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w--

ARTICLE

VI.

ONT}IE

OF THE VEDA.
MORALITY
Br

PROF. RUDOLPH

ROTH,

OFTUBINGEN.
TRANSLATED FROM THE AUTHOR'S MANUSCRIN

BY

WILLIAM

D. WHITNE Y.

(Read October14, 1852.)

YOL. III.

42

ON THE

MORALITY

OF THE
_

VEDA.

of Bombay, has made a work of


Rev. J. M. MITCHELL,
published at
mine (Zur Literattlrund Seschichtedes I2Veda,
Stuttgart,in 1845),the subjectof a specialnotice,whereillhe
commendsthe little volullle to the attentionof the Asiatic
Societyin Bombay. This noticeis publishedin the Journal
BranchRoyalAsiatic Society, No. xi. July,
of the BombafT
1847, but has not until recentlycometo my knowledge.
The authoris grateful to Mr.Mitcllell for the favorable
judgment pronouncedupon his work, and feels hirtlself
peculiarlyrewardedfor his laborsin this departmentby the
circumstancethat their resultshave met with attentionand
recognitionin India itself. Investigationswith respect to
Indianantiquity,which reachback to the very limit of the
historyof the humanrace,possessnevertheless,even for the
present,a directvalue. :k'orthe developmentof the Indian
peoplehas gone on undisturbedfromthose early ages until
now: it has neverbeen forcedfromits naturalcourseby foreign influences; the bandshave never been wholly severed
whichconnectthe latestgenerationswith theirremoteancestors; even now,thoseliterarymonumentswhich,originating
among this people, collduct us fartherback illtO the past
than any other existing works whatever (with the exception, perhaps,of a very smallportionof the HebrewScriptures),are still regardedas the inspiredfoundatiollof the
nationalbelief, and are in the handsof those whosebusiness
it is to uphold and direct that belief, the priests. Whatever contributesto the understandingof these beginnings,
of the present. And when
must also aid the comprehension
men who combinewith the cultureof the NVestan intimate
acquaintancewith the present conditioll of India, deem
worthy of their particularattention resultswhich we have
won fromthose ancientdocumentsthroughthe meansonly

332

of generalhistoricaland philologicalresearch,the practical


value of these resultsis thereby acknowledged.
But the more highly I Xalue the testimonyto the inner
truth of purely historicalinvestigations,derived from the
fact that they aid in the cotnprehensionof now existing
forLnsof spirituallife in India, so much the more unwillingly would I allow to attachitself to them the reproach
of " one-sidedness
" which Mr.MitchellsuSersto appearin
his remarks.
It is this pointwhich the followingexpositionis intended
to illustrate.
The passagesin Mr.Mitchell'snoticewhich I particularly
have in miladare the followlng:
"It will be see.nthat he [Dr. Roth] contemplatesthese
ancient hymns itl a purely literary point of view. It is
howeverinterestingand usefulto exarninethem in another
light; alld when we do so, we are compelledto form a far
less favourableestimateof their character. It is true, that
the general absenceof anthropomorphism
from the Vedic
notion of divine beings, necessarilyexcludes tnany of the
worst outragesagainst moralitythat shock us in the Puranas, in which the worshipof deifiedheroesand gods assimiJatedto men, plays so itnportanta part. Sti]l, even in this
respect the Vedas are faulty; and in the characterof the
sacred Rishis particularlyas tllese are represetltedin the
commentarieson the Vedas there is much that is morally
repulsive. A dialogue is given in which Yama endeavors
to se(luce his tsvin-sisterYamuna. The Rishi Vasishta is
assailed by the house-dogwhen about to steal grain. See
Colebrooke,As. Res., vol. viii. pp. 401, 402. The warlike
and revellgefulcharacterof the Rishis will be afterwards
noticed. Grossindelicacy(stlchas in Rosen'sRig-ATeda,
pp.
214, 215) is too commonto attractnruchnotice. Moreportentousis the passage from the Vrihad Aranyaka, quoted
by Colebrookeut supra,p. 440.
"Enthusiasticantiquarianslike our authorsometimesdislike such remarksas these. But, even were we permitted
to waive the claimsof religionand morality, a purely literaryestimateof the ATedic
hymilswould be chargeablewith
that one-sidednesswhichthe Germailsgenerallypridethemselves on shunning." p. 406.
In a similarstrainis the conclusionof the notice:

