Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 2

602

Brih. Ar. Upan. III. 7. 2.

603

Among them are the Maṇimanjarî, the Madhvavijaya and the Vâyustuti, all attributed to a disciple of Madhva and his son.

604

See Bhandarkar, Vaishn. and Śaivism, pp. 66 ff., Grierson in Ind. Ant. 1893, p. 226, and also in article Ramanandi in E.R.E.; Farquhar, J.R.A.S.1920, pp. 185 ff. Though Indian tradition seems to be unanimous in giving 1299 A.D. (4400 Kali) as the date of Râmânand's birth, all that we know about himself and his disciples makes it more probable that he was born nearly a century later. The history of ideas, too, becomes clear and intelligible if we suppose that Râmânand, Kabir and Nanak flourished about 1400, 1450 and 1500 respectively. One should be cautious in allowing such arguments to outweigh unanimous tradition, but tradition also assigns to Râmânand an improbably long life, thus indicating a feeling that he influenced the fifteenth century. Also the traditions as to the number of teachers between Râmânuja and Râmânand differ greatly.

605

One of them is found in the Granth of the Sikhs.

606

Râmânand's maxim was "Jâti pâti puchai nahikoi: Hari-ku bhajai so Hari-kau hoî." Let no one ask a man's caste or sect. Whoever adores God, he is God's own.

607

Bhattacharya, Hindu Castes and Sects, p. 445.

608

Thus we have the poems of Kabir, Nânak and others contained in the Granth of the Sikhs and tending to Mohammedanism: the hymns wherein Mirâ Bai, Vallabha and his disciples praised Kṛishṇa in Râjputâna and Braj: the poets inspired by Caitanya in Bengal: Śaṅkar Deb and Madhab Deb in Assam: Namdev and Tukârâm in the Maratha country.

609

See Beames, J.A. 1873, pp. 37 ff., and Grierson, Maithili Christomathy, pp. 34 ff., in extra No. to Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, Part I. for 1882 and Coomaraswamy's illustrated translation of Vidyâpati, 1915. It is said that a land grant proves he was a celebrated Pandit in 1400. The Bengali Vaishṇava poet Chaṇḍî Dâs was his contemporary.

610

See Grierson, Gleanings from the Bhaktamâlâ, J.R.A.S. 1909 and 1910.

611

Modern Vernacular Literature of Hindustan, 1889, p. 57.

612

Similarly Dinesh Chandra Sen (Lang, and Lit. of Bengal, p. 170) says that Krittivâsa's translation of the Râmâyaṇa "is the Bible of the people of the Gangetic Valley and it is for the most part the peasants who read it." Krittivâsa was born in 1346 and roughly contemporary with Râmânand. Thus the popular interest in Râma was roused in different provinces at the same time.

He also wrote several other poems, among which may be mentioned the Gîtâvalî and Kavittâvalî, dedicated respectively to the infancy and the heroic deeds of Râma, and the Vinaya Pattrikâ or petition, a volume of hymns and prayers.

613

See Growse's Translation, vol. I. pp. 60, 62.

614

Ib. vol. III. p. 190, cf. vol. I. p. 88 and vol. III. pp. 66-67.

615

Ib. vol. II. p. 54.

616

Ib. vol. I. p. 77.

617

Growse, l.c. vol. II. p. 200, cf. p. 204. Mâyâ who sets the whole world dancing and whose actions no one can understand is herself set dancing with all her troupe, like an actress on the stage, by the play of the Lord's eyebrows. Cf. too, for the infinity of worlds, pp. 210, 211.

618

Growse aptly compares St. Paul, "I had not known evil but by the law."

619

Ib. vol. II. p. 223.

620

Ib. vol. II. p. 196.

621

The Vishnuite sect called Nimâvat is said to have been exterminated by Jains (Grierson in E.R.E. sub. V. Bhakti-mârga, p. 545). This may point to persecution during this period.

622

For Vallabhâcârya and his sect, see especially Growse, Mathurâ, a district memoir, 1874; History of the sect of the Mahârâjas in western India (anonymous), 1865. Also Bhandarkar, Vaishṇ. and Saivism, pp. 76-82 and Farquhar, Outlines of Relig. Lit. of India, pp. 312-317.

