Vedas, Indian Vedas

A Bird’s Eye View on Veda & Introduction – IV

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Orientalists have expressed learned opinions about their defects as primitive poetry having presumed that the Vedas belong to primitive times. In accordance with Cowell “the language and style of most of the hymns of vedas is singularly artificial. The poetry of the Rigveda is singularly deficient , we naturally look for in the songs of an early period of civilization in that simplicity and material pathos ”

Now the critic is disappointed at the artificiality of the vedic language expecting to find qualities of the primitive ballad including neutral pathos and puerile simplicity. Though belonging to early times , the Rigveda might also belong to a highly advanced sophistical age, could not come to his mind. Till recent times , the Indian historians have followed in the wake ofspencecerian progressivists as a rule, as per the statement of Radhakumud Mukharjee which goes as follows.

“The first point of distinction is that the veda and especially the premordial work known as Rigveda , represents not merely the dawn of culture, but also it’s zenith . Indian thought is seen at its highest in the Rigveda…. On the one hand it is the first book of India also of mankind . At the same time it shows the highest point of human wisdom. We see in it the whole process of evolution from its beginning to its completeness.” (Indian P.E.N, March 1942).

The sense of certitude that has marked the temper of the average oriental scholar in the last but not the least. Not to have any mental reservation in any thing , nor to have allowed the benefit of doubt in respect of any of his conclusions in which he often seems over. That the very backward conditions in which Indian masses were found to live it will not wrong to believe. In the eyes of western observers their political subgugation tended to prejudice in case of their ancestors.

As the basis of a religion that has vitality affected the lives of hundreds of millions of people , in order to make an attempt to understand, in a critical spirit . We should approach the orientalists. In vedic studies, these researches are can never be ignored. For their prepossessions sufficient allowances must be made. In respect of the trend of religious thought, the evidence of genuine Indian authorities, should by names be set aside. The later Vedas will provide useful commentary on the earlier in this case. For the interpretation of the Vedas even when they do not agree with the vedic stand point , will later developments of the vedic religion in the upanishads ,in the Buddhism, in the Bhagabat cult , in the Yoga cult, provide valuable material. It’s legitimate contribution should be made by the traditional vedic scholarship.

In spiritual content , the vedic view of the divine is much more subtler and deeper than the cults ordinarily known as monotheism and polytheism. By calling it henotheism. Max Muller distinguished the vedic out look from these isms. As to explain the full significance of vedic theism , he has not defined the term in such a way. By extending it’s connotation any other term in English shall be used in its absence. It will be found useful to study monotheism and polytheism as religious cults, before considering the same.

The belief in one god and in be gods to the philosophers, it may be termed as monotheism and polytheism respectively. This may mean much more than this in relation to practical religion to which the terms apply.

That monotheism is superior to polytheism, it is customary to think about.

Polytheism respects itself in to monotheism by a process of growth comes from the theory of progress that has led to belief.

Vedas, Indian Vedas, An eye view on Vedas

A Bird’s Eye View on Veda & Introduction – III

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From the philological, anthropological or sociological point of view it is usual for Orientalists to consider the Vedas. For several thousand of years, sufficient attention does not appear to have been paid to the fact that they have been the basis of a religion which have been followed by thousands of millions of people on this earth.

In the way of a real religious study of the material no doubt , there are difficulties. Like SAYANA there were invaluable commentaries of Indian scholars who had one grave defect. In respect of the religion they usually speak in terms of their own age. Hence they were often anachronistic . The new ways of interpreting the vedas were discovered by the indefatigable labour of the great orientalists. But we have to take note of certain preconceptions that are likely to have influenced their judgments in an adverse manner in understanding their interpretation of the religion.

The devout Christians believed that the worship of the true God was limited to the Christianity only. Heathens and Infidels were not worshiping god, but something else whatever they called the object of their worship in the first place.

Secondly as the path of piety , the consciousness of sin and repentance in sack cloth and ashes have been accepted by Christians. Hence the pagan cheerfulness of the Vedas must appear irreligious to them.

The ethical doctrine of surrender to evil had been popularized by Christianity of turning the other Cheek when smitten on the one for loving the enemy. As the highest morality , this was accepted .In respect of the ethical standard the more degraded , one was the further one went from this. In the heroic ideal all forms of paganism have the roots of their ethics . There could no compromise with evil according to vedic paganism. It must be fought relentlessly and strenuously . Indra symbolizes this heroic ideal among the most important of the vedic deities. All the fire and fury associated with heroism is the mark of a barbarous state of existence to the typical Christian . Varun has been described as the king of the universe by some orientalists. They have gone to the extent of recognizing them as the deities of universe whose noose gets hold of every sinner and whose emissaries roam over the earth as `the ethical deity and even as the ultimate reality.

With the notion of highest ethics , the true Christian, could not find himself well disposed towards the hero god, Indra , to whom many of the grandest vedic hymns are addressed. This is the third one.

Fourthly, by scientific theories of the later nineteenth century the theological Prepossessions of the orientalists were reinforced . The doctrine of social evolution and progress was the chief among these theories. This theory had been popularized by HERBERT SPENCER. However this had no real scientific connection with DARWIN’s theory of biological evolution . This earth was getting more and more Perfect according to the law of progress as time passed over. Hence in proportion to their distance from the present time things in the past were imperfect . That the vedic age being extremely remote , must have been an extremely crude stage of civilization ,which provided the orientalists with a ready assumption . This facile theory of progress was repudiated not till recently. Among other things it was established. In matter of art and spiritual life there had been no progress for many hundred of years . The orienta studies did not appear to have affected by this new corrective.

