The Pilgrim

The Quarterly Bulletin of the Christian Society for the Study of Hinduism

Editor: Rev. Dr. R.D. IMMANUEL

God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. II Corinth. 4:6.

Buy Ye God

(One of Tukaram’s Abhangs)¹

By DR. ANJILVEL V. MATTHEW, M Ed., Ph.D., Satara

1. Buy ye God, buy ye God Right to your door is he brought.

2. No thank you! No thank you! To store him is no room in the house

3. Dull is the market for God, dull is the market Fallen is his price, what can we do?

4. Take him free, take him free, No price need ye give, not even a ruka²

5. Poor Tuka, penniless, God he takes! Borrowed, Him he will keep on loan

This beautiful abhang reminds us of our Lord’s parable of the marriage supper. Men were invited in the parable to a great marriage feast, but very few of the invited guests turned up. One man said, “I have bought a pair of bullocks.” Another said, “I have bought a field.” A third man said, “I am newly married and have no time for God.”

Tukaram was a grocer. In this abhang he compares himself to a hawker who takes things to the doors of prospective buyers. But very few want the thing called God. Their baskets and bags and vessels are all full; and there is no room in any of them to hold the new thing that is offered. They cannot take in a stock of God as there is no place for him. Our Master said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit”. It is only the poor who know that they are in need, that their lives are empty, that they can accept God. The self-satisfied people think that they have everything, that they have no need for God.

Sant Tukaram puts his thoughts very realistically. The hawker is presented as wanting to sell his commodity somehow or other. So he reduced its price. He is grieved that this has to be done, but he would do it - to get some customers by that means. So the hawker cries: “The market for God is dull, yea, is dull; what should we do?”

Tukaram would be happy if even at a reduced price they would ask for God; but even at that there are no bidders. So he says, “You may have God free, not even a half-anna need you pay.” Even then none wants to take in God.

But that is not the case with Tukaram. He knows what a great possession, and priceless, is God. He can give no price for God. He is beyond the purchasing capacity of any man, however, God-fearing or just he may be, however unselfish and sincere his devotions be. Therefore, Tukaram accepts God as a free gift, and with great humility. Like one who purchases some commodity on credit, as he does not have cash to pay, so Tukaram will take God though he is not able to pay the price.

A Comparative Study of the Prakrti of Sankhya and the Maya of Sankara

By Rev. C. SELVAMANY B.D.

It is obvious from the Sankhya explanation of the universe that it maintains a clear-cut dualism between its two ultimatas, Purusha and Prakrti and also the plurality of Purushas. “Vyasa describes Prakrti as that which never is nor is not, that which exists and does not exist, that in which there is non-existence, the unmanifested, without any specific mark, the central background of all.” (Radha Krishnan, Indian Philosophy. Vol. 2 p. 260 f.) This one material cause out of which springs forth the manifold effects is Prakrti “the receptacle and nurse of all generations.” It is otherwise called Pradhana, Avyakta, Anumana, Jada. Even space and time are represented as aspects of Prakrti, and therefore, do not exist apart from it as independent entities and thus Sankhya “does not … start by positing matter in space and time, but looks upon the primordial, physical entity as including and explaining them both.” (Outlines of Indian Philosophy, Hiriyanne - p. 270,271). Prakrti is uncaused, independent, absolute, one and eternal, beyond production and destruction. It is invisible, subtle and known only through its effects. Motion is inherent in it though it is unconscious. If the movement is not perpetual, if it at any time ceased to be dynamic at any stage, it is impossible for the reappearance of motion in it.

Sankhya brings forth arguments to establish the existence of Prakrti. It says that the finite, individual, limited objects of the world point towards some infinite, unlimited source from which they proceed, and this one source is Prakrti. Again, the pleasure, pain and indifference which the worldly things commonly manifest must of necessity have a common source and the source is the three gunas, the three components of Prakrti. Another argument is that the effect which is limited cannot be its own cause and the real cause is Prakrti. Moreover, the unity of the universe points to a single cause and this cause is Prakrti.