623

The principal of them are the Siddhânta-Rahasya and the Bhâgavata-Tîka-Subodhini, a commentary on the Bhâgavata Purâṇa. This is a short poem of only seventeen lines printed in Growse's Mathurâ, p. 156. It professes to be a revelation from the deity to the effect that sin can be done away with by union with Brahma (Brahma-sambandha-karaṇât). Other authoritative works of the sect are the Śuddhâdvaita mârtaṇḍa, Sakalâcâryamatasangraha and Prameyaratnârṇava, all edited in the Chowkhamba Sanskrit series.

624

Cf. the use of the word poshaṇam in the Bhâgavata Purâṇa, II. x.

625

Growse, Mathurâ, p. 157, says this formula is based on the Nâradapancarâtra. It is called Samarpana, dedication, or Brahma-sambandha, connecting oneself with the Supreme Being.

626

For instance "Whoever holds his Guru and Kṛishṇa to be distinct and different shall be born again as a bird." Harirayaji 32. Quoted in History of the Sect of the Mahârâjas, p. 82.

627

In the ordinary ceremonial the Maharaj stands beside the image of Kṛishṇa and acknowledges the worship offered. Sometimes he is swung in a swing with or without the image. The hymns sung on these occasions are frequently immoral. Even more licentious are the meetings or dances known as Ras Mandali and Ras Lîlâ. A meal of hot food seasoned with aphrodisiacs is also said to be provided in the temples. The water in which the Maharaj's linen or feet have been washed is sold for a high price and actually drunk by devotees.

628

Strictly speaking the Râdhâ-Vallabhis are not an offshoot of Vallabha's school, but of the Nimâvats or of the Mâdhva-sampradâya. The theory underlying their strange practices seems to be that Kṛishṇa is the only male and that all mankind should cultivate sentiments of female love for him. See Macnicol, Indian Theism, p. 134.

629

But other explanations are current such as Lord of the senses or Lord of the Vedas.

630

See Growse, Mathurâ, p. 153. I can entirely confirm what he says. This mean, inartistic, dirty place certainly suggests moral depravity.

631

His real name was Sahajânanda.

632

Caran Das (1703-1782) founded a somewhat similar sect which professed to abolish idolatry and laid great stress on ethics. See Grierson's article Caran Das in E.R.E.

633

But Vishnuite writers distinguish kâma desire and prema love, just as ερως and ἁγἁπη are distinguished in Greek. See Dinesh Chandra Sen, l.c. p. 485.

634

Dinesh Chandra Sen, History of Bengali Language and Literature, pp. 134-5.

635

For Caitanya see Dinesh Chandra Sen, History of Bengali Language and Lit. chap. V. and Jadunath Sarkar, Chaitanya's Pilgrimages and teachings from the Caitanya-Caritâmrita of Kṛishṇa Das (1590) founded on the earlier Caitanya-Caritra of Brindavan. Several of Caitanya's followers were also voluminous writers.

636

He married the daughter of a certain Vallabha who apparently was not the founder of the Sect, as is often stated.

637

The theology of the sect may be studied in Baladeva's commentary on the Vedânta sûtras and his Prameya Ratnâvalî, both contained in vol. V. of the Sacred Books of the Hindus. It would appear that the sect regards itself as a continuation of the Brahma-sampradâya but its tenets have more resemblance to those of Vallabha.

638

No less than 159 padakartâs or religious poets are enumerated by Dinesh Chandra Sen. Several collections of these poems have been published of which the principal is called Padakalpataru.

639

See Bhandarkar, Vaishṇ. and Śaivism, pp. 87-90, and Nicol, Psalms of Maratha Saints which gives a bibliography. For Nâmdev see also Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion, vol. VI. pp. 17-76. For Ramdas see Rawlinson, Sivaji the Maratha, pp. 116 ff.

640

Bhandarkar, l.c. p. 92. An earlier poet of this country was Jñâneśvara who wrote a paraphrase of the Bhagavad-gîtâ in 1290. His writings are said to be the first great landmark in Marathi literature.

641

There is no necessary hostility between the worship of Śiva and of Vishṇu. At Pandharpur pilgrims visit first a temple of Śiva and then the principal shrine. This latter, like the temple of Jagannath at Puri, is suspected of having been a Buddhist shrine. It is called Vihâra, the principal festival is in the Buddhist Lent and caste is not observed within its precincts.