Fifthly the nineteenth century was an age of science that chiefly interested the orientalists being anthropology and philology. To trace the words of literature to their roots it was the practice in those days. In so far as it applied to the words of which the meaning was known, this practice was quite good. There was often in evidence a dogmatism worse than that of religion , when unknown words were traced to real or imaginary roots with a discovery of their meaning. In the second place anthropology was applied. In terms of Crudest possible theory of their first origin became the rule of the day so far as the explanation of features of life is concerned. For outstripping the legitimate bounds of their science, the orientalists often let themselves go in this respect to lengths.

VEDAS

A Bird’s Eye View on Veda & Introduction – II

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It is also unfortunate; so far as Hindus are concerned, even Hindu temples turned in-to mosques are not known to have been restored to Hinduism In this respect there are examples of great courtesy having been shown to the conquered. What the Spaniards did to the Muslims who had subjugated their country for about eight hundred years and had been defeated finally with a contrast for comparison In 1609 they at last gave the Muslims three days time within which to clear out the country after frequently subjecting them to the inquisition and forced conversion.

As in the case of Jews in south India in 1^st century A.D. and Parsees in Bombay presidency in 8^th century A.D foreign religious refugees were made welcome to the land A high level moral prestige for Hinduism had been built with the total absence of coercion in religious matters and religious courtesy. The Hindu converts, have been more liberal than many followers of those religions elsewhere, as a rule, which is really interesting to note Neither the Syrian Christians of Kerala nor the Roman Catholics of Goa are known to have burnt heretics or witches or carried on a religious warfare among themselves or against infidels.

Forming part of a social unit with the latter as an important factor, Muslims in India have lived amicably with Hindus. It is rare outside India and China having such fusion of Muslim and non-Muslim. Some Indian Muslims were highly specialized in arts like portrait painting etc. which was strongly opposed to which the religion as practiced in the country of its origin. The Hindus retained a good deal of their cultures even when they left their religion and tried to adjust to their new religions to the ideals of that culture.

Thus the history of Hinduism will appear to be unique in the religious history of the world from all these points of view.

We would find that in many cases that conversions were affected by force through the economic pressure of taxes and through ordinary financial inducements if we were to consider people in India who gave up Hinduism in the middle ages or modern times for some other religion.

Due to the lack of religious leaders and social disabilities of certain backward castes called “untouchables”, more powerful than these external factors were internal causes like the ignorance of their religion among Hindus. It can be directly attributed to the absence of religious teachers for the mass conversion in Kashmir, Sind and West Bengal. The masses there would not have changed their religion had there been a saint like Tukaram, Namadev, Ramananda or Chaitanya in these traits. At present the same fate threatens the Hindus settled in West Indies and South Africa. In places like Fiji and Mauritius makes a difference in the situation, on the other hand, in a smaller scale of enlightened elements. To the Hindu settlements in Malaya and Indonesia what happened to those outlying parts of India and with minor exceptions all went to other religions.

It is due to the knowledge of purer and higher form of Hinduism, being spread among the people by modern reformists if Christianity in modern times has made much ---less - progress in India than it was expected to do wherever the knowledge of the Hindu religion has been brought, there has been a desire among converts from the religion to reenter its fold, it has been found of late No return was possible for ages as Hinduism had shut its doors against all comers. Thousands were found flock to it for readmission as soon as the door was thrown open, even by the private agencies.

The magic of Hinduism is certainly surprising and it is another indication of the marvellous vitality. To the original religion else where, we do not see or hear of such mass movements for readmission. To go back to paganism the Greek Christians in large numbers have not wanted. Hebrew Christians did not want to go back to Judaism, nor Christians, now forcibly converted Muslims of Spain to Islam. But in India, millions of Buddhists returned to Hinduism. In modern times thousands of Muslims and Christians also returned to Hinduism.

In British India to check the movement among Hindu converts to other religion for a return to Hindu fold, all possible measures like political, administrative and diplomatic were often found necessary. For their championship of the cause of such re-admission, again, religious leaders like Swami Shradhananda against whom no case of adopting unfair means in conversion is known to have been made were martyred.

The magic of Hinduism can not be accounted for. There is a general thinking that the root of the whole matter lies in the imperishable truths and unconquered spirit contained in the original documents, the Vedas. According to high moral and spiritual ideas embodied in them, the noble lives lived by generations of sages and saints, kings and commanders as well as by the masses of the people. To meet the requirements of the time spirit, the Vedic religion accumulated a vast number of imperfections through hundred of years but there were proper adjustments made from age to age. As it has been among Hindus, perhaps no where else has the spiritual idea of life and character been so lofty and no where else has the approximation of practice to some of these ideals been so close with equal persistence or sincerity the weakness of Hindus lies in the fact that all the ideals have not been followed properly. In spite of certain economic advantages, the social ideal has been most neglected have proved to be great stumbling block on its way for caste and untouchability.

How much more can it do for humanity if it is truer to its noble aspirations and ideals so if the Vedic religion disorganized and neglected could exercise such powerful influence as its history shows?