333

"Along with thorough-goingGermanresearch,ourauthor


seemsto possessan almostJonesian
ardourand imaginativeness. Ee is thus able to impartno small degreeof fascination to his views. In his handsthe old Vedic hyinns,which
lie witheredand saplessin our collections,like the constituents of a hortusstccus}seem to burst afresh into life, and
resumewhateverof graceor fragrancethey originallypossessed; so that, when we considerthem in a merelyliterary
point of view, we are free to confessthat amongthesefaded
leaves there lie, potentially,charmswe could little have suspected. WIany,however,will, we trust, approachthe Vedas
with yet other feelings; and recognizillgin thern the most
authenticand coinpletememorialof the humanmilld'searly
aberratioilsfrom primeval truth, will contemplatethem in
a far higher than merely esthetical point of view, and be
enabled to deduce from those monuments, ' covered with
the hoar of innumerableages,' lessons which the human
racein all succeeding times, and throughoutall lands, will
do well to ponderand lay serious]yto heart." p. 410.
It is not diflicultfor me to transfermyself to the point of
view fromwhich Mr. Mitchellhas been led to such considerationsas these. They are suggested to him by lny general estimate of the Indian antiquity which shows itself
plainly enough every wherein the work in question, as of
a periodof freshness and vigor. The discoveryof such a
noblerperiod, whose existencenot long since was not even
suspected(in Colebrookeappearsno hint of it), must be an
occasionof rejoicingto every one who has recognizedeven
in their errorsthe hiC,hspiritualendowmentsof the Indian
people. The lively exhibition of such an estimate might
readilystrike disagreeablyone who, living among the late
posterityof such an ancestry,has to struggle against their
weaknessesand vices. He is naturallyand unavoidablyled
to connectthe past with the present, to seek in the former
the seeds of the errorswhicll flourish luxuriantly in the
latter, and to regard him as partial and prejudicedwho
makes no mention of those errors, or at any rate leaves
them in the background. Meallwhile,the author of the
noticewill readilyconcedethat, in accordancewitll the purpose had in view in my work, a completerepresentatiollof
the life of that primitivetime was not at all calledfor: that
only brief traits could be given, and that in these it was the

334

of that period fromthe middle and the modern


diSerence
had claimto be made most prominent. If then
tllat
ages
side of tlle picttlrewas exhibited, it lay in the
thelariglgter
undertakilagthat it shouldbe so.
the
of
nature
challenge
I will not, however, ref'useto respondto theNot
that I
words.
Mitchell's
Mr.
in
lie
to
whichseems
conhistorical
purely
a
that
meantherebyto acknowledge
the
of
waiving
a
and
one,
partial
a
is
antiquity
of
sideration
under
rather
has
History
claimsof religionand morality.
circumstallcesan indestructibleright of its own, which
a11
Just
maybe set aside in deferenceto none otherwhatever.
mathematical
the
questioning
of
aslao astronomerthinks
bodies,
lawswhich regulate the rnotiollsof the heavenly
to the
even
and
commentator,
becauseto tnany a biblical
with
irreconcilable
seem
nzay
tlley
itself,
Church
Catholic
historwill
so
Joshua;
of
chapter
thepassagein the telath
even
icallyestablishedfacts maintaintheir truth and value,Chrisnarrowed
a
with
thougllthey seem to be at variance
case the
tian apprehellsionof history. As in the former
comprehenbetter
a
by
apparentcontradictionis removed
correctlyun
sionof the wordsof Scripture,so here too astrong
enough
derstoodChristianitywill be abundantly without
and
itself
maintain
to
truth
to allow historical
own
its
to
subservient
it
make
to
even
and
lilnits,
its
within
purposes.
view of
But beforeI proceedto an expositionof mv own
rebriefly
must
I
antiquity,
the moralvalue of the Indlian
error
moral
of
instances
the
value
proper
duce to their
xvhichMr.Mitchelladduces.
The authorityuponwhich they rest is Colebrooke'sEssay
of the Eindus. There we
on the Vedas or SacredWVritint,s
ill anotherplace [of
occurs
passaCe
read: "A very sillgular
his
the Riz,-Veda]colatainillga dialoguebetweenYama and
his
but
seduce;
to
endeavors
he
twin-sisterYamuna,whom
If
expostulation."
virtuous
witll
her
by
rejected
are
oWers
of
conception
present
the
to
it be consideredthat, according
souls in
the Hindus,Yalna is rtller and judge of cleparted
reward
the
receive
they
the other world,fromwhose hancSs
ofSensive,
highly
found
be
will
it
eartll,
upon
of theiractions
at
that the traditionshou]d make llim guilty of an attempt
chara
sensual
so
of
olle
particularly
so gross a critne, and
seem
acter. And wherLonce this view is taken, it will

