Seeing All This, And Turning In Imagination To Other Lands, It Is
Curious To Consider That The Church Which Possesses
The only Lamp
of Truth, and who by the help of its light pronounces all these
zealous worshippers alike, to
Be but "Infidels and Turks," and
says to all, in language not quite so polite as that of Touchstone,
"Truly, shepherds, ye are in a parlous state," herself makes no such
public demonstration of her faith. To an Eastern infidel travelling
in the West, she would even appear, to outward eye, a tenfold greater
infidel than her neighbours. Except on one day in seven, he would
seldom find a place of public worship open to his gaze, while the Name
which he himself has learned to reverence to such a degree that every
scrap of paper that might chance to bear it, is sacred in his eyes,
he might hear a thousand times, and perhaps not once in adoration;
and while it commences every action of his own life he would there
find it utterly excluded from its accustomed place. Even the form of
parting salutation, which in almost all lands - Infidel and Heretical
- greets him in the name of God, would, in Protestant England, fall
upon his ear with no such signification. While the benighted Hindoo
greets his parting neighbour to the present day with "Khuda Hafiz" -
God the Preserver - the Englishman's "Good-bye," like well-worn coin,
has changed so much by use, that now, no stranger could discern in it
any trace whatever of the image with which it was originally stamped.
And although the comparison between the apparent creeds of East
and West is truly that between a very large proportion of faithful
professors of a false religion and, to outward eye, a similarly
large proportion of unfaithful followers of the true religion, it is
interesting to form some idea of the different systems which have
existed for so many ages, and which, though proved alike by reason
and revelation to be of human origin and unequal to the wants of
human nature, have yet maintained their influence to the present day,
and hold among their votaries still such zealous worshippers of an
unknown God.
The oldest of all these religions appears to be that of the
Hindoos. The Vedas, or Scriptures, date as far back as the Books of
Moses, 1100 B.C.; and previously even to their then being committed
to writing by the Sage Vyasa, they are believed to have been preserved
for ages by tradition. The primary doctrine of the Vedas is the Unity
of God. There is, they say, "but one Deity, the Supreme Spirit, the
Lord of the Universe, whose work is the universe." "Let as adore the
supremacy of that divine Sun, the Godhead, who illuminates all, who
recreates all, from whom all proceed, to whom all must return, whom
we invoke to direct our understandings aright in our progress towards
His holy seat. What the sun and light are to this world, that are the
Supreme Good and Truth to the intellectual and invisible universe;
and as our corporeal eyes have a distinct perception of objects
enlightened by the sun, thus our souls acquire certain knowledge by
meditating on the light of truth which emanates from the Being of
beings; that is the light by which alone our minds can be directed
to the path of beatitude."
Every Brahmin must pray at morning and evening twilight in some
unfrequented place, near pure water, and must bathe daily; he
must also daily perform five sacraments, viz., studying the Vedas,
making oblations to the manes of the departed, giving rice to living
creatures, and receiving guests with honour. As to the doctrine of
a future state, they believe in the transmigration of the soul, but
that between the different stages of existence it enjoys, according to
merit or demerit, years and years of happiness in some of the heavens,
or suffers torments of similar duration in some of the hells. The
most wicked, however, after being purged of their crimes by ages of
suffering, and by repeated transmigrations, may ascend in the scale
of being until they finally enter heaven and attain the highest reward
of all good, which is incorporation with the Divine Essence.
Like more enlightened systems of religion, the Hindoo faith has
degenerated from the purity originally inculcated. The Monotheism,
though still existing, has been almost smothered by a system of
innumerable incarnations; by means of which the attributes of an unseen
Deity were to be brought to the understandings of the ignorant; and,
as might be expected, the hidden symbol has been almost lost in the
tangible reality. The later Scriptures, or Puranas, are believed to
have been compiled between the eighth and sixteenth centuries, A.D.;
and though still upholding the existence of a Supreme Being, by whom
all things are composed, they introduce a variety of incarnations
and divinities almost innumerable. Of these, the three principal are
Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, representing respectively the creating,
preserving, and destroying principles; and their wives, Sereswutee,
Lukshmee, and Dewee. These latter are the active powers which develop
the principles represented by the triad. The divinity most commonly
portrayed however, though not publicly worshipped, is Gunesh. Almost
every dwelling has her effigy rudely painted over the entrance; and she
is invoked at the beginning of all undertakings, and is the remover of
all difficulties. Her peculiar appearance is accounted for by the fact
of her having been killed at an early period of life by Siva, who cut
off her head, and, afterwards relenting, replaced it with the first
that happened to come to hand, which turned out to be an elephant's!
Gunesh was produced by the intense wishes of Dewee, and is now appealed
to at the commencement of almost every act in Hindoo life.
The following invocation to this "household god" will give some idea
of the position she holds in public estimation. It is taken from the
"Prem Sagur," or Ocean of Love, a history of the life of Krishna,
a son of Vishnu, who, with Siva and Dewee, or Mahadewee, monopolises
almost the entire public respect and adoration:
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