Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/461

* BRAHMANISM. 407 BRAHMANISM. texts, including hymns, incantations, and sacrifi- cial forms of prayer. They are: (1) the Higi-eda) (2) the Siiman, or t<ti ma leda ; (3) the Yajush, or Yajuiveda; (4) the Alhanaii.orAthariaieda, Each of these four text-books has attached to it a body of prose writings called UrOhmaiias, which explain the ceremonial application of the texts, and the origin and import of the sacrificial rites for which they were supposed to have been com- posed. These are complemented by the shorter tiCitrijf:, manuals of various sorts, liturgical and ritual. All these to the Hindu are comprehondod in the term Veda, the hymns alone being the (ved:i-) Sanhitfi. or collection. The Athanafcda was the last to be recognized as a real vcda. The Sumavcda and the Yajiirveda are employed for purel.v ritual purposes, and as they are composed almost entirely of verses taken from the Rig- veda, they are of secondary importance. The hymns of the Higveda are the earliest poetical productions of the Aryan settlers in India which have come down to us. They all are old, though of varying periods, the earliest dating probably from B.C. 1200 to 1500. The last book has the characteristics of a later appendage. Of the A-tharvan about a sixth is found in the liigvcda. The religious thought of the gld poets, as re- flected in the hymns, is that of a worship of the grand and striking phenomena of nature viewed as personal and conscious beings, endowed with powers beyond the control of man, j'et sensible to his praises and actions. It was more nearly a nature-worship than that of any otlier known form of polytheistic belief; a mythology com- paratively little affected by those systematizing tendencies which, in other lands, led to the con- struction of a well-ordered pantheon and a regu- lar organization of divine government. From the name, 'the Shining Ones,' given to these im- personations, it must be concluded that the more prominent objects of early adoration were the phenomena of light. In the primitive worship of the manifold phenomena of nature, their physical aspect impresses not only the human heart, but also the moral and intellectual forces which are supposed to move and animate them. The attributes and relations of some of the Vedic deities, in accordance with the nature of the ob- jects which they represent, partake in a high degree of this spiritual element; but such deities are exceptional, and most of the Vedic gods liave a thoroughly sensuous and anthropomorphic character. This latter element is especially pre- dominant in the attributes and imagery applied by the Vedic poets to Indra, the god of the atmospheric region, and the favorite figure in their pantheon. While the representatives of the prominent departments of nature appear to the Vedic poet as independent of each other, their relations to the mortal worshiper being the chief subject of his anxiety, a simple method of classi- fication was resorted to at an early time. It con- sisted of a triple division of the deities into gods residing in the sky, in the air, and on the earth. It is not until a later stage, however, that this attempt at a polytheistic system is followed up by the promotion of one particular god to the dignity of chief guardian for each one of these three regions. On the other hand, a tendency is clearly traceable in some of the hj-mns toward identifying gods whose functions present a cer- tain degree of similarity of nature. These at- tempts seem to show a certain advance from polytheism toward a comprehension of the unity of the divine essence. There was another feature of the old Vedic worship which tended to a similar result. The great problems of the origin and existence of man and the universe had early begun to engage the Hindu mind; and in celebrating the praises of the gods the poet was frecpiently led to attrib- ute to tliom cosmical functions of the very high- est order. At a later stage of thought the con- ception of maker of the universe was gradually restricted to one "all-maker' or 'lord of all crea- tures,' attributes which eventually became desig- nations of a new and supreme god. Still later, with the vaguer lines of demarcation between the old gods, came the thought that all these gods were essentially one, but that this one was not a god, but the divine spirit which animated all beings. Thus a pantheistic conception was ar- rived at, and ])ut forth imder such names as Purusha, 'soul,' Kunia, "desire,' Brahman (neuter nom. sing., brahma). 'devotion, prayer.' Meta- physical and philosophical speculations were thus fast luidormining the simple Ix-lief in the old gods, until, at the time of the composition of the Bruhiitanas and the Upanishads, we find them in complete possession of the minds of the theologians. While the theories crudely suggest- ed in the later hrains are now further matured and eIaborate<I, the tendency toward catholicity of fornuila favors the combination of the con- flicting monotheistic and pantheistic conceptions; this compromise, which makes Prnjapati, 'lord of all creatures.' and personal creator of the world, the manifestation of the impersonal Brahma, the universal self-existent soul, leads to the composite pantheistic system which forms the characteristic dogma of the Brahmanical period. The theories of creation set forth in the liigveda show a nmltifarious belief, and philo- sophically the dogma is taught that "lieing comes from non-being' (a tenet denied in a later age), so that it is impossible to derive completed Brah- manism from earlier thought, though all ortho- dox Brahmanism pretends to be based on 'Vedic truth.' Another striking difference between the Vedie and completed Brahmanic beliefs rests on the development of the philosophical conceptions outlined above. The Vedic poet believed in a joyful lieaven, to which he Avas to go hereafter; the latar Brahman desired not heavenly bliss, but an unconscious existence as part of the All-soul. The division into caxlcx (more properly classes) in India is well known. The hymn to Purusha names them as (1) tlie Brahraanas; (2) the Kshatriyas; (3) the Vaisyas, and (4) the Sudras. It was not until late in the history of India that castes in the modem sense of the word aro.se. .^t first these divisions were merely nat- ural social classes of priests, soldiers, agricul- turists, and slaves. As late as the Sixth Cen- tury B.C. rich merchants, as well as kings, stood on a social e(piality with priests. Intennarriage and eating together (the signs of caste) were not forbidch'n. But the priestly system eventually left absolute power in the liands of the Brah- mans, or priests. They elaborated a system of laws, in which they made no scru])le to fortify and protect themselves. The very lowest class was of no importance; but tlie other three, how- ever unequal to each otlier in privileges and social standing, were united by a conniion bond of sacramental rites, traditionally connected from