335

doubl;y
scandalousthat the presentation
of suchan occurrence shouldhave been allowedplace in a collectionof
hymnsregardedas sacredandinspired.
Thisjudgment,
however,willundergoveryessentialmodificationwhenthe truestateof thecaseis understood.Colebrookehashere(a thingof rareoccurrence
in his thorough
andcarefulresearches)
committed
a seriouserror,and mIsapprehended
not onlythe text of the llymnitself, but also
the commentary
uponit. It is not Yamawho makesthe
attemptat seduction,but Yami (not Yamuna,as Cole
brookewritesit); andherattemptis not to seducehim,but
to persuadehimto a marriage
withher. And the oSence
whichmoralitytakesat the proceeding,
assumesalmosta
comicalappearance,
whenit becomesknownwhoYamaand
Yamiproperlyare. Theyare, as theirnamesdenote,twin
brotherandsister,andarethe firsthumanpair,theoriginatorsof the race! As the Hebrewconceptioncloselyconnectedtheparentsof mankindby miaking
thewomanformed
froma portionof the bodyof the man, so by the Indian
traditiontheyareplacedin the relationship
of twins: this
thoughtis laid by the hymllin questionin the mouthof
Yamillerself,whensheis madeto say: "evenin thewomb
theCreator
madeus for man andwife." A later time, to
whichthese alread5r
fadingmvthswere no longerobjects
of simpledirectbelief,took offenceat the ideaof sucha
unionbetweenbrotherandsister,eventhoughit wereonly
inthe traditionof the originof the humanrace. Andfrom
thismoralscruplesprangthishymn,whereinthepoetmakes
Yamispendall her eloquenceuponllerbrotherto induce
himto becomeherhusband,
buthe firmlyrefusesto comlnit
sucha breachof propriety. Shepleadswith himthat the
Immortals
themselvesdesireto see posterityfromthe solitarymortalwhomtheyhave created;that theirunionwas
ordained
by the C:reator;
that it is not brotherlyliindness
inhimto reJecther. But he retortsthatmencallhimguilty
whoapproaches
his sister; thatthe spiesof the gods,never
resting,go aboutto takenoteof all thatis doneuponearth;
$hata timemayindeedcomewhenbrotherand sistershall
dowhattheirrelationship
forbids,butthathe will notfulfill
herwish.
Thepoet himself,Marfromgiving his sanctionto an act
of sensuality,hasnot suiMered
eventhe ancienttraditionof

336

the parentsof our raee to eseape his eritieising morality.


To satisfythe latterhe has even renderedhimself guilty of
tastelessnessand absurdity, sinee he will not allow that
union to take plaee fromwhieh the whole human familyis
to spring. H:ehas not troubledhimselfas to how the propagation of mankindwas to be broughtabout, so as only the
establishedlaw of marriagebe saeredlymaintained.
If a parallelbe sought for this ease in the provinee to
which WIr.Mitchellwould referthe studentof antiquity, it
rnayreadilybe found in the Mosaiehistory. The aeeount
in Genesis passesover in silencethe eireumstaneethat the
ehildrenof 2Ydamand Eve musthave lived togetherirleonneetionswhiehwe should now termineestuous. It beqtows
not a thought thereupon,but simply holds fast to the Maet
that the raeeis deseendedfroma single pair. The Indian
poet, authorof our hymn, serupledand speculateclover the
diffietllty,and found an awkwardsolutionof it, or, rather,
haeked through the knot. It vvereas little reasona'oleto
reekonthis to his ereditas to find -faultwith the Genesisfor
disregardingthe point entirely. CErom
this example,however, may be seen whither we should be led, were we to
take the substaneeof aneienttraditionsfor moral doetrine,
andjudge of them aeeordingly.
The ease is not far otherwisewith the seeond example
quoted, yet here Colebrooke'sown words might furnish
means for arriving at a better understandingof it. LEfe
says: "The legend belongingto the seeondof these hymns
[of the seventh book] is singular: Vasisht'ha,eoming at
night to the houseof Varun'a(withthe intentionof sleeping
there, say some, but as others affirm,with the design of
stealing grain to appease his hunger after a fast of three
dass), was assailed by the house-dog. He uttered this
prayer,or ineantation,to lay asleepthe dog, who was barking at and attemptingto bite him." H:erethen Vasishtha,
famedas a model of priestlywisclomand ability, is eaught
thieving; not indeed by the subjeet of the theft hirnself:
his doCthe saint krtewhow to bann; but at least by us of
an after generation. And who was the sufSerer? None
other than Varunahimself, the hit,hest divilzityof the aneielll;Indianfaith,whodwellsill everlastinglight,surrounded
by exalted spirits and the hosts of the blest. WVhatean

