling bands and cruel enactments

1§

bas enslaved and degraded it, till its people are what they are.

n

Such is not the teaching of the laws which the God of Creae

tion has written upon his works.

1t

f

The Brahmas in their Paériké have often referred to the

former days of India’s greatness; and feel some small degree

i

I

of enthusiasm in contemplating the deeds of the Rajis of

ancient times

But most inconsistently they cherish the very

yn

i

system, which cut that greatness short and most effectually

prevented the development of the energies it had begun to

ly

16

exert

That caste which destroyed union among the people

of ancient India, destroyed their intelligence, destroyed

the productiveness of their labour, destroyed their wealth

destroyed their motives to exertion, and made them slaves to

f

i

a selfish priesthood, that caste they still maintain,

They

mourn the destruction, but cherish the destroyer !

Iy

ds

4

Caste has promoted Idolatry. The knowledge of the

Vedas and Vedangas being strictly confined to the Brahmans,

]

48

no knowledee worth the name was left for the Sudras and

people of mixed caste.

Science, such as it was, together

with the higher views of religion was wholly denied to them.

Their intellect was undeveloped, their feelings blunted, their

Al

conscience not enlightened and its appeals not enforced

No

ot

religious instruction was given to them ; they were not allow-

ed to seek true ¢wisdom.

Nothing was left to them but

i

al

tdolatry ; they were obliged to be idolaters, and as by the

Increase in the number of idols, or in the splendour of their

o

worship, the Brahmin was profited and the Sudra pleased : as

the two antagonist orders found this the only common ground

l{

where they could both meet, idolatry advanced with rapid

stndes

The number of gods increased. From that store-

house of legendary lore, the Mahabh4rat, old stories were

f

taken out, dressed up, and enlarged. The Purans were form-

i

3

ed. The Tantras followed. Thus caste pushed on idolatry

thus one curse of the land promoted another ; and that other

i

bound the chains of the former more firmly

Iy

The Brahmists refer us, for the basis of their system, to

il

the works of nature.

To the works of God therefore we

&

d

have turned ; but where do they teach caste? Look at all

the nations of the earth

Is there one, except the priest-

fe

ridden people of Hindustan, that says, they do teach it, and

that to understand the system rightly, we must go back to

the creation of all things

If the Brahmas maintain the

caste system either in language or in act, (and we have shown

W

that they do) then we ask the reader candidly to judge whe-

ther such men are really proper interpreters of the truths

Al

which nature teaches

Afraid to see their own doctrine faith-

A

fully carried out, they have compromised their attachment to

¢

8¢

it, by joining in the defence of a system, which has injured

their country in its very vitals and continues to curse it still

i

Herein they contradict the lessons of that nature,” whose

f

teaching they profess faithfully to follow !

1

C

SectioN 10.—THE RELIGION OF NATURE.

Though the Brahmas claim the Vedas as a revelation of

divine truth, they look primarily upon the works of NATURE

as their religious teacher,

From nature they learned first

and because the Vedas (as they assert) agree with nature,

therefore they regard them as inspired

In the letter given

;;j]

177

above they thus speak : *“The volume of Nature is open to

all and that volume contains a revelation, clearly teaching in

i

strong and legible characters the great truths of religion and

1§

morality, and giving as much knowledge of our state after

death as is necessary for the attainment of future blessedness.”

¢ The knowledge derived from the source of inspiration deals

with eternal truths which require no other proof than what

the whole creation and the mind of man, unperverted by fal-

lacious reasonings, afford in abundance.” (Ved. doc. Vind. p.

35.) Based on this principle, Brahmism presents itself as

one of the forms of NATURAL RELIGION, or, as it is general-

ly termed, pEisM ; a form which partakes of the characteris-

tic qualities of the genus, but has peculiarities which mark it

(4

as a distinct species. These peculiarities we have already

I

discussed ; and shall now briefly examine the more general

Sfeatures of the system ; especially as the greater number of

educated young natives in this part of India take up with one

or other variety of Natural Religion.

6

The pretensions of Deism are very high. The works of

nature certainly teach much, when rightly studied: a fact

which is willingly allowed by Christians, among whom have

arisen the finest writers on Natural Theology. But Deists

§

assert that it teaches every thing.

“In it,” says a recent

Calcutta writer, ¢ the Creator reveals a religion which addres-

ses itself to the world, satisfies the spiritual longings of the

}

soul and affords a panacea for all its maladies.”

¢ Does not

the Deist refer to a code wherein every law, physical, organic,

¢

intellectual, moral and religious, is inscribed in plainest and

most intelligible characters by the finger of God ? Does he not

cite his authority from that stately volume where every leaf

is a spacious plain, every line a flowing brook, every period a

{

lofty mountain ?”

English Deists have said the same a huns

dred times : but they have never yet explained two or three

mighty facts which Christians have urged against such mag-

niloquent assertions.

That the claim is unfounded, and their

)

system insufficient, we shall endeavour to show from the fol-

178

dowing considerations : viz. i. : That Natural Religion is uncers

tain in what it does teach ; ii. : That it is defective ; consider-

ing what it does not teach ; and iii.: That its effects prove it

I

to be powerless against human evil.

8

1. Natural Religion is a very uncertain system to follow.

Its doctrines are not clearly settled yet, though the works of

nature have been before the eye of man for nearly six

t{

thousand years.

The followers of nature have examined and

studied them repeatedly ; but they all differ in the results;

i

just as a band of Astronomers with squinting eyes would

0

differ in mapping down the stations and sizes of the stars.

fi

Deists allow that the old writers, like Socrates and Plato, felt

b

uncertain about these lessons of nature, and were as ignorant

il

of Natural Religion as they were of sound physical science.

th

But they affirm that modern discoveries have attained a

al

knowledge far beyond theirs, and have settled matters about

In

which they were in doubt.

¢ Truths unknown to the intel«

i

lectual giants of antiquity (says a recent Calcutta writer) are

f

familiar to the ordinary scholars of our day ; problems which

d

Plato and Cicero failed to solve have been solved by their

b

successors in science and learning. The progress of the

to

knowledge of. God’s works and dissemination of the principles

sh

of sound morality, which did not humanize the people of by

N

gone ages, have in our days not only mitigated the horrors of

war and the atrocities of crime but refined our manners and

D

softened our hearts.”” The whole force of the Deistic question

i

turns on this.

Is Deism more settled in its doctrines and

I\

has it produced more holy effects, in modern than in ancient

fi

times ? Facts prove that it is not, and that its results are the

v

same now as they ever were.

C

The most important questions in religion and morality to

0

which man’s attention can be turned, and on which his hap.

fi

piness chiefly rests are such as the following. Isthere a God?

&

If there is, what are the distinguishing attributes of his char-

s

acter ! Has he moral as well as intellectual attributes? Does

§

He govern the world by his superintending providence ! Ought

179

man to worship him? Has he givén, or is he likely to give to

man any special intimations of his will? Has he defined the

1t

rules of moral conduct? Will man still live after death, and if

so under what conditions? Let us hear what the teaching of

nature is, upon these subjects, from the men who profess to

of

have received it from her. We shall perceive immediately

that on 2o one point are they agreed. Some have provided

d

answers to these questions which have been forthwith repu-

diated by others: what some affirm, others deny. What

some consider essential truths, are regarded by others as posi-

tive errors.

Their disagreements are numerous, as those who

have studied the great writers unanimously testify. Some-

it

times they exalt reason ; at others, despise it.

Sometimes

b

they represent mankind as intelligent and able to understand

all religion, at others they reckon them debased and ignorant.

11

In their judgment of Christianity they also differ.

Some-

¢

times Christ is praised, at others vilified : sometimes his apos-

0

tles are commended for their sincerity ; at others slandered as

h

designing hypocrites.

Sometimes Christianity is declared to

it

be the best religion: at others the principles advocated tend

16

to the utter destruction of all religion and all morality. We

6

shall give examples of these differences on some specific

subjects.

a

of

As to the being of God. 1t is a notorious fact that many

d

Deists have been Atheists, who denied the existence of God

altogether.

The majority of Deists however allow that there

is a God. But which are we to believe ?

Many tell us that

if

from the marks of design every where apparent in the uni-

16

verse, we are compelled to infer an Intelligent Being as the

Cause : and therefore nature teaches us that it had a creator,

f0

On this subject what says Mr. Hume: ¢ While we argue

from the course of nature and infer a particular intelligent

cause,.. we embrace a principle which is both uncertain and

1!

I

useless.”

The Brahmas in Bengal believe in a God, the one

68

Supreme Brahm. But many of their countrymen follow Mr.

hi

Hume.

“ Nature is the final cause: the superintending

180

cause is nothing separate from the body of universal nature.

¢¢ Nature is the common power by which every thing is pro-

é

§

duced. All the effects may be traced to one final cause, and

nature is one, not many.. She is self-existing, and she is the

creator of all and ske has even created herself.

“ A phan-

tom superior to nature has been always created by our race

to account for every occurrence, with the natural cause of

““ Which of the two is

which they were unacquainted.”

most probable, that natureis God ; or that God is superior to

;

nature ? The former has on its side the general experience of

mankind.. the latter has only the conviction of some isolated

§l

theologians.””* Here the two parties of native Deists or fol-

0

lowers of nature directly oppose one another.

b.

The Attributes of God. The * Vindication of Deism,

recently published in Calcutta, affirms that the works of

creation, clearly proclaim the unity of the Deity; his mani-

fold power, inscrutable wisdom, goodness and mercy.

The

human mind is declared to be a proof of his holiness and jus-

tice ; of his approbation of virtue and disapprobation of vice,

Such however was not the conviction of Mr. Hume. Accord-

:;E

ing to him, we ought not to ascribe to God any attribute

which is not fully displayed in his works: but no attributes

are thus displayed

the utmost we see beinz “ some faint

traces or outlines

of them: hence it is only * flattery or

%

presumption

in us to aseribe any attribute or perfection to

God at all

Lord Bolingbroke ¢ will not allow that there is

0

any such thing as justice and goodness in God according to

our ideas, or any thing answering to what we call justice and

goodness.

These two attributes he repeatedly denies to God

in his voluminous works

He also denies the doctrine of a

particular providence and finds fault with the notion which

!

he says, obtained among the heathens, * that God was con-

stantly attentive to the affairs of men

Men are not punish-

ed individually according to merit, but only in societies. Mr.

* ¢ General reflections on Christianity >’ by Babu Kall Kumar

Dis: 1845,

pp. 182;

128—129; 132,

181

11

Chubb agrees with Lord Bolingbroke.

“ He looked upon

God as having nothing now to do with the good or ev1l that

nd

is done among mankind.”

4

Tke worship of God. Lord Herbert in his celebrated

he

I

creed lays down as the second and third principles, that *“ God

ce

is chiefly to be worshipped, and that piety and virtue are the

of

principal part of his worship

Lord ' Bolingbroke teaches

1§

the same

Mcr. Chubb on the other hand has endeavoured to

show that ¢ prayer to God is no part of natural religion,” and

Mr. Blount held the same opinion.

The Brahmists advocate

But others of the

?I

such worship and regularly practise it

Calcutta Deists dissent from such a proceeding and disapprove

of it, particularly for its publicity

¢ What is the meaning

bl

of worship ?

We worship God when we imitate him, obey

his commands, observe Him as he appears in his works, and

of

I

perform the duties He has prescribed for us

Our religious

19

duties do not consist in building churches, in giving vain and

1§

gorgeous epithets to God or in seeking his favourin such

i)

words as these ; O! God save me from sin.”’ (Kalt K. Dds,

pp. 152-4.)

te

d. Duties of Morality. That repentance which so many

extol as the true atonement for sin, Spinoza represented as “ a

68

Lord Herbert

ot

mean, an unreasonable and wretched thing

held that the indulgence of lust and anger is no more to be

o

blamed than the thirst occasioned by dropsy

and that we

0

1§

ought to pass a mild censure upon those who are carried to

sin by a corporeal and almost necessary propensity to vice

t0

1

Hobbes asserted that the civil law is the only foundation of

right and wrong ; that where there is no civil law, every man’s

ol

that the sovereign of a

judgment furnishes the standard

nation is not bound by any obligation of truth and justice;

f

Lord

i

and that any man may lawfully take what he can

Bolingbroke taught that ambition, sensuality and avarice may

h

be lawfully gratified, if they can be safely gratified

that

1

vanity is the only foundation of modesty ; that the chief end

it

of manis to gratify his fleshly appetites ; ¢hat polygamy is o

R

182

part of the religion of nature : and that adultery is no viola-

tion of its laws.

Mr. Hume maintained that self-denial and

humility are not virtues but are useless and mischievous ; that

{]

pride, vanity, intelligence, an eloquent tongue and strength of

body are virtues: that adultery must be practised, if men

]

would enjoy all the advantages of life ; that it is not wrong

1

in itself and, if much practised, would be in time not repro-

bated. Voltaire held the same views and acted on them. With

respect to the grounds and obligations of morality, these

)

writers greatly disagree.

Lord Bolingbroke maintains that,

fi

that which makes a thing right is, not its being the will or

§

law of God, but its being conducive to human happiness.

d

Even the penalties of violating any law of nature do not fall

b

on individuals but on the community.

He maintains that

fi

self-love is the spring of all human actions, and that man is

f

to govern himself by what he thinks most conducive to his

Mr.

¥

interest or his pleasure in his present circumstances.

Hobbes’s principle is the same. How is it possible that men

who set out with a wrong aim can invent a right system ? We

have already shewn that on the general qualities of virtue and

vice the consciences of men have agreed in all ages, and that

bl

to such sentiments as these they are thoroughly opposed.

d

The young Deists of Calcutta have not been able to g0 50

far as their predecessors in Europe. Even the writer who

]

goes nearest to thém in denying the existence of God, is

silent on what ¢s virtue and what is not.

d

The Brahmists

speak out most plainly, and in the moral code described in

‘}l

1

the last chapter give in their adherence to very different prin-

ciples from those of Mr. Hume, Hobbes and Lord Boling-

broke. But their little work contains some very curious no-

i

tions, which show how exceedingly defective are those morals

d

which are not based upon the authoritative word of God.

i

Respecting evidence it states; The gods esteem above all

men the witness who doubts not that he has spoken the

truth.”” The man whose memory fails, or who unwittingly

makes a mistake, comes under this approval ; and it will apply

e

183

Je

most admirably to all the martyrs of Christianity. A good

d

man, it is declared, must be ‘intelligent’ and educated : so that

o

the poor are excluded from the class. Respecting love to

of

God it is said, “ If a man worships the supreme as one be-

it

loved, his beloved ones shall never die :” a sentiment which

8

is utterly untrue in fact; since many excellent people lose

their parents, children, brothers and sisters, by death. Re-

h

specting marriage it is held, that the chief duty of a husband

and wife is not to commit adultery. The obligation to mu-

tual love, trust and aid, and the duty of caring for children

¢t She is a real wife who has

seem to be entirely forgotten.

children.” ¢ The house without children is like a smasén for

I

So that barrenness is not merely a mis-

burning the dead.”

ab

fortune but a crime : and the wife, to whom the Creator denies

i

the gift of offspring, must be reckoned no wife at all. The

)

younger brother’s wife must esteem her husband’s elder bro~

ther as a father 2’ a notion purely Hindu ; the authority of

ol

the elder brother over the younger, which is the law in Hin-

¢

dustan, not being recognised as such in other parts of the

i

world.

¢« A father and mother must be reckoned as a pre-

i

sent deity.” This is downright idolatry. The rule is Hin-

du, and from it is derived the custom of a man calling hig

50

father his thdkur or idol.

The motives to virtue are lament-

10

ably erroneous. ¢ All actions unblamed by others you may

$

do; those blamed you must not perform.” So that the

popularity of an act is to decide whether it is to be doune, not

\§

its intrinsic merits.

Follow numbers not principle! ¢ What-

ever virtue we practise you may do, but don’t practise any

thing besides.” (xvi. 9, 10.) No man must dare to be holier

0

than his teacher. * Apply yourself to that which you consi-

lls

der to advance your own good.” (B.ix. 1.) Follow self-

Ddl

interest, not virtue.

“ Whatever course will give satisfaction

al

to yourself, follow it out with the greatest zeal : and -leave

he

every thing opposed to it.”” (B. xiii. 4.)

¢ Religion requires

nothing that is uncongenial to our mind : the Vedas require

Iy

I

us to do nothing that is opposed to our nature.” (Ved. doc.

R 2

184

Vin. p. 34.) Following such downy precepts, no wonder the

Bréhmists refuse to encounter the difficulty of giving up thelr

o

caste, as nature commands them !

€.

Of a future state. Thereis no subject more impor-

tant to men in all its bearings, than that of their state after

death

No fact in nature, no doctrine of religion, has greater

influence on their fears and greater power in restraining their

will, than the conviction that the soul will live after the body

dies

No fact will ever overturn society, break down all the

barriers of lawlessness, and ruin the moral world, so speedily

e N R R R I s S SR L™

as the certainty that men die just like the beasts of the field.

bt

To know which of these cases is true is then among all

1

facts the one most vital fact, which the welfare both of indi-

§

viduals and of society requires to be positively known

We

{

turn therefore to this sure and infallible teacher, nature; to

her, whose ¢every leaf is a spacious plain,” and whose doc-

i

trines are written thereon ¢ with an indelible.pen.

