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 __ IH“ WM hil' Wit—“nun

The Final Philosophy of the Veda 28 5

Va-

done so, alas, is born again as worm or as fly ; as ﬁsh or as fowl; as lion or as boar; as bull or as tiger, or man; or as something elsewany old thing as we might say-min this place or in that place, according to the quality of his works, and the degree of his knowledge, that is in accordance with the doctrine of karma} Thanks to the past the present is secure :; worse might have happened than to pass through the temporary shelter of a human mother’s body into the more enduring shelter of the mother’s love... The Hindu mother, like any other mother, rejoices in her child, especially if he is a boy, and asks no questions about his ultimate cosmic destiny. Father and mother now bend every energy to raise the child so that he may become an honored member of the Brahmanical community, beloved alike of god and man. The Hindu books of Rules of Home Life, the soucalled Grihyasﬁtras,“ tell a touching story of the pious care with which the child is piloted through infancy. Indeed the life of the Brahmanical Hindu is sacramental throughout. Every important phase of his life has its own sacraments. The most imu portant of them are the investiture by his teacher with the sacred cord, and his marriage.

This investiture is looked upon as a spiritual

1 Kaush‘itaki Upanishad I. 2. E See above, p. 417,

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