Prakrti is constituted of three Gunas the Satwa, Rajas Tamas. The Gunas are not qualities but the constituent parts of Prakrti. The Satwa is the source of buoyancy luminosity, and reflection. The word, Rajas, means foulness, and it is the principle of motion and pain; Tamas is the principle of darkness and inertia. Since these gunas constitute things, the nature of a thing is determined by the preponderance of a particular guna. When these gunas are held together in equilibrium then that state is called Prakrti. Creation does not take place then, but it is the nature of the gunas that they cannot remain static. They are ever-changing. At the state of equilibrium the change is homogeneous for the gunas change to their original forms. But when one of these gunas dominate over the others and the equilibrium is thus affected Prakrti feels a terrific commotion in its bosom and begins to evolve. This state is called the heterogenous change.

In evolution there is no one continuous process towards one direction, but the process is cyclic alternation between evolution and dissolution. Evolution is said also to be teleological for all the evolutes are to serve the purpose of the Purusha. Prakrit, in short, is for Purushas’ enjoyment; for Samsara as well as for Kaivalya.

Evolution starts. Sankhya holds, when the equilibrium of Prakrti is disturbed. But how does this disturbance happen? The answer is Purusha Sannidhi. Purusha which is absolute Consciousness, absolutely independent of Prakrti comes into contact with Prakrti and this gives rise to creation. Purusha being inactive is lame without Prakrti and Prakrti being unconscious is blind without Purusha. Prakrti needs Purusha to be seen, to be known and to be enjoyed. So the lame Purusha and blind Prakrti with their joint effort create the manifold existences.

Prakrti evolves into the diverse objects of the world, each object being what it is because of the preponderance of anyone of the gunas that constitute it. Since Prakrti evolves into the diverse objects, this theory is called Prakrti Parinama Vada. Since the effect is in the cause it is also called the Satkarya Vada. According to this all effects are the modifications of Prakrti. The effects pre-exist in the bosom of Prakrti and are made manifest at the time of creation. Nothing new is produced in creation and nothing is lost in involution. Sankhra says that the world of things was latent in the cause, Prakrti. Otherwise, how can it come forth from it? If the effect was not already pre-existent in the cause how can the connection between cause and effect be intelligible? If there is no such relation between cause and effect any effect can be supposed to come from any cause. So in evolution what happens is that the obstruction is removed, and the latent effect becomes patent.

Mahat or Buddhi, the first evolute, gives rise to Ahamkara which is the self or the principle of individuation. Satvika Ahankara produces Manas, sensory and motor organs; the Tamasa Ahankara gives rise to the five Tan mantras or “things in themselves” and they in turn to the gross elements or Bhutadi, The energy for these two Ahamkaras to bring forth their respective evolutes is supplied by the Rajasa or Taijasa Ahamkara. This process of evolution which is cyclic will continue till all Purushas are liberated. Thus, the entire evolution of Prakrti from Mahat to gross element is for the liberation of the Purusha.

Sankhya believes that it is the ego, the product of Prakrti, that is in bondage and not the Purusha who has no connection with Prakrti. So it is Prakrti which is bound and Pralerti liberates and is liberated.

Sankhya throughout claims that its views are scriptural and that its interpretation is the only correct interpretation. It is considered to be one of the best, earliest and orthodox systems.

But Sankara, the great philosopher, the reputed exponent of the same Scriptures, arrives at very different conclusions from that of the Sankhya. He repudiates the dualism of Sankhya and contends that the one Ultimate Reality is Brahman which is identical with Atman and there is none else. Brahman is pure Consciousness, pure Self. Brahman is eternally pure, intelligent, free, never an object of knowledge, not known, but intuitively realised. This concept is condensed in the Upanishadic precept, “Tatvam asi”, “That art Thou.”

Sankara propounds a theory of the universe, a theory different from that of Sankhya. The world has no metaphysical reality though for practical purposes, it is real. It is Maya an illusion due to Avidya, nescience. “Maya conceals objectively the ultimate identity of all phenomena, subjectively it is responsible for the individuating of multiple existences.” The Concept of Maya, by D. Devanandann, p. 102. Maya is material and unconscious as contrary to Brahman which is Consciousness itself. But it is neither real nor independent.

