Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/69

II.] Sahajiā creed of the Vaiṣṅavas, the old doctrines re-appeared amongst the masses, and its great exponent Chaṅdīdās echoed the sentiments of Kāṅu Bhatta in his love-songs, giving it a far higher spiritual tone than they had ever received from the Buddhists. Chaṅdīdās lived in the 14th century, so his writings do not, properly speaking, belong to the pre-Mahammadan period to which we should have confined ourselves in this chapter. For an exposition of the Sahajiā doctrines, however, we find it necessary to refer to some of his songs which elucidate the essential principles of this curious creed. Says Chaṅdīdās:—

"Everyone speaks of Sahajiā,—alas, who knows its real meaning? One who has crossed the region of darkness (passions) can alone have the light of Sahajiā."

Chaṅdīdās's writings on this point occasionally appear as riddles,—and indeed all writings of this class are so,—but they give sufficient glimpses of the purity of his faith.

"The woman must remain chaste and never fall; she will sacrifice herself entirely to love, but outwordly the object of her love will be as nobody