The Trident, the Crescent, and the Cross

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

THE EARLY HINDUS.

The ancestors of the Aryan race-Their primitive home in Central Asia
-They migrate to Europe, Persia, and India-Settle on the banks
of the Indus, whence the term Hindu-They gradually extend them-
selves through the country and cultivate it; also develop commerce
and the arts-Had for long ages no written records-At length
their
sages commit to writing their stores of intellectual wealth-
Their veneration of, and passion for, the study of Sanscrit―That
language now hardly 'dead'-It lives and breathes in its lingual
descendants-The Aryan settlers had no caste-No restrictions as
regards food; they rejoiced in beef-They were a fair-complexioned
race, quite distinct from the aboriginal races-The Hindus in their
features akin to ourselves-The aborigines of a Turanian type-The
Dravidians of Southern India far in advance of the aborigines of the
hills-These latter figure as monkeys, the former as giants, in early
Hindu mythology-Suttee unknown among early Hindus-Poly-
gamy discountenanced - No infant marriages-Re-marriage of
widows legal-Seclusion of women a thing of later times-Women
esteemed and trusted then as not now

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CHAPTER II.

THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF CASTE.

Social distinctions grew up by degrees among the Aryan settlers-The
groundwork of these, the various professions of civilised life-The
Sages elbow their way to the front rank-Out of these the Brah-
manical order naturally sprung-The strong religious instincts of
the people foster the development of a sacerdotal order-Had no
priestly class to begin with, but at length obtained sixteen different

orders of priests-The term Brahman meant prayer, or sacred rite;

hence the class so defined derived it from their functions-The

Kshatriyas, a military class, called into being by the necessity of

warfare with the wild aborigines-The Vaisyas, 'settlers,' culti-

vators and merchants of the community-When caste notions

develop, the Brahmans gratify these two needful classes with a

sacred thread and the title dwij, 'twice-born '-But a servile class

needed-This constructed out of the aboriginal races, and called

Sudra-Fourfold social distinctions common to various branches of

the Aryan family-Slavery among the Greeks somewhat akin to

Hindu caste, yet not like it a religious institution-Mythological

account of its origin: the Brahman from the mouth of Brahma, the

Kshatriyas from his arm, the Vaisyas from his thigh, the Sudra

from his feet-Hence the Brahman a god to all below him-Must

be worshipped as a divinity-Must be free from taxation and capital

punishment whatever his crime-Must be amply supported-His

word infallible-The rules for the maintenance of caste so minute

and numerous that they became impracticable, and resulted in a

vast multiplication of castes Of the four original castes the Brah-

mans alone maintain their ground, and these have been subdivided

-Dire effects of caste on the nation: the heart indurated, sympathy

and fellow-feeling destroyed, moral sense darkened, social and

political progress barred-Caste an external and gross thing, not

affected in any degree by mental convictions or religious belief-

Depends on outward action alone-Belief in Christianity leaves

caste intact, baptism destroys it-Its approaching dissolution.

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CHAPTER III.

EARLY HINDUISM.

Deep spiritual yearnings of the early Hindus-Ever feeling after God,
yet wandering further from Him-The Rig-Veda compiled about
1200 B.C.-Its contents much more ancient-The other three Vedas
-Growing veneration for them-Divinity and eternity ascribed to
them-Monotheism, Polytheism, and Pantheism commingle in them
-The Aryans once monotheists, then nature-worshippers-Lumi-
nous objects first reverenced-Old Vedic deities-Their multiplica-
tion-Devout addresses to Varuna-The supersession of older
deities by Indra, Vayu, and Agni-Opposing demons-Hymns to
Indra and Agni-Singular notion of a Trinity in Unity-The post-
Vedic Triad The pre-Vedic Hindus had no notion of transmigration
--Believed in a threefold state of bliss after death-Yama the god
of death-Impressive funeral rites-Their notion of a spiritual body

for the departed spirit-One of the earliest hymns of the Rig-Veda
monotheistic-Remarkable enquiry into the origin of the Universe
-How Polytheism and Pantheism could coexist among the Hindus
-The earliest pantheistic ring in the Rig-Veda - Pantheistic
reasonings of modern pundits, how refuted-The institution of
sacrifice among the early Hindus-Its spontaneous origin incredible
-The Indian Aryans ever practised it and ever held its divine
origin-Human sacrifices prevailed-The story of Harischandra-
How animal sacrifices came to supplant human-Six noteworthy
aspects of the institution among the early Hindus

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CHAPTER IV.

MEDIEVAL HINDUISM.

Chronological difficulty in the religious history of India-Various
systems of religion and philosophy arose and had their germs in the
Vedas-Later developments of a more sensuous character-Social
and religious deterioration-The Hindu Triad: Brahmā, Vishnu,
Siva-The principle involved: creation, preservation, destruction—
The doctrine of emanation-All will ultimately be merged into
Brahma, the one simple, all-embracing Entity-The worship of
Brahma well-nigh extinct-The ten incarnations of Vishnu-Three
relate to the Flood-In these three Vishnu appears in animal form
-In the fourth he is half man and half animal-From the fifth and
onward his incarnate form is human—The story of Rama and Sita
-Vishnu's eighth incarnation the most popular-Krishna's character
-Though unutterably vile, an object of intense devotion to the
masses-The obliquity of their moral vision-A more respectable
minority allegorise his worst features-Educated natives give up
Krishna as a hopeless case-Design of the ninth incarnation, to steal
a march upon the Buddhists-The tenth still future-Remarkable
predictions relating to it-Six schools of philosophy in three pairs
-All the schools go on the principle ex nihilo nihil fit, and hold the
doctrine of transmigration-This doctrine not in the Rig-Veda-
Grecian and Roman philosophy how like and how unlike Hindu
philosophy-The Sankhya school materialistic-The Vedantists
held, with two different aspects, a self-existent Entity-The Nyaya
philosophers taught the existence of the Supreme Soul, yet not as
Creator-All held the pre-existence of human souls, why ?-The
soul at death passes into a spiritual body-Conscious existence
involves continued action, continued action creates merit or demerit,
these necessitate continued transmigrations-Hence release from