The concept of Maya is intimately related with that of avidya, the latter obscuring our view of Reality. “Avidya is the fall from intuition, the mental deformity of the finite Self that disintegrates the divine into a thousand different fragments. It is not conscious dissimulation but the unconscious tendency of the finite mind, which lives by the imperfect standards of the world.” (Indian Philosophy. Vol. II, Radhakrishnan, p. 575.) Sankara refuses to admit that Avidya is a subjective force. It, he says, has objective reality. It is positive in character and without beginnings. It exists both in gross and subtle forms. Maya, Avidya and Prakrti are practically identical. (says Radhakrishnan p. 582.)

Looking at the problem from the objective side we speak of Maya and from the subjective side we speak of Avidya. Maya and Avidya are one as Brahman and Atman are one. It is called Avidya for knowledge can dissolve it, but it is objectively called Maya since it is co-eternal with the Supreme.

Advaita Vedanta describes Maya as the inherent power or Sakti of Brahman, coeval with Him. In the Aranda Lahari Sankara is, said to address Maya as the ‘queen of the Para-brahman’. She says of herself “That which exists in the Brah-brahman as the ‘I’ the ancient I-ness that am I … God Narayana exists and I, Lakshmi and His highest idea, and the meaning of the ‘I’ becomes accomplished when it is united with the I-ness. I do not exist without Him nor he without me … Without I-ness the ‘I’ deprived of its expression becomes meaningless and without the idea of the ‘I’ the I-ness losing its support becomes meaningless.”³ Maya is absolutely dependent and inseparable from Brahman.

Maya thought it is not real is positive and not negative. It has two aspects, the negative and the positive. With the one, the negative called Avarna Sakti, it conceals reality and hides it and with the positive, called Viksepa Sakti, it projects the world of plurality. Just as Vidya has the positive power of creating identity-Consciousness in the seeker and thereby merging him in the Absolute, Avidya has the positive effect of creating the whole world of sense experience including God Himself, because Iswara is Brahman modified by Maya and the universe is the effect of Maya’s collaboration with Iswara.

Maya is indescribable and undefinable, for it is neither real nor unreal nor both. As it has no existence apart from the Brahman it is not real; it is not unreal because it projects the world of appearance. It is not real for it ceases to exist at the dawn of true knowledge, but it is not unreal for it is true, and necessary as long as it lasts. It is not both real and unreal for the statement is self-contradictory. Since Maya is neither real nor unreal the world projected by Maya is categorised as Vyavaharika Satta: existence which is neither Sat nor Asat.

Maya is of the nature of super-imposition similar to imposing the idea of a snake mistakenly over a rope or perceiving silver over a conch-shell i.e., it is super-imposing upon one thing the character of some other thing. This super-imposition is ignorance and is the presupposition of all the practices of the phenomenal world. Since Maya is an appearance only and thus phenomenal by character it is sublated at the dawn of right-knowledge, the knowledge that Brahman and Atman are identical and that there is nothing besides Brahman that is real. Just as the snake ceases to exist as soon as the rope is perceived Maya vanishes when Atman finds its identity with the Absolute Reality.

The object and locus of Maya is Brahman. But Brahman is not in any way sullied by its association with it. The real cannot be affected by the unreal as the magician is not affected by the magic he performs. Though Brahman is the locus of Maya the relationship that exists between the two is a unique one. It is called Tadatmya. Tadatmya means that the relation is neither identity, nor difference nor both. It is non-different from Brahman (ananya) and is anadi.

Thus, in Advaita the term Maya is used to signify the phenomenal and thus the self-explanatory nature of the world; it denotes the incomprehensibility of the relationship that exists between the Ultimate Reality and the world of plurality; it points to the view that Brahman is only the base of the world and that the latter only rests on the former and that Brahman is not touched by the world; it stands for the principle which is assumed to account for Brahman appearing as the world; it denotes the perfect personality. Iswara, who is the power or energy and has power of self-expression.

Maya produces all notions of plurality and difference. Creation is illusory because it is only Vivartha of Brahman. Iswara or the Saguna Brahman is as illusory as the jivas and only phenomenal, though creation, maintenance and dissolution of the world is all done by Him. But Sankara, thereby, does not deny the reality of the world, because it has a pragmatic reality and necessity. So long as we are in this world we cannot take it to be unreal. It is a workable hypothesis absolutely necessary, though in the end most indefensible.

