Volume II Part 19 (1/2)
THE EVOLUTION OF HINDUISM. BHaGAVATAS AND PaSUPATAS
1
India is a literary country and naturally so great a change as the transformation of the old religion into theistic sects preaching salvation by devotion to a particular deity found expression in a long and copious literature. This literature supplements and supersedes the Vedic treatises but without impairing their theoretical authority, and, since it cannot compare with them in antiquity and has not the same historic interest, it has received little attention from Indianists until the present century. But in spite of its defects it is of the highest importance for an understanding of medieval and contemporary Hinduism. Much of it is avowedly based on the principle that in this degenerate age the Veda is difficult to understand,[440]
and that therefore G.o.d in His mercy has revealed other texts containing a clear compendium of doctrine. Thus the great Vishnuite doctor Ramanuja states authoritatively ”The incontrovertible fact then is as follows: The Lord who is known from the Vedanta texts ...
recognising that the Vedas are difficult to fathom by all beings other than himself ... with a view to enable his devotees to grasp the true meaning of the Vedas, himself composed the Pancaratra-Sastra.”[441]
This later sectarian literature falls into several divisions.
A. Certain episodes of the Mahabharata. The most celebrated of these is the Bhagavad-gita, which is probably anterior to the Christian era.
Though it is incorporated in the Epic it is frequently spoken of as an independent work. Later and less celebrated but greatly esteemed by Vishnuites is the latter part of book XII, commonly known as Narayan?iya.[442] Both these episodes and others[443] are closely a.n.a.logous to metrical Upanishads. The Mahabharata even styles itself (I. 261) the Veda of Kr?ishn?a (Karshn?a).
The Ramayan?a does not contain religious episodes comparable to those mentioned but the story has more than once been re-written in a religious and philosophic form. Of such versions the Adhyatma-Ramayan?a[444] and Yoga-vasishth?a-Ramayan?a are very popular.
B. Though the Puran?as[445] are not at all alike, most of them show clear affinity both as literature and as religious thought to the various strata of the Mahabharata, and to the Law Books, especially the metrical code of Manu. These all represent a form of orthodoxy which while admitting much that is not found in the Veda is still Brahmanic and traditionalist. The older Puran?as (_e.g._ Matsya, Vayu, Markan?d?eya, Vishn?u), or at least the older parts of them, are the literary expression of that Hindu reaction which gained political power with the accession of the Gupta dynasty. They are less definitely sectarian than later works such as the Narada and Lin?ga Puranas, yet all are more or less sectarian.
The most influential Puran?a is the Bhagavata, one of the great scriptures for all sects which wors.h.i.+p Kr?ishn?a. It is said to have been translated into every language of India and forty versions in Bengali alone are mentioned.[446] It was probably composed in the eighth or ninth century.[447] A free translation of the tenth book into Hindi, called the Prem Sagar or Ocean of Love, is greatly revered in northern India.[448] Other sectarian Puran?as are frequently read at temple services. Besides the eighteen great Puran?as there are many others, and in south India at any rate they were sometimes composed in the vernacular, as for instance the Periya Puran?a (_c._ 1100 A.D.).
These vernacular Puran?as seem to be collections of strangely fantastic fairy tales.
C. The word Tantra originally meant a manual giving the essentials of a subject but later usage tends to restrict it to works, whether Hindu or Buddhist, inculcating the wors.h.i.+p of Siva's spouse. But there are exceptions to this restriction: the Panca-tantra is a collection of stories and the Lakshmi-tantra is a Vishnuite work.[449]
The fact is that a whole cla.s.s of Sanskrit religious literature is described by the t.i.tles Tantra, agama and Sam?hita,[450] which taken in a wide sense are practically synonymous, though usage is inclined to apply the first specially to Saktist works, the second to Sivaite and the third to Vishnuite. The common character of all these productions is that they do not attempt to combine Vedic rites and ideas with sectarian wors.h.i.+p, but boldly state that, since the prescriptions of the Veda are too hard for this age, some generous deity has revealed an easier teaching. This teaching naturally varies in detail, but it usually comprises devotion to some special form of the G.o.dhead and also a special ceremonial, which commences with initiation and includes the use of mystic formulae, letters and diagrams. Tantras, agamas and Sam?hitas all treat of their subject-matter in four divisions[451] the first of which relates to the great problems of philosophy, the second to the discipline necessary for uniting the self and G.o.d; the third and fourth to ceremonial.