Alas ! we

f

turn 1n vain

We are met at the very outset of our enquiries

with the apalling fact, that the Deists, the disciples of nature,

acknowledge the matter to be so doudiful, as to have divided

§

themselves into two bodies, the ‘mortal’ and ‘immortal’ Deists

fi

The latter believe in the future existence of men : the former

b

do not.

This division is entirely a modern one.

We will

[

not ask what Socrates, Plato, and Cicero, believed to be the

teaching of nature; we will look solely at the opinions of

h

men who have become familiar with truths to which the

former giants of antiquity’ were strangers. Lord Herbert in

his fifth article lays down that there is a future state of

{

rewards for the good and of punishment for the wicked. Mr.

Hobbes, his contemporary, asserts distinctly the materiality

Mr. Blount declared that

and mortality of the human soul

1t

we are to expect rewards and punishment hereafter, but that

the soul 1s:material

The Earl of Shaftesbury considered

that “ nothing can'be more fatal to virtue than ¢ke weak and

uncertain belief of future rewards and punishments.”

Mr.

1

Colling declared the soul to be material and mortal. Mr.

A

185

Chubb’s statements, like those of Mr. Blount, assert both

t

sides of the question ; that there is a future state and that

the argument for the immortality of the soul is unsatisfac-

tory : that men are accountable to God and that he will judge

4

them for injuries done to society ; but that judgment is use-

4

less. Lord Bolingbroke held that there will be no state of

It

future rewards and punishments : yet that the doctrine of a

future state is politically a very useful one.

Hume agrees

with Lord Bolingbroke.

Voltaire and his companions all

held that the soul is not distinct from the body ; that there

l'g

is no resurrection, no futurity, no retribution, and that death

is an eternal sleep. The Calcutta Deists are similarly divid-

I

i

ed. The Brihmists fully believe in a future state, and in

their works describe its character.

The writer of the recent

]

0

Vindication of Deism advocates it in distinct terms and with

striking illustrations. (pp. 4, 5.) DBut Kéli Kumér Dds thus

¢

speaks of the doctrine.

¢ The fear of future punishment

and the hope of future rewards do but little influence the

)

{7

conduct of men in this world.

By a future state I under-

stand a state which exists only in the minds of men and yet

od

g

to come. Though virtuous men die they leave their spirits

behind them, that continually go on working important

el

0

changes in the human mind till the arrival of the happy era.

.. .. There is no probability of our going either to heaven or

he

of

hell : Heaven and Hell are to be found in the human mind.

These are the words of nature and those who consult her

1

n

hear them distinctly.” (pp. 209, 210.) Such is the ¢sure

teaching’ of the great Deists on the most vital question upon

o

1

which human reason ever entered.

. f. Divine Revelation. Even on the subject of a special

y

i

revelation they are not perfectly agreed. The English Deists

almost universally deny both its necessity and its probability.

b

el

Lord Bolingbroke however acknowledges that in speculation,

nothing seems so proper to enforce morality, as a divine

d

revelation : and Lord Herbert actually asked from God a

I

special sign by which the truth of his creed might be con-

1

R 3

186

firmed. The Calcutta Deists also differ. Though nearly all

rejecting it, the Brahmas allow it to be desirable to a certain

extent. “For a right conception of the purposes of his

being and of his future expectations, the weakness of man’s

faculties requires to be propped up by that Providence to

which he owes his being and the continuance of it ; and hence

arises the necessity of a Revelation.”

e W+ o e L Y

(Ved. doc. de

p. 34.)

e

With facts like these before them, the question which

Christians ask is a very reasonable one. If the great autho-

rities of Deism contradict one another, and hold the most

opposite opinions, how are we to know the real doctrines of

their system. Numerous scholars profess to study the works

of nature, with a view to declare the lessons which those

works convey to men. On proclaiming the result of their

Who then is to tell

study, it is found that they all differ.

what the teaching of nature is?

Who is to decide between

the contending parties ; whose judgment is to form the stand-

ard of appeal? We cannot -believe both sides: we cannot

R e R e e T R e e e,

leave the question alone. What is worst of all is that they

are fully agreed upon nothing, except opposition to Chris-

tianity. On every one of those important branches of religi-

ous truth above mentioned, their disagreements and mutual

contradictions are plainly stated.

The marks of design in

T A AN i

nature prove there is a God :”’ says Lord Herbert. ¢These

(|

‘marks of design prove no such thing:” replies Mr. Hume,

*There is a future life of rewards and punishments :” say

some. “The soul is material: death is an eternal sleep :”’

say Voltaire and his companions.

¢ Have not men a soul 7’

“No, the soul differs not from the body.” Who teaches

ervor here ; who teaches truth. Lord Herbert would say

Bolingbroke is wrong : Bolingbroke would insist that he is

right.

Left' to themselves men cannot decide the matter,

though ‘on it - hangs the weal or woe of ‘their immortal soul.

A vessel is traversing the mighty deep ; the night is densely

-dark; rocks are near, but mot a-star shews WheAre they lie.

187

I

Compass there is none ; opinions as to tvhe vessel’s course are

mutually contradictory. Who shall decide the perplexity of

13

the mariners and give them certainty for doubt? Let them

§

wait for the morning light and guide their way by the bright

splendours of the glorious sun.

Let Deists do the same;

0

amid the darkness of their creed, let them seek light from

A

God. At least let them leave others to do so.

If, in such

utter uncertainty respecting a future state, we are dissatisfied

and seek a divine illumination, why should they hinder us.

They may love their darkness, if they will, and call it noon-

day, but we will be guilty of no such folly. If Deism with

f

allits vital contradictions ¢ satisfies the longings” of their

souls, it only proves how miserably small those longings are.

30

But why should they demand that we who are hungering

It

after righteousness should be satisfied to feed upon the

husks of folly, which Voltaire and Hume and Paine have

shelled out for our sustenance.

They may assert, if they

will, that the earth alone of its own power can produce

bread for man, and requires neither sun-light nor the raing

of

]

of heaven to fertilize it and make it fruitful.

But we will

ask for those heavenly rains ; we will look to that heavenly

sun ; we will depend upon the Creator of all, and pray that He

il

alone, who knows the full importance of truth, will guide our

In this ell nations have agreed

feet into the way of peace.

with us.

The Deists and Atheists have ever been a miserable

minority in the world, few in numbers and weak in influence,

)

But the majority of mankind from the earliest times have be-

2

lieved in the desirableness of revelation : -have believed it in

1]

the most enlightened ages as well as in the most rude. Numa

)

and Lycurgus knew this well and made it serve their purpose.

f

The Deists often boast of the improvements of modern

1§

society. Then surely they are themselves thoroughly behind

\r’

the age. If physical science has become better known and

i

‘has been placed on an unerring basis, the Deist’s creed is

‘where it was long before Lord Bacon was born.

They are

f

no nearer now to -the settlement of the great question of a

188

He

future life, than they were in the days of Socrates.

doubted it in ancient Athens two thousand years ago

he

Deists of Calcutta are not agreed upon it Now

In morals

and the basis of morality they are no better

But the mora-

lity of Christianity was perfect eleven hundred years before

Socrates was born, and even before that Abraham and Jacob

hoped for a permanent homein a better land than this. Why

that

1s the difference? That morality was not given by man

hope was inspired by Gob.

11.

Had not the increasing length of thls Essay forbldden,

we should have endeavoured to exhibit, secondly, the defici-

encies of natural religion; and to shew that upon several

important religious questions, it is perfectly silent. Not only

does it speak with complete uncertainty upon the questions we

é

have already asked, but upon others, which souls convinced of

sin ask with intense eagerness, it says nothing at all

(D

It provides no Saviour from sin,

(2) It neither changes,

nor removes that sinful nature in men from which sin springs.

E

(8) It provides no powerful motive, in obedience to which

These

men shall forsake sin and practise only holiness.

charges have often been brought against Deism, and have

never yet been answered: while every new enquirer experi-

ences afresh the deficiency which it cannot remedy. The

Deists do tell us that if ¢ man repents of his sin, mourns

over it and resolves to commit it no more, he will be forgiven.

But on their own shewing this doctrine is not learned from

God himself: while it is directly opposed to laws which

’:j

prevail both in the physical and moral world. To defend it

they assert

“We see the transgression of an organic law

punished with suffering and disease, and subsequently for-

given on the transgressor’s returning to obedience and observ-

It

ing the rules of health.”* This fact is not universally true,

8

particularly in the case of men whose transgressions have

i

been most numerous and glaring. Supposing that all men do

suffer disease and pain when they sin (a statement which hag

* Vindication of Deism, p. .

5

189

a thousand exceptions) yet there are many, very many cases

in which though the sinner repents that suffering is Nor

REMOVED. Many a drunkard, who has broken for years

‘the orgamc laws’ of health, repents at last, mourns over hig

folly, and gives it up.

But his broken constitution rallies

not and he dies in the prime of life solely from the effects of

his drunkenness.

Neither does his repentance remove the

AR o 3 2o R

evil from others. His children have been born perhaps weak

in intellect and weak in body: his repentance cannot make

them intelligent and healthy. They are known as the drunk-

ard’s offspring, and the disgrace clings to them in the estima-

tion of hundreds long after their father’s death. Similar to

this is the experience and history of many a licentious -man.

The duellist fights his antagonist

is wounded in the arm;

and is compelled to have his arm cut off to save his life. The

%

most bitter and sincere repentance will never restore his am-

putated limb. The murderer repents and gives himself up to

h

justice ; but his remorse does not restore the life of his vic-

tim.

A ckild through carelessness fires a pistol at his sister

and kills her

No measure of regret will recal her from the

grave. An illustrious example of the truth of this reasoning

is seen in the character and end of the Earl of Rochester.

He died a thorough penitent, but his awful vices were the

cause of his early death

The same fact is seen in the

moral world. A man borrows from a friend ten thousand

rupees and wastes the money. He subsequently regrets what

he has done, confesses his error and resolves to go into debt

1

no mere

But do his sorrow and his resolution repay the

money borrowed? How is it then, that men will assert con-

cerning God what is not true even of themselves; and trust

in a way of salvation from his wrath, which would be scouts

ed among themselves as absurd. Governments cannot act on

the Deist’s principle. A lenient and merciful judge forgives

He

[}

every prisoner who asks his pardon and sets-him. free.

makes this a rule.

As a natural consequence no man fears

to do wrong, for he dreads no punishment

the country will

190

0l

be speedily filled with robbers and murderers; and the very

foundations of society will be overturned. By giving way to

mercy only, all justice is set aside; and the law is disregard-

ed. Will not the same result follow in the great universe of

God, if the Deist’s principle be acted on. If God forgive all

who ask it, without requiring from them any satisfaction for

his outraged commandments, men will cease to fear him ; they

}?

will trample his law under foot; they will listen to no en-

treaty, regard no rights and be reckless of all consequences.

f

That this is a fair deduction, the fruits of Deism plainly

[

show. Without dwellinglonger upon this part of the subject,

we shall conclude, by describing those fruits.

Ll

111

The effects of the religion of nature prove it to be

f

Ppowerless against human evil.

Nature has undoubtedly

spoken some truth to man, but even that he has refused to

of

hear. It would have conduced to his happiness, but like an

th

impetuous horse he has rushed on in his career of wickedness,

unchecked by any restraints. Till the time when Jesus of

Nazareth came into the world, almost all nations of the world

8

were practically left to the religion of nature alone.

How

th

little they benefited by it, may be learned from a survey of

O

their condition.

They had wrong notions of the character

th

and attributes of God. Their deities were countless in num-

P

ber and abominable acts were ascribed to them.

Their rites

W

were unchaste and frivolous.

Prostitution was enjoined as a

0y

part of divine worship, and infanticide and human sacrifices

0y

were fearfully prevalent even in the most intelligent countries.

The philosophers gave no check to this idolatry, but shared

in though they despised it. In the days of Augustus, private

t

manners were debauched in the extreme: and millions of

by

men and women were held in hopeless slavery. Lying and

l

suicide were openly sanctioned. The nations of modern

W

times, who have learned from nature alone, have not been

more benefited. Witness the Hindus, Chinese and Parsees.

d

Among more uncivilized nations infanticide and cannibalism

a

are practised to this day.

In spite of these appalling facts,

a(

191

one of the Calcutta Deists, anxious to prove the perfection of

human nature, tells us: “ All nations have gradually improv-

EZ

ed without the least interference of a supernatural being.’’

f

The fact is exactly the other way

all nations that have not

i

been under the influence of Christianity have sunk deeper and

I

deeper into ignorance and immorality. The histories of Rome

7

and India furnish striking examples

But if it be said ; those were the ages of ignorance, turn to

the enlightened scholars of modern days; we accept the

challenge

Let us look at the great Deists of the last two

)

centuries. Lord Herbert, Chubb, Hobbes, Lord Shwftesbury

and others all professed a high esteem for Christianity, while

7

they did .all they could to undermine and destroy it

In

Several

ly

Christians such conduct would be called hypocrisy.

0

of them publicly professed themselves Christians, by taking

the Lord’s Supper, in order to qualify themselves for pohtl-

%

cal employment.

The Earl of Rochester was the oreatest

of

profligate of his time

Blount shot himself, because hig

i

sister-in-law would not marry him. Hobbes wrote his ¢ Levia«

than’ in defence of Charles I. and then changed it to praise

of

Cromwell

Voltaire and D’Alembert deliberately denied that

¢r

the former had written the Philosophical Dictionary. Voltaire

professed himself a Roman' Catholic, at the very time he

was teaching his followers to say of Jesus, ¢ Crush #he

]

wretch I’ He was a sensual profligate, an adulterer, treacher-

£

ous to his friends, cruel, tyrannical, unworthy to be trusted

Rousseau was little better : so was Thomas Paine

el

But far beyond this ; we have seen in modern times, within

te

the last sixty years, the example, not merely of individuals,

of

but of a whole nation, casting off a belief in revelation and

i

plunging headlong into the gulf of natural religion in itg

worst form

When the revolution in France, in 1793, drove

1

en

Louis XVI. from the throne, the Government set up was an

)

atheistic government, and the greater part of the nation

Jil

adopted the same creed. Reason was the deity whom all

adored

1%

The articles of the Deists’ creed were publicly

192

adopted by the legislature.

It was declared there was no

God, no futurity, and that death was an eternal sleep. Public

worship was abolished, and all the religions in the world were

declared to be the daughters of ignorancg:, pride and priest-

eraft.

All distinctions of right and wrong were soon laid

aside.

Debauchery prevailed to the most frightful extent.

Proscriptions followed on.one another and filled the country.

with assassinations. Social confidence was laid aside : relatives

E

accused one another of crime and caused the death of their

]

nearest kindred. All ties were severed; all morality, justice,

order were overthrown. It iscomputed that the religious prin-

f

ciples then prevalent in France, destroyed in ten years three

i

millions of lives, and wasted an immense amount of property.

1t was the only time when the religion of nature in its mos

dern form triumphed on a large scale ; and THIs was its aw-

0,

ful result! Can it be, or was it ever, the will of God, the

0

beneficent Preserver of the universe, that men should be

left solely to the guidance of that Natural Religion, which is

unable to cope with their lawless passions or restrain the ram-

pant evil of their ruined souls. Is it not more than probable,

1

that in His unspeakable compassion, He would reveal light in

B

their darkness, truth amid their errors, and grant them power

T

to subdue the evil to which they are naturally prone. Those

who expect ‘and desire such a revelation, cannot under the

f

circumstances be considered unreasonable.

d

1 have thﬁs endeavoured to pass in review theldistinguishing

doctrines of the Vedantic and Brahmist systems, and to show

from the important errors. which they advocate, that those

systems are not from the God of truth. = Brahmism is one of

:E]

the latest claimants in Bengal to the homage and respect of its

0

population; and bases its high pretensions on the authority

of the Vedas.

Had its standards advocated but one great

érror, that error would have sufficed to destroy their credit.

But we have pointed out four of the most vitalimportance, The

f

193

0

system holds that the Pedas are inspired ; commends in relas

I

tion to the poor the worship of idols ; teaches the doctrine of

16

transmigration ; and maintains the institution of caste. How

{

must these four errors combined tend to deprive the system

id

of all credit as a divinely inspired system.

Viewing it as a

i

system of natural religion, we have seen how powerless it

1y,

must be for good ; seeing that the wncertainty of the religion

(%]

of nature, which is the same in modern as in ancient times;

Ir

its radical deficiencies, and its dreadful efects, render it

44

utterly insufficient for the crying wants of fallen man, and

therefore imply that a special Revelation from the God of

1

all goodness is both probable and necessary. Little will they

Yo

understand the object of this discussion, who think that it is

10

carried on merely for the sake of securing a literary victory

or glorying over the advocates of a weak cause.

The work

e

of a Christian man is a truly painful one, and in this country

he

becomes most painful at the moment of its greatest success.

I

1t is no pleasure to a Christian to see young men, well edu-

cated and well disposed, avoiding the powerful elaims of the

le,

revealed word of God, and fleeing to a ‘refuge of lies’ as a

10

system of true religion. He has been taught that errors in

per

religion lead to eternal ruin : and he has been commanded by

086

his Master to follow, to warn, exhort and remonstrate with

he

those who are going astray; to point out their errors and en-

deavour to direct them to real truth. In this pursuit, heis to

bear reproach and shame, to be the object of calumny, to be

misrepresented and abused. He will be accused of destroying

i

the peace of families, kidnapping young men and overturning

0w

all society.