havebeenthe grainthatwasto befounditl hishouse? The

337

answerto that questionwe leave to the commentatorswho


have inventedthe awkwardstory. It is a part of the business of the learned expositorsof these ancient hymns, to
specity for such of them as contain any thing beside the
customaryprayersand praises,some particularoccasionto
whicheach shall have owed its origin,to producesomestory
which shall serve as introductionto the hymn itself. Such
storieshave been mantlictured in great numbers (as also
the biblical literatureof the Old and New Testamentshas
called out an abundanceof such productions),and so many
of them as bear relationto the Rig-Vedahave been gathered
into a separatebook, the Brihaddevata. From this work is
quotedthe story of Vasisht.lla'sirruptionby llight into Varunas house, whetherfox the purposeof seeking a lodging,
or of satisfying his hunger: aftera fast, as the story adds
by way of palliation. In the mass of hylans ascribedbv
traditionto Vasishtha,were found sundryverses for warting off the attack of a dog, and others (which, however,
hardly had any original connectionwith the former),for
calling down sleep upon all the membersof a household.
An attenlpt must be madeto accountfor the occurrenceof
theseversesin a collectionof sacredhymns,and accordingly
a story was trumpedtogether,whose effecthas been, it appears, to fasten a spot upon the reputationof a sage who
lived morethan threethousandyearsago,amongthe streams
of the Pelljab.
After theseinstances,it will probablybe deemedunnecessarythat farthertime be spent upon particulars.
If I exert myself to defend the productionsof Indian
antiquityagainstattacksof this character,which are nzanifestly unjust, I neverthelessshall not at all allow myself to
be drawninto becomingtheir panegyrist. And least of all
should I promote an insight into the condition of those
earlytimes, were I to assemble after the same fashion an
arrayof instances which should sllow them to have been
possessedof all rnannerof excellencies and virtues. Such
single selected traits may here and there be of service, as
strikinfflillustrationsof general observatiorls,but can furrlishno sure criterionof the moralvalue of a periodor of a
literature; even though, as in the cases cited, they relate to
prominentindividuals. For as a periodof noble qualities
anda literatureof solid worthmay exhibit manyblemishes,
TOL. III.

43

338

and yet maintaintheir fundamentalcharacterunobscured,


so also the most unworthyage may be prolificof individual
instancesof moralexcellence,which showof only the more
brightly againstthe dark background.
If then we endeavorto gain, fromthe generalimpression
made upon the reader by the productionsof the earliest
Indian period,a view of their moraland religiousvalue, it
will not indeedbe withoutshadows,yet the light will prevail.
The shadowsare the sameas rest over all antiquity, and
esyecially over periodsso primitiveas the one in question.
Selfishnessand, as its consequence,violence, are characteristics of the life both of individualsand of the community.
Natiorls that are making the first advancesin ciarilization
win their position by struggles, by strifewith their neighbors, by conflict with Nature. Mihoever stands in their
way is their enemy, their enemy for the simple reasonthat
he is not of them, and lays clairnto possessions,such as
houses, cultivatedland, palsturage,
which it would be agreeable to them to call t'heirown. The hymnsof the 77'eda
are
full of prayersto the gods for the wealth of others, of ilnprecationsof misfortunellpon those of otherrace; and later
we find them trying to rid themselvesof their adversaries
by incantations. They covet earthlyriches,and f'orits sake
they serve the gods, paying them homage and offerings,in
orderto obtainfromthemin returnstill richergifts, whether
in the way of the blessings of fertility, or of booty to be
won in battle. "If I, O Indra," says one of the bards
" were masterof such wealthas thou, I would be generous
to him who praisedme, but would bestownothingUpOll the
wicked: day by day would I give in abulldanceto him who
paid me honor, be he who he might. We have no dearer
relati-e than tllou, vrereit a fathereven." (vii. 32, 18, 19.)
But this selfish disregardof the ribhtsof others,when the
nzeansof cornfortablesubsistence and animal enjoyments
are in question,klaowshow to cover itself with a mantleof
religion. For these strangersare despisersof the truefaith
they oll their part wish selfishlyto leep all to themselves,
and give the gods llothing: they are ellemies of reliCion
alld of tlle gods, and ought to be as hateful to the latter as
to their worshippers.
If the Greekstyled all foreignersbarbarians,and by this
appellatione2zpressed
a certaindegreeof contemptforthem,

