Ten Great Religions by James Freeman Clarke

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"In lawfully tasting meat, in drinking fermented liquor, in caressing
women, there is no turpitude; for to such enjoyments men are naturally
prone, but a virtuous abstinence from them produces a signal
compensation.

"Sacred learning, austere devotion, fire, holy aliment, earth, the
mind, water, smearing with cow-dung, air, prescribed acts of religion,
the sun, and time are purifiers of embodied spirits.

"But of all pure things purity in acquiring wealth is pronounced the
most excellent; since he who gains wealth with clean hands is truly
pure; not he who is purified merely with earth and water.

"By forgiveness of injuries, the learned are purified; by liberality,
those who have neglected their duty; by pious meditation, those who
have secret faults; by devout austerity, those who best know the Veda.

"Bodies are cleansed by water; the mind is purified by truth; the vital
spirit, by theology and devotion; the understanding, by clear
knowledge.

"No sacrifice is allowed to women apart from their husbands, no
religious rite, no fasting; as far only as a wife honors her lord, so
far she is exalted in heaven.

"A faithful wife, who wishes to attain in heaven the mansion of her
husband, must do nothing unkind to him, be he living or dead.

"Let her emaciate her body by living voluntarily on pure flowers,
roots, and fruit; but let her not, when her lord is deceased, even
pronounce the name of another man.

"Let her continue till death forgiving all injuries, performing harsh
duties, avoiding every sensual pleasure, and cheerfully practising the
incomparable rules of virtue, which have been followed by such women as
were devoted to one only husband."

The Sixth Book of the Laws of Manu relates to devotion. It seems that the
Brahmans were in the habit of becoming ascetics, or, as the Roman
Catholics would say, entering Religion. A Brahman, or twice-born man, who
wishes to become an ascetic, must abandon his home and family, and go to
live in the forest. His food must be roots and fruit, his clothing a bark
garment or a skin, he must bathe morning and evening, and suffer his hair
to grow. He must spend his time in reading the Veda, with a mind intent on
the Supreme Being, "a perpetual giver but no receiver of gifts; with
tender affection for all animated bodies." He is to perform various
sacrifices with offerings of fruits and flowers, practise austerities by
exposing himself to heat and cold, and "for the purpose of uniting his
soul with the Divine Spirit he must study the Upanishads."

"A Brahman, having shuffled off his body by these modes, which great
sages practise, and becoming void of sorrow and fear, it exalted into
the divine essence."

"Let him not wish for death. Let him not wish for life. Let him expect
his appointed time, as the hired servant expects his wages."

"Meditating on the Supreme Spirit, without any earthly desire, with no
companion but his own soul, let him live in this world seeking the
bliss of the next."

The anchorite is to beg food, but only once a day; if it is not given to
him, he must not be sorrowful, and if he receives it he must not be glad;
he is to meditate on the "subtle indivisible essence of the Supreme
Being," he is to be careful not to destroy the life of the smallest
insect, and he must make atonement for the death of those which he has
ignorantly destroyed by making six suppressions of his breath, repeating
at the same time the triliteral syllable A U M. He will thus at last
become united with the Eternal Spirit, and his good deeds will be
inherited by those who love him, and his evil deeds by those who hate him.

The Seventh Book relates to the duties of rulers. One of these is to
reward the good and punish the wicked. The genius of punishment is a son
of Brahma, and has a body of pure light. Punishment is an active ruler,
governs all mankind, dispenses laws, preserves the race, and is the
perfection of justice. Without it all classes would become corrupt, all
barriers would fall, and there would be total confusion. Kings are to
respect the Brahmans, must shun vices, must select good counsellors and
brave soldiers. A King must be a father to his people. When he goes to war
he must observe the rules of honorable warfare, must not use poisoned
arrows, strike a fallen enemy, nor one who sues for life, nor one without
arms, nor one who surrenders. He is not to take too little revenue, and so
"cut up his own root"; nor too much, and so "cut up the root of others";
he is to be severe when it is necessary, and mild when it is necessary.

