J. Murray Mitchell and William Muir - Two Old Faiths
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J. Murray Mitchell and William Muir >> Two Old Faiths
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The footnotes marked with lower-case letters were originally sidenotes
which referred to sentences within the paragraph. I placed them at the
end of chapters to avoid confusion with the footnotes marked with numbers,
which were footnotes in the original and are at the end of the text.
TWO OLD FAITHS
ESSAYS ON THE RELIGIONS OF THE HINDUS AND THE MOHAMMEDANS
BY
J. MURRAY MITCHELL, M.A., LL.D.
AND
SIR WILLIAM MUIR, LL.D., D.C.L.
NEW YORK CHAUTAUQUA PRESS C.L.S.C. Department, 150 Fifth Avenue 1891
The required books of the C.L.S.C. are recommended by a Council of
Six. It must, however, be understood that recommendation does not
involve an approval by the Council, or by any member of it, of
every principle or doctrine contained in the book recommended.
* * * * *
These essays have been selected from the admirable series of
_Present Day Tracts_, published by the Religious Tract Society,
London, and are reprinted with permission.
CONTENTS.
THE HINDU RELIGION. PAGE
Outline of the Essay 7
Introduction 9
The Vedas 12
Philosophy, and Ritualism 31
Reconstruction--Modern Hinduism 43
Contrast with Christianity 58
Hinduism in Contact with Christianity 68
THE RISE AND DECLINE OF ISLAM.
Outline of the Essay 83
Introduction 85
The Rapid Spread of Islam 87
Why the Spread of Islam was Stayed 125
Low Position of Islam in the Scale of Civilization 129
THE HINDU RELIGION.
OUTLINE OF THE ESSAY.
The place of Hinduism--which is professed by about a hundred and ninety
millions in India--among the religions of the world, and its great
antiquity, are pointed out.
The comparative simplicity of the system contained in the Vedas, the
oldest sacred books of the Hindus, its almost entire freedom from the
use of images, its gradual deterioration in the later hymns, its gradual
multiplication of gods, the advance of sacerdotalism, and the increasing
complexity of its religious rites are set forth.
The philosophical speculation that was carried on, the different
philosophical schools, the Buddhist reaction, its conflict with
Brahmanism, its final defeat, and its influence on the victorious system
are discussed.
The religious reconstruction represented by the Puranas, their
theological character, the modern ritual, the introduction and rise of
caste, and the treatment of women are then considered.
A contrast is drawn between the leading characteristics of Hinduism and
those of Christianity, and the effect of Christian ideas on modern
Hinduism is exhibited. The history of the Brahmo Somaj under Keshub
Chunder Sen is given at some length.
THE HINDU RELIGION.
INTRODUCTION.
[Sidenote: Hinduism deserving of study.
Its antiquity.]
The system of religious belief which is generally called Hinduism is, on
many accounts, eminently deserving of study. If we desire to trace the
history of the ancient religions of the widely extended Aryan or
Indo-European race, to which we ourselves belong, we shall find in the
earlier writings of the Hindus an exhibition of it decidedly more
archaic even than that which is presented in the Homeric poems. Then,
the growth--the historical development--of Hinduism is not less worthy
of attention than its earlier phases. It has endured for upward of three
thousand years, no doubt undergoing very important changes, yet in many
things retaining its original spirit. The progress of the system has not
been lawless; and it is exceedingly instructive to note the development,
and, if possible, explain it.
We are, then, to endeavor to study Hinduism chronologically. Unless he
does so almost every man who tries to comprehend it is, at first,
overwhelmed with a feeling of utter confusion and bewilderment. Hinduism
spreads out before him as a vast river, or even what seems at first
"a dark
Illimitable ocean, without bound,
Without dimension, where length, breadth, and height,
And time, and place are lost."
[Sidenote: The discussion chronological.]
But matters begin to clear up when he begins at the beginning, and notes
how one thing succeeded another. It may not be possible as yet to trace
all the windings of the stream or to show at what precise points in its
long course it was joined by such and such a tributary; yet much is
known regarding the mighty river which every intelligent man will find
it profitable to note and understand.
[Sidenote: The Christian's duty in relation to the subject.]