339

Tookingupon himself as alonein possession-oftrlle dignity


and culture, it was his own manifold excellence, his own
desert, upon mrhichhis pride was based. Not so with the
Indian; althougllhe too, as well as the Iranian,had fromthe
earliesttimes madethe same distinctionbetweenArian and
non-Arianas tlle GreekbetweenHelleneandBarbarian.The
Arian pridedhimself,not upon his superiorityin respectto
social culture, lallguage, and the like or this at least was
rlotthe main elementin his self-complacency,
forthese were
ads-antageswhich had by no means as yet arrived at full
developmentandappreciation but ratheruponhis religion:
he boastedthat he belollgedto a nationwho worshippedthe
true gods, and was by them guided and protected. The
national pride of the Greeks was but distantly connected
with their religion; with the Arian the two were inseparably united.
He, then, who undertakesto estimate coznparativelythe
rnoralityand religionof antiquity,will be compelledto concede, that the spirit of selfish aggrandizementcommon to
all cultivated nations of the olden time, rests with the
Arians at least upon a religious basis; and farther, that
they present no other form of an appreciation,an overappreciation,of themselves than is to be found also among
the people of the Old Testament.
If we turn our attentionto domesticlife, the government
of the household, and relations betweenthe sexes, we find
occasionneitherfor specialpraisenor for specialblame. The
house is held sacred. The paternal authoritvis regarded
as absolute. Polygamy is llot unknown, but evidently of
rareoccurrence. The wife accompaniesher husbandto the
altar,and so joins llim in represelltillgthe householdthere;
a later period excludes woman frorn all participationin
sacredthings. In sexual matters the ancient Indians do
not indeed deservethe praiseaf contillencywhich tlaegreat
Roman historian bestows with adrtlirationupon the Germans,but neither do they exhibit that enervatingsensuality
to which later, in a more southernclirne,the nationbecarne
enslaved,and which still rests as a curse upon India. The
conceptionsand the languageof antiquityoll subjectswhich
later gelleral;ionshave learned to cover up, are blunt and
unceremonious;but there is no lustfulnessin them: what
is naturalis situply looked at in a naturalway, and the do-

340

main of modestyis not so Mar


extendedas at present. One
vice, however,which the Indianssharewith their brethren
who emigratedwestward,the Germans,calls here forspecial
mention: the passion,llamely, for play, for dicing. References to it are numerous,as well in the oldest hymns as in
the later Epic poetry. Recogilition of the viciouslless of
the plactice is not howeverwanting,and the nameof gamester is a term of reproach. And, as if by way of warning
exarnple,a hymn has beenadmittedinto the most important
of the collections,the Rig-Veda, containingthe complaint
of a gambler,who bewailshis unhappypassion, depicts its
consequences,and confessesthat in spite of the best resolution3he has not been able to resistthe fatal temptatioll.
But we shall be best enabledto assignto the ancient Indians that place in the scale of moralcultureto wllich they
are elltitled, by considerilzgwhat were their fundamental
ideas touchingthe laws of moralobligation,and the relation
of man to the gods. Ill mattersof social life it is not easy
to pass seiltenceuponso remoteall antiquity,sincewe know
not the preciserule by wllichthey areto be judged. When,
however,the recognitionof eternaltruthsis in point,differ
ences of time and place, of civilization and culture, disappear, and the sarnelaws are in forcefor the past as :Sorthe
present.
And here the diverseconceptionsof individualdivinities
are a matter of only secondaryimportance: under what
externalforinsthey are imagined,and how the powersand
domainsof l!stature
are sharedainongthem all this doesnot
affect the grand central point of the relationsbetweenthe
humanand the divine. Accordingly. it is seen in all polytlleisticrelit,ions,that,so SOOll as thoughtreachestheseinnermostprovincesof belief,mostof the gods,who have hitherto
maintaineda rank nearly equal, are shaken, and are supplanted,eitherby a single highest god whose subordinates
they become, or by an imperfectconceptionof a unity of
the divine principle. The aneientIndian religion exhibits
here a remarkablesimplicityand depth. The laws of the
moralare as eternaland unchangeableas those of the natural world.
The same divine powerhas establishedthe one
and the other. This power is representedby a circle of
divinitieswho may be most pertinentlyentitledthe Gods of
Heavenly Light. Human imaginationwas able to find no

