Page:An Essay On Hinduism.pdf/53

 means thought, doctrine or opinions. Buddhism is very often called "Bauddha-mata," the "opinion” of the Buddhists. These “matas" generally represent the fundamental principles of doctrines of the system. The word "Khrista-mata" is also occasionally used in Marathi literature. This is done by men who wish to deny the possibility of Christianity being classed as any definite dharma or mārga. Among the Christian doctrines (mata) they include beliefs like the following :- (i) All men and possibly women are possessed of an object called "soul,” while no other creatures have any soul; (ii) Salvation can be attained through faith in Christ; (iii) There is a personal god; (iv) The world created and ruled by two distinct individuals, God and the Devil ; (v) Sin is the creation of the Devil. Some Hindu students of Christianity would also include in the matas the Christian conceptions of Heaven and Hell.

Thus, some fundamental differences in the ideas of Western people and the ideas of the Hindus are reflected, in the fact that Hindus find it necessary to translate the word "religion" with three different words : Dharma, Mārga, and Mata. There is no word in Sanskrit expressive of a system containing all these three entities. Those differences are mainly these. Dharma, or duties of man as a member of mankind, state, or clan, has so very little relation to the ideas which men may have regarding the nature of God, soul, etc., that to put all these together into a coherent system would not be justifiable. Western people generally imagine their interdependence simply because both of them emanate from the same source, the Bible, and for another reason which will be explained later. According to Hindu theory, even a person who may feel doubtful