The Christian ought not to rest satisfied with the vague general idea
that Hinduism is a form of heathenism with which he has nothing to do,
save to help in destroying it. Let him try to realize the ideas of the
Hindu regarding God, and the soul, and sin, and salvation, and heaven,
and hell, and the many sore trials of this mortal life. He will then
certainly have a much more vivid perception of the divine origin and
transcendent importance of his own religion. Farther, he will then
extend a helping hand to his Eastern brother with far more of
sensibility and tenderness; and in proportion to the measure of his
loving sympathy will doubtless be the measure of his success. A yearning
heart will accomplish more than the most cogent argument.
[Sidenote: The purpose of the Tract.]
In this Tract we confine ourselves to the laying down of great leading
facts and principles; but these will be dwelt upon at sufficient length
to give the reader, we trust, an accurate conception of the general
character and history of Hinduism. We shall also briefly contrast the
system with Christianity.
The history of Hinduism may be divided into three great periods, each
embracing, in round numbers, about a thousand years.
I.
THE VEDAS.
[Sidenote: The most ancient writings of India.]
Regarding the earliest form of Hinduism we must draw our conceptions
from the Veda, or, to speak more accurately, the four Vedas. The most
important of these is the Rig Veda; and internal evidence proves it to
be the most ancient. It contains above a thousand hymns; the earliest of
which may date from about the year 1500 B.C. The Hindus, or, as they
call themselves, the Aryas, had by that time entered India, and were
dwelling in the north-western portion, the Panjab. The hymns, we may
say, are racy of the soil. There is no reference to the life led by the
people before they crossed the Himalaya Mountains or entered by some of
the passes of Afghanistan.
It would be very interesting if we could discover the pre-Vedic form of
the religion. Inferentially this may, to some extent, be done by
comparing the teachings of the Vedas with those contained in the books
of other branches of the great Aryan family--such as the Greeks, the
Romans, and, above all, the Iranians (ancient Persians).
The ancient Hindus were a highly gifted, energetic race; civilized to a
considerable extent; not nomadic; chiefly shepherds and herdsmen, but
also acquainted with agriculture. Commerce was not unknown; the river
Indus formed a highway to the Indian Ocean, and at least the Phenicians
availed themselves of it from perhaps the seventeenth century B.C., or
even earlier.
[Sidenote: The hymns are strongly religious.
They are a selection.
Pre-eminently sacerdotal.
Present the religious thought of the ancient Hindus.]
As soon as we begin to study the hymns of the Veda we are struck by
their strongly religious character. Tacitly assuming that the book
contains the whole of the early literature of India, many writers have
expressed themselves in strong terms regarding the primitive Hindus as
religious above all other races. But as we read on we become convinced
that these poems are a selection, rather than a collection, of the
literature; and the conviction grows that the selection has been made by
priestly hands for priestly purposes. An acute critic has affirmed that
the Vedic poems are "pre-eminently sacerdotal, and in no sense
popular."[1] We can thus explain a pervading characteristic of the book
which has taken most readers by surprise. There is a want of simplicity
in the Veda. It is often most elaborate, artificial, overrefined--one
might even say, affected. How could these be the thoughts, or those the
expressions, of the imperfectly civilized shepherds of the Panjab? But
if it be only a hymn-book, with its materials arranged for liturgical
purposes, the difficulty vanishes.[2] We shall accordingly take it for
granted that the Veda presents only the religious thought of the ancient
Hindus--and not the whole of the religious thought, but only that of a
very influential portion of the race. With all the qualifications now
stated, the Veda must retain a position of high importance for all who
study Indian thought and life. The religious stamp which the compilers
of the Veda impressed so widely and so deeply has not been obliterated
in the course of thirty centuries.
[Sidenote: Their religion is Nature-worship.]
The prevailing aspect of the religion presented in the Vedic hymns may
be broadly designated as Nature-worship.
[Sidenote: Physical phenomena in India.
Their effect on the religion.]
All physical phenomena in India are invested with a grandeur which they
do not possess in northern or even southern Europe. Sunlight, moonlight,
starlight, the clouds purpled with the beam of morning or flaming in the
west like fiery chariots of heaven; to behold these things in their full
magnificence one ought to see them in the East. Even so the sterner
phenomena of nature--whirlwind and tempest, lightning and thunder, flood
and storm-wave, plague, pestilence, and famine; all of these oftentimes
assume in the East a character of awful majesty before which man cowers
in helplessness and despair. The conceptions and feelings hence arising
have from the beginning powerfully affected the religion of the Hindus.
Every-where we can trace the impress of the grander manifestations of
nature--the impress of their beneficence, their beauty, their might,
their mystery, or their terribleness.