The concept of Maya with the significance it has in the Advaita system, critics say, suggests unreal personalities, who are really striving in an unreal world through unreal means to attain unreal ends. Can this be true or intelligent? Asks the critic, to whom the Advaita reply is its reassertion that everything phenomenal has only a practical value, not ultimate as the water in a dream is sufficient to quench the dreamer’s thirst.

As we proceed to critically examine the concept of Maya as expounded in these two systems it is obvious that the Sankhya position is unsatisfactory and that it runs into self-contradiction which is realised even by its own exponents.

According to Sharma and the modern Hindu scholars, the fundamental blunder of the Sankhya is the sharp, absolute distinction made between its two ultimate realities, Purusha and Prakrti. This distinction is not true to experience. These two, consciousness and unconsciousness are the two aspects of one being. The real is neither the Purusha nor mere Prakrti, as there cannot be matterless forms and formless matter. “These opposites (Prakrti and Purusha) are mutually dependent through antagonistic movements of the one concrete becoming … All things combine Purusha and Prakrti and struggle to reveal the Purusha more and more and this struggle is the process of the world.” (Indian Philosophy, Vol. II, Radhakrishnan, p. 332.) The connection must be real enough to further the development of Prakrti, so real that through Prakrti it must be able to realise its purity and separateness from Prakrti. Sankhya is obliged to give up its insistence on dualism in order to bring these realities closer to each other. Sankhya could have effectively arrived at its logical conclusion if the ultimate reality was reduced to the one Purusha and Prakrti conceived of as the Sakti or the power of Purusha.

If, according to Sankhya, Prakrti and Purusha are independent and ultimate, it is impossible to see how they can come together at all, and if they don’t have any contact evolution cannot take place. Prakrti is unintelligent and Purusha is inactive. Then how can they come together? The necessity of a third principle to unite them though seemingly helpful leads to a regressive ad infinitum.

Realising this difficulty Sankhya says that the blind Prakrti and lame Purusha co-operate like two men, one blind and one lame, co-operating to achieve their end, for the purpose of effecting creation. But this analogy breaks off the moment we admit the lame and the blind men who co-operated were both intelligent beings whereas Prakrti is not intelligent at all.

To surmount this objection the Sankhya puts forth another solution viz., that proximity of the Purusha is cause enough to set Prakrti in disturbance and consequently to create. But this argument again is futile for Purusha is eternally existing side by side with Prakrti and there cannot be any rest at all possible for Prakrti. Creation can never stop and Prakrti cannot have the supposed state of equilibrium.

In order to avoid these difficulties, Sankhya proposes a semblance of a contact. There is no real contact but only a semblance by which Purusha is reflected in the Buddhi and wrongly identified with his own reflection in Buddhi. It is this reflection which comes into contact with Prakrti and sets the latter in motion. But this argument is totally unsound for Buddhi or Mahat is only the evolute, and it does not solve the problem how evolution started.

To supersede this mistake Sankhya asserts that it is not the reflection on Buddhi that starts evolution but Purusha reflects itself on Prakrti. In that case, as mentioned before, creation can never stop and Prakrti cannot have the equilibrium. Thus, in order to defend the first blunder of positing two independent, distinct realities, Sankhya goes on committing many more mistakes and never is able to logically conclude the argument.

Prakrti possesses contrary capacities, activity of Rajas and obstruction of Tamas. Prakrti with all these Gunas cannot be conceived of as actual; at the most they can be existentially conceived. To think of an object as constituted by these three gunas is to view the object as in a state of contradiction and not in harmony. There cannot be any individual in which there is active harmony for the gunas compete for supremacy, being suppressed by one of them. In the pralya state also we do not see Prakrti in harmony for it is a strong tension that keeps the assumed equilibrium. It is the pull of the three equally strong gunas that is named as equilibrium and as soon as one wins over the other two creation starts. Evolution does not stop as long as there is no harmony, and Sankhya philosophy does not contemplate a state of harmonious perfection. Prakrti cannot be considered as a unity or a harmony. It is not the concrete universal which binds together all existences. Purusha is inevitable to bring some order and meaning into the region of Prakrti. “Since perfection or reality is that in which the opposition of the three gunas is overcome and transcended, and such is not the character of Prakrti; it is not the real. The very endlessness of the process of Prakrti marks it off as unreal and relative. The Advaita Vedanta faces this conclusion and regards the world of Prakrti as Maya.” (Indian Philosophy, Radhakrishnan Vol. II. p. 325)