But what else can ke do ? He must teach truth,

0se

whether men hear or refuse to hear.

He must expose error :

of

and I appeal to my reader’s candid judgment, whether the errors

1f$

of the Calcutta Brdhmists and Deists are not of the greatest

ity

importance. Errors in religion ruin men’s souls ; and because

ot

Christians love the souls of Hindus and desire their lasting

it

welfare, therefore they seek to open their eyes, to turn them

e

from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto

8

194

God.

It is painful to cut off a diseased hand or foot; but

thereby the rest of the body is saved. Even so, it is some-

times required that men should pluck out their right eye or

cut off their right hand, rather than they should fall wholly

into hell. Thus it is that some must suffer now, but thereby

multitudes will hereafter be saved. Let truth be successful

now, and the cause of error must be thoroughly weakened.

Think on these things calmly, weigh these-discussions can-

didly ; resolve to adopt no error ; and enquire earnestly after

God’s truth. But if any will be obstinate in their unbelief,

we may say with the servants of God in ancient times; ¢ If

ye will not hearken, our souls shall weep in secret places for

your pride ; and our eyes shall run down with water and

shall not cease,”” because of the evil that must fall upon you.

If in spite of all friendly warning, you still cling to these

erroneous views ; if in spite of all reasons to the contrary,

you will adopt only the religion of nature, then you must

abide by the consequences.

You must be content with its

uncertainty in life, its cheerlessness in death.

1t will leave

you without an atonement, without a Saviour : and in view of

the great day of retribution, it will provide you only with an

accusing conscience, a violated law, and an offended God !

PART III.

THE CLAIMS OF CHRISTIANITY.

¢ Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.”

¢ God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have

everlasting life.”

The religion, which teaches these wonder-

ous facts, stands side by side with other religionsin the world,

all claiming a divine origin.

Mahommedanism, Buddhism,

Parseeism, Hinduism, and Christianity advance a like claim

to the belief of their followers and of society at large; but

the most enlightened nations, and the most learned men in

the world, during a long series of ages, have declared that

the claims of Christianity alone can stand the severest test

which it is possible to apply to them. The proofs by which

those claims are sustained are drawn from analytical and

synthetical reasoning ; from a-priori and a-posteriori argu-

ments ; from evidence within the Bible and evidence without

it ; from the character of the religion ; from its history, its pro-

gress and its effects. So numerous and so varied are they, that

it has been said, they might constitute a distinctive science,

worthy of special study and bearing a special name.

Yet men

are found who deny the force of this accumulated evidence

altogether ; who called the Saviour of the world an impostor,

and his religion alie. Whence comes this curious phenomenon?

It cannot be called strange ; for every good thing in this world

has met with opposers, and the better a thing is, the morecertain

is it to meet with them. Such is the antagonism of human

nature.

But the cause of this rejection of the Bible is easily

discoverable.

A search after truth must be honest and must

be carried on in a candid spirit if it is to be successful. No-

s 2

196

thing so effectually hinders it as prejudice. The man who sits

down to examine the Evidences of Christianity, determined be-

forehand to believe that that religion is false, that miracles are

impossible, that all prophets wrote after the events which they

speak of had taken place, that the morals of the Bible are

“ borrowed’ from nature, and that its influence is all imaginary ;

is not likely to rise from the study with a clear knowledge of his

subject, or a just estimate of its worth. Such a man resembles

JudgeJeffries, who condemned his prisoners before he had heard

a word of evidence against them; and his spirit of enquiry,

like that of this notorious judge, will surely be reprobated by

right-minded men. Christianity asks a candid hearing for it-

self and for all systems of religion : from an impartial enquiry

3

it has nothing to fear. It is only by misrepresentation and

caricature that it can be injured. Such an enquiry we invite

our readers to make. We believe there are in Bengal many,

who are anxious to know which is the true religion : and that

%

they may have some idea of the line of argument and the

kind of proofs, by which the truth of Christianity is demon-

strated, we have drawn up the following sketch of it for

their aid. The candid enquirer will receive from Christian

men all the help which their knowledge can give to his igno-

rance. But with those who misrepresent Christianity, who

shut their eyes to the light of noon and call it midnight,

they have nothing to do but warn them of their folly. When

a man determines not to believe a thing, no possible amount

e R D G L Mo s L35 g et il

of evidence will make him believe it.

The mind is free : but

where shall he find deliverance from men who voluntarily

makes his mind a slave to prejudice?

In taking a brief

survey of the evidence adduced for the truth of the Bible,

we shall look at various important points.

:;

SecTioNn 1.—THE HISTORY OF THE WAY OF SALVATION.

The mode in which the truth of God was first revealed to

|

man and aftervyards preserved, is so truly natural and suited

197

to men’s circumstances, as to contain convincing probf that it

is from God and not from man. The plan of salvation is so

truly philosophical in its character ; it is based on such a per-

fect knowledge of man’s wants, his lost condition, and the work=~

ings of his mental constitution ; and thus forms so clearly the

only possible plan available for all men in all ages, as to bear

proof on its very facethat it must be the work of a divine author.

This fact may be illustrated by the following considerations.

From the time of Adam the moral tendency of men was

only downward : after the warning of the deluge, they still went

astray ; it was apparent to all that a system of natural religion,

though aided by the partial revelations already given to men,

would not restrain them from evil: and that if the human

race were ever to rise in holiness and happiness, a special sys-

tem of agency must be employed for that end. Considering

that man is a religious being; that he will worship some-

thing; and that he makes his object of worship the stand-

ard of his own conduct, there is but one possible way of

bringing him back from degrading religions to the holiness

which he has lost. It is not by teaching him philosophy, not

by educating his intellect in a knowledge of the strict sciences,

that this noble end is secured ; but by placing before him a

pure object of worship, with the strongest possible reasons

for choosing that object as his own, and giving to it his most

hearty service and obedience.

That must be the first step ; to provide that object of wor-

ship and to reveal it in a special way. In doing so for the

benefit of all nations, God might adopt one of two plans.

Either he might make his plan simultaneously known to them

all ; or he might communicate it thoroughly to one nation

and spread it subsequently by their means. The former plan

would be attended by this great disadvantage, that it would

divide the world into sections, would make one nation inde-

pendent of another, would isolate all and thus destroy that

unity, which belongs to them as children of the same parents

and is so necessary for their mutual good. The latter plan

8 3

198

was the only alternative and God adopted it; not arbitrarily

as some assert, but for the wise reason that it was best suited

in its influence on men, wiltimately to secure the end which

such a new agency had in view.

He accordingly chose a

single nation, the Israelites, who were descended from Abra-

ham, his most beloved servant.

In order to save them from

the idolatries into which other nations were sunk, he sepa<

rated them from those nations and bound all the people toge-

ther by numerous bonds of the strongest kind. They were

descended from a common ancestor, were involved in one

common slavery in Egypt, and were united still more by a

common deliverance., These and other bonds have proved so

strong, that to this day they remain unbroken ; and while other

nations have been utterly lost, the Jews have preserved their

individual existence to the very last. This step was first

necessary. To carry out the plan still further, by attaching

the Israelites to himself alone, as their object of worship,

special means were adopted. Disinterested kindness always

wins affection ; especially if wisely applied at the most appro-

priate time; and such kindness he showed them when they

most needed it. When they were sunk in the lowest depths of

oppression and despair, He revealed himself to them as the

loving God, their friend, and as the God and friend of their

forefathers; and then, by a series of the most stupendous

miracles discomfited the idols of Egypt, proved the thorough

superiority of his own Almighty power, with a high hand

delivered them completely from their despot king, and set them

on the other side of the sea, a free and independent people.

- Having thus, in the most natural way, made himself the

object of their grateful love he sought to preserve that love

by special acts of providence. He fed them miraculously by

manna; poured water from the rock and saved them from their

enemies. He then gave them a moral law to guide their

conduct ; and impressed it deeply on their attention by terrify-

ing displays of his Almighty power calculated to strike offend-

ers with awe. He surrounded it by special rit-ugl services,

199

suited to their circumstances, and calculated by appeals to

their senses to satisfy their minds, while they tended the

more thoroughly to bind the nation as one man, and separate

them from other nations around them. By various institu-

tions he taught them fully the holiness, justice, and merey of

his character, and shewed that while he hated sin, he was

ready to forgive all penitents.

By various punishments,

inflicted at various times, he taught them that his law was

not to be broken with impunity, while his blessings assured

them that none could be obedient without profit.

Thus he

settled them in a land specially promised to them, as guar-

dians of his revealed religion, as a nation serving the true

God and shewing the way of forgiveness, though surrounded

by debased idolaters. It was long ere they thoroughly learned

for themselves the lesson which they were to teach unto others.

Often did they fall into error, but he punished them at once

and brought them back. When they obeyed they were hap-

py; when they rebelled, they suffered. But the object was

accomplished. During the worst ages of ignorance, when all

nations were sunk into the most brutal and debasing worship,

true religion was maintained amongst the Israelites; the

knowledge of the oNE TRUE Gop was preserved ; his way of

forgiveness made known : and at length the time arrived for

praclaiming these truths, as at first intended, to all the

nations of the earth.

It would be wrong however to suppose

that these nations had been altogether excluded from such

knowledge in the days of the Jews. The people of neigh-

bouring countries learned much of the character and acts of

Jehovah; many gave up their own errors to be his servants ;

that knowledge was carried to Egypt, to Asia Minor, to

Assyria, and even to the great king of Babylon ; Cyrus also,

Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia, recognised and

honoured the God of the Hebrews. Besides this, the progress

of idolatry in other lands shewed the condition in which «ll

would have been, had God left them alone ; and thus furnishes

an instructive proof of the uselessness of natural religion.

200

The advocates of natural religion forget this. Why is it that

when their system prevailed, men fell more and more into sin ;

while since the spread of Christianity the world has continu-

ally improved ?

As the time drew nigh when the knowledge of God and

of his way of salvation were to be communicated by the

Israelites to all nations, due preparations were made for the

important era. The Jews, from whom all desire for idolatry

had been eradicated, were scattered, to declare the doctrine

of oNE Gonp, throughout the civilized world ; and by their

proselyting spirit, not only made their doctrines well known,

but brought many to adopt their religion. When Jesus was

born, Jewish prayer-houses were established in all the countries

extending from Gaul to the Euphrates, and their proselytes

were numbered by thousands. In carrying out the higher end,

their ritual system was laid aside, but the same plan of elevat-

ing men was adopted as before, that of presenting to them a

pure object of worship, the Holy God, and of inducing them

to obey him with the affections of the heart. Jesus Christ be-

came incarnate ; the Son of God took the form of man: ¢ He

humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the

death of the Cross.”

He exhibited before his countrymen

a perfect character; he taught them the moral law more

fully, more minutely, than Moses did, and added to it the

strongest sanctions and motives to obedience drawn from the

doctrine of a future life, He set aside sense as the instructor

of men in doctrine and worship, and substituted rarra. He

explained fully by his apostles the doctrine of reconciliation

with God, through atonement, taught that that is the first

step in a return to God and that it must be followed by an

imitation of his own character.

He confirmed his pretensions

to be the promised Messiah, by the most wonderful miracles,

and then gave up his own life as a sacrifice for the world. He

is the embodiment of the love of God : He is the pure object

of our worship ; and his self-sacrifice is the motive of our wil-

ling obedience. He commanded his followers to go to all

201

nations and teach them all that he had taught them. Thus

Revelation is finished, and the plan of salvation completed.

Our object of worship is perfect: the reasons for our obedi-

ence are perfect : the reward of faith is fully revealed : divine

aid is promised to all who wish it. 'What more do men need

to know? Since the death of Jesus, his followers have spread

the knowledge of his salvation. It has not been confined to

one people, but adopted by many. Many idolatries have

been overthrown : millions of sinners have been brought back

and are coming to this day. This is the history of the way of

salvation. Is it not a wise plan? Do not its origin, progress,

development and end, all shew that its author is divine : and

therefore is not its perfect adaptation to the circumstances of

men a warrant of its continued success, wherever it is received ?

Yes : it will bring back all men : it will draw all men from their

errors, and lead their affections to him who has done so much

on their behalf. Where do we find such design, such wis-

dom, such adaptation in Vedéntism or the religion of Nature,

¢ After that the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased

God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that be-

l’ieve.”

SecTiOoN 2.—WHAT CHRISTIANITY IS AND WHAT IT

MEANS.

In spite of all that has been written and said in Bengal;

during the last thirty years, great ignorance exists among

even the better ranks of its people, concerning the designs of

missionaries and the system which they teach. They are

accused of enticing young men to profess Christianity by

offers of money, of European wives, of large salaries, of

Whether seri-

horses and carriages, or of splendid houses,

ously or not, the accusations are made even by those who

ought to know better.

A moment’s consideration however

02

would shew that if that be the method chosen by missionaries

of obtaining converts to their religious system, it is quite

unnecessary to establish large schools and expend money upon

education and christian literature.

Among the money-loving

brdhmans, surely many would be induced by the above con-

siderations to make an outward profession of Christianity : and

the number of converts would become a hundred fold what it

(;E[

now is. But such converts Christianity entirely repudiates :

they can only be a disgrace and a reproach. As even among

the most educated in native society, bad motives are constant-

f

ly attributed to the proceedings of missionaries : and as recent

t

public meetings shew that many native gentlemen are not too

fond of truth to misrepresent it, it may be useful to state in

[U

few words wHAT CHRISTIANITY 1S and what is the end which

)

it has in view.

1. Christianity is nof a religion which enjoins certain

1t

external customs and ceremonies as essential to its observance.

&l

It lays down no absolute rules as to what its followers must

eat or drink ; how they shall dress ; how they shall sleep ; how

they shall cut their hair, or clean their teeth.

“ The king-

§l

dom of God is not meat and drink.”” It is not a beef-eating

to

religion, nor does it compel any of its adherents to eat beef,

fa

turkey or any other species of food. In respect to food, it

leaves every man to follow his personal taste or the manners

of his country; while it confines its attention to the weighty

ha

concerns of the immortal soul.

¢ Neither if we eat are we

i

the better: nor if we eat not, are we the worse.”

« Every

I

creature of God is good, if it be received with thanksgiving.”

§

In the same way it leaves every man to dress as he chooses;

to build his house and plough his fields as his common sense

[/

dictates best.

Its attention is directed to the important rela-

m

tions between God and man, between man and his fellows ; to

q

the duties which they involve; and the consequences which

f}

follow from them, both in this world and the next.

On these

t}

subjects it teaches docfrines and commands certain courses

fi

of conduct.

§0

203

2

Among these doctrines, first and foremost is the doc-

trine of ONE Gop, whose warious attributes it repeatedly

describes with numerous appropriate illustrations.

It teaches

especially that Ie is eternal, almighty, omniscient, present

everywhere, Holy, Just, and merciful.

It shews him to be

the Creator and the Preserver of the universe : especially the

Friend, Redeemer and Judge of men.

It condemns all idola-

try of every kind and degree.

3

It teaches that all men have a common origin, being

the descendants of one pair, whom God created about six

thousand years ago: and that however they may differ in

country, language, colour, and habits, they are all made ¢ of

one blood;’ are brethren possessing the same constitution ; are

placed under the same dispensation of law and salvation ; and

In this doctrine

must be subjected to a common judgment.

it is thoroughly opposed to all systems of caste, whether of

ancient or modern times.

4. The Bible describes fully and perfectly ¢Ze laio of

God which is to guide human conduct in all its relations. It

shows that sin consists not in an impurity of the body, as

touching a dead man, eating with another caste, or refusing to

fast ; but in the wilful transgression of the commands of

God ; in idolatry, ingratitude, blasphemy, theft, lying, anger,

malice, covetousness and like faults.

It shows that all men

have thus sinned, and that because sin is a public evil in the

universe, God the governor of that universe will surely punish

it; first that the transgressor may not do it again; and

secondly that others may fear to imitate him.

5. Again it lays down the principle, that without atone-

ment thereis no forgiveness ; a principle acted on daily among

men : and that men khave no atonement of their own to offer,

s Wikl

equivalent to the crimes which they have committed.

the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten

thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give him my first-born

for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my

soul 7’ No: ¢ Lebanon is not sufficient for the fire, nor all

204

The atonement

the beasts thereof for a burnt-offering.”

must equal the guilt : the ransom paid for each individual

must be equivalent in worth to the immortal soul forfeited by

his sin.

6.

It then teaches, that God having known, from the

first, man’s utter inability to save himself, in Ais great merey

and compassion resolved to send his son Jesus Christ, that he

Thus it was He

might offer his life as an atonement for sin.

became incarnate and died ¢ the just for the unjust.,” ¢ He is

the propitiation for sin ; and not for ours only but also for the

sing of the whole world.” The first benefit of this atonement is

the forgiveness of sin, including deliverance from the punish-

ment which it has deserved.

This benefit is not restricted

or confined to any class; but all men may secure it, who ask

for the blessing for the sake of Jesus Christ who died to

make it theirs.

7. A second benefit of the atonement is the removdl of

the other great evil under which all men labour, @ weak and

corrupt nature.

The man who trusts in- Christ for the for-

giveness of his sins shall have a new nature imparted to him

by the Spirit of God. This is called Regeneration. Instead

of loving and practising evil, he will then love and practise

holiness : cbedience to the law of his Saviour will be easy and

will give him lasting pleasure. Those only who truly love

Christ and are thus regenerated are regarded as true Chris-

tians.

