Page:The Religion of the Veda.djvu/166

 LECTURE THE FOURTH.

The TransParent, Translucent, and Opaque Gods.-—-~Re1igious Con~ ceptions and Religious Feel—- ing in the Veda.

The transparent gods: their importance for the study of religionwFather Sky and Daughter DawnHSiirya, a god of the ennwVata and Viiyu, gods of windm’l‘he most transparent god: Agni, FiremAgni as the sacriﬁce ﬁremPrehistorie gods of ﬁrewBirth and youth of Agni “Agni as god of the morningmNew births of Agni-m Agni on the altar, the agent of the godemPriesthood and divinity of AgnimA hymn to AgnimOther myths of the Fire Gomehe translucent gods: deﬁnition of the term—“God VishnumGod Pﬁshaanod Indra, an an example of an opaque god-“Traditional explanation of the myth of Indra and Vritraw Professor Hille- brandt’s interpretation of the same mythmRenewed deﬁnition of the religion of the Rig~VedamRenewed deﬁnition of Vedie practioalitieemConﬂicting prayers and sacriﬁcesw—The conception of faithmFaith related to Truth and Wisdom-“Faith personiﬁedeaith and worksmThe reward for faith postponed to heavenw Contrast between early “faith ” (graddhﬂ) and later “devotion” (hhakti)-—-—”Gift-praises,” another sop to the sacriﬁcermThe religious feeling of the Rig-Veda“

The utilitarian sense—~The glory of the godsmAhsence I so