Sankhya’s Prakrti is unconscious and unintelligent, but it is said to act teleologically. How can it be said to be the Cause of teleology seen in creation ? If the evolutes seek to serve the purpose of Purusha, then a purposing Prakrti cannot be said to be unconscious or unintelligent. Still less can it explain the order and harmony seen in creation just as mere stones, mortar and bricks by themselves cannot fashion a building. Whence derives elan vital which gives the first impetus and push necessary for creation? Sankhya tries to meet the position saying that Prakrti works unconsciously as milk flows from the cow to its calf. But milk flows from the cow because it lives and loves its calf. Neither is the Sankhya simile of grass turning itself into milk appropriate to meet this criticism because grass does not become milk, if it is not eaten, and eaten by a female animal. So Sankhya has to admit that Prakrti as depicted by it cannot be purposive and the intelligence so obvious in creation cannot be traced back to this unintelligent source.

Moreover, activity is said to belong to Prakrti and Purusha never acts. But Sankhya pictures Purushas suffering the consequences of the activities of Prakrti. Purusha suffers for no fault of its own, Prakrti performs actions and Purusha has to reap the fruits, good or bad. This view set forth by this system overthrows the moral law of Karma, undermining one of the fundamentals of Hinduism. The Ethical consequences of the Sankhya theory of Prakrti are also equally significant. If we cannot see purposive intelligent action in Prakrti, the will, which is a product of the mechanical Prakrti is nothing but an illusion. So Ethical distinctions become meaningless. So the concept of Prakrti should be given up or modified to include something more than its mechanical framework. Purusha has to work through Prakrti. Advaita foresaw these irrational consequences and affirmed reality to be the one Absolute, the Brahman.

In another respect also, the Prakrti concept of Sankhya is not satisfactory. Though it is called absolute and independent there is a note of relativism which is self-evident in certain parts. At every step it shows its dependence on Purusha. Without the presence or semblance or some sort of activity of Purusha, Prakrti is incapable of evolving. Why should Prakrti, if it is absolute, serve the purpose of Purusha and behave as though subservient to him? Besides, Prakrti is described using personal terms. “Prakrti is called a dancing girl. She is feminine; she is virtuous and generous; she is the benefactress of Purusha; she serves Purusha’s purpose in a spirit of perfect detachment for no gain to herself, and yet she is called blind; she is extremely delicate and shy and cannot stand the eye of the Purusha ; she is seven rainbow-coloured and wants to attract the Purusha. Does this not make Prakrti relative Why not frankly equate Prakrti with Avidya? Either maintain a plurality of Prakrtis or else equate it with Avidya.” (Indian Philosophy, Chandrahdar Sharma. p. 231.)

Prakrti and Purusha have not, and cannot have, a common purpose according to Sankhya dualism. Unconscious Prakrti cannot suffer; neither can Purusha experience suffering because it is inactive. How can these join to redeem the world? Unless Sankhya admits a ‘higher unity’ the question will have to remain unanswered. Advaita Vedanta satisfactorily solves this problem by showing that subject and object are two aspects of one “higher unity. They are distinctions within the whole. Even at the empirical level we know ourselves only in distinguishing ourselves from and relating ourselves to an objective world. That is, the wider our experience the deeper our consciousness of our self becomes.”The unity of the two terms is the presupposition of their difference. It is simply due to our avidya, our ignorance or want of reflection on the nature and conditions of experience, that we fail to recognise the ultimate oneness of subject and object.”⁴ Though we naturally feel a subject-object-distinction with a little reflection we will realise that if the distinction is correct then a third principle is necessary to bring them together. And the moment we realise the impossibility of having this third principle the only alternative is to view the subject and object as the two aspects of the same consciousness, which is the basis of all knowledge and existence. This is more in keeping with the scriptures than the Sankhya interpretation put on it.