The Eighth Book relates to civil and criminal law. The Raja is to hold his
court every day, assisted by his Brahmans, and decide causes concerning
debts and loans, sales, wages, contracts, boundaries, slander, assaults,
larceny, robbery, and other crimes. The Raja, "understanding what is
expedient or inexpedient, but considering only what is law or not law,"
should examine all disputes. He must protect unprotected women, restore
property to its rightful owner, not encourage litigation, and decide
according to the rules of law. These rules correspond very nearly to our
law of evidence. Witnesses are warned to speak the truth in all cases by
the consideration that, though they may think that none see them, the gods
distinctly see them and also the spirit in their own breasts.

"The soul itself is its own witness, the soul itself is its own refuge;
offend not thy conscious soul, the supreme internal witness of men."

"The fruit of every virtuous act which thou hast done, O good man,
since thy birth, shall depart from thee to the dogs, if thou deviate
from the truth."

"O friend to virtue, the Supreme Spirit, which is the same with
thyself, resides in thy bosom perpetually, and is an all-knowing
inspector of thy goodness or wickedness."

The law then proceeds to describe the punishments which the gods would
inflict upon false witnesses; but, curiously enough, allows false witness
to be given, from a benevolent motive, in order to save an innocent man
from a tyrant. This is called "the venial sin of benevolent falsehood."
The book then proceeds to describe weights and measures, and the rate of
usury, which is put down as five percent. It forbids compound interest.
The law of deposits occupies a large space, as in all Eastern countries,
where investments are difficult. A good deal is said about the wages of
servants, especially of those hired to keep cattle, and their
responsibilities. The law of slander is carefully laid down. Crimes of
violence are also minutely described, and here the _Lex Talionis_ comes
in. If a man strikes a human being or an animal so as to inflict much
pain, he shall be struck himself in the same way. A man is allowed to
correct with a small stick his wife, son, or servant, but not on the head
or any noble part of the body. The Brahmans, however, are protected by
special laws.

"Never shall the king flay a Brahman, though convicted of all possible
crimes: let him banish the offender from his realm, but with all his
property secure and his body unhurt."

"No greater crime is known on earth than flaying a Brahman; and the
king, therefore, must not even form in his mind the idea of killing a
priest."

The Ninth Book relates to women, to families, and to the law of castes. It
states that women must be kept in a state of dependence.

"Their fathers protect them in childhood; their husbands protect them
in youth; their sons protect them in age. A woman is never fit for
independence."

It is the duty of men to watch and guard women, and very unfavorable
opinions are expressed concerning the female character.

"Women have no business with the text of the Veda; this is fully
settled; therefore having no knowledge of expiatory texts, sinful women
must be as foul as falsehood itself. This is a fixed law."

It is, however, stated that good women become like goddesses, and shall be
joined with their husbands in heaven; and that a man is only perfect when
he consists of three persons united,--his wife, himself, and his son. Manu
also attributes to ancient Brahmans a maxim almost verbally the same as
that of the Bible, namely, "The husband is even one person with his wife."
Nothing is said by Manu concerning the cremation of widows, but, on the
other hand, minute directions are given for the behavior of widows during
their life. Directions are also given concerning the marriage of daughters
and sons and their inheritance of property. The rest of the book is
devoted to a further description of crimes and punishments.

The Tenth Book relates to the mixed classes and times of distress.

The Eleventh Book relates to penance and expiation. In this book is
mentioned the remarkable rite which consists in drinking the fermented
juice of the moon-plant (or acid asclepias) with religious ceremonies.
This Hindu sacrament began in the Vedic age, and the Sanhita of the
Sama-Veda consists of hymns to be sung at the moon-plant sacrifice.[51]
This ceremony is still practised occasionally in India, and Dr. Hang has
tasted this sacred beverage, which he describes as astringent, bitter,
intoxicating, and very disagreeable.[52] It is stated by Manu that no one
has a right to drink this sacred juice who does not properly provide for
his own household. He encourages sacrifices by declaring that they are
highly meritorious and will expiate sin. Involuntary sins require a much
lighter penance than those committed with knowledge. Crimes committed by
Brahmans require a less severe penance than those performed by others;
while those committed against Brahmans involve a much deeper guilt and
require severer penance. The law declares:--

"From his high birth alone a Brahman is an object of veneration, even
to deities, and his declarations are decisive evidence."

"A Brahman, who has performed an expiation with his whole mind fixed on
God, purifies his soul."