642

Quoted by Bhandarkar, p. 90. The subsequent quotations are from the same source but I have sometimes slightly modified them and compared them with the original, though I have no pretension to be a Marathi scholar.

643

Called Abhangs.

644

See Eliot, Hinduism in Assam, J.R.A.S. 1910, pp. 1168-1186.

645

Census of India, 1911, Assam, p. 41.

646

Some authorities state that the sacred book thus venerated is the Bhagavad-gîtâ, but at Kamalabari I made careful enquiries and was assured it was the Nâmghosha.

647

Especially Gadadhar Singh, 1681-96.

648

See Census of India, 1901, Bengal, pp. 183-4 and Bhattacharya, Hindu Castes and Sects, pp. 485-488.

649

Karta, literally doer, is the name given to the executive head of a joint family in Bengal. The sect prefer to call themselves Bhabajanas or Bhagawanis.

650

Another mixed sect is that of the Dhâmis in the Panna state of Bundelkhand, founded by one Prannâth in the reign of Aurungzeb. Their doctrine is a combination of Hinduism and Islam, tending towards Krishnaism. See Russell, Tribes and Castes of Central Provinces, p. 217.

651

It is exemplified by the curious word an-had limitless, being the Indian negative prefix added to the arabic word had used in the Sikh Granth and by Caran Das as a name of God.

652

See especially G.H. Westcott, Kabir and the Kabir Panth, and Macauliffe, Sikh Religion, vol. vi. pp. 122-316. Also Wilson, Essays on the religion of the Hindus, vol. I. pp. 68-98. Garcin de Tassy, Histoire de la Littérature Hindoue, II. pp. 120-134. Bhandarkar, Vaishṇ. and Śaivism, pp. 67-73.

653

The name Kabir seems to me decisive.

654

Dadu who died about 1603 is said to have been fifth in spiritual descent from Kabir.

655

From a hymn in which the spiritual life is represented as a ride. Macauliffe, VI. p. 156.

656

But Hari is sometimes used by Kabir, especially in the hymns incorporated in the Granth, as a name of God.

657

Though Kabir writes as a poet rather than as a philosopher he evidently leaned to the doctrine of illusion (vivartavâda) rather than to the doctrine of manifestation or development (Pariṇâmavâda). He regards Mâyâ as something evil, a trick, a thief, a force which leads men captive, but which disappears with the knowledge of God. "The illusion vanished when I recognized him" (XXXIX.).

658

He even uses the word nirvâṇa.

659

From Kabir's acrostic. Macauliffe, VI. pp. 186 and 188. It is possible that this is a later composition.

660

Macauliffe, vi. pp. 230. 209, 202, 197.

661

Westcott, l.c. p. 144, "I am the creator of this world.... I am the seed and the tree…all are contained in me—I live within all and all live within me" and much to the same effect. Even in the hymns of the Âdi Granth we find such phrases as "Now thou and I have become one." (Macauliffe, vi. p. 180.)

This identification of Kabir with the deity is interesting as being a modern example of what probably happened in the case of Kṛishṇa. Similarly those who collected the hymns which form the sacred books of the Sikhs and Kabirpanthis repeated the process which in earlier ages produced the Ṛig Veda.

662

"The Âtmâ mingles with Paramâtmâ, as the rivers flow into the ocean. Only in this way can Paramâtmâ be found. The Âtmâ without Śabda is blind and cannot find the path. He who sees Âtmâ-Râm is present everywhere. All he sees is like himself. There is nought except Brahmâ. I am he, I am the true Kabir." Westcott, p. 168.

663

The Census of 1901 gives 843,171 but there is reason to think the real numbers are larger.

664

Consecrated by washing in it wooden sandals supposed to represent the feet of Kabir. It is stated that they believe they eat the body of Kabir at their sacred meal which perhaps points to Christian influence. See Russell, l.c. pp. 239-240.

665

See Russell, Tribes and Castes of Central Provinces, p. 217, where it is said that some of them are householders.

666

See especially Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion, six volumes.

667

Macauliffe, I. p. 82.

668

The original is Kartâ purukh (=purusha), the creative male. This phrase shows how Hindu habits of thought clung to Nânak.