341

visiblething with which theycouldbe compared,saving


the light. Tlleyare and arenalnedthe Spiritual. Oneof
the old poetsstrivesto givewordsto his conception
of them
by saying: "in themis to be discernedneitherright nor
left,neitherbeforenorbehind;theyneitherwinknorsleep;
they penetrateall things: they see throughboth evil and
good; everything, eventhe mostdistant,is nearto them;
they abhorand punishguilt; sustainand supportall that
haslife.
Of thiscircleof seven,the sacrednumber,one,Varuna,
is highestin rank,representing
them all, as it were, comprehendingthemall in his nature;and accordingly
standing unquestionably
at the headof all the gods: his namein
Greek,in the brm O0WIJOX,
denotesthe heavenitself. He
therefore,
in particular,
is described
as havingfixedthe laws
by whichthe universeexists and moves,laws as iminoveableas if foundedon a rock. As he markedout the paths
of the heavenlybodies,andgaveto everycreatureits characteristicpowers,so he bestoweduponmanreasonandwill
andsettledthe boundsof the moralworld,whichmaynot
be trallsgressed
withoutdetectionandpunishment.
In all religionsit maybe lookeduponas a signof a moral
tendency,if stressbe laidupontheomniscience
of tlledivine
power. If the will and intentionof manare to be made
accountof, and actionsestimatednot merelyaccordingto
theirresults,the divinitymustnecessarily
possessthe attributeof omniscience,
in orderthat he maydirectthe moral
world,andjudge according
to desert. And this attribute
is givento Varunain full measure,and in all distinctness.
He is cognizantof all thattakesplace,betweenheavenand
earth,and beyondtheir boundaries:the winks of men's
eyesareall numbered
by him; whentwocon+rerse
in secret
together,he is the thirdwhoknowsall they say (Atharva
iv. 16); he marksthe path of the wind, the flight of the
bird; past and flture are presentto his knowledge. In
orderto picturethis omniscience
to the conception,the ancientpoetssurroundhimwitha trainof spirits,whoat his
command,never resting,nevererring,watchthe deedsof
mortals.
A religionwhichthusmakesits chief divinitylook into
the secretrecessesof the humanheart-howcouldit Mail
to
recognizethe natureandthe guiltof sin? Sin is a conse-

342

quenceof humanweaknessas well as of humanwickedness,


yet, as sin, it is no less punishablein the one case than in
the other; and forgivenessis likewise besoughtof Varuna
for sins that have been committedin unconsciousness.And
morethan once we find in these ancient prayers repentant
confessionsof fault, combinedwith supplicationsfor its pardon, expressedin the languageof simple faith. The guilt
of sin is felt as a gallillgchain,and releasefromits captivity
besought; here as elsewhere,human powercan accomplish
nothing withoutdivine aid: for of himself man is not master even of the openingand closing of his eves.
The punishmentswhich await the transgressorare-beside the loss of earthly fortune sickness and death, and,
finally, exclusionfrometernalhappiness: these are the fetX
ters with whichthe wickedareboutld; powersagainstwhich
all struggles are vain, which they cannot escape, though
they fly to the outermostlimits of creatiolz. It is illdeedno
clearly statedtenet of this religion,that deathis the wages
of sin in the sense that mortals die simply in consequence
of their guilt, and, were it not for the latter, would live
forever; yet the idea is often very nearlyapproached. Immortalityis the free gift of divine graceto man.
And here, in orderto completeour ariewof the ancient
Indian ideas of a moral government,we tnust take into
accounttheir belief respectinga futurestate.
Accordingto the most ancient custom, the lifeless bod;y
is either given to the fire to consurtle,or committedto the
motherlykeepilagof Earth,who is invoked to receive him
graciously,to wraphim up as a motherwraps her child in
her garment,to lie lightly uponhim. Her bosom,however,
is not the last resting place of the departed: he is himself
addressed: " Go forth,go forth,on the ancientpaths which
our fathersin old tirneshave trod; the two rulersin blissful
content,Yairla,and god Varuna, shcaltthou behold." The
latter of these two heavenly ones whose sight is promised
to the deceased,we alreaclyknow; the other,Yama, is the
properchief of departedspirits. In him we find the fine
combinationof ideas, thatthe firstman,the originatorof the
race here oll earth,is also the beginnerand headof huinanity renewed in anotherwor]d. He is thereforetermed the
Assembler of men. The first born of them that slept is
becomethe princeof all the new awakened; as is expressly