These works have another feature in common, namely that they are little known except to those Hindus who use them for religious purposes and are probably not very anxious to see them published.
Though they are numerous, few of them have been printed and those few have not been much studied by European scholars. I shall say something more about them below in treating of the various sects. Some are of respectable antiquity but it is also clear that modern texts pa.s.s under ancient names. The Pancaratram and Pasupatam which are Vishnuite and Sivaite Sam?hitas are mentioned in the Mahabharata, and some extant Vishnuite Sam?hitas were perhaps composed in the fourth century A.D.[452] Ramanuja as quoted above states that the Pancaratra-sastra (apparently the same as the Pancaratra-tantra which he also mentions) was composed by Vasudeva himself and also cites as scripture the Sattvata, Paushkara and Parama Sam?hitas. In the same context he speaks of the Mahabharata as Bharata-Sam?hita and the whole pa.s.sage is interesting as being a statement by a high authority of the reasons for accepting a non-Vedic work like the Pancaratra as revealed scripture.
As already indicated European usage makes the words Tantra, Tantrism and tantric refer to the wors.h.i.+p of G.o.ddesses. It would be better to describe this literature and wors.h.i.+p as Saktism and to use Tantrism for a tendency in doctrine and ceremonial which otherwise has no special name. I have been informed by Tamil Pandits that at the present day the ritual in some temples is smarta or according to Smriti, but in the majority according to the agamas or tantric. The former which is followed by many well-known shrines (for instance in Benares and in the great temples of south India) conforms to the precepts of the Puran?as, especially on festival days. The officiants require no special initiation and burnt offerings are presented. But the agamic ritual can be performed only by priests who have received initiation, burnt offerings rarely form part of the ceremony and vernacular hymns are freely used.[453]
Such hymns however as well as processions and other forms of wors.h.i.+p which appeal directly to the religious emotions are certainly not tantric. Tantrism is a species of religious magic, differing from the Vedic sacrifices in method rather than principle.[454] For all that, it sets aside the old rites and announces itself as the new dispensation for this age. Among its princ.i.p.al features are the following. The Tantras are a scripture for all, and lay little stress on caste: the texts and the ritual which they teach can be understood only after initiation and with the aid of a teacher: the ritual consists largely in the correct use of spells, magical or sacramental syllables and letters, diagrams and gestures: its object is less to beseech than to compel the G.o.d to come to the wors.h.i.+pper: another object is to unite the wors.h.i.+pper to the G.o.d and in fact transform him into the G.o.d: man is a microcosm corresponding to the macrocosm or universe: the spheres and currents of the universe are copied in miniature in the human body and the same powers rule the same parts in the greater and the lesser scheme. Such ideas are widely disseminated in almost all modern sects,[455] though without forming their essential doctrine, but I must repeat that to say all sects are tantric does not mean that they are all Saktist. But Saktist sects are fundamentally and thoroughly tantric in their theory and practice.
D. Besides the Sanskrit books mentioned above numerous vernacular works, especially collections of hymns, are accepted as authoritative by various sects, and almost every language has scriptures of its own.
In the south two Tamil hymnals, the Devaram of the Sivaites and Nalayira Prabandham of the Vishnuites, are recited in temples and are boldly stated to be revelations equivalent to the Veda. In northern India may be mentioned the Hindi Ramayana of Tulsi Das, which is almost universally venerated, the Bhaktamala of Nabha Das,[456] the Sur-sagar of Surdas and the Prem Sagar. In a.s.sam the Nam Gosha of Madhab Deb is honoured with the same homage as a sacred image. The awkwardness of admitting direct inspiration in late times is avoided by the theory of spiritual descent, that is to say of doctrinal transmission from teacher to teacher, the divine revelation having been made to the original teacher at a discreetly remote epoch.
