Page:An Essay On Hinduism.pdf/71

 Sikhs have imitated them out of ignorance. When Lord Morley gave a constitution to India and gave therein a special representation for Mohamedans, the Jains in Bombay Presidency came forward, and contrasting themselves with the Hindus demanded a separate representation.

The most important test by which the place of a religious body or sect can be judged is, whether that sect is socially separate. Does a man who may join the sect lose his caste thereby? Can people of that sect marry with Hindus who do not belong to that sect? Do the members of that sect pollute Hindus? If the sect is not separate in this sense, then the sect is a Hindu sect. At present Hindus who are not Sikhs intermarry with Sikhs. So Hindus of Gujrath who are not Jains intermarry with Jains, so these sects do not form a social body outside the Hindus. For the same reason Brahmos are a Hindu sect.

But some sects have practically become castes. In Lu that case, the question whether a sect is Hindu or not can be decided by asking the following questions :—

(1) Does that sect adopt Hindu Gods?

(2) Does that sect regard Brāhmaṇas as sacred ?

(3) Does that sect regard as sacred any of those works or documents which Hindus regard as sacred ?