343

saidin a certainh;ymn:"Yamahathfirstfoundus a place,


a homewhich is not to be takenfromus: whitherour
fathersof old departed,thithergoethalsothe way of their
posterity."
Thebodywhichthe deceasedis to wearin his otherexistence,cannotbe the sameonewhichthe flameshavecon
sumed,or the earthcoveredup: it maynot even be one
likeit, forhe is to dwellhenceforth
in thecompanyof divine
spirits,andmustbe clothedlike theseto be ableto claima
right amongthem. And the ancientIndianreligion,in
entireharmonywithits conception
of the highestgods,and
in the feelingof atl affinitybetweenthe humanand the
divinespirit,hereplainlydeclaresthatthe deceased,laying
off all imperfections,
1S endowed
by the divinellandwitha
shiningspilitualbody. Its natureis denotedby the same
wordusedto expressthe essenceof the highestdivinities
abovespokenof; a wordthat unitesin itself the ideas of
lifefullandspiritual.
Theplacewheretheseglorifiedonesareto live,is heaven.
In orderto show that not merelvan outer courtof the
divinedwellingsis set apartfor them,the highestheaven,
the midstor innermost
partof lleaven,is expresslyspoken
of as theirseat. Thisis theirplaceof rest; andits divine
splendoris not disfiguredby anxrspecification
of particular
beautiesor enjoyments,suchas thosewithwhichotherre
ligionshavebeenwontto adornthe mansionsof the blest.
Therethey live immortal,withYamatheirchief,andthe
Fatherswhohaveprecededthem thither. Therethey are
happy: the languageusedto describetheirconditionis the
samewithwhichis denotedthe mostexaltedfelicity. A
hymnpaintsthis conditionin the followingwords:
Whereglorynever-fading
is whereis the worldof heavenlylight
Theworldof immortality the everlastingF-set
me thele!
WhereYamareigns,Vivasvat'ssotl whereis theinmostsphereof heaven
Wherethoseabounding
watersflolv-O makeme but immortaltllere!
Wherethereis freedomunrestrained-there
in the triplevaultof lleaven
Whereworldsof brightestgloryare---Omakeme but immortalthere!
Wherepleasuresandenjoymentsare-where rapturesandabidingbliss,
Whereall desiresare satisfie(l--Omakeme but immortalthere!

To the questionwhichthe theologian,or ratherthe myssolve, and longsin vain, sinceit lies beyon(lthe reachof his conceptions;the questiollrespecting
whichour own sacredwritingSmaintainsilence: what,
tlC, everlongs to

344

namely,shall be the employmentof the blest, in what


spheretheir activityshall expenditself-to this question
ancientHindusvisdomsoughtno answer. Thecertaintyof
wasenoughforit.
happiness
indeed,it hasfoundforthem,butit is
An einployment,
onewhich,so to speak,lies thissideof theirfelicitv. As
thegodscometo men'ssacrificesto receivetheirprayers,
so alsocomewiththemthe departedpraise,andofEerings,
called in the formof
theFathers,as they are customarily
invisiblespirits,who float aboutthose who still remain
behindon eartla,and blessalld protectthem; forin their
glorifiedconditionthey havereceiveddivinepowers.
Oneimportantdefectseemsto exhibit itself here: that
arewantingas to the relationin which
distinctconceptions
the morallydepravedstandto this conditionof happiness,
andto the otherworldin general. Not thatI regardit as
a faultthatno stateof eternalmiseryis set of againstthis
of happinessa valufelicitsy,or deema seriesof gradations
ableadditionto a systemof doctrine:such attemptsat inare rather,wherevertheyoccur,piousfandis-idualization
a defect,that no definiteinformation
cies; still, it reanains
is given as to what filtureawaitsthose who die in their
iniquity,who have not believedin the gods, but rather
ill hostilityagainstthemand theirworarrayedthetnselves
shippers.

A doctrinewhichon otherpointsis so clear,couldnot


possiblymakethe despisersof the godspartakersof their
happiness. Theywouldeitherhaveto be, by somemiraculous agency,changedfrombadto good,or that happiness
wouldceaseto be such. And the heavenlyworldis constantlyentitledthe worldof the well-doing,of the pious.
The reprobate,then, are assumedto be excludedfromit.
But whatfutureis assignedto them?
herepresentthemselves:the one, that
Twopossibilities
afterthe deathof the bodythe evil still live on for an indefinitetimetheirevil life,in contrastto thatof theblestin
heaven; the other,thattheir individualit)is extinguished
by death.
I did fora time regardtlle formerof these two suppositionsas the only admissibleone, believingthat the departedsouls of tlle wickedwere convertedinto spiritsof
of the
darkness,afterthe samemannerasin theconceptiolls

