Page:An Essay On Hinduism.pdf/52

 should reach a higher stage of intellect would take up the path of knowledge instead of the path of devotion, and of fervent prayer to the deity.

When Hindus or specially Brāhmaṇas try to understand the Christian religion, they naturally begin to analyse and examine Christianity in accordance with their habitual mode of thought. They first try to ascertain the dharma of Christians. They hold that an eternal and infinite thing like dharma cannot be divided after the expounder, but it may be divided according to status, tribe or family. To divide the dharma knowledge by the expounder instead of by the subject matter is regarded as an irrational and illogical method of division. If there be any moral ideas in Christianity, they class them with the moral ideas that are common in all creeds and people, and thus recognize that even the tribe of Christians have some ideas of Mänavadharma, that is, duties of man as a member of humanity. The ideas and customs which they find peculiar to Christians are the customs of eating beef and drinking liquor, and worshipping the tribal gods, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost and Mary, and a host of saints, and the observance of Christmas, Easter and Good Friday. This is considered by them the peculiar dharma of the Christian tribe. The propaganda of Christianity to them means, propaganda of these customs and not the propaganda of the duties of man as a member of humanity, for the latter to them cannot be anything else than their own Mänavadharma. Mānava-dharma (Dharma of Humanity) is only one and eternal, and thus there cannot be two conflicting orders of Mānava-dharma.

The religions or sects based upon the teachings of particular men are sometimes called "mata." This word