Drinking intoxicating liquor (except in the Soma sacrifice) is strictly
prohibited, and it is even declared that a Brahman who tastes intoxicating
liquor sinks to the low caste of a Sudra. If a Brahman who has tasted the
Soma juice even smells the breath of a man who has been drinking spirits,
he must do penance by repeating the Gayatri, suppressing his breath, and
eating clarified butter. Next to Brahmans, cows were the objects of
reverence, probably because, in the earliest times, the Aryan race, as
nomads, depended on this animal for food. He who kills a cow must perform
very severe penances, among which are these:--

"All day he must wait on a herd of cows and stand quaffing the dust
raised by their hoofs; at night, having servilely attended them, he
must sit near and guard them."

"Free from passion, he must stand while they stand, follow when they
move, and lie down near them when they lie down."

"By thus waiting on a herd for three months, he who has killed a cow
atones for his guilt."

For such offences as cutting down fruit-trees or grasses, or killing
insects, or injuring sentient creatures, the penance is to repeat so many
texts of the Veda, to eat clarified butter, or to stop the breath. A
low-born man who treats a Brahman disrespectfully, or who even overcomes
him in argument, must fast all day and fall prostrate before him. He who
strikes a Brahman shall remain in hell a thousand years. Great, however,
is the power of sincere devotion. By repentance, open confession, reading
the Scripture, almsgiving, and reformation, one is released from guilt.
Devotion, it is said, is equal to the performance of all duties; and even
the souls of worms and insects and vegetables attain heaven by the power
of devotion. But especially great is the sanctifying influence of the
Vedas. He who can repeat the whole of the Rig-Veda would be free from
guilt, even if he had killed the inhabitants of the three worlds.

The last book of Manu is on transmigration and final beatitude. The
principle is here laid down that every human action, word, and thought
bears its appropriate fruit, good or evil. Out of the heart proceed three
sins of thought, four sins of the tongue, and three of the body, namely,
covetous, disobedient, and atheistic thoughts; scurrilous, false,
frivolous, and unkind words; and actions of theft, bodily injury, and
licentiousness. He who controls his thoughts, words, and actions is called
a triple commander. There are three qualities of the soul, giving it a
tendency to goodness, to passion, and to darkness. The first leads to
knowledge, the second to desire, the third to sensuality. To the first
belong study of Scripture, devotion, purity, self-command, and obedience.
From the second proceed hypocritical actions, anxiety, disobedience, and
self-indulgence. The third produces avarice, atheism, indolence, and every
act which a man is ashamed of doing. The object of the first quality is
virtue; of the second, worldly success; of the third, pleasure. The souls
in which the first quality is supreme rise after death to the condition of
deities; those in whom the second rules pass into the bodies of other
men; while those under the dominion of the third become beasts and
vegetables. Manu proceeds to expound, in great detail, this law of
transmigration. For great sins one is condemned to pass a great many times
into the bodies of dogs, insects, spiders, snakes, or grasses. The change
has relation to the crime: thus, he who steals grain shall be born a rat;
he who steals meat, a vulture; those who indulge in forbidden pleasures of
the senses shall have their senses made acute to endure intense pain.

The highest of all virtues is disinterested goodness, performed from the
love of God, and based on the knowledge of the Veda. A religious action,
performed from hope of reward in this world or the next, will give one a
place in the lowest heaven. But he who performs good actions without hope
of reward, "perceiving the supreme soul in all beings, and all beings in
the supreme soul, fixing his mind on God, approaches the divine nature."

"Let every Brahman, with fixed attention, consider all nature as
existing in the Divine Spirit; all worlds as seated in him; he alone as
the whole assemblage of gods; and he the author of all human actions."

"Let him consider the supreme omnipresent intelligence as the sovereign
lord of the universe, by whom alone it exists, an incomprehensible
spirit; pervading all beings in five elemental forms, and causing them
to pass through birth, growth, and decay, and so to revolve like the
wheels of a car."

"Thus the man who perceives in his own soul the supreme soul present in
all creatures, acquires equanimity toward them all, and shall be
absolved at last in the highest essence, even that of the Almighty
himself."

We have given these copious extracts from the Brahmanic law, because this
code is so ancient and authentic, and contains the bright consummate
flower of the system, before decay began to come.

Sec. 6. The Three Hindoo Systems of Philosophy,--Sankhya, Vedanta, and Nyasa.