Though Advaita and Sankhya both believe in Satkarya Vada, yet technically they differ. The Vivartha vada of Sankara is different from Prakrti Parinana Vada of Sankhya. Sankhya holds that the effect is pre-existent in the cause and that the effects are real. The effects exist as independent realities after their production. But Sankara repudiates this view in favour of his theory according to which the effect is independent neither before nor at its production. Effect can not be outside the cause because it is only an appearance. But though the cause and effects are non-different, yet it is the effect which exists and depends on the cause and not vice versa. In this connection, too, Sankhya theory stands in need of a third factor to relate the cause and effect failing to have which the whole theory lacks logical validity and consistency. “Sankhya, therefore, should let its Prakrti glide into Maya, its Prakrit Parinama Vada into Brahma Vivartha Vada, its Satkarya Vada into Sat Karma Vada … should … recognise the non-dual Brahman transcending the subject-object duality.”

Helping Foreigners to Understand Hinduism

BY DR. H.H. PRESLER

Landour Language School Lectures

Hinduism

Our subject for today is The Five Daily Sacrifices. Every Hindu is supposed to render five oblations each day. I am interested in these five for several reasons. First, they provide a picture of the Hindu’s regular religious activities. Second, they give us a key to the Hindu world-view. Third, they reveal the social pattern within which the Hindu moves. Any foreigner who would understand Hinduism, should become acquainted with them.

The Central Hindu College, Banaras, has issued a textbook, entitled Sanatana Dharma, which professes to set forth the principles of the orthodox faith. This authoritative text0 says: “The five daily sacrifices teach man his relations with all around him, with his superiors, his equals, and his inferiors. They establish the harmonious relations on which the happiness and prosperity of families and of nations depend. They turn the wheel of life in accord with the will of God, and so help on the evolution of the world. They teach each individual that he is not an isolated unit, but a part of a great whole, a cell in a vast body; and that his happiness and progress, therefore, can only be secure if they subserve the general happiness, and conduce to the general progress.” Anything as important as this, deserves our attention.

The Five Daily Sacrifices are:

1. To the Rishis
2. To the Devas
3. To the Piters
4. To the Jun
5. To the Bhutas

Translated this means, first to the seers who wrote the scriptures, second to the gods, third to the ancestors, fourth to men on earth, and fifth to the creatures on earth.

Notice that none of the sacrifices are to the phenomena of nature, none are directed towards a Supreme God, and none are concerned with abstractions. All are directed towards living beings, towards individuals that are conscious and wilful seers, gods, ancestors, fellowmen and creatures. Further, these individuals are in both the seen and in the unseen world. In fact, three classes are in the unseen world, and only two in the visible world. The Hindu lives surrounded by a host of spiritual beings who must be considered and reckoned with, and he is hedged about by his caste fellows who compel him in their direction. The Five Daily Sacrifices round out a society extending from earth to heaven.

The only analogy coming to my mind is that of the foreign Roman Catholic, who must consider not only the wishes of his relatives, but the counsel of his guardian angel, and the Cult of Heaven.

Rishis

The first great sacrifice is to the rishis. There were seven seers who were born from the mind of Brahma. They were the persons to whom the hymns of the Vedas were revealed, and under whose names they still stand. The seven rishis are represented in the sky by the seven stars of the Great Bear. Satapatha Brahmana gives their names as Gotama, Bharadwaja, Viswamitra, Jamad-agni, Vasistha, Kasyapa and Atri.

The sacrifice to the rishis is not the blood of goats, not the pouring out of ghee on a burning hearth, not a gift of money. The rishis do not care for such. They desire that man should study and teach the scriptures. The daily sacrifice to them consists in a man’s studying some sacred book. He should gradually acquire the knowledge without which he cannot rightly understand himself, his position or his duties. He should be ready to share his knowledge with those more ignorant than himself. The Hindu should daily offer this sacrifice, reading and carefully thinking over some slokas from the sacred text. Carefulness and closeness of the thought is more important than the amount read. The inner meaning is that all study should be a sacrifice, a learning in order to teach.

My investigations have shown me that most literate Hindus have copies of their scriptures in their homes. They do read them in preference to all other literature. The Hindi book stalls of our town contain Hindu religious books, in the main. Such books are not current essays invented by modern men: they are portions of scripture, sometimes with commentaries.

One of our investigations questions the extent to which modern urban and industrial life interferes with the exercise of this first daily sacrifice.

Somebody may object that 85% of India is illiterate, so that the majority of men cannot practice the first great sacrifice. The answer is, of course, that Hinduism admits this; only the twice-born castes have the privilege, and not all of them. In particular, only the learned Brahman can make this daily sacrifice. Hence, the Brahman has prestige, status, and in some cases, divinity.