8. The Bible teaches that all men ought to be Chris-

tians : all need the blessings of Christianity : God, the ruler

of all, has given them for all : they are suited for all and can

be received by all. Gratitude and obedience to God demand

that every man when he hears of the love of God in Christ,

should ‘trust it for himself and pray for its benefits.

He

should then publicly profess his gratitude and faith, in the

ordinance of baptism appointed for that purpose.

D

It teaches that all #rue Christians are to cultivate

habits of holiness; to watch against temptations to sin; to

20

pray every day and study the Bible every day, especially

during the rest of the Sabbath day; that they may learn

more of the law of God and practise it more fully. It ap-

points to them also the duty of making known the way of

salvation every where ; in their families, their neighbourhood,

their country and in all parts of the earth. It is by means

of men who know the Bible that God wishes to invite and

instruct those who know it not.

10.

It teaches that such is the work of all Christians

during life : and that after death God will receive them into

an abode of perfect happiness ; where they shall live for ever.

No souls will undergo transmigration: but a great day is

appointed in which God will judge all men, will vindicate his

plans, and shew their wisdom before the universe, and will

reward every man as his merits and his works deserve.

On

that day by a peculiar exercise of divine power, the essential

elements of the bodies of men will be re-united to their souls :

the righteous will enter heaven to leave it no more : the wick-

ed will be cast into hell.

From this brief outline of the doctrines of Christianity, its

pEsIGN will be easily perceived. Looking on all men as lost

in sin, and as treading the path to eternal ruin, it desires to

preach to all men the good news of that mercy which God of

his own free will has offered to them. It wishes to make

known these doctrines, to establish a belief in them in all

It deals not

minds, and induce men to act upon them.

with their bodies, but their souls; not with their wealth or

rank, but with their judgments, their convictions, their feel-

ings, and their will.

It wants no government force, no persecution, no compulsion,

It wants no

no seduction ; but it wishes fo persuade men.

hypocrites, no false professors, no bought followers ; but it

seeks men who of their own free will give up error, devote

themselves to the Son of God, and live as their profession

requires them to do. By such persuasions only, it wishes to

establish men in the truth. It of course opposes all error;

T

206

because error dishonours God, and injures men both in this life

and the life to come.

From love to men, and because it seeks their welfare, it

opposes Caste and Puranism : it opposes Veddntism, Brdh-

mism, Vaishnavism, and all other false systems of religion.

They lead men away from God : Christianity reconciles them

to him. In doing so it will endeavour to destroy the errone-

ous systems, but to save the souls of their followers.

SecrioN 3.—TaE MoraL PRECEPTS OF THE BiBLE.

Among the many proofs that the Bible is from God, the

SYSTEM OF DUTIES which it inculcates occupies a conspicu-

ous place.

Many ancient philosophers communicated moral

maxims to their followers and wrote treatises on various classes

of moral duties ; but none ever taught a system, complete in

all its parts ; much less did they ever teach a system, whose

precepts were one and all accordant with reason and entirely

free from defect. The same remark applies to the Deists of

modern times. We look in vain in their writings for a fault-

less statement of all the duties which man owes to his Crea-

tor, his fellows and himself. Even in what they do teach we

remark considerable diferences between the various instruc-

tors.

What some

What some condemn, others oppose.

enforce, others forbid. Thus Mr. Hume, as we have shown,

declared that if a man would enjoy all the pleasures of life, he

must commit adultery ! Yet nature by the effects of such con-

duct directly asserts the contrary. Even in' defining the very

first element of a moral system, the nature of wvirtue, the

ancient philosophers differ so widely, that Varro numbered no

less than two hundred and eighty opinions on the subject. If

they differed at the outset, how could they agree in all the

details ? Of how many omissions also are they guilty ; passing

by important branches of morals without one precept or rule

respecting them., In how many cases did they teach positive

207

error. Again, the motives by which their maxims are enforced

are all of an inferior kind.

They refer their followers not to

the fear of God, to be maintained at all risks and all sacri-

fices; but to self-interest, the desire for fame, the desire to

please, the fear of reproach, and incentives of the like kind.

What more could be expected from human nature in its

present corruption, weakness and love of evil? What more

could be expected from those who follow the impulse of

passion and fear man rather than God? Can the blind lead

the blind? Can one who is ignorant make his scholars wise ?

Can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit?

But the moral system of the Bible possesses characters

altogether of another kind. From the very first its voice has

been certain and free from doubt.

It has never taught one

wrong precept, nor based right precepts upon erroneous mo-

tives to obedience. Already in the days of Moses, 150 years

before the Vedas were compiled and 1,100 years before

Socrates, it presents us with a pesfect system of moral truth

in the Law of the Ten COMMANDMENTS.

If we examine

these commandments but briefly, we shall see that they pos-

sess a simplicity, grandeur and completeness, which not one

of the most enlightened philosophers of the world in any

age has in any manner equalled. The ten commandments

divide themselves into two branches: the first four embrace

the subject of religion, our duty to God. The remaining siz

In

declare our duty to man, or morality strictly so called.

the first branch are included ; (1) the command whom to

worship, the true God: (2) kow to worship; without an

V

image to mislead us; in spirit and in truth: (3) the spircé

17

of religion, reverence for all sacred objects: (4) a day of

0

worship ; that men might have a regular time for so great a

f

duty.

In the second branch, that of Morality, there is

16

enjoined (1) obedience to parents and lawful authority : (2)

|0

vespect to human /ife, and the cultivation of kindly inter-

I3

course with others : (3) respect to family purity : (4) respect

i

to property : (5) respect to ¢ruth and others’ reputation : (6)

e

208

the subjugation of those desires which give rise to all sin.

The first branch is summed up in the sublime command

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, with

all thy soul, with all thy mind and with all thy strength.””

The precepts of the second branch are all embraced in the

brief injunction, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself ;”

which points out both the object of our love and the measure of

it. Al law is included in these two commands : and they again

are included in oNE, the law of UNIVERSAL LovE. Nothing

can exceed the sublimity and completeness of this wonderful

moral code. Yet it existed in the days of Moses and forms

a part of the oldest book in the world, the Pentateuch.

In the other laws which were delivered by Moses to the

Israelites the various branches of this system are fully develop-

ed and illustrated. All the varieties of duty, all the objects of

duty, all the occasions of duty are plainly specified. Public and

private life ; trade, commerce and agriculture; social intercourse

and public justice, are all regulated by suitable rules. Kings and

subjects ; teachers and scholars ; buyers and sellers ; parents

and children ; fellow-citizens and neighbours, all have their

duties assigned.

The grand motive to cbedience in all cases

and in all degreesis this; “7am the Lorp, that brought

thee out of the land of Egypt ; therefore love me and keep my

commandments.”” No expediency is allowed ; none are to judge

by what seems to their advantage or their loss.

The rule of

action is ; God says it, therefore it must be done. We may now

ask in relation to this system ; Isit possible that it could be of

man? Moses, we know, was learned in all the wisdom of the

Egyptians ; but whence could he have derived the knowledge

of such rules as these ?" The Egyptians, civilized as they were,

were brute worshippers of the lowest kind; the cat, the dog,

the lizard, were revered by them as gods : whence then could

he have derived the purely spiritual religion which the com-

mandments inculcate ?

The morality of Christianity bears a still higher character.

Not because it gives any new command ; but because of the

209

wider application of the rules already enjoined, and the higher

motives which it advances for obeying them. Thus it shews the

wide sphere in which the law of love is to be applied : points

out all men, in all countries, and of all races as its proper

objects ; while among Christians the love of their Saviour to

them is appointed as the measure of their love to each other.

It draws attention to duties which no system except that of

the Bible ever described ; such as the duty of personal humi-

It declares

lity, love to enemies and forgiveness of injuries

that the %eart is the seat of sin, and that evil lies not in the

acts of a man but in his intentions.

The Biblelays down no

false principles

it permits none of the austerities which

Hindus so highly praise

it allows no licentiousness to a

favoured class, nor the performance of one duty to supersede

that of others.

So excellent is its morality that no man ever

came up to 1t

Good, upright, benevolent and pure as many

may be, they have never risen, and in this life never can rise,

to the standard of virtue which the Bible records.

The pic-

ture which it draws of a perfect man, of a perfect society,

has never yet been seen among men, except in the case of

And when the world has

the Incarnate Saviour who drew it

reached that high pitch of intelligence, morality and religion

which prophecy foretells, that picture will only be realized

it cannot be surpassed.

Whence did this wondrous system come ? Its author and

expounders say it is from God :

and was given by him that

men may enjoy light in their darkness and be guided by truth

in a world of error.

The Deists tells us that it is merely the

invention of a superior mind, that had keener perceptions of

E

the requirements of virtue than most men possess

Now the

mind must believe that effects spring from adequate causes

)

But the Deists require us to believe that a Jewish peasant and

Jewish fishermen, members of a most exclusive system,

attained to the knowledge of a universal morality which the

wisest philosophers in all ancient time never conceived. They

14

require us to believe that men of no education and of low birth

T3

210

were better teachers of true religion than the best educated

and most enlightened moralists, who had made the subject

their constant study. Let those believe it who can.

For

ourselves, we attribute so divine an effect to nothing less than

a divine origin.

As far as we are aware, only two objections have been

brought against the morality of the Bible by any Calcutta

writers : (1) That it has very little direct reference to the

practical concerns of this life: and (2) That it has been

powerless to reform the world, because many Christians are

so wicked : and therefore [we quote the horrible passage] “ the

genius of human happiness must tear every leaf out of the

accursed book of God, before man can read the inscriptions

on his heart.”

The jformer objection shews that the writer

has not read the Bible, nor even the ten commandments. For

its preeepts are of a peculiarly practical kind and deal with

all the minute circumstances, relations and duties of common

life. It is to Deistic and infidel writers we must go for

]:l

transcendental descriptions of the ¢magnificent’ powers of

sinful and degraded man.

It is they who shut their eyes to

the corruption of his nature, to his moral inability ; to the

extent of his moral duty and the real character of sin.

t\

Christianity explains that duty with the minutest detail, and

S

enforces it. 2. The second objection is, that the system is

not from God ; because among Englishmen there are found

liars and swindlers, adulterers and oppressors.

The fact we

allow ; with the reasoning we totally disagree. It is because

thousands. of Englishmen do not obey the Bible, that they

present such a lamentable contrast between their practice and

§

their professed principles. It cannot be said that Christianity

has no power to change men, for it as changed millions : nor

|

that they who really love Jesus Christ and follow the Bible

§f

are habitually guilty of all kinds of wickedness.

The con-

It

trary is notorious. But it should be well understood that there

are two classes of Englishmen, those who are Christians and

1]

those who are not.

Allowing imperfection even in the

{

11

former, that does not diminish the glory of the Bible. To

our view it adds to it.

It shews there is within it-a stand-

ard of excellence, which even good men cannot attain; a

standard superior to the virtue which even the best actually

practise.

This proves the Book to be from God, not from

man : and as it is unjust to charge the defects of a wayward

scholar upon his teacher ; so is it unfair to charge the failings

of weak men upon the perfect God.

SectioNn 4.—TuE CHARACTER OoF CHRIST.

. Ax additional proof of the divine origin of the Scriptures

is found in the CrmArAcTER of CHRIST.

To understand it

well, we invite our readers to examine the accounts of his

life contained in the first four books of the New Testament ;

the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

They will

there find a description of one, whose like never appeared in

any age or any country of the world.

History records the

names of many sages and many statesmen distinguished for

different virtues.

It tells us of the stern justice of Brutus,

the happy contentment of Cincinnatus; the self-restraint of

Scipio.

It praises Aristides for his justice, Cato for his inte-

grity, and Socrates for his self-denying philanthropy. But

where shall we find any one of ancient or modern days, in

whom all virtues, all excellencies meet, without a single failure,

except Jesus of Nazareth.

““ While all other men are formed

by the spirit of their age, the character of Christ had no

impression of the age and country in which he lived.”

That

g

character is represented to us as perfect, and that not in words,

but by a detail of his sayings and his deeds. He is repre-

If

e

sented in many situations, as speaking with men of different

ranks ; on a variety of subjects ; with enemies and friends ; in

private and in public ; with his followers and with multitudes ;

{7

i

in- duty and in suffering : but he is always consistent, always

the same. . No fault can be found with him in a single case.

i

212

Nothing can be observed unsuitable to the high character he

professed to bear, or the glorious object for which he professed

to live and die.

As sustaining the character of a man, we be-

hold in him perfect love to God. A spirit of devotion exhibits

itself at all times in his delight in the works of God and the

goodness they display ; in his constant prayers ; his giving of

thanks; his submission to the will of God, especially on the

night when he was betrayed. His Aumility declines the honour

which admiring crowds would have offered ; and children,

strangers and poor rejoice in his Aindness.

His gentleness

displays itself in a rebuke to those hasty disciples who would

have called down fire on the Samaritan village, and in his last

prayer for his enemies.

Prudence leads him to deal care-

fully with the multitude, with the authorities of government

P, e R P e e L

and with his numerous enemies.

Deepest compassion for

human misery displays itself in the words and deeds of kind-

ness performed for its relief ; while under his own sorrows

arising from the opposition and hatred of the proud hypo-

crites among whom he lived, he exercises the most perfect

patience.

There is nothing of impurity in his speech or act ;

B R T e e = S g

no selfishness; no deception; no evil of any kind: while

excellencies of the most opposite kind combine within him

81

with perfect harmony.

He was dignified yet humble; free

)

from worldliness yet courteous to all : devoted to the good of

P

all, yet a faithful friend : the Great Teacher but a loving son.

We must remember too that his biographers tell us Ae was

God. Yet we find his character not inconsistent with such a

claim. He acts like God and speaks like God. He teaches

with great authority, as having power to set aside the Jewish

|

ceremonies and to confirm their moral Law.

He talks of

a)

heaven and hell calmly and without hesitation, like one who

¢

is perfectly acquainted with the subject. The manner in

Ll

which all this is written is a warrant for its truth. The

0

biographers of Jesus, though writing of the most sublime

f

instructions and wondrous deeds ever taught or performed

tl

among men, tell their story with stoical calmness. We find

b

213

no splendid panegyric on their friend and master ; no flights

of imagination in dressing up fine scenes ; no appeals to the

passions of their readers.

Their narrative of his wondrous

deeds, words and thoughts is duly concise and beautifully

simple.

Even when they tell of his intense sufferings and

agonizing death, they write like stones; not one word of

reproach against his enemies escapes from their pen.

Yet in

their discourses and their letters these same men speak with

the warmest feeling and the most impassioned eloquence.

Whence is the difference ? Jesus Christ is the incarnate God ;

and his biographers were taught to write of him as such. He

spake as never man spake; and they write of him as man

never yet wrote. If the accounts of the four Gospels are false,

the fact is infinitely more wonderful than if they are true.

I shall close this brief notice of the Saviour’s character,

by quoting the description of his acts and the lessons deduc-

ed from them, written by.one who will not, by Deists, be

accused of partiality for his subject.

The description is not

from a “hired priest,” but from an enemy of the Gospel, the

French infidel Rousseau.

“T confess to you that the majesty of the Scriptures

strikes me with admiration, as the purity of the Gospel has

ue

its influence on my heart.

Peruse the works of our philoso-

phers, with all their pomp of diction : how mean, how con-

temptible are they, compared with the Scriptures ! Is it possi-

ble that a book, at once so simple and sublime, should be mere-

ly the work of man? Is it possible that the sacred personage,

68

whose history it contains, should be himself a mere man?

h

Do we find that he assumed the tone of an enthusiast or

of

ambitious sectary? What sweetness, what purity in his man-

0

ners! What an affecting gracefulness in his delivery! What

10

sublimity in his maxims! What profound wisdom in his dis-

lhe

courses! What presence of mind in his replies! How great

me

Where is the man, where

the command over his passions.

el

the philosopher, who could so live and so die, without weak-

il

ness, and without ostentation? When "Plato described his

214

imaginary good man with all the shame of guilt, yet meriting

the highest rewards of virtue, he describes exactly the cha-

racter of Jesus Christ :—the resemblance is so striking that

all the Christian fathers perceived it.

¢ What prepossession, what blindness must it be to com-

pare (Socrates) the son of Sophroniscus to (Jesus) the son

of Mary! What an infinite disproportion is there between

them ! Socrates, dying without pain or ignominy, easily sup-

ported his character to the last; and if his death, however

easy, had not crowned his life, it might have been doubted

whether Socrates, with all his wisdom, was any thing more

than a vain sophist.

He invented, it is said, the theory of

morals.

Others, however, had before put them in practice ;

he .had only to say, therefore, what they had done, and to

reduce their examples to precept.

But where could Jesus

learn, among his competitors, that pure and sublime morality,

of which he only has given us both precept and example.

The death of Socrates, peaceably philosophising with his

friends, appears the most agreeable that could be wished for ;

that of Jesus, expiring in the midst of agonising pains,

abused, insulted, and accused by a whole nation, is the most

horrible that could be feared.

Socrates, in receiving the cup

of poison, blessed the weeping executioner who administered

it; but Jesus, in the midst of excruciating tortures, prayed

for his merciless tormentors.

Yes! if the life and death of

Socrates were those of a sage, the life and death of Jesus

§

were those of a God. Shall we suppose the evangelic history

a mere fiction? Indeed, my friend, it bears not the marks of

fiction ; on the contrary, the history of Socrates, which no-

body presumes to doubt,is not so well attested as that of

Jesus Christ.