[Sidenote: The deities are "the bright ones," according to the language
of the sacred books of India.]
The Sanskrit word for god is _deva_, which means _bright, shining_. Of
physical phenomena it was especially those connected with light that
enkindled feelings of reverence. The black thunder-cloud that enshrouded
nature, in which the demon had bound the life-giving waters, passed
away; for the glittering thunder-bolt was launched, and the streams
rushed down, exulting in their freedom; and then the heaven shone out
again, pure and peaceful as before. But such a wonder as the dawn--with
far-streaming radiance, returning from the land of mystery, fresh in
eternal youth, and scattering the terrors of the night before her--who
could sufficiently admire? And let it be remembered that in the Hindu
mind the interval between admiration and adoration is exceedingly small.
Yet, while it is the dawn which has evoked the truest poetry, she has
not retained the highest place in worship.
[Sidenote: Fire much worshiped.]
No divinity has fuller worship paid him than Agni, the Fire (_Ignis_).
More hymns are dedicated to him than to any other being. Astonishment at
the properties of fire; a sense of his condescension in that he, a
mighty god, resides in their dwellings; his importance as the messenger
between heaven and earth, bearing the offerings aloft; his kindness at
night in repelling the darkness and the demons which it hides--all these
things raised Agni to an exalted place. He is fed with pure clarified
butter, and so rises heavenward in his brightness. The physical
conception of fire, however, adheres to him, and he never quite ceases
to be the earthly flame; yet mystical conceptions thickly gather round
this root-idea; he is fire pervading all nature; and he often becomes
supreme, a god of gods.
[Sidenote: Soma highly exalted.
Soma becomes a very mighty god.]
All this seems natural enough; but one is hardly prepared for the high
exaltation to which Soma is raised. Soma is properly the juice of a
milky plant (_asclepias acida_, or _sarcostemma viminale_), which, when
fermented, is intoxicating. The simple-minded Aryas were both astonished
and delighted at its effects; they liked it themselves; and they knew
nothing more precious to present to their gods. Accordingly, all of
these rejoice in it. Indra in particular quaffs it "like a thirsty
stag;" and under its exhilarating effects he strides victoriously to
battle. Soma itself becomes a god, and a very mighty one; he is even the
creator and father of the gods;[3] the king of gods and men;[4] all
creatures are in his hand. It is surely extraordinary that the Aryas
could apply such hyperbolical laudations to the liquor which they had
made to trickle into the vat, and which they knew to be the juice of a
plant they had cut down on the mountains and pounded in a mortar; and
that intoxication should be confounded with inspiration. Yet of such
aberrations we know the human mind is perfectly capable.
[Sidenote: Connection with Persian, Greek, and Roman systems.
Varuna, the god of heaven.
The sublimity of the Vedic description of him.]
We have first referred to Agni and Soma, as being the only divinities of
highest rank which still retain their physical character. The worship
paid to them was of great antiquity; for it is also prescribed in the
Persian Avesta, and must have been common to the Indo-Iranian branch of
the Aryan race before the Hindus entered India. But we can inferentially
go still further back and speak of a deity common to the Greeks, Romans,
Persians, and Hindus. This deity is Varuna, the most remarkable
personality in the Veda. The name, which is etymologically connected
with [Greek: Ouranos], signifies "the encompasser," and is applied to
heaven--especially the all-encompassing, extreme vault of heaven--not
the nearer sky, which is the region of cloud and storm. It is in
describing Varuna that the Veda rises to the greatest sublimity which it
ever reaches. A mysterious presence, a mysterious power, a mysterious
knowledge amounting almost to omniscience, are ascribed to Varuna. The
winkings of men's eyes are numbered by him. He upholds order, both
physical and moral, throughout the universe.
[Sidenote: Contrast with the laudations of Agni and Soma.
The loftier conceptions of divinity the earlier.]
The winds are his breath, the sun his eye, the sky his garment. He
rewards the good and punishes the wicked. Yet to the truly penitent he
is merciful. It is absolutely confounding to pass from a hymn that
celebrates the serene majesty and awful purity of Varuna to one filled
with measureless laudations of Soma or Agni. Could conceptions of
divinity so incongruous co-exist? That they could not spring up in the
same mind, or even in the same age, is abundantly manifest. And, as we
have mentioned, the loftier conceptions of divinity are unquestionably
the earlier. It is vain to speak, as certain writers do, of religion
gradually refining itself, as a muddy stream can run itself pure;
Hinduism resembles the Ganges, which, when it breaks forth from its
mountain cradle at Hardwar, is comparatively pellucid, but, as it rolls
on, becomes more and more muddy, discolored, and unclean.[5]
[Sidenote: Indra.