669

The Guru of the Sikhs are: (a) Nânak, 1469-1538, (b) Angada, 1538-1552, (c) Amardas, 1552-1575, (d) Ramdas, 1575-1581, (e) Arjun, 1581-1606, (f) Har-Govind, 1606-1639, (g) Har-Rai, 1639-1663, (h) Har-Kisan, 1663-1666, (i) Teg-Bahadur, 1666-1675, (j) Govind Singh, 1675-1708.

670

Amritasaras the lake of nectar.

671

It appears to be an arbitrary adaptation of the Deva-nâgari characters. The shape of the letters is mostly the same but new values are assigned to them.

672

This is the description of the dialect given by Grierson, the highest authority in such matters.

673

See Rajendrala Mitra's article in J.A.S.B. XL. 1871, pp. 170-176, which gives the Sanskrit text of the Upanishad. Also Schrader, Catalogue of Adyar Library, 1908, pp. 136-7. Schrader states that in the north of India the Allopanishad is recited by Brahmans at the Vasantotsava and on other occasions: also that in southern India it is generally believed that Moslims are skilled in the Atharva Veda.

674

I.e., not the Allah of the Koran.

675

This Persian translation was rendered word for word into very strange Latin by Anquetil Duperron (1801-2) and this Latin version was used by Schopenhauer.

676

He is said to have prayed for the success of the Emperor's rebellious son.

677

This Arabic word is interpreted in this context as meaning the special portion (of God).

678

Census of India, 1901, Panjab report, p. 122.

679

Provincial Geographies of India, Panjab, Douie, 1916, p. 117.

680

See also chap. XXIV. as to Śâktism and Tantrism in Buddhism. Copious materials for the study of Śâktism and Tantrism are being made available in the series of tantric texts edited in Sanskrit and Tibetan, and in some cases translated by the author who uses the pseudonym A. Avalon.

681

See Annales du Musée Guimet, Tome VIII. Si-Do-In-Dzon. Gestes de l'officiant dans les cérémonies mystiques des sectes Tendai et Singon, 1899.

682

See Underhill, Mysticism, chaps. VI. and VII.

683

See Dhalla, Zoroastrian Theology, p. 116.

684

Specially Ath. Veda, XII. 1.

685

Village deities in south India at the present day are usually female. See Whitehead, Village Gods, p. 21.

686

Thus Cândî is considered as identical with the wood goddess Bâsulî, worshipped in the jungles of Bengal and Orissa. See J.A. 1873, p. 187.

687

Vaj. Sanh. 3. 57 and Taittir. Br. I. 6. 10. 4.

688

Crooke, Popular Religion of Northern India, I. 63. Monier Williams, Brahm. and Hinduism, p. 57 gives an interesting account of the shrine of Kâlî at Vindhyâcal said to have been formerly frequented by Thugs.

689

This idea that deities have different aspects in which they practically become different persons is very prevalent in Tibetan mythology which is borrowed from medieval Bengal.

690

Though there are great temples erected to goddesses in S. India, there are also some signs of hostility to Śâktism. See the curious legends about an attendant of Śiva called Bhriṅgi who would not worship Pârvatî. Hultzsch, South Indian Inscriptions, II. ii. p. 190.

691

There is a curious tendency in India to regard the male principle as quiescent, the female as active and stimulating. The Chinese, who are equally fond of using these two principles in their cosmological speculations, adopt the opposite view. The Yang (male) is positive and active. The Yin (female) is negative and passive.

692

The Mahânirvâṇa Tantra seems to have been composed in Bengal since it recommends for sacrificial purposes (VI. 7) three kinds of fish said to be characteristic of that region. On the other hand Buddhist works called Tantras are said to have been composed in north-western India. Udyâna had an old reputation for magic and even in modern times Śâktism exists in western Tibet and Leh. It is highly probable that in all these districts the practice of magic and the worship of mountain goddesses were prevalent, but I find little evidence that a definite Śâkta sect arose elsewhere than in Bengal and Assam or that the Śâktist corruption of Buddhism prevailed elsewhere than in Magadha and Bengal.

693

But the Brahmans of isolated localities, like Satara in the Bombay Presidency, are said to be Śâktas and the Kâñculiyas of S. India are described as a Śâktist sect.

694

The law-giver Baudhâyana seems to have regarded Aṅga and Vaṅga with suspicion, I. 1.13, 14.

695

See especially the story of Manasâ Devi in Dinesh Chandra Sen (Beng. Lang. and Lit. 257), who says the earliest literary version dates from the twelfth century. But doubtless the story is much older.