2
In considering the evolution of modern Hinduism out of the old Vedic religion, three of the many factors responsible for this huge and complicated result deserve special attention. The first is the unusual intensity and prevalence of the religious temperament. This has a double effect, both conservative and alterative: ancient customs receive an unreasonable respect: they are not abolished for their immorality or absurdity; but since real interest implies some measure of constructive power, there is a constant growth of new ideas and reinterpretations resulting in inconsistent combinations. The second is the absence of hierarchy and discipline. The guiding principle of the Brahmans has always been not so much that they have a particular creed to enforce, as that whatever is the creed of India they must be its ministers. Naturally every priest is the champion of his own G.o.d or rite, and such zeal may lead to occasional conflicts. But though the ant.i.thesis between the ritualism of the older Brahmanism and the faith or philosophy of Sivaism and Vishnuism may remind us of the differences between the Catholic Church and Protestant reformers, yet historically there is no resemblance in the development of the ant.i.thesis. To some extent Hinduism showed a united front against Buddhism, but the older Brahmanism had no organization which enabled it to stand as a separate Church in opposition to movements which it disliked. The third factor is the deeply rooted idea, which reappears at frequent intervals from the time of the Upanishads until to-day, that rules and rites and even creeds are somehow part of the lower and temporal order of things which the soul should transcend and leave behind. This idea tinges the whole of Indian philosophy and continually crops up in practice. The founder of a strange sect who declares that nothing is necessary but faith in a particular deity and that all ceremonies and caste observances are superfluous is not in the popular esteem a subverter of Hinduism.
The history of both Sivaism and Vishnuism ill.u.s.trates these features.
Siva begins as a wild deity of non-moral attributes. As the religious sense develops he is not rejected like the less reputable deities of the Jews and Arabs but remains and collects round himself other strange wild ideas which in time are made philosophical but not ethical. The rites of the new religion are, if not antagonistic, at least alternative to the ancient sacrifices, yet far from being forbidden they are performed by Brahmans and modern Indian writers describe Siva as peculiarly the Brahman's G.o.d. Finally the Sivaite schools of the Tamil country reject in successive stages the grosser and more formal elements until there remains nothing but an ecstatic and mystical monotheism. Similarly among the Vishnuites Kr?ishn?a is the centre of legends which have even less of conventional morality.
Yet out of them arises a doctrine that the love of G.o.d is the one thing needful so similar to Christian teaching that many have supposed it must be borrowed.
The first clear accounts of the wors.h.i.+p of Siva and Vishn?u are contained in the epics and indicate the existence of sectarian religion, that is to say of exclusive devotion to one or other deity.
But there is also a tendency to find a place for both, a tendency which culminates in the composite deity San?kara Narayan?a already mentioned. Many of the Puran?as[457] reflect this view and praise the two deities impartially. The Mahabharata not unfrequently does the same but the general impression left by this poem is that the various parts of which it consists have been composed or revised in a sectarian spirit. The body of the work is a narrative of exploits in which the hero Kr?ishn?a plays a great part but revised so as to make him appear often as a deity and sometimes as the Supreme Spirit. But much of the didactic matter which has been added, particularly books XII and XIII, breathes an equally distinct Sivaite spirit and in the parts where Kr?ishn?a is treated as a mere hero, the princ.i.p.al G.o.d appears to be not Vishn?u but Siva.
The Mahabharata and Puranas contain legends which, though obscure, refer to conflicts of the wors.h.i.+ppers of Siva with those who offered Vedic sacrifices as well as with the votaries of Vishn?u, and to a subsequent reconciliation and blending of the various cults. Among these is the well-known story of Daksha's sacrifice to which Siva was not invited. Enraged at the omission he violently breaks up the sacrifice either in person or through a being whom he creates for the purpose, a.s.saults the officiants and the G.o.ds who are present, and is pacified by receiving a share. Similarly we hear[458] that he once seized a victim at a sacrifice and that the G.o.ds in fear allotted to him the choicest portion of the offerings. These stories indicate that at one time Brahmans did not countenance his wors.h.i.+p and he is even represented as saying to his wife that according to rule (dharmatah?) he has no share in the sacrifice.[459] Possibly human victims were immolated in his honour, as they were in Kali's until recently, for in the Mahabharata[460] it is related how Kr?ishn?a expostulated with Jarasandha who proposed to offer to Siva a sacrifice of captive kings.