Hinduism in its narrower sense, is the conglomeration of religious beliefs
and practices existing in India that have grown out of ancient Brahminism,
and which stand in sharp contrast to orthodox, traditional Brabminism
to-day. Hinduism is the popular, distorted, corrupted side of Brahminism.
In its broad sense, it comprises those phases of religous, social, and
intellectual life that are generally recognized in India to-day as the
legitimate outgrowth of ancient Brahmin institutions, and hence are
tolerated by the Brahmin priests as compatible with Brahmin traditions.
Far from being a uniform system of worship, Hinduism, in this large sense,
comprises, besides orthodox Brahminism, the numerous sectarian
developments of cult in honour of Vishnu, Siva, and their associates, in
which for centuries the great mass of the people have found satisfaction
for their religious cravings. In Hinduism, as distinguished from the
heretical sects of India, it is of minor importance what sort of worship
is adopted, provided one recognizes the supremacy of the Brahmins and the
sacredness of Brahmin customs and traditions. In the pantheistic all-god
Brahma, the whole world of deities, spirits, and other objects of worship
is contained, so that Hinduism adapts itself to every form of religion,
from the lofty monotheism of the cultivated Brahmin to the degraded
nature-worship of the ignorant, half savage peasant. Hinduism, to quote
Monier Williams, "has something to offer which is suited to all minds. Its
very strength lies in its infinite adaptability to the infinite diversity
of human characters and human tendencies. It has its highly spiritual and
abstract side suited to the metaphysical philosopher151its practical and
concrete side suited to the man of affairs and the man of the world—its
esthetic and ceremonial side suited to the man of poetic feeling and
imagination—its quiescent and contemplative side suited to the man of
peace and lover of seclusion. Nay, it holds out the right hand of
brotherhood to nature-worshippers, demon-worshippers, animal-worshippers,
tree-worshippers, fetish-worshippers. It does not scruple to permit the
most grotesque forms of idolatry, and the most degrading varieties of
superstition. And it is to this latter fact that yet another remarkable
peculiarity of Hinduism is mainly due—namely, that in no other system in
the world is the chasm more vast which separates the religion of the
higher, cultured, and thoughtful classes from that of the lower,
uncultured, and unthinking masses" (Brahmanism and Hinduism, 1891, p. 11).
Hinduism is thus a national, not a world religion, it has never made any
serious effort to proselytize in countries outside of India. The
occasional visits of Brahmins to countries of Europe and America, and
their lectures on religious metaphysics are not to be mistaken for genuine
missionary enterprises. Not to speak of its grosser phases, Hinduism, even
in its highest form known as Brahminism, could not take root and flourish
in countries where the caste system and the intricate network of social
and domestic customs it implies do not prevail. Nor has Hinduism exercised
any notable influence on European thought and culture. The pessimism of
Schopenhauer and his school is indeed very like the pessimism of Buddhism
and of the Vedanta system of philosophy, and seems to have been derived
from one of these sources. But apart from this unimportant line of modern
speculation, and from the abortive theosophic movement of more recent
times, one finds no trace of Hindu influence on Western civilization. We
have nothing to learn from India that makes for higher culture. On the
other hand, India has much of value to learn from Christian civilization.
According to the census of 1901, the total population of India is a little
more than 294,000,000 souls, of which 207,000,000 are adherents of
Hinduism. The provinces in which they are most numerous are Assam, Bengal,
Bombay, Berrar, Madras, Agra, and Oudh, and the Central Provinces. Of
foreign religions, Mohammedanism has, by dint of long domination, made the
deepest impression on the natives, numbering in India today nearly
62,500,000 adherents. Christianity, considering the length of time it has
been operative in India, has converted but an insignificant fraction of
the people from Hinduism. The Christians of all sects, foreign officials
included, number but 2,664,000, nearly one-half being Catholics.
It was not till towards the end of the eighteenth century that
Europeans—excepting Father de Nobili and a few other early
missionaries—acquired any knowledge of Sanskrit and allied tongues in
which the sacred literature of India was preserved. The extensive commerce
which the English developed in Bombay and other parts of India gave
occasion to English scholars to make extensive studies in this new field
of Oriental research. Sir William Jones was one of the first European
scholars to master Sanskrit and to give translations of Sanskrit texts. He
translated in 1789 one of Kalidasa's classic dramas, the "Sakuntală", and
in 1794 published a translation of the "Ordinances of Manu". He founded,
in 1784, the Royal Asiatic Society, destined to prove a powerful means of
diffusing the knowledge of Indian literature and institutions. An able,
but less famous, contemporary was the Portuguese missionary, Father
Paulinus a Sancto Bartholomeo, to whom belongs the honour of composing the
first European grammar of the Sanskrit tongue, published at Rome in 1790.
The first important study of Indian literature and rites was made by Henry
T. Colebrooke. His "Miscellaneous Essays on the Sacred Writings and
Religion of the Hindus", first published in 1805, became a classic in this
new field of research. The collection was reedited in 1873 by Professor E.
B. Cowell, and is still a work of great value to the student of Hinduism.
* * *
|