696

Virâtap. chap. VI. (not in all MSS.). Bhishmap. chap. XXIII. Also in the Harivaṃsa, vv. 3236 ff. Pargiter considers that the Devî-Mâhâtmya was probably composed in the fifth or sixth century. Chap. XXI. of the Lotus Sûtra contains a spell invoking a goddess under many names. Though this chapter is an addition to the original work, it was translated into Chinese between 265 and 316.

697

But he does mention the worship of the Divine Mothers. Harshacar. VII. 250 and Kâdamb. 134.

698

Hymns to the Devî are also attributed to him but I do not know what evidence there is for his authorship.

699

As pointed out elsewhere, though this word is most commonly used of the Śâkta scriptures it is not restricted to them and we hear of both Buddhist and Vaishṇava Tantras.

700

The Adhyâtma Râmâyaṇa is an instance of Śâktist ideas in another theological setting. It is a Vishnuite work but Sità is made to say that she is Prakṛiti who does all the deeds related in the poem, whereas Râma is Purusha, inactive and a witness of her deeds.

701

XI. iii. 47-8; XI. V. 28 and 31. Probably Vishnuite not Śâktist Tantras are meant but the Purana distinguishes between Vedic revelation meant for previous ages and tantric revelation meant for the present day. So too Kullûka Bhaṭṭa the commentator on Manu who was a Bengali and probably lived in the fifteenth century says (on Manu II. i.) that Śruti is twofold, Vedic and tantric. Śrutisca dvividhâ vaidikî tântrikîca.

702

II. 15.

703

See for full list Avalon, Principles of Tantra, pp. lxv-lxvii. A collection of thirty-seven Tantras has been published at Calcutta by Babu Rasik Mohun Chatterjee and a few have been published separately.

704

Translated by Avalon, 1913, also by Manmatha Nath Dutt, 1900.

705

Analysed in J.A.O.S. XXIII. i. 1902.

706

Edited by Târanâtha Vidyâratna, with introduction by A. Avalon, 1917.

707

See Avalon, Principles of Tantra, p. lxi. But these are probably special meanings attached to the words by tantric schools. Nigama is found pretty frequently, e.g. Manu, IV. 19 and Lalita-vistara, XII. But it is not likely that it is used there in this special sense.

708

Edited by Avalon, 1914.

709

Satirical descriptions of Śâktism are fairly ancient, e.g. Karpura Mañjarî, Harvard edition, pp. 25 and 233.

710

Tantrism has some analogy to the Fêng-shui or geomancy of the Chinese. Both take ancient superstitions which seem incompatible with science and systematize them into pseudo-sciences, remaining blind to the fact that the subject-matter is wholly imaginary.

711

For what follows as for much else in this chapter, I am indebted to Avalon's translation of the Mahânirvâṇa Tantra and introduction.

712

Paśu-, vîra-, divya-bhâva.

713

Avalon, Mahân. Tan. pp. lxxix, lxxx.

714

"The eternal rhythm of Divine Breath is outwards from spirit to matter and inwards from matter to spirit. Devî as Mâyâ evolves the world. As Mahâmâyâ she recalls it to herself.... Each of these movements is divine. Enjoyment and liberation are each her gifts." Avalon, Mahân. Tan. p. cxl.

715

Yair eva patanam dravyaih siddhis tair eva coditâ—Kulârṇava Tantra, V. 48. There is probably something similar in Taoism. See Wieger, Histoire des Croyances religieuses en Chine, p. 409. The Indian Tantrists were aware of the dangers of their system and said it was as difficult as walking on the edge of a sword or holding a tiger.

716

Vâmâcâra is said not to mean left-hand worship but woman (vâmâ) worship. This interpretation of Dakshiṇa and Vâmâcâra is probably fanciful.

717

Sometimes two extra stages Aghora and Yogâcâra are inserted here.

718

Mahân. Tan. X. 108. A Kaula may pretend to be a Vaishṇava or a Śaiva.

719

Although the Tantras occasionally say that mere ritual is not sufficient for the highest religions, yet indispensable preliminary is often understood as meaning sure means. Thus the Mahânirvâṇa Tantra (x. 202, Avalon's transl.) says "Those who worship the Kaulas with panca tattva and with heart uplifted, cause the salvation of their ancestors and themselves attain the highest end."