Such a supposition, in fact, only shifts the

difficulty, without obviating it: it is more inconceivable,

that a number of persons should agree to write such a history,

R . i

than that one only should furnish the subject of it. The

Jewish authors were incapable of the diction, and strangers

to the morality contained in the Gospel, the marks of whose

215

truth are so striking and inimitable, that the inventor would

be a more astonishing character than the hero

SectioN 5.—THE JEWS AS WITNESSES FOR THE TRUTH OF

THE BIiBLE

It is said that on one occasion, a large party of infidels,

including the celebrated Voltaire and the oreat unbelievers of

his day, was assembled around the table of Frederick II

king of Prussia

The conversation, as was natural, turned

upon Christianity ; and many were the hard and witty and

contemptuous things spoken of its system of revealed religion

There was, however, one gentleman present, who, though he

said nothing, intimated a hearty dissent from the arguments

and conclusions uttered in his hearine

The king observed

his disapproval and, hastily addressing him, said

“ Come,

M. I see you do not agree with us

now give us in the few-

est possible words, a strong argument in favour of your

Bible

The gentleman thus called on, replied ; ¢ Tuas Jews;

your majesty, THE JEWS ;

and said no more.

The assem-

bly was instantly silenced, conscious that the existence of

that most remarkable people is a phenomenon utterly irrecon-

cileable with the Deistic theory, and an unanswerable argu-

ment for the truth of that Bible which alone describes their

%

origin and history. For this reason we have mtroduced a

short notice of them in this discussion.

Many of our readers may have seen some individuals of

f

this remarkable nation

A few reside in Calcutta, and it

would be worth the while of some of the opposers of Chris-

f

tianity to seek them out, look at their synagogue and its

14

worship, and converse with them on their past history. These

)

Jews are found in all countries of the world: in England

in northern Africa, in

fy

France, Prussia, Poland and Spain

17

Egypt, in Arabia, Persia, Hindustan and China : in Australia,

[

in America

They have wandered every where

From the

most trust-worthy accounts they seem at present to be about

216

seven millions In number

They are unlike other nations, in

their features, their manners (which are quite oriental), in

their notions, their worship, their ceremonies, their festivals,

the doctrines which they believe, and the expectations which

they indulge. They speak the languages of the country where

they were born or in which they have travelled ; but they all

learn another language, the Hebrew. Thattongue is not spoken

in any distinct country at the present time, but it is one of

their bonds of union ; for it was the language of their fathers

and in it their code of laws was originally written.

A few

months ago a colony of these Jews was discovered in China,

which had been cut off, for hundreds of years, from intercourse

with Western Asia, and had never heard the name of Jesus

of Nazareth. But they have the same traditions, the same

customs, the same ceremonies as all other Jews, and are

looking for the same event, the coming of a great deliverer

who shall unite them all again into one people

The Jews unanimously declare that they once had a coun-

try of their own, the land of Palestine, and were driven from

it on its conquest by the Romans

We can trace them back

l

in history till we arrive at that conquest, an account of which

is written in the works of the Roman historian Tacitus

There stands in Rome to this very day a beautiful arch of

stone, erected by the conquerer, the emperor Titus, in

commemoration of his victory, and it is known by his name,

““The arch of Titus

It is proved by that arch that the

Jews were the same people then as they are now in their

religious customs: for pictures of the furniture of their tem-

:);:;

ple, of its golden table, candlestick and trumpets are sculp-

|

tured upon it

It is worthy of notice that the Jews never

go under that arch, so painful is their remembrance of the

defeats which it records.

to

Among their festivals is the Sabbath, which they obcerve

on the last day of the week. Anotheris the Passover, of

t\

which they give the same account as is written in the Bible;

and which they say has been observed by them and their

f

217

fathers for more than three thousand years.

They also keep

other festivals, particularly one called the Feast of Purim.

The origin of this people and of all their singular customs,

festivals and notions is written orly in the Old Testament,

the former part of the Christians’ Bible.

No other book

can explain it, except the Bible or works drawn from it. To

that Old Testament they cling most strongly.

Its language

they learn as their own, as the only pure remains of the

i}

tongue which their fathers spake in the old time: and the

correctness of the book they guard most jealously. One part

of the Old Testament is also preserved by some enemies of

the Jews, the Samaritans ; and from them is called the Sama-

ritan Pentateuch. But the words of both agree; a clear

0

proof that they have a common original and that they ave

both true.

The whole of the Old Testament was translated

I

into Greek by Jews at the command of Ptolemy Philadelphus

rearly 330 years before Christ’s birth and has been wuniver-

sally known since then by the name of the Septuagint. Now

|

considering that it is utterly impossible to induce a whole

nation to join in collusion for the establishment of a false-

hood ; or to persuade them that their ancestors observed

1§

customs and obeyed a Law which is newly brought among

them, the fact of the Jews existing at this day with the Old

of

Testament in their hands, and observing the ceremonies, the

i

by

origin of which it alone describes, must be to all candid

minds a proof that the accounts of that book are absolutely

16

¢rue. The only way in which their Book of Laws, which

el

also contains the account of their origin, could be establish-

ed among them, was by its describing facts which had really

\Ip'

yer

happened in their midst. Another confirmation of their part

of the Bible, is that their present condition is actually fore-

the

told in that very book, which they hold so firmly, which

rve

condemns their conduct and points out their dispersion as

the fruit of sin.

The Deist cannot get rid of this fact. The

of

Jews can be accounted for, in their present circumstances,

)le y

their notions, their ceremonies, their expectations, only on

i

U

218

the supposition that the Old Testament is TRUE.

But if the

Old Testament is true, then the theory of the Deist as to

revelation is erroneous: for the Jews received an undoubted

revelation from God himself on Mount Sinai.

The New

Testament is also true; for it fulfils the prophecies of the

Old Testament, fulfils its purpose, and shews the end of that

method of universal salvation, the beginning of which made

the Jews God’s chosen people. To repeat; if the facts are

true, the doctrines are true : they stand or fall together. If the

facts are true, then the miracles of the Bible are true ; and

their prophecies existed long before their fulfilment. And that

miracles were performed and prophecies thus uttered, proves

that God is the author of the religion which they ushered

into the World.

v

Secrion 6.—TrE MIracLES oF THE BIBLE.

Much sophistry has been expended by Deists, on the sub-

ject of the Bible miracles, and numerous efforts have been

made to throw discredit upon them as improbable ; the sub-

ject is however comparatively a simple one and involves

scarcely any thing which the plainest intellect cannot under-

stand. A miracle is a direct display of divine power, in a man-

ner which differs from the usual course of God’s providence.

Man is possessed of some power and can exert that power in

the production of various effects.

God has almighty power

and can therefore exhibit its effects to an unlimited degree.

The works of man are superior to those of animals, and their

In like

existence proves that it is HE who has done them.

manner the works of God bear marks of being the product

of His hand; they surpass men’s works far more than the

latter surpass those of the inferior creation. If God wishes

{

to performn such a work before men, it must bear all the

marks of such superiority : andif a work bearing those marks

really be performed, men must of ‘necessity ascribe it to God.

The effect corresponds with the cause; the work with the

—

219

producing agent. If the works of God only resembled those

of men, it would be impossible for men to distinguish between

them.

How

Some men deny the possibility of miracles.

they can reasonably do so, we are at a loss to understand. If

God has a certain end to accomplish, there is no reason why

he should not work a miracle to accomplish it, if He sees fit :

and it is not for men to tell Him, as they sometimes have

done, what He ought, or ought not to do.

Extraordinary ob-

jects demand the use of extraordinary means ; and miracles are

the only possible way of proving immediately that any thing

is from God.

Now the purpose for which the Bible declares

that its miracles were wrought was of no inferior kind. They

were not intended to gratify mere curiosity.

They were not

performed in mere sport for the amusement of men ; nor were

they done for any selfish motive ; nor in order to extol and

magnify man. But they were wrought for the purpose of esta-

blishing the TRUE REL1GION, and of placing it on such a sure

basis of divine authority, that no man who received the fact of

the miracle should for a moment question the truth taught,

Such an end was every way worthy both of the miraculous

)

agent and of his agency.

Now men in general, so far from believing miracles unlikely

and impossible, universally look for them on the establishment

of a new religion, and no religion can be esteemed divine un-

!

less miracles accompany it.

Such is the law of man’s consti-

tution.

On this ground enthusiasts have sometimes persuad-

ed themselves that they have possessed the power of working

\!

them : and impostors have almost invariably laid claim to it.

(e

Men naturally feel that if a religion be from God it must

o

have marks of a godlike origin.

he

The question whether such miracles Aave been wrought is

]

the chief point to be decided. Men are but poor judges of

he

what God is likely to do ; but he has given them ample means

ks

of knowing what He Aas done.

Miraculous facts, when they

d,

occur, must be proved by the very same rules of evidence, as

those by which the ordinary events of human life are esta-

e

W2

20

blished : viz. by the evivdencerf men’s senses, well weighed

by their judgment.

To such a test the miracles of the Bible

may - be subjected without fear.

They are in number not

one or two, which might be attributed to mistake or chance,

but very many. When the Israelites were separated from

the Egyptians as the depositories of true religion, in order to

convince them wro was their deliverer from their galling

bondage, a series of fen most stupendous miracles was per-

formed upon the largest scale : the truth of which is attested

.0 this day by the festival of the Passover intended to

commemorate their result.

Here was no whispering of brah-

mans behind their temple door ; no cooking of the uppermost

in a series of rice-pots within closed doors ; the whole land of

Egypt was involved in these miracles at one and the same

time.

The Nile became blood before all eyes : frogs, lice and

locusts covered the whole land : the hailstones swept the whole

country ; the whole land was shrouded in darkness; and_ the

firstborn of all families died.

In the New Testament about

Jifty miracles are mentioned; though the number per-

formed must have been much greater, several being sometimes

described in few words; ‘“he healed them all’’ and so on.

hs

Again, these miracles are not solely of one kind, they exhibit

a

great variety.

In some cases common diseases were healed ;

th

in others a cure was performed on the lame, the blind, the

th

deaf, the leprous; those who were maimed received a new

N

limb ; while on a few occasions, the dead were raised again to

fay

life.

The works of nature were subject to this agency. Fire

[

was made to fall from heaven at a special time ; storms were

raised, and storms were stilled : ariver was turned into blood ;

i)

a sea and a river were divided in twain.

Rocks, earth, sky,

Ie

sun, light and darkness were all made to exhibit the interfer-

i

ence of miraculous power.

The manner of their performance

Wt

also proves their truth. They were wrought not in some secret

Iy

place before a few interested friends; but openly, publicly

thy

before assembled multitudes.

At the prayer of Elijah fire

K

fell from heaven in the presence of thousands.

Jesus Christ

221

fed thousands with a few loaves.

The miracles were wrought

before enemies: and the worst enemies of Christianity have

acknowledged them to be true.

Julian, Porphyry, Celsus,

and many opposing Jews fully allow that Jesus and his apos-

tles did the works ascribed to them. They were done, too

for the good of men. Rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, bene-

fited by them.

They were not useless displays of power ;

but were remarkably suited to the ends they had in view.

Thus the miracles of Moses were calculated not only to prove

the power of the true God, but tended directly to overthrow

all confidence in the idols of Egypt; Osiris, Isis, Serapis,

and the Nile.

Those of Jesus taught the compassion of the

Gospel and that love of God, of which he was the bright

expression. Similar was the end of the miracles of the Apos-

tles. They were never wrought for their benefit, and they

were all performed with a dignity and a simplicity befitting

their high aim.

That these miracles were actually performed, it is impossi-

ble for a candid man to doubt, so clear and abundant is the

u

evidence in their favour.

The accounts of the New Testa-

§

ment miracles were published at once, while thousands who

had seen them were still alive; they were published, too,

3

1t

among enemies.

Yet not one of the ancient objectors denies

Let it not then be said that

;

the truth of a single miracle.

the stories of these miracles are ‘airy and unsubstantial.’

3

No facts in the world can bring better evidence in their

favour than do these.

No one can appeal to stronger testi-

¢

mony than that of the enemy who wishes to destroy him.

10

Ré4mmohan Roy, with a view to throw discredit on the

miracles of the Bible has said ; “ Mussalmans can produce

L

records written and testified by contemporaries of Muham-

\f

i

mad, both friends and enemies, who are represented as eye-

witnesses of the miracles ascribed to him.”

Here the Rajah

j0¢

reh

has fallen into considerable error. Muhammad always denied

that he could perform miracles.

He has denied it in the

dy

Korén over and over again and has assiyned a reason Jor

ire

U 3

st

222

st

He says: “ It is not in my power to perform miracles :

but the appearance of the Koran is a miracle in itself.” ¢ They

have sworn by God, by the most solemn oath, that if a sign

came unto them, they would certainly believe therein.

Say :

verily signs are in the power of God alone.”

“Thou art

commissioned to be a preacher only and not a worker of

miracles.”

¢ Signs are in the power of God alone, and I am

no more than a public preacher.”

The reason he assigned

for his inability to work them, was that men had disbelieved

miracles in former times.

¢ Say : apostles have already come

unto you before me with plain proofs and with the miracles

which ye mention ; why therefore have ye slain them, if ye

speak truth ?”” ¢ Nothing hindered us from sending thee

with miracles, except that the former nations have charged

them with imposture.”

In these passages Muhammad both

denies that he was a worker of miracles and asserts that the

Christian miracles were true. The Rajah’s own witness gives

evidence against him. The miracles ascribed to Muhammad

by others, so far from being testified by contemporaries, were

according to the statements of Muhammadan writers, not

committed to writing till 200 years after his time, by Hamu

Ibn Bokhari, Quduni and others.

But Christians are called upon to believe the miracles of

Tarakeswar, if they believe those of the Scriptures.

Is there

really no difference between the two cases ? Is there no differ-

ence between the pretended wonders wrought by interested

bréahmans, for the honor of their idol and their own profit,

in a Hindu temple ; and those wrought over a whole country

in the presence of thousands, for the good of all, by men

who were only persecuted for their pains?

In cases of the

former kind the Roman Catholics have played their part well ;

and if Christians chose, they could, in the mauufacture of

such miracles, beat the cunning brahmans hollow.

But the

miracles of the Bible are altogether free from such defects.

They were cognised by men’s senses, were performed public-

ly, in open places, where jugglery was impossible ; were done

223

with good reason, and have monuments and ceremonies com-

memorative of them, observed to the present day. We would

draw the attention of our readers especially to the miracles

of Moses [Book of Exodus] ; to the story of Elijah [1 Kings,

xviii. chapter] ; the cure of the paralytic by Christ [ Mark, ii.] ;

the raising of Lazarus from the dead [John, xi.] ; the cure of

the lame man by Peter and John [Acts, iii. iv.] : and most of

all to the different accounts of the Resurrection of Christ.

The last mentioned miracle is commemorated to this day, by

the change of the Sabbath day (among Christians) from the

seventh day of the week (as among the Jews) to the first

day. This miracle by itself proves the Christian religion to

be incontestibly the revealed truth of God.

Section 7.—TuE ProPHECIES OF THE BIBLE.

The Bible contains numerous proPaECIES of future events,

which furnish an additional argument in favour of its inspi-

ration.

The argument from prophecy is perfectly distinet

frem that derived from miracles : and, except in their origin

and design, which are the same, the two kinds of proof are

completely independent of one another.

Each is sufficient of

itself to prove that the Bible must be from God, but God has

given them both to make the conclusion, which they lead to,

the more sure.

Besides they serve different purposes. Mira-

cles exhibit the divine power : prophecies the divine %now-

ledge. Miracles display at once the intervention of divine

authority ; Prophecy exhibits it to the men of a future time.

|

While the force of miracles does not dimiuish; that of pro-

phecy increases with every new fulfilment.

This branch of

the evidences of Christianity is amply deserving of the most

I

attentive study on the part of a candid enquirer.

By pro-

phecy is meant the description of some future event which it

17

is beyond the power of human sagacity to conjecture.

The

calculations of Astronomers declare the time of future eclipses

16

and the localities of the heavenly bodies at different periods,

224

Sagacious men often conjecture correctly events that may

happen within a limited time.

But they cannot go further ;

all their calculations depend upon the fact that the course of

nature shall continue as it is. Prophecy has declared far

more than this: and has affirmed that that very course of

nature, shall come to an end. The knowledge of events

distant some hundreds of years, of events which concern not

only the world at large, but the happiness and the condition

of families and individuals to be born, cannot be known to

any but the Omniscient God.

The man, therefore, who

claims to be a messenger from God, and gives a specimen of

divine foreknowledge in proof of his claim, must, by the ful-

filment of his prophecy, be acknowledged as such a messen-

ger. The only questions to be ascertained are ; was ¢the predic-

tion delivered before the event occurred ? and is it beyond the

power of human sagacity to utter?

The answer to these

questions in relation to the prophecies of the Bible is clear

and decisive.

A great portion of those prophecies is con-

tained in the Old Testament and was fulfilled in the time of

the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius.

But the Old Testa-

ment was completed, more than four hundred years before

that time, was translated into Greek by the order of Ptolemy

Philadelphus and spread among all the provinces of the

Roman Empire.

Both then and ever since it has remained

in the hands of Jews, who as a nation are enemies to Chris-

tianity ; yet from their books, numerous proofs of the truth

of Christianity are obtained. The character of the prophets

They were not men who

of God confirms their pretensions.