345

Shamans. This would assumethat they joined tlle hostsof


demons,who underthe nameof Rakshasandthe like terrify
men in the dark,and seek to disturbthe serviceof the gods
and the performanceof good works, and against whose
attacksthe pious invoke the aid of the gods of light. Tllus
they would in anotherformstill continuetheir formermode
of action. I was led to regardthis solutionof the questioll
as the only possible one, chieflyby the considerationthat
of a continuedexistellceof the good, and
the SUppOSitiOll
total extinctionof the evil, would imply a differellcein the
principleof life which animatedeach, while yet both possess the same humanllature.
Tet, at present,this reasonseernsto me rathercorrectin
point of philosophythan accordantwith the spiritof remote
antiquity. In ancient times, the identity of humall nature
in all individualsof the race was not thoughtof: so much
as that appearseven in the distilletionalreadymentionedas
drawn by every cultivated nation between itself and the
barbarians. The recognitionof this identitv makes its ear^
liest appearanceill Eebrew prophecy, shows itself later in
Buddhism, and becomes complete in Christianity. We
ought not thereforeto be surprised,if we do not find this
exalted thoughtamongthe ancientIndians,twelve or fifteen
centuriesbeforeChrist.
Passagesin the sacredwritings,moreover,speakin favor
of the secondsupposition,of the annihilationof the wiclied
at death. We read there thatVaruna,the supremejudge of
the actionsof men here and of their fate llereafter,thrusts
those who displeasehim down into the depth. As their
boclyilltOthe grave, so they themsel+ressink into a dark
abyss; and with that7doubtless,tlleir being is at an end.
Herewithaccords,too, tlle alreadymentioneddoctrillethat
immortalityis a free gift from heaven. Whoever fails to
receiveit, ends his existencewhen lis body dies. Of a hell
this religionknowsnothing,althoughthe laterIndianshave
imaginedfor themselveshell and its horrors,afterthe same
manneras otller nations.
These conceptionsform the basis of the ancient Indian
religion. The whole variedworld of traditionsand myths
which has come down to us, is, in comparisollwith these?
somethingmerely superficial,an animationof Watureand
her powers, images from the ceremoniesof worship, and
VOL. III.

346

the like, the work of a lively fancy. It was not in this picz
ture-worldthat the religiousfeeling found its full satisfacz
tion. It is a seriouserrorto believe that the mythologyof a
Nature-religionexhaustsits whole religiouscontents. The
imagesand traditionsare indeedwhat strike the mind most
strongly,formthe themeof poets andhistorians,arepictured
by art, and symbolizedin the ceremoniesof the altar and
the temple; ;yet along with them, and behind them, still
deeper thoughts stir the heart of the illdividualand of the
nation. To discernand representtheseis seldomattempted,
and is no easy task. But it is c)nethat repays the eSort,
for here, at all periodsand amongall nations, is broughtto
light what is purelyhuman, and what we are better able to
estimatethan the pictoriallanguageof myths,which is conditionedby such variouscircumstancesof tiine and place.
Such a centreof general religiousthought and feeling is
presentedin the ancient Indian doctrineof the relationof
the pious to the gods, of which the chief featuresare above
presented. The sameconceptionformsalso the ground-work
of the Iranianreligion,the recordof which has come down
to us in the Zendavesta,and may- in a less developedform,
indeed have been commonto all the tribes of the great
Indo-Europeanfamily,until partiallyobliteratedby distant
elnigrationX
intercoursewith other nations, and changesin
mannersand habitsof life.
No one will hesitateto allow to these conceptionsa positive moralvalue, and to esteema literaturein which such
ideas are expressed. But the Indian nation has not abode
by them. It has, indeed, carefullytreasuredup, and at a11
times regardedas sacred,the productionsof its earliest period; but it has attachedthe main importanceto a worthless
supplement,and lost froznsight and from knowledge the
truly valuableportion. Only oncein the whole long course
of its later historyhas it enjoyeda periodworthy of being
comparedwith that primitive one: during the first ages,
namely,of Buddhism. Those,then, who arecalled to labor
in the wide field of Indiall missions may confidentlyhold
up beforethe peopleits own antiquityas a model: not in
orderthat it progressno fartherthan that; but that it may
see how its ancestors,in their simplicity,were nearer the
purityof truth than their descendants,in their self-satisfied
arrogance;and how the former cherished none of those

347
areapparently
folliesand errorsin whichtheythemselares
hopingto findtheirsalvationforrlowandhereafter.
Thestudentof antiquity,faXher,experiencesa peculiar
satisfactionin the investigationof this era, for the very
reasonthat the moralvalueof the subjectof his studiesis
to him. The charmof primiw
not a matterof indifference
these ancienthymns in a yet
tivenesswhich surroundLs
is united
poemsof H:omer,
higherdegreethanthe immortal
of
with a nobilityof diction,a pure and freshearnestness
thought,whichare no longerto be met with in the later
of India. Ee findsthe high spiritual
literaryproductions
whichbelongof right to the Indo-European
endowinents
familyof nations,andwhichhaveplacedit foremostin the
world'shostory,still freshandvigorousin the mosteastern
branchof that familyyand notyet disfiguredby the maniwhich:have
viewsandcustorns,
of peculiar
foldexerescences
so deformedthe later Indianpeople,that,were it not for
wouldscarcelyrecognizethem
theEuropean
theirlanguage,
forhis ownhndred.

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