Duncker says[53] that the Indian systems of philosophy were produced in
the sixth or seventh century before Christ. As the system of Buddha
implies the existence of the Sankhya philosophy, the latter must have
preceded Buddhism.[54] Moreover, Kapila and his two principles are
distinctly mentioned in the Laws of Manu,[55] and in the later
Upanishads.[56] This brings it to the Brahmana period of Max Mueller, B.C.
600 to B.C. 800, and probably still earlier. Dr. Weber at one time was of
the opinion that Kapila and Buddha were the same person, but afterward
retracted this opinion.[57] Colebrooke says that Kapila is mentioned in
the Veda itself, but intimates that this is probably another sage of the
same name.[58] The sage was even considered to be an incarnation of
Vischnu, or of Agni. The Vedanta philosophy is also said by Lassen to be
mentioned in the Laws of Manu.[59] This system is founded on the
Upanishads, and would seem to be later than that of Kapila, since it
criticises his system, and devotes much space to its confutation.[60] But
Duncker regards it as the oldest, and already beginning in the Upanishads
of the Vedas.[61] As the oldest works now extant in both systems are later
than their origin, this question of date can only be determined from their
contents. That which logically precedes the other must be chronologically
the oldest.

The Sankhya system of Kapila is contained in many works, but notably in
the Karika, or Sankhya-Karika, by Iswara Krishna. This consists in
eighty-two memorial verses, with a commentary.[62] The Vedanta is
contained in the Sutras, the Upanishads, and especially the Brahma-Sutra
attributed to Vyasa.[63] The Nyaya is to be found in the Sutras of Gotama
and Canade.[64]

These three systems of Hindoo philosophy, the Sankhya, the Nyaya, and the
Vedanta, reach far back into a misty twilight, which leaves it doubtful
when they began or who were their real authors. In some points they agree,
in others they are widely opposed. They all agree in having for their
object deliverance from the evils of time, change, sorrow, into an eternal
rest and peace. Their aim is, therefore, not merely speculative, but
practical. All agree in considering existence to be an evil, understanding
by existence a life in time and space. All are idealists, to whom the
world of sense and time is a delusion and snare, and who regard the Idea
as the only substance. All agree in accepting the fact of transmigration,
the cessation of which brings final deliverance. All consider that the
means of this deliverance is to be found in knowledge, in a perfect
knowledge of reality as opposed to appearance. And all are held by
Brahmans, who consider themselves orthodox, who honor the Vedas above all
other books, pay complete respect to the Hinduism of the day, perform the
daily ceremonies, and observe the usual caste rules.[65] The systems of
philosophy supplement the religious worship, but are not intended to
destroy it. The Vedantists hold that while in truth there is but one God,
the various forms of worship in the Vedas, of Indra, Agni, the Maruts,
etc., were all intended for those who could not rise to this sublime
monotheism. Those who believe in the Sankhya maintain that though it
wholly omits God, and is called "the system without a God," it merely
omits, but does not deny, the Divine existence.[66]

Each of these philosophies has a speculative and a practical side. The
speculative problem is, How did the universe come? The practical problem
is, How shall man be delivered from evil?

In answering the first question, the Vedanta, or Mimansa doctrine,
proceeds from a single eternal and uncreated Principle; declaring that
there is only ONE being in the universe, God or Brahm, and that all else
is Maya, or illusion. The Sankhya accepts TWO eternal and uncreated
substances, Soul and Nature. The Nyaya assumes THREE eternal and uncreated
substances,--Atoms, Souls, and God.

The solution of the second problem is the same in all three systems. It is
by knowledge that the soul is emancipated from body or matter or nature.
Worship is inadequate, though not to be despised. Action is injurious
rather than beneficial, for it implies desire. Only knowledge can lead to
entire rest and peace.

According to all three systems, the transmigration of the soul through
different bodies is an evil resulting from desire. As long as the soul
wishes anything, it will continue to migrate and to suffer. When it
gathers itself up into calm insight, it ceases to wander and finds repose.

The _Vedanta_ or _Mimansa_ is supposed to be referred to in Manu.[67]
_Mimansa_ means "searching." In its logical forms it adopts the method so
common among the scholastics, in first stating the question, then giving
the objection, after that the reply to the objection, and lastly the
conclusion. The first part of the Mimansa relates to worship and the
ceremonies and ritual of the Veda. The second part teaches the doctrine of
Brahma. Brahma is the one, eternal, absolute, unchangeable Being. He
unfolds into the universe as Creator and Created. He becomes first ether,
then air, then fire, then water, then earth. From these five elements all
bodily existence proceeds. Souls are sparks from the central fire of
Brahma, separated for a time, to be absorbed again at last.