SRRy

sold the secrets of futurity for money, (as astrologers and

soothsayers pretended to do :) they were not men of wicked

habits, flatterers of kings, covetous and hypocrites. They

made no secret of their power ; yet they did not boast of it.

They spake with candour and openness, in public places, in

the ears of all.

The design of their prophecies was good.

§

They were not intended to gratify a vain curiosity, but were

spoken to confirm the truth of the word of God; to comfort

V

225

the church of God in persecution ; to encourage the servants

of God in their labours; to justify the dealings of God’s

providence : to exhibit His Omniscience : and to develop his

plans of mercy. The great number of the prophecies is a

proof of their truth. They are found in all parts of the Bible,

from the book of Genesis to that of the Revelations.

They

embrace a great variety of subjects ; the birth, name, charac-

ter and death of individuals; the locality, character and

history of nations; sometimes of nations that were not in

existence when the prediction was announced. These pro-

phecies are not ouly numerous, but minute.

Aristotle and

Cicero, when discussing the subject of the ancient oracles,

tell us that impostors always prophecy in general terms and

enter into no details of the exact Zime and place and circums

stances under which an event will occur.

The remark is

true down to this day. But the prophecies of the Bible are

not of this kind. They specify names, places and times

exactly : they describe the details of an event, all its attend-

ing circumstances and the manner of its occurrence.

They

tell of uncommon events ; of occurrences the very opposite of

what might be expected : they foretold even supernatural

events, the coming of storms, earthquakes and famines at

a particular time.

So numerous and full are these prophe-

cies that they form a continuous chain, descriptive of events

that have occurred in the course of SEVERAL THOUSAND

years and are occurring to the present day, not in one place

only but in many countries of the world.

To understand and value these facts rightly, we would

}

entreat our readers not to throw down the whole subject as a

piece of folly, but to examine it thoroughly for themselves.

/

Let them read the prophecies in the Bible, and compare them

with the events to which they relate and which history de-

seribes.

There are two admirable books which fully illustrate

the subject and will therefore be invaluable to a candid en-

{

quirer ; viz. ¢ Bishop Newton on the prophecies: and the

very popular work ¢ On the fulfilment of prophecy ; by the

226

Rev. Dr

Keith.

We invite them to study the matter with

care and to enquire and compare as deeply as they can

We

have nothing to fear except from a neglect of the study. We

do not hide our prophecies as the Roman senate hid- their

Sibylline oracles; but we invite all to read and judge for

themselves

In illustration of these prophecies we might

refer to the prediction concerning Ishmael and his descendants,

the 4rabs, which declared that they should ever be indepen-

dent and free as the wild-ass ; and which has been fulfilled to

the letter

Or we might tell of that concerning Tre, which

in the days of that city’s greatest wealth and power, declared

that it should be desolate and a place where fishermen spread

their nets

Or again of the prophecy concerning Egypt, or

Babylon or Nineveh or Ethiopia ; all of which have been

fulfilled without a single error

LEgypt has long ceased to be

a great kingdom and to have a king of its own nation

Ba-

bylon was taken by Cyrus during the drunkenness of a feast

and has been for hundreds of years a possession for the bittern

and for pools of water : it has become heaps and swamps, and

the den of wild beasts

Fire devoured the palaces of Nine-

n

veh and the river broke down its walls

its site was so lost for

!

centuries that Voltaire declared it had never existed. But the

ruins of its palaces have been brought to light and confirm

in every point the account which the Bible gives of them.

All these things, and many others like them happened, as

fi

prophecies had minutely foretold them many years before

0o

they took place

When Babylon was in its greatest glory,

Daniel prophecied its conquest by the Medes and Persians

the destruction of the Persian Empire by ¢the king of Gre-

§

cia;’ the division of Alexander’s Empire into four kingdoms

the establishment of the Roman power ; the rise of Popery

W

and that of Muhammadanism

Cyrus was spoken of by

il

name 200 years before his birth; his edopted religion was

{}

referred to by the prophet Isaiah ;

it was declared that he

J

should take Babylon by stratagem and should order the tem-

th

ple of Jerusalem to be rebuilt,

2l

227

There are two subjects on which the testimony to the truth

of prophecy is most ample; and the force of which the

utmost ingenuity has never in the slightest degree invalidated :

viz. the prophecies concerning the Jews and those concerning

JEsus CHRIST.

Obedience to their covenant with God was

the condition of Jewish prosperity ; adversity was appointed

as the chastisement of disobedience.

Moses their lawgiver

distinctly acquainted them with this rule of their Heavenly

King : and foretold most specifically the punishment which

should finally fall upon them if they refused to obey it. ¢They

were to be scattered among all nations; to find no rest in

their wanderings ; to be oppressed and degraded, and feel no

assurance of their life.’

They were to be few in number

among the heathen, to pine away in sin, and to be an astonish-

ment and reproach. They would suffer dreadful famines so

that in the siege of their city, the mother should devour her

child for very hunger.

A nation from afar, as swift as the

eagle flieth,’ of fierce countenance and foreign language, would

come upon them, encamp around them, destroy their govern-

ment, destroy myriads of lives, and sell so many into slavery

[

that ¢ no man should buy them.” Jesus Christ added to these

prophecies.

He foretold the signs by which the destruction

of Jerusalem should be preceded ; such as wars and rumours

3

of wars among all kingdoms of the world ; earthquakes,

famine and pestilence ; signs in the heaven, the appearance

of false Messiahs, and the preaching of his Gospel to all

nations.

He foretold that the Jewish government should be

fy

)

entirely destroyed, the city so overthrown, that one stone

should not be left upon another, and the people every

)

where carried captive: he also declared that these things

Iy

would happen before the present generation had passed away.

All this came to pass to the very letter : not one word fell to

by

/a8

the ground. The son of Vespasian besieged the city of

he

Jerusalem, overcame the factions which held it and expelled

the Jews. The temple was accidentally burned, and fell to

ruin, In the time of Adrian, in the secoud rebellion of the

Jews, its every stone was removed and a temple of Jupiter

built upon the site

The readers of Josephus cannot fail to

see how thoroughly his story accords with every letter of the

predictions of Christ.

The prophecies concerning the Saviour of men are the

most extraordinary; their minuteness makes them resemble

the after-description of an event, instead of its prediction s

and the curious contrasts and particularities they contain ren-

der it utterly impossible for human sagacity to have conjectured

them five hundred years before their fulfilment

The family

from which he should spring was pointed out, the tribe of

Judah and the family of David. The time was exactly defined

before the destruction of the Jewish state, 490 years after

the command of Artaxerxes to re-build Jerusalem, and while

the temple was still standing

The place was named, the

town of Bethlehem: a fact which gives great weight to the

prophecies concerning him, when we remember that it was

not his mother’s residence and became his birth-place in a very

singular manner It was also foretold that he should be born

of a wvirgin ; that he should have a fore-runner to announce

that he should be

his coming and prepare the people for it

of a mean condition, should be despised by his countrymen,

though possessing Aigher rank than man can possibly conceive ;

that he should be eminently endowed with the Holy Spirit ;

be perfect in moral character, just, vighteous, humble ; that

he should sustain the offices of prophet, priest and king ; and

that he should perform miraculous works for the benefit of

the afflicted. His last sufferings are minutely detailed

The

fi

price of his betrayal (thirty pieces of silver)

the purchase of

the potter

field with it ; the flight of ‘his disciples ; his per=

sonal 1ll-treatment

his death, not by the Jewish method of

stoning, but on the Roman Cross ; the thieves crucified with

é

him

his cry of agony ; the division of his dress among the

|

executicners and particularly the casting of lots for his seam-

less coat

the offering to him of thestupifying vinegar: were

circumstances distinctly enumerated by different prophets

4

229

who wrote at different times.

His burialin a rich man’s

tomb; his resurrection after three days; the outpouring of

the Holy Ghost ; and the establishment of his church were

all foretold, and EVERY WORD came {rue.

There is no room

here to say that the prophecies succeeded the events.

No

fact is better proved than this, that the Old Testament com-

::

plete existed three hundred years before Christ was born;

and to this day those very passages are in the hands of Jews,

the enemies of the Gospel.

They were written, they were

fulfilled, in him and in no one else.

From whom can they

Iz

have come, but from Him who knows all things, to whom

the future is known as clearly as the past, the Omniscient

t

God : and who gave them that his Bible might be proved to

le

be from Heaven.

I shall add but one word here.

16

Kali Kumar Das allows,

14

that Dr. Keith ¢ has most admirably proved that the events

18

which occurred in human society, after the declaration of the

)

seriptural prophecies were in perfect accordance with their

1

literal meaning.’

But then he explains the fact by a refer-

(¢4

ence to a new °‘faculty’ in the mind, the desire of prophecy-

I

ing, a faculty which he himself possesses in a strong degree ;

)“’

aided by the ¢science’ of Astrology. Human reason and

Astrology did it all!

We trust the Babu will not for the

{41

1y

future call Christians credulous.

‘A Hindu’ again invites

Christians to believe in the prophecies of the Purdns which

al

od

are not susceptible of various interpretations as are the pro-

of

phecies of the Bible, ¢ which are set forth in clear, definite

e

and precise terms and are being daily accomplished in this

of

age of the Kali Yuga.”

If such prophecies exist, why does

not ‘A Hindu' (1) proDUCE them, prove them to BE pro-

pel"

jof

phecies, shew their fulfilment, and (2) BeLIEVE in them

himself. He will thereby confer great service upon the sys-

ith

the

tem of Purdnism which he now seeks to destroy, and upon

the cause of truth at large. But if he cannot do so, he

|a[n

must bear all the consequences of making a random assertion

el

hets

and of compromising truth for party purposes! Let him

X

230

remember too, that ¢rue prophecies in one book do mnot

wnvalidate those in another,

&

SecTiON 8.—CHRISTIANITY A UNIVERSAL RELIGION.

Great varieties exist among the nations of the earth in

their notions, customs

and habits.

Their religions also

greatly differ, being much affected by their peculiar ideas ;

scarcely one therefore is applicable to any other nation than

that from which it sprang. Muhammadanism was the first

religion that claimed to itself the character of a universal

system ; and even by it, the claim was not advanced at the

outset, but was put forth when Muhammad began to succeed

in his views.

But the claim is futile.

The rules of the

Koran shew that they arose in an oriental and tropical coun-

try ; and to such countries alone are they really suited.

It

would be against physical possibility for the northern and

southern nations of the earth to keep the Ramazan from

sunrise to sunset; their day varying in length with their

latitudes to as long as siz months of the year.

Though there

are differences among men in some things ; in all that consti-

tutes them MEN there is a perfect unity.

The bodily struc-

ture of all nations is the same, their mind is constructed on

the same principles. The same rules and conditions of health

govern the former; and in the latter, there are the same

intellectual faculties, the same laws to guide the reason,

l:]

the same affections to exhibit its results.

Men hold the same

mutual relations every where, and their moral nature is sub-

ject to the same principles. In the real basis of their nature,

therefore, men are everywhere perfectly alike.

In that na-

ture lie all the causes of their error and their misery : and if

4

the true God in compassion to their infirmities provide a

system of religion applicable to that nature and to its general

1\

laws, it will apply at once to all men in whatsoever country

they may happen to dwell.

Christianity 1s such a religion.

Its great facts, doctr}nes and lessons deal not with the exter-

231

nal differences of food, dress, language, manners and personal

habits by which nations and individuals are distinguished.

It has no bed of Procrustes to which every man must submit,

no laws of caste, no tyrannical custom to which mnations, for

whom it is unsuitable, must bow.

It does not command

mountaineers to eat fish in Lent, nor fishermen to abstain from

flesh on a Friday.

It enjoins no diet to one people, which

another cannot procure.

It leaves all such things entirely

alone.

It deals with the fundamental constitution of man’s

nature ; with that in which all men are alike, whatever be their

country, their language or their skin.

It governs not their

actions but their hearts ; not their external gestures, but the

spirit which produces them; not their mere words, but the

condition of their conscience and their will.

Its precepts

concern them as men.

Its laws look upon all men as holding

certain relations with God and with each other, because they

are men : and those laws describe the duties which those

relationships involve.

It bids all men love God with supreme

affection : because they are his rational and responsible crea-

tures, and He is their Creator, Preserver, Saviour and God.

It commands all men to love each other as children of the

same father, and to live together as brethren.

It looks upon

them individually, socially, politically and lays down precepts

suitable to them in each case.

Personally they are to be

holy, devout, obedient, not loving the world, expecting to die.

Socially, parents must educate their children, and children

obey their parents.

As members of society, all men must be

honest, truthful, pure, benevolent, courteous towards one

another.

Kings must be just : subjects, obedient to the law :

servants faithful to masters, masters just to their servants.

All men must seek the good of all others. All these precepts

are expressive of relations in which eve'ry human being is

No

involved, and therefore they are adapted to every heart.

man can possibly be beyond: their influence.

There is no

a}

exclusiveness in Christianity.

“God is no respecter of

b

persons, but in every nation he that worketh righteousness,

X 2

23

is accepted of him.” ~ The poorest Bengali has as much

interest in Jesus Christ’s salvation as the great Queen of

England.

¢ The same Lord over all is rich in mercy to-

All ranks come within the

ward all who call upon him.”

operation of its commands. Again, the Bible is adapted to

all capacities.

It does not say that a man must be ‘intelli-

gent and educated’ before he can be a Christian, but it

¢ preaches’ its doctrines to the poor.

It has no ‘inner’

system reserved for a favoured few: no ‘mysteries’ kept for

All are alike:

higher and lower grades among its followers.

Barbarian, Scythian, bond or free.

Neither has it favourites,

who are allowed some license in evil denied to others.

Its

doctrine is applied to all, and is so simple that all can under-

stand 1it.

Repentance towards God ; faith in the Lord Jesus

Christ ; a renewed nature practising the duties of a holy life :

these are the truths which run throughout the Bible and which

millions of the poor have eagerly received.

For such classes

it has peculiar sympathy : the philosophers despised them :

the brahmans fleece and contemn them : Christianity declares

the poor, the fatherless and the widow to be God’s special

care.

Thus applied to the fountain of all action and the

spirit of all conduct, Christianity is suited to nations posses-

It is suited to various

sing various external manners of life.

forms of government, though it enjoins one spirit in them all.

Again it is a balm for all the woes of life, for all the troubles,

cares, disappointments and sorrows to which our race is

subject.

To mourners of all kinds and of all classes it speaks

1

words of comfort suited to their case. Best of all, it can cure

all the miseries of the world by forbidding all its sins.

It

passes by not a single error, a single crime, great or small,

and thus leaves not one source of misery untouched.

If its

[

commands were perfectly obeyed, all political disorders, wars

Ll

and tumults ; all social discords and family quarrels ; all indi-

04

vidual sins and secret faults would cease; and the pains,

punishment and sorrow caused by them would be dried up.

Deism is but a quack medicine, that has multiplied the disor-

';‘

233

ders it professed to remove.

Christianity is the real panacea

which the world needs.

Looking at its basis and the cha-

racter of its precepts we see it is thoroughly calculated to be

a universal religion, applicable to all nations and all the

individuals of whom they are composed. The fact is further

shewn by the number of people that have embraced it in

different ages.

It were long to enumerate them all, though

the list would be most instructive.

Europeans, Asiatics

and Americans ; shepherd-races, tillers of the soil, and manu-

facturers have received it.

English, French, Dutch, Ger-

mans, Spaniards, Russians, Hungarians and Swiss ; Tartars,

Chinese, Persians, Arabs and Syrians: Copts, Egyptians and

Mauritanians : the Hottentots, Bushmen and Bechuanas ; Is-

landers of the South Seas, Negroes of the West Indies, and

Indians of North America : enlightened and barbarous ; slaves

and free men ; under the government of despots or under free

institutions ; individuals of these nations and many others

have received the Gospel of Christ, as the message of mercy

to them and all men.

What religion but Christianity ever

produced a fact like this ? It is the religion of universal man,

because it comes from God over all blessed for ever.

SectioN 9.—Tue Errects or CHRISTIANITY.

Jesus Christ on one occasion speaking to his disciples con-

cerning some pretenders to revelation, laid down the follow-

ing rule as the test of their truth; Ye shall know them by

their fruits.”” < Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but

R TR Y e

a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.”

The great infidel

Hume asserted in full accordance with this precept that

¢ Error never can produce good.”

The principle is the same,

in other words, as that to which we are led by the necessities

of thought, that an effect must correspond in character and

)

degree to the cause which produced it. It is therefore readily

¢

understood by all men and is daily and hourly acted on.

The application of it to Christianity furnishes another kind

x 3

234

of evidence for its divine origin; the effects of the religion

of the Bible being far superior to those which any human

cause can produce.

Apply the same test to Deism. If true,

it has nothing to fear from enquiry, in whatever light it is

viewed.

We have seen however, in the conduct of its great

advocates, the practical fruits of the debasing principles

which they adopted and avowed. The fruits of Christianity

are of another kind. They may be examined in connection

with societies, families and individuals.

When Christianity began its career, the Roman Empire,

the civilized and enlightened world, was in the most degraded

condition possible.

The cruel shows of gladiators were the

people’s most exciting sport. The law permitted infants to

be exposed, even by the motheér’s hands.

Slaves were deli-

berately and publicly murdered without their masters suffer-

ing any punishment. They were counted among the goods

ot a household, with the horses and dogs.