His achievements.]
Various scholars affirm that Varuna, in more ancient pre-Vedic times,
held a position still higher than the very high one which he still
retains. This is probable; indeed, it is certain that, before later
divinities had intruded, he held a place of unrivaled majesty. But, in
the Vedas, Indra is a more conspicuous figure. He corresponds to the
Jupiter Pluvius of the Romans. In north-western India, after the burning
heat, the annual return of the rains was hailed with unspeakable joy; it
was like life succeeding death. The clouds that floated up from the
ocean were at first thin and light; ah! a hostile demon was in them,
carrying off the healing waters and not permitting them to fall; but the
thunder-bolt of Indra flashed; the demon was driven away howling, and
the emancipated streams refreshed the thirsty earth. Varuna was not
indeed dethroned, but he was obscured, by the achievements of the
warlike Indra; and the supersensuous, moral conceptions that were
connected with the former gradually faded from the minds of the people,
and Varuna erelong became quite a subordinate figure in the Pantheon.
[Sidenote: Number and relations of deities uncertain.]
The deities are generally said in the Veda to be "thrice eleven" in
number. We also hear of three thousand three hundred and thirty-nine.
There is no _system_, no fixed order in the hierarchy; a deity who in
one hymn is quite subordinate becomes in another supreme; almost every
god becomes supreme in turn; in one hymn he is the son of some deity and
in another that deity's father, and so (if logic ruled) his own
grandfather. Every poet exalts his favorite god, till the mind becomes
utterly bewildered in tracing the relationships.
We have already spoken of Agni, Varuna, and Indra, as well as Soma. Next
to these in importance may come the deities of light, namely, the sun,
the dawn, and the two Asvina or beams that accompany the dawn. The winds
come next. The earth is a goddess. The waters are goddesses. It is
remarkable that the stars are very little mentioned; and the moon holds
no distinguished place.
[Sidenote: Hardly any fetichism in the Rig Veda.]
In the religion of the Rig Veda we hardly see fetichism--if by fetichism
we mean the worship of small physical objects, such as stones, shells,
plants, etc., which are believed to be charged (so to speak) with
divinity, though this appears in the fourth Veda--the Atharva. But even
in the Rig Veda almost any object that is grand, beneficent, or terrible
may be adored; and implements associated with worship are themselves
worshiped. Thus, the war-chariot, the plow, the furrow, etc., are
prayed to.
[Sidenote: Early tendency toward pantheism.]
A pantheistic conception of nature was also present in the Indian mind
from very early times, although its development was later. Even in the
earliest hymns any portion of nature with which man is brought into
close relation may be adored.[6]
[Sidenote: Reverence of the dead.]
We must on no account overlook the reverence paid to the dead. The
_pitris_ (_patres_) or fathers are frequently referred to in the Veda.
They are clearly distinguished from the _devas_ or gods. In later
writings they are also distinguished from men, as having been created
separately from them; but this idea does not appear in the Veda. Yama,
the first mortal, traveled the road by which none returns, and now
drinks the Soma in the innermost of heaven, surrounded by the other
fathers. These come also, along with the gods, to the banquets prepared
for them on earth, and, sitting on the sacred grass, rejoice in the
exhilarating draught.
[Sidenote: The subjects of the hymns of the Rig Veda.]
The hymns of the Rig Veda celebrate the power, exploits, or generosity
of the deity invoked, and sometimes his personal beauty. The praises
lavished on the god not only secured his favor but increased his power
to help the worshiper.
[Sidenote: The holiest prayer.]
There is one prayer (so called) which is esteemed pre-eminently holy;
generally called--from the meter in which it is composed--the
Gayatri.[7] It may be rendered thus:
"Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the Divine Son (or
Vivifier); may he enlighten our understandings!"
It has always been frequently repeated in important rites.
[Sidenote: Atharva Veda.
Inferior morally and spiritually to the Rig Veda.
Explanation of deterioration.]