Brahma, in his highest form as Para-Brahm, stands for the Absolute Being.
The following extract from the Sama-Veda (after Haug's translation)
expresses this: "The generation of Brahma was before all ages, unfolding
himself evermore in a beautiful glory; everything which is highest and
everything which is deepest belongs to him. Being and Not-Being are
unveiled through Brahma."

The following passage is from a Upanishad, translated by Windischmann:--

"How can any one teach concerning Brahma? he is neither the known nor the
unknown. That which cannot be expressed by words, but through which all
expression comes, this I know to be Brahma. That which cannot be thought
by the mind, but by which all thinking comes, this I know is Brahma. That
which cannot be seen by the eye, but by which the eye sees, is Brahma. If
thou thinkest that thou canst know it, then in truth thou knowest it very
little. To whom it is unknown, he knows it; but to whom it is known, he
knows it not."

This also is from Windischmann, from the Kathaka Upanishad: "One cannot
attain to it through the word, through the mind, or through the eye. It is
only reached by him who says, 'It is! It is!' He perceives it in its
essence. Its essence appears when one perceives it as it is."

The old German expression _Istigkeit_, according to Bunsen, corresponds to
this. This also is the name of Jehovah as given to Moses from the burning
bush: "And God said unto Moses, I AM THE I AM. Thus shalt thou say unto
the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." The idea is that God
alone really exists, and that the root of all being is in him. This is
expressed in another Upanishad: "HE WHO EXISTS is the root of all
creatures; he WHO EXISTS is their foundation, and in him they rest."

In the Vedanta philosophy this speculative pantheism is carried further.
Thus speaks Sankara, the chief teacher of the Vedanta philosophy
("Colebrooke's Essays"): "I am the great Brahma, eternal, pure, free, one,
constant, happy, existing without end. He who ceases to contemplate other
things, who retires into solitude, annihilates his desires, and subjects
his passions, he understands that Spirit is the One and the Eternal. The
wise man annihilates all sensible things in spiritual things, and
contemplates that one Spirit who resembles pure space. Brahma is without
size, quality, character, or division."

According to this philosophy (says Bunsen) the world is the Not-Being. It
is, says Sankara, "appearance without Being; it is like the deception of a
dream." "The soul itself," he adds, "has no actual being."

There is an essay on Vedantism in a book published in Calcutta, 1854, by a
young Hindoo, Shoshee Chunder Dutt, which describes the creation as
proceeding from Maya, in this way: "Dissatisfied with his own solitude,
Brahma feels a desire to create worlds, and then the volition ceases so
far as he is concerned, and he sinks again into his apathetic happiness,
while the desire, thus willed into existence, assumes an active character.
It becomes Maya, and by this was the universe created, without exertion on
the part of Brahma. This passing wish of Brahma carried, however, no
reality with it. And the creation proceeding from it is only an illusion.
There is only one absolute Unity really existing, and existing without
plurality. But he is like one asleep. Krishna, in the Gita, says: 'These
works (the universe) confine not me, for I am like one who sitteth aloof
uninterested in them all.' The universe is therefore all illusion, holding
a position between something and nothing. It is real as an illusion, but
unreal as being. It is not true, because it has no essence; but not false,
because its existence, even as illusion, is from God. The Vedanta
declares: 'From the highest state of Brahma to the lowest condition of a
straw, all things are delusion.'" Chunder Dutt, however, contradicts
Bunsen's assertion that the soul also is an illusion according to the
Vedanta. "The soul," he says, "is not subject to birth or death, but is in
its substance, from Brahma himself." The truth seems to be that the
Vedanta regards the individuation of the soul as from Maya and illusive,
but the substance of the soul is from Brahma, and destined to be absorbed
into him. As the body of man is to be resolved into its material elements,
so the soul of man is to be resolved into Brahma. This substance of the
soul is neither born nor dies, nor is it a thing of which it can be said,
"It was, is, or shall be." In the Gita, Krishna tells Arjun that he and
the other princes of the world "never were not."[68]