But Hinduism has provided at least three other procedures by which the illiterate can perform this sacrifice. The first procedure is that of katha, which means the oral recitation of the scriptures by a learned Brahman for the benefit of illiterates. At the appointed time the crowd will gather to hear the pandit read the Sanskrit, translate into the vernacular language, and add his commentary and explanation. The katha may last part of one day, or part of two days or three, or as long as a week. Generally, the recitation takes place in the evening and lasts well into the night. What are the appointed times for katha? Some, temples or monasteries offer recitations on scheduled festivals of the particular god with whom they are concerned. At such tewahars they erect a panda or covered booth, well decorated with banana or mango leaves, and a platform within the same, spread with fine cloths. The pandit sits on this elevated place of honour and is able to survey the entire crowd. Some villages arrange for katha in the pauses between agricultural seasons, when the farmers take a week off, and attend the recitations both morning and evening. In addition, to these, regular times, katha may be arranged on any day by some private party, in gratitude for the birth of a son or in fulfilment of a vow. The private individual issues invitations to his friends, and caste brothers, who come to his house for the occasion, and listen to the pandit whom he has hired. Down our way the layman generally plans for a three day, meeting and arranges to lodge and feed his guests who come from a distance. Katha or recitation of the scriptures is one means by which the masses of illiterates may make this sacrifice.

Another means is kirtan. Kirtan is katha plus music. The pandit, is both a preacher and a singer. In his party he has three musicians who accompany him upon the harmonium, the stringed instrument and the drums. Occasionally a fourth musician plays the cymbals. The pandit who can carry out kirtan is a two and three talent man. He may expound or exhort for a time, then suddenly burst into song, accompanied by his miniature orchestra. I have heard them carry on like this for three and four hours at a stretch. The pandit generally has a magnificent voice; his musicians know just when to begin and end, though sometimes he directs them with light gestures of his hand. They work together almost as one mind, knowing everything by heart. The music is melodious and charming. The audience moves and sways with the rhythm, in dead silence and in utter, respect under the preaching. When deeply moved they respond with exclamations of approval.

A third means whereby the average illiterate may perform this sacrifice of study, is through the lila or drama. In this case, a large and generally long, outdoor stage is erected in the city bazaar or on the village green. Then a myth or a biography is enacted, during which the scripture itself is the text. The most popular in our city is the Ramlila, during which the entire Hindi Ramayana of Tulsi Das is recited and acted. In a city the size of Jabalpur (with 3,00,000 people) no one stage could be seen by all. So several lilas are held in different parts of our sprawling town. Enormous crowds attend each night for seven nights. They sit around the stage which is in the centre of the street, bringing their food for the five and six hour productions, and are willing to remain up until 2 a.m. for seven nights running. In one of our bazaars the entire Ramayana is both recited and acted by illiterate, laymen, without the help of any pandit.

I have noticed four effects of the first great sacrifice. First, for literates it causes a high respect for tradition, for the teachings of the rishis. Second, for illiterates it creates a humble dependence upon the literate Brahmin pandit for valid knowledge about life, destiny, custom and law. For the masses, the Brahmin is absolutely necessary.

Third, for all Hindus it induces conservatism and reluctance to change. Fourth, for all Hindus it lessens the expectation of anything worthwhile from a contemporaneous seer. I do not think that conservatism and ethnocentrism are peculiar to the Hindus; the same reactions can be seen in other cultures. My only point is that one of the major conservative influences in Hindu society is this first daily sacrifice.

Devas

The second daily sacrifice is to the gods. The Hindus say that there are thirty-three crores of gods in the universe, all capable of affecting the life of men either by assisting or by interfering.

Consideration of the names, natures, characteristics and activities, of these gods and goddesses, would be more than probably any man could encompass. In general, there are Aryan gods, Dravidian gods, and aboriginal gods. Some are male, others female. Some are benevolent, and probably more are malevolent. Some are public, known to all; the names of others are secret and the possession of a particular family. Our purpose here is not to digress by such considerations, but to’speak of the daily sacrifice to the gods.

Our field studies lead me to say that more than half of pious Hindus do worship their