Suicide, theft,

lying, assassination and the most debasing sensuality were

practised, in some cases defended by the wise philosophers of

the age.

The idolatry of the most profligate deities, accom-

panied by human sacrifices and hateful vices, was the cus-

tom of all classes, and men were punished even with death for

opposing it.

In a family, a father could sell his children :

the wife could divorce her husband, and the husband his wife

at pleasure. Profligacy was universal : chastity was scarcely

known. Public honour, public faith were acknowledged as a

name, while the influence of Senators was at the service of

the highest bidder.

Look on the same people, in the same

countries, three hundred years later. The temples are empty ;

human sacrifices, infanticide and temple-prostitution are

abolished. The gladiator-shows have almost wholly disap-

peared. The condition of slaves is much ameliorated. Vices

and misdeeds are now reprobated and punished by laws.

Those laws are administered by a more honest, just and trust-

ful government.

Wives are reckoned their husband’s com-

panions and children as the delight of their parents. Whefe

235

there was no education, instruction is provided : where no

mercy was felt, institutions of public benevolence have been

established. Where human misery was unnoticed, there the

sick are visited, the mourner comforted, and bereaved chil-

dren are cared for by their parents’ friends.

The whole tone

of society has been elevated ; virtue, morality and religion are

honoured and practised. Whence has this mighty change

arisen ?

Who has stemmed the awful torrent of evil which

was rolling over the empire and which had increased and

swollen in dreaded magnitude for more than three centuries?

Who has more than restored the pristine virtues of the an-

cient Romans, which the vices of the Augustan age had

thoroughly destroyed ?

CHRISTIANITY has done it all.

It

is not education; not philosophy; not legislation; not the

progress of the human mind.

The philosophers never re-

formed themselves or their disciples (as Cicero tells us;) and

always conformed to the religious practices of their time.

Gibbon, the

Christianity has done it and Christianity alone.

infidel historian of the Decline of the Roman Empire, distinct-

ly allows the fact.

Twelve men, uneducated and poor, the

companions of Jesus of Nazareth, began to proclaim a fact,

that he had risen from the dead ; and to preach the doctrine

that his death was the Great Atonement for all sin. They be-

gan to preach in the city where he had been crucified, among

his murderers and enemies.

They were persecuted and im-

prisoned, but multitudes believed them.

They were all

i

scattered abroad.

They preached throughout the Roman

17

Empire, and the result was the REFORMATION of that Empire ;

the removal of its dreadful vices, the establishment of order

and peace, religion and morality. Can Christianity be from

e

man? With its simple story, and its simple teachers, it did

what ages of philosophers aund illumination had failed to do.

“When the world by wisdom knew not God : it pleased God

by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

Christianity is a religion of purity ; it is a religion of power.

Is it not from God? .

236

After the first three centuries it became gradually corrupt-

ed ; not in its origin, the Bible ; but in its practice and doc-

trine.

Men mixed their own views with its precepts: bad

men professed to be its teachers: and by degrees its outward

form and system were filled with error.

Its real power was

not called forth. But even in its weakness, it gave abundant

proof of its high origin.

When the savage tribes of Ger-

many became connected with the Roman Ewmpire, the spirit

of its professed religion soon began to affect them.

They

left off human sacrifices, they learned the difference between

right and wrong.

The Scythians ceased to use the skins of

their enemies for clothing ;

to 2

the Heruls no longer put their

aged to death ; the aborigines of Ireland gave up cannibalism.

Suicide on principle declined among the Scandinavians; and

their wives no longer sacrificed themselves that they might

enter the Valhalla of Odin.

The Northmen gave up their

piracies and all the nations learned to live in peace.

The

Goths, Danes, Norwegians and others received from Chris-

tianity a written language.

Many barbarous laws were

repealed in all the tribes, and a spirit of benevolence began to

take their place. Christianity put an end to Druidism in

England and subsequently civilised the ferocious Saxons.

The English owe every thing to Christianity, which alone

has made their country wise and good.

The slavery which

followed the barbarian conquests gave way to its law of equal

rights between man and man : and toits spirit, female society

in Europe owes the high honour and respect in which it is

held. Much of this was accomplished in the middle ages. Since

then, so corrupt has been its form in most countries of Europe,

that the progress of its benefits has been interrupted and in

such lands its power has ceased to be exerted.

But wherever

the Bible is taught, and its truths in all their simplicity and

purity proclaimed, there virtue and-morality, in all their extent,

steadily continue to advance.

One of the Calcutta Deists

writes that the present position of England is owing to the

invention of printing and to the spread of the Baconian phi-

237

losophy.

He forgets what it was, that printing spread

abroad.

It was the BiBLE, copies of which were multiplied

faster than they had ever been and were received with the

greatest avidity. Printing is not an end but a means.

The

result depends on what is printed.

In England men printed

the BrsLk, and it was by the increase of Scripture knowledge

that the people were so improved. Nor must English great-

ness be said to have sprung from the Baconian philosophy.

That was not known till the reign of James I.: whereas the

period, in which the English people began to exhibit the

most active intelligence, clear-sighted views and an earnest

attachment to true religion, was the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

The Bible taught them the philosophy of common sense,

referred them to their own minds for fundamental principles

of reasoning, shewed them that the doctrines of revealed

truth accorded with the notions of their nature, and thus led

them to put all knowledge on a firm basis. The Baconian

philosophy is the result of such a spirit, not its cause.

In modern times, the truths which Christianity first taught

and the power which it first developed, have exhibited riper

fruits and that on a more extensive scale, than they ever did

before.

In countries called Christian it has gone deeper into

the evils of society, especially into the ignorance, irreligion

and misery of the lower classes, and is every hour making

successful efforts for their removal.

Its institutions of bene-

volence ; its numerous schools, its hospitals, its asylums for

the orphan, the blind and the idiot ; its schools for the deaf

and dumb, asylums for penitent women, houses for the poor,

churches for the poor, societies for the cheap circulation of

the Bible and of good books, and the like, have increased to

an astonishing degree. These institutions have not been esta-

blished and sustained by the government ; but they are the

result of private benevolence and private gifts of individuals.

They have been established, not by literary men for literary

purposes, nor by government for political aims; but by

Christians for the promotion of the knowledge and prac-

238

tice of true religion and of true morality.

They have been

established by Christians, not for fame, nor praise, but be-

cause the founders had a cuRrisTIAN DUTY to perform in

doing good to others, after the example of their Master ; and

because the promotion of religion is both a private and pub-

lic benefit.

It is on this account that every Christian remem-

%

bers, with honest pride and true delight, that while a complete

copy of the Vedas, if procurable at all, can only be purchas-

ed, in the Sanskrit language, at a heavy cost, the poorest man

in England can buy the Bible in his own tongue for E16HT

ANNAs and the New Testament for Two !

The effect of all

this is seen in the steady improvement of the whole country.

There are in England, thousands of thieves, hypocrites, infi-

E

dels, adulterers and liars ; but in spite of the mighty evil yet

existing there, religion and morality continue to advance. A

higher tone of morality pervades all society than existed sixty

years ago. Vices which were openly practised by the higher

classes have slunk into retirement.

The education and the

comfort of all classes have been greatly increased; new

sources of enjoyment have been opened to them : they exer-

cise new rights : a tone of order and obedience to the law

[\

widely prevails.

This is the result of the benevolent efforts

called forth by the Word of God.

More than this: while effecting so much in England and

America, among a professedly Christian population, the

churches of Christ have put forth most powerful efforts to

convert and elevate heathen nations.

By means of foreign

missions, they have conveyed the knowledge of the Bible to

%

almost all the countries of the world in modern times.

Ex-

peditions which science and philosophy have not been able to

undertake ; expences at which their followers would stand

aghast ; have been successfully undertaken by Christian men.

The missionaries of Christ’s Church from England and Ame-

é

rica, 1,200 in number at this day, are labouring to promote

not merely the education of different tribes and nations but

their reformation from sin.

More than sizty lakhs of rupees

239

are annually spent in their labours, and at least fwice that

sum in those countries themselves for the benefit of nominal

Christians.

The result of their labours has been the same

now, as it was in the days of the apostles. Idolatry, cannibal-

ism and infanticide have fled from the islands of the South

Seas, and thousands upon thousands of debased savages have

become worshippers of the true God, enlightened in their

understanding and moral in their lives. Hottentots, Caffres,

Fingoes, Bechuanas, many of whom had no idea of God,

have been blessed with the same benefits.

The dull inhabi-

tants of Greenland: the fierce warriors of the North Ameri-

can Indians, have been subdued, elevated and christianized.

It is the spirit of benevolence enjoined in the Bible which put

down slavery in the West Indies ; and has forbidden Suttee,

infanticide and human sacrifices in Hindustan.

Churches of

Christ have been gathered from among Chinese, Hindus,

Persians, Armenians, Jews and Greeks: among men of all

E:

nations in Europe: among the Negroes of Africa and the

¥

West Indies : among the natives of the Cape Colony, the

South Seas and North America. In all places the same power

to change bad men into good has attended the preaching of

the gospel now, as attended it in the days of old. Men have

tried to produce such results by civilization and have failed ;

but they always attend the full and faithful preaching of the

e

gospel. What is the reason? It is this: that God who gave

the Bible, makes its words powerful, to accomplish the end

for which that book was sent.

It is because He blesses it

{1

that men are compelled to hear and to obey it.

The wonderful transformation of individuals by means of

t0

its instructions is a clear proof that it is accompanied by a

d

divine power.

It repeatedly happens in connection with the

1l

preaching of the gospel, that men who hate its doctrines

13

have their minds suddenly arrested by some Bible truth or

te

statement which they cannot get rid of. An impression is

b

made upon them which they cannot efface; sins that they

2

have done appear in a new light and they feel afraid of their

240

deserved punishment.

Nothing can exclude these thoughts

from their minds: no pride, no argument, no pleasures to

which they can resort.

They find peace only in accepting

the gospel which they have rejected and honouring as their

Saviour that Jesus whom they have despised. Henceforth

they are new men: with new views of religion, new conduet,

new joys, new hopes.

Such sights have been common in

connection with the gospel in all ages: and special cases,

such as those of the Apostle Paul, the infidel Earl of Ro-

chester, Colonel Gardiner, and John Newton may at once be

referred to.

Heathen lands in modern days present such

instances ; such as that of Africaner, the scourge of the Cape

Colony, who became a meek and humble Christian, lived the

rest of his life usefully and died in the joy of the gospel.

How is it that Deism has never produced fruits like this?

How is it that philosophy and education have never led to

such results ?

They may to a certain extent help to preserve

morality in a moral man: but what veligion except Christi-

anity ever took a man from the depths of wickedness and

made him at once within a few days, ¢ @ new creature,” ever

after holy in his principles and holy in his conduct.

¢ This

is the Lord’s doing ;’ for such a divine effect, we cannot but

look to a divine power, acting in conjunction with the divine-

ly revealed word.

Contrast with the pure principles, holy lives and benevo-

lent exertions of true Christians, the principles and conduct

It is notorious that it

of the great Deists of modern times.

is not among the latter as a body that we must look for men

of truth, of purity, uprightness, self-denial, and active efforts

in the cause of benevolence.

It is not among them, as a

body, that we shall hope to find just masters, faithful servants,

excellent fathers and obedient children. But such are expected

among Christians, and the exceptions to the rule are noted as

defects.

We have already mentioned the character of some

of the Deists.

We would beg the reader to study them all :

and when he reads of the profligacy, hypocrisy and immora-

241

lity of which nearly all were guilty, let him ask himself can

such corrupt practice spring from right principles? Let him

compare their character with that of the most eminent Chris-

tians, with that of Newton, Locke and Boyle ; with that of

E

Milton, England’s greatest poet, and of Cromwell, her greatest

ruler ;- with that of Howard, Clarkson, and Wilberforce, her

great philanthropists ; with that of thousands of others, who

shone in moral excellence because they were Christians. .

Finally observe the effects of Christianity in the Aappy

deaths of its disciples.

No period of human life is so cal-

culated to try the strength of men’s prineiples, as the sensi-

ble approach of death. Hinduism has been tested by it and

failed.

The religion of nature has been appealed to for its

;z

consolation.

But alas! as it was uncertain in life, it is found

cheerless in death.

Let the candid enquirer examine the

death-beds of the great Deists and judge for himself.

Hume

in his last hours diverted himself, when with others, by play-

ing games of cards or by similar trifles: but he was afraid to

d

be left alone, would always have servants and lights in hig

room, and still passed his time in dreadful terror. Hobbes

eI

18

could never speak of death without pain, and was miserable

if left alone in the dark during his last illness.

Voltaire

il

6

recanted all his opinions and felt unspeakable horror at the

conviction that he was to be judged by the Saviour, whom he

had so awfully blasphemed. His companion D’Alembert died

in similar circumstances.

jf

Tom Paine in his dying hour,

e

being told by an attendant that she had burnt his ¢ Age of Rea-

ol

son,” expressed a wish that all his readers had been as wise,

and added : “If ever the devil had an. agent upon earth, I

1

have been one.”” The followers of Brahmism cannot furnish

more happy illustrations. ¢ Oh! sir,” said one of them on his

15,

el

dying bed, to a missionary who had visited him and in whose

school he was taught; ¢ Oh! Sir, I have no helper.”

An-

%

me

other Hindu, who had given up faith in the Purans of his

fathers, was exhorted by a missionary to believe in Christ and

I

pray to him for pardon. e replied ; I thought you knew

I

¥

9

e

42

better than to advise me thus: is it not written, ¢ Whoso

denieth me before men, him will I also deny before my Father

who is in heaven.’

Thirteen years have I known the gospel ;

I rejected it, and I now feel it is my condemnuation.”

The

wretched man died in despair.

Contrast these scenes of

terror with the triumphant rejoicings of the Apostle Paul.

Shut up in his Roman prison, condemned to die in ignominy

and disgrace, and shortly expecting to be violently put to

death, he writes : “I am now ready to be offered, and the

time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight ;

I have finished my course; I have kept the faith.”

His is

no solitary case.

Thousands of martyrs have met death as

firmly : and have sung their hymns of triumph at the gibbet

and the burning stake.

Ten-thousands of Christians in their

private dwellings have left a similar testimony, proving that

the hopes of the gospel had delivered them from all fear, and

enabled them to rejoice that with this sinful world they had

no more to do.

No single instance has ever been known of

a Christian giving up his religion in his dying hours, as in-

sufficient for his spiritual wants., No man ever regretted, on

his death-bed, that he had served Jesus Christ with his best

powers all his life. Can the followers of Natural Religion

speak thus?

Looking then at the effects of Christianity upon

individuals, families and nations ; in times of health, in hours

of sorrow, and in a dying day; in the time when it began,

during the ages of its depression, and in modern times ;

not in one country but in many ; not among civilized people

only but ameng barbarous tribes ; we ask the readers to judge :

Is not the Bible the revealed book of God?

Look at the

extent of its effects, their great variety, their superlative ex-

cellence ; look at the removal of evil, the increase of religion

by its means, and say, Can this be man’s work ? What philo-

sophy, learning, experience could not do, the doctrines of

[ If

the Bible have done.

Why is this ? It is from Gob.

this doctrine were not of God ¢ could do nothing.”

243

The meagre outline of evidence for the truth of the Chris-

tian religion which has now been presented to the reader may

help him to form some notion of the kind of proof and the

amount of proof which can be adduced in its favour. It must

not be imagined that all has been said which might have been

advanced. Far from it.

‘Whole volumes have been written

on each one of the arguments brought forward, and to those

works the attention of the enquirers is invited. We have

merely presented an outline of the evidence. We have noticed,

first, that if the Creator of the world intended to give a

revelation to man, the circumstances of our race required that

it should be given in the very manner in which the system of

the Bible was actually communicated. We have described,

secondly, the doctrinal system of the Bible; then its moral

system and the character of our great Teacher and Redeemer,

Jesus Christ.

Fifthly, we have shown that the Jews furnish

undeniable evidence of the truth of the Bible; and that the

miracles it describes and the propheciesit contains, prove it to

be inspired by the God of all power and of perfect knowledge.

We concluded by shewing that Christianity is a universal

religion, and that its effects are entirely super-human. Fach

of these proofs is of itself sufficient to prove the divine origin

of Christianity. A doctrine such as man could never have

discovered, is accompanied by a moral system such as he

never yet conceived. Both are confirmed by miracles, and

these again by prophecies.

The effects of Christianity stand

apart from them : while the fact that it alone of all the reli-

gions of the world can be truly and in every respect a univer-

If

sal religion is another and independent fact in its favour.

each of these proofs is sufficient, what force do they not

possess when combined. So strong is their mass of evidence,

that it becomes impossible to believe that Christianity can be

false, unless we suppose a universal deception of the senses,

intellect and feelings of the millions who have received it. If

any man wish to disprove the claims of Christianity, he must

disprove all this evidence ; not one branch only but the whole

Y 2

244

of it: each branch supports the others and must be deprived

of its individual force. The opposers of Christianity must

defeat not merely the right wing of our mighty army, but its

left, its centre, its reserve. The cavalry, infantry and artillery ;

the main body, the van, the rear must all be defeated in de-

tail, before they boast of victory. Again and again the

Deistic forces have assayed battle, but never once have they

succeeded. - Every phalanx, every battalion, every line, of

the Christian army remains unbroken and uninjured to this

day. To this day the fact remains unshaken, ¢ There is none

other name given under heaven among men, whereby they

may be saved, but the name of Jesus Christ.”

Xl

It might be shewn tenthly, that the truth of Christian~

ity shines forth with greater clearness, from a consideration

of the objections which have been brought against it.,

Those

objections are numerous, but not one of them invalidates the

claims of the Bible or sets aside one branch of the evidence

in its favour.

They affect chiefly particular passages of the

Bible, and all arise either from misunderstanding, misconcep-

tion, imperfect knowledge, strong prejudices, or a desire to

get from revelation what it cannot possibly give.

There are

f

doubtless difficulties in the Bible : a book from God must, of

necessity, contain some things which men will find it hard, if

not impossible, fully to understand. But the majority of

these difficulties give way to careful study and increased

knowledge : and what is a difficulty with a young enquirer has

The

long ceased to be such to an experienced Christian.

great error lies in a man set¢ing up his own imperfect know-

g

ledge of its contents as the standard by which the Bible and

all its followers are to be judged ; a test, we need scarcely say,

which is most unfair.

The objections of Calcutta writers are

I

not original, being but re-produetions from the stock in hand

i

of English Deists, which have been refuted again and again.

I

Want of time and space are the only reasons why we do not

enter upon them.

Let them be weighed against the mass of

evidence on the other side, and a candid man must allow, that

i

U

24

if a difficulty arise, it must be attributed not to the Word of

God, but to his own imperfect perception . of its meaning.

Whatever difficulties there be in that word, they cannot ex-

cuse unbelievers from explaining the still greater difficulty of

the Bible’s wonderful success. ¢ Christianity exists, and those

who deny the divine origin attributed to it are bound to show

some reasons for assigning to it a human origin.

If Chris-

tianity were not established by miracles, it demands an ex-

planation of the greater miracle, its having been established,

If

in defiance of all opposition, by human contrivance.”

Christianity be true its wonderful success is natural.

If it be

false, that success is the greatest miracle the world ever saw,

and it becomes necessary for unbelievers to account for it.

AAAAAANANAAAAA AN NSNS SIS AN

CONCLUSION.

We have thus endeavoured to present our readers with an

account of the chief systems of religion, to which their atten-

tion is now particularly called in this part of India.

‘We have

described the Vedantic system of Vyas and his disciples, the

Vedant of the Upanishads, the Brahmism of Calcutta and the

dogmas of Deism.

We have pointed out what appeared to

us to be their most palpable errors, inconsistencies and self-

contradictions.

We have drawn an outline of the argument

which proves the truth of the Christian religion and have

stated what that religion is in its nature and design.

1.

Let the reader now CoMmPARE these systems together ;

both in the general and special features of their character.

;

He will first notice that they are all systems of monotheism ;

advocating the existence of one God. Vedantism is monothe-

ism in its most degraded form, the pantheistic ; a form which

almost identifies it with atheism ; a form which professes to

spiritualize creation, but in reality materializes God. We have

é

little fear therefore of the spread of the pure Vedantism of the

Upanishads and Bhagabat Gita among the educated people

Y 3

246

of Bengal.

The question lies between the Religion of Nature

and Christianity. Having examined them separately, let us

briefly compare them with each other.

Deism, that 1s, the

Religion of Nature in its purest form, is Christianity in its

infancy : it is only the firs¢ Chapter of that great Book which

reveals the character of God to man.

Deism is a religion

suited to man in the first stage of his history, when he had

the wish and the power to learn from God’s works how to re-

verence and love him. But there it stays : while Christianity

is that Deisin perfected, by new methods and agencies adapt-

ed to man in his fallen state, as a sinner subject to his Maker’s

anger.

Deism reveals God only by his works ; Christianity,

both by his works and his word. _Deism tells us some truth :

but Christianity tells us e/l that and a great deal more. Deism

is the foundation of the temple of truth : Christianity is that

temple complete in all its vast proportions, and perfect in its

undying beauty. Deism may be the religion of sinless angels :

Christianity is the religion needed by sinful man. Again;

Deism in its descriptions of the present state of man tells us

but half the truth : while Christianity tells the whole, unpa-

latable though it be. Deism therefore deceives men: Chris-

tianity opens their eyes.

Deism can offer nothing for the

future ; Christianity offers every thing great and good. Deism

speaks conjectures concerning it : Christianity tells us facts.

Deism leaves us in doubt : Christianity helps us to repose on

what is certain,

From Deism we learn what is possible :

from Christianity, what is sure.—For Deism tells us the loose

reasonings of man ; Christianity the solid words of God.

Let the reader compare these systems again in their parti.

cular branches. Look at the dasis on which they respectively

stand. Deism professes to be derived solely from a study of

the works of Nature and to convey to man the lessons which

they teach. Brahmism makes a like claim and superadds to

it a belief that the Vedas are revealed from heaven.

The

grounds of that belief have been already fully discussed and

their insufficiency manifested. Christianity declares itself to

247

be God’s message of mercy to a sinful world ; and presents

to all men an array of evidence in support of that claim, such

as no system of religion except itself has ever pretended to

possess.

Its doctrines and precepts are worthy of the claim:

and those who taught them performed divine works and spake

prophecies as proofs of their commission. Compare again the

authorities in which the systems are described. The origin

of the Vedas is unknown ; they are unsuitable for the poor ;

they contain great errors; they can scarcely be procured ;

they contain but little useful knowledge. The Brdéhma Dharma

i

is simply a modern compilation, reproducing some of the

errors of the Vedas and adding others of its own. The

authorities of Deism, the great writers on the system, dis-

agree with each other, contradict each other, and agree on

almost nothing. The Bible is a book for all men. Its authors

are named ; the time when they lived is known ; it takes up

the subjects on which men need information ; it warns them

)

of their sins, teaches them of another world and shews them

8

how they may be forgiven. Its topics are simple and practi-

cal.

It deals with men as men; and therefore all men can

g

understand it.

Its instructions are supremely wise ; its in-

16

fluence supremely moral and beneficial to man.

Compare

also the contents of these authorities.

Look at their respee-

e

tive views of God and of Ais Character.

The Vedas teach us

0

pantheism, the doctrine of mdyd and of absorption into

Brahm.

Brahmism tells us that God is ¢ without love?’

»Se

Deists deny that he really has justice or exercises providential

care over the world. The Bible gives us the most exalted

il

view of his perfections, describes Him as a Being beyond

11y

human conception ; and tells us things concerning his nature

and doings which cannot be human inventions.. Especially

of

ch

does it magnify his compassion to man and his forbearance

against sin.

{0

Compare once more the views of these systems

\he

concerning the Works of God. While the Vedas teach Pan-

ol

theism and foolish science, and the Deists merely expound

what creation tells, the Bible informs us of the origin of the

fo

248

universe and the use for which it was intended.

It likewise

declares the lessons it teaches concerning the goodness of God ;

but with a decision, authority, and fulness to which no Deist

writings can lay claim. As to man and kis wants, the Vedas

teach but little that accords with his own experience.

They

charge him with ignorance of his origin and nature, but do

not touch the disease from which he suffers.

The Brahmist

and Deist systems treat him no better.

The Bible lays hig

condition before him in plain terms ; describes the symptoms

of his disease, shews that it originates in a corrupt nature,

develops all its workings and declares the ruin which must

follow. Compare these systems in the remedy they apply;

and the way of Salvation which they advocate. The Vedas

recommend meditation and idol-worship as the cure.

The

Deists urge man to reform himself. The Brahmists adopt

both these plans.

The Bible points man to God : it shews

that Salvation cannot be secured by human efforts only ; it

explains how the Son of God became incarnate to atone for

~-

sin, and how the Spirit of God will renew the nature of all

who seek forgiveness through Him. Examine the Moral

Rules which these systems lay down.

The Vedas scarcely

touch this question.

The Deists in some cases defend im-

morality. The Brahmists base their motives to virtue on the

lowest grounds. But the moral laws of Christianity and the

example of Christ in whom they are illustrated are perfect.

No merely human being has ever yet attained the standard

which they lay down.

Compare them also as to their appli-

cability to universal man.

The Vedas confine themselves to

brdhmans alone.

The Brihmas defend caste in theory and

B L e

practice.

Eramine

Christianity opens its arms to all men.

femd

the prospects each holds out to its followers.

The Vedas

i

promise absorption to the highest grade of their disciples ;

bi|

high rewards to others below them, and transmigration to all

but the favoured few of the highest class. The Brahmists

advocate transmigration likewise. The Deists know nothing

certain of a future world ; some advocate its existence, others

249

deny it, and thus on the most important question to which man

ever gave his attention, they can give him no sure instruction,

The Bible speaks with decision on the matter.

It promises

a heaven of perfect joy to its true followers for ever: and

warns the wicked of a hell of eternal punishment

Compare

lastly the results of these systems. What have the Vedas done

for Hindustan?

What has Deism done for its followers ?

What have been the fruits of Christianity in private, social

and national prosperity ?—Look at these various topics of our

discussion

Compare these rival systems in relation to them,

In all Christianity stands foremost

In no one point is it excel-

led by others

It is true in itself ; its doctrines are perfectly

wise

its results are perfectly good

Its prospects of eternal

blessedness surpass the highest conceptions of mortal mind

2. The argument for Christianity has never been fairly

answered, it is indeed unanswerable

But that is not all that

Christians desire. Victory in discussion is not their sole aim

Men may be silenced without being convinced. What they

wish is to see men become Christians by the ready sub-

mission of their affections and their will to the law of Christ

He only will become a true Christian who feels the need of a

Saviour

he only will ask for pardon and life, who feels that

he is a sinner lost for sin

Until he feels that want and is

struggling with such convictions, his heart will not be bowed

down in humility before the Holy God. He may call himself

Deist, Brahmist, or Christian

1t matters little

if he has not

felt in his heart the evil of sin, a sense of his own guilt, a

desire for mercy and a hearty gratitude to the Saviour of men;

he cannot be a true servant of God

In our view, it is the

heart of man which is the seat of religion ; ¢ with the heart a

man must believe unto righteousness;”’ with the heart he

must feel, with the heart he must love : his name is a trifline

é

matter.

We therefore reckon men true Christians who are

not only convinced that the Bible is the book of God; bat

who feel its worth and love its Giver.

3

I entreat my readers therefore to look into their own

;;

hearts and candidly enquire whether they have fairly viewed

the claim which Christianity has to their warmest love. The

Bible is sent to all men.

It says to all : ¢ You are sinners in

the sight of God : your whole constitution is ruined by sin ;

and the punishment of sin hangs over you.

That pnnish-

ment 1s awful to bear.

It is eternal pain of the severest

kind ; it may include bodily suffering ; but it is certain to

involve the more bitter suffering of a soul in despair.

But

God knew this evil; and in love to you he warns you; in

love He sent his only son Jesus Christ, to offer a sufficient

atonement upon the cross.

Believe in him as your Saviour :

pray for his Spirit to change your hearts : to give you right

understanding and to free you from the power of sin.” I ask

you my readers calmly and prayerfully to weigh this claim,

I speak to those who are anxious to know what is right, and

entreat you to settle this question at once before you die,

The God of heaven is your Creator, Preserver, Benefactor.

You are his in every way and by every possible right. Yet

you have lived as your own: and if you now reject the offer

;J:

of hig forgiveness, perhaps it may never be presented to you

again.

He has said that the doom of the man who knows

the Gospel and rejects it is the severest of all punishment.

¢ Tt were better for that man that he had never been born.”’

z:

¢« How shall we escape if we reject so great salvation.” ¢ If

he that despised Moses’ law died without mercy (convicted)

by one or two witnesses ; of how much sorer punishment,

suppose ye, he shall be worthy, who [by his unbelief] hath

trodden under foot the Son of God ?”’

I appeal then to you

f

by every sacred motive to accept without hesitation and with-

out reserve the mercy which is freely offered to you in Christ.

‘i

I appeal to your sense of duty: I appeal to your gratitude;

I appeal to your sense of justice: I appeal to your self-love ;

;

I appeal to your conscience ; whether you ought not to be a

i

Christian before you die.

Your safety, your interest, your

peace of mind now, your everlasting happiness point out this

as your immediate duty.

I;

251

4. Some few may say: ¢ We are Christians: only we

have not professed ourselves so.

We have merely declined

being baptised.’

In this proceeding, however, there is a

great deal of self-deception. Jesus Christ appointed that his

true disciples should be baptised, that they might thus make

a public acknowledgment of their faith and love to him: and

you ought therefore in obedience to him to profess his name

by baptism. But if you decline the baptism, there is some-

thing which, if you e a Christian you will surely do. All

men who are truly grateful to one who has preserved them

from prison, preserved them from debt, will ever honour

their benefactor. ~Gratitude is both wise and proper. If you

are true Christians, you must be grateful to that Saviour who

died for you, and has given you the glorious hope of ever-

lasting life. Then proclaim your gratitude. Tell your friends

how much you honour the Saviour who has redeemed you

from hell: praise his name; shew forth your love ; obey

his law ; tell your friends that because your benefactor com-

mauds it, you will esteem all men as your brethren ; that

you will not worship their wooden idols, nor obey the Hindu

ES

shastras, nor observe the rules of Hindu caste.

Tell them

:

all ¢hat ; and no one will object to your delaying your bap-

)

tism for a short time ! You feel you dare not do it. You are

f

not prepared for that course of bold and honest gratitude.

If you are not, THEN ARE YOU A CHRIsTIAN !

Let your

own conscience answer.

5. There are many difficulties in the way of a public pro-

i

fession.

None can feel them so thoroughly as Christians do.

But they must be met in a manly spirit, and with the Zelp of

f

God. Few know the acuteness of suffering which Mission-

4

aries and others undergo, when they see the agonising strug-

1y

gles caused by a Hindu leaving his caste to become a Chris-

4

tian. The father gives up his son, the mother her first-born ;

ut

and beats her head in anguish on the ground. They send

)

him forth as an outcast, with the curse of his father’s gods.

I ask my readers candidly to say : Whose fault is this : at

»~

2

9}

2

whose door shall all this anguish; this crying injustice be laid ?

I deny, in the face of all men, that Christianity is to blame.

;;

The fault belongs to Hinduism and Hinduism alone. I

charge it upon the unrighteous system of CasTE; upon that

curse of Hindustan that has blighted its prosperity for three

thousand years.

I charge it upon all the defenders of caste ;

upon all who in any way maintain its rules and uphold its

discipline. On this point Christianity is guiltless. Yet Jesus

Christ knew the trial, even when on earth ; and he laid it

down as a test of his disciples that ° HE THAT LOVETH FA-

THER AND MOTHER MORE THAN ME IS NOT WORTHY OF

ME.”’

The Brahmas may say, that ¢ parents are a present

deity;’ and thus rob God of the supreme love which is hig

due.

But the Bible says, ¢ Call no man father upon earth,

ye have one father even God.” He is to receive supreme

love, and the man who loves ought more than him is an

e R e T s L R S

idolater.

In the great famine of 1833, how many parents

bl

forsook their children, how many children forsook their pa-

rents, in order to save themselves. In a great fire if an obsti-

pn

U

nate father will not go out of his house, shall the son be lost

1t

with him, or shall he quit his father to save his own life? And

if among the Hindus, some learn the terrors of hell and

through Christ wish to get free from them, shall they lose

their eternal salvation because their friends prefer caste,

brahmanhood and idolatry, to the: glories of heaven?

No. The ruin of the parent will not help the son in the

sight of God. Each soul must answer for its ownN guilt;

must bear its own burden of punishment ; and must, if it

will, seek its own salvation.

In another world, no substitu-

Parents will be

tion is allowed, and all relationships cease.

judged for their own acts and children for theirs. No law,

1o custom among men ; no majority on the side of evil : no

popularity of evil can defend or palliate the guilt of a single

soul.

No command of a father will be allowed to set aside

a positive command of God himself or the conditions upon

which salvaﬁion is received. ‘* HE THAT LOVETH FATHER

OB

233

OR MOTHER MORE THAN ME IS NOT WORTHY OF Me.”

Truth must be followed, duty must be obeyed at all risks,

because the Saviour says it. Whoso confesseth me before

it

men, HiM will I confess before the face of my Father who

is in heaven : and whoso denieth me before men, mim will 1

pENY before the face of my Father who is in heaven.”

What an awful end! To be peniED by Christ!

There is nothing left, but to believe in Christ and to pro-

8

fess our faith before all men.

Who will be a loser thereby ?

No man ever did so and lost yet. His property may be taken

by designing friends; he may be cast out from home ; his

wife may be refused to him. But he will have done his ap-

i\

pointed task ; will have a conscience void of offence toward

lls

God and toward men, and will receive the approval of the

h,

King of kings. More than this, while his life will be happy,

N

his crown of glory will be secure for ever.

¢ There 1s no

1

man who hath left father and mother, and brethren and wife,

8

)

and sisters, and houses and lands for my sake and the Gos-

pel’s; but he shall receive a munprRED FOLD more in the

1t

present time and in the world to come everlasting life.”” My

st

reader, say thou with the apostle Paul, “ I AM NOT ASHAMED

od

ofF THE GospreL or Curist.”

nd

‘¢ Ashamed of Jesus! yes I may,

086

When I’ve no crimes to wash away !

tty

No tears to wipe, no joys to crave ;

And no immortal soul to save.

he

Till then, nor be my boasting vain ;

Till then I'll boast a Saviour slain :

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And oh ! may this MY portion be,

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That Saviour’s not ashamed of me.”’

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