So far we have referred almost exclusively to the Rig Veda. The next in
importance is the Atharva, sometimes termed the Brahma Veda; which we
may render the Veda of incantations. It contains six hundred and seventy
hymns. Of these a few are equal to those in the Rig Veda; but, as a
whole, the Atharva is far inferior to the other in a moral and spiritual
point of view. It abounds in imprecations, charms for the destruction of
enemies, and so forth. Talismans, plants, or gems are invoked, as
possessed of irresistible might to kill or heal. The deities are often
different from those of the Rig Veda. The Atharva manifests a great
dread of malignant beings, whose wrath it deprecates. We have thus
simple demon-worship. How is this great falling-off to be explained? In
one of two ways. Either a considerable time intervened between the
composition of the two books, during which the original faith had
rapidly degenerated, probably through contact with aboriginal races who
worshiped dark and sanguinary deities; or else there had existed from
the beginning two forms of the religion--the higher of which is embodied
in the hymns of the Rig Veda, and the lower in the Atharva. We believe
the latter explanation to be correct, although doubtless the
superstitions of the aborigines must all along have exerted an influence
on the faith of the invaders.
[Sidenote: The offerings.]
The offerings presented to the gods consisted chiefly of clarified
butter, curdled milk, rice-cakes, and fermented Soma juice, which was
generally mixed with water or milk. All was thrown into the fire, which
bore them or their essences to the gods. The Soma was also sprinkled on
the sacred grass, which was strewn on the floor, and on which the gods
and fathers were invited to come and seat themselves that they might
enjoy the cheering beverage. The remainder was drunk by the officiating
priests. The offerings were understood to nourish and gratify the gods
as corporeal beings.
[Sidenote: Animal victims.]
Animal victims are also offered up. We hear of sheep, goats, bulls,
cows, and buffaloes being sacrificed, and sometimes in large numbers.
But the great offering was the Asvamedha, or sacrifice of the horse. The
body of the horse was hacked to pieces; the fragments were dressed--part
was boiled, part roasted; some of the flesh was then eaten by the
persons present, and the rest was offered to the gods. Tremendous was
the potency--at least as stated in later times--of a hundred such
sacrifices; it rendered the offerer equal or superior to the gods; even
the mighty Indra trembled for his sovereignty and strove to hinder the
consummation of the awful rite.
[Sidenote: Human sacrifice.]
Human sacrifice was not unknown, though there are very few allusions to
it in the earlier hymns.
[Sidenote: Sacrifice deemed of very high importance.]
Even from the first, however, the rite of sacrifice occupies a very high
place, and allusions to it are exceedingly frequent. The observances
connected with it are said to be the "first religious rites." Sacrifice
was early believed to be expiatory; it removed sin. It was
substitutionary; the victim stood in place of the offerer. All order in
the universe depends upon it; it is "the nave of the world-wheel."
Sometimes Vishnu is said to be the sacrifice; sometimes even the Supreme
Being himself is so. Elaborated ideas and a complex ritual, which we
could have expected to grow up only in the course of ages, appear from
very early times. We seem compelled to draw the inference that sacrifice
formed an essential and very important part of the pre-Vedic faith.[8]
In the Veda worship is a kind of barter. In exchange for praises and
offerings the deity is asked to bestow favors. Temporal blessings are
implored, such as food, wealth, life, children, cows, horses, success in
battle, the destruction of enemies, and so forth. Not much is said
regarding sin and the need of forgiveness. A distinguished scholar[9]
has said that "the religious notion of sin is wanting altogether;" but
this affirmation is decidedly too sweeping.
[Sidenote: No image-worship.
No public worship.]
The worship exemplified in the Veda is not image-worship. Images of the
fire, or the winds, or the waters could hardly be required, and while
the original nature-worship lasted, idols must have been nearly unknown.
Yet the description of various deities is so precise and full that it
seems to be probably drawn from visible representations of them. Worship
was personal and domestic, not in any way public. Indeed, two men
praying at the same time had to pray quite apart, so that neither might
disturb the other. Each dealt with heaven, so to speak, solely on his
own behalf.
[Sidenote: No temples.]
We hear of no places set apart as temples in Vedic times.
[Sidenote: The treatises on ritual.]
A Veda consists of two parts called _Mantra_ or _Sanhita_, and
_Brahmana_. The first is composed of hymns. The second is a statement of
ritual, and is generally in prose. The existing Brahmanas are several
centuries later than the great body of the hymns, and were probably
composed when the Hindus had crossed the Indus, and were advancing along
the Gangetic valley. The oldest may be about the date of 800 or 700 B.C.
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