Page:An Essay On Hinduism.pdf/78

 the development of ideas which led to the formulation of Christianity. Under these circumstances we find many sincere Christian ministers who wish and frankly state that the Old Testament should not be taught to children or to persons who are not able to interpret or understand it in the “proper manner."

Another reason why they discouraged the study of the Vedas, is because they did not believe that its knowledge is necessary for salvation. They divided the Vedas thus: Mantra and Brāhmana literature is called Karma-Kanda, the department of works; and the Upanishads is called the Jñana-Kānda, the department of knowledge. According to latter-day ideas, salvation could be reached by knowledge alone, and therefore, what is necessary for the salvation of all people is knowledge, and this they did not keep out of the reach of Shūdras, women, or any other class of people. The Karma (Vedic rites) was regarded by them merely as a path to the attainment of knowledge, but they did not regard it as the only path. Many other paths, like worship and devotion (Upāsanā), were, according to them, equally valid.

Such were, in fact, the motives which led the early Brāhmanas to discourage the study of the Vedas in general and prohibit it to the Shūdras. To the Shüdras, though the Veda was prohibited, still Vedānta, the final knowledge, was never prohibited, but on the contrary recommended and preached. Shūdras on their part never felt the prohibition of the study of Vedas as a grievance, though to-day occasionally one hears a grievance of this kind, as some Christian missionaries make capital out of this by misrepresenting the real facts, either through ignorance or from the unworthy motives of alienating the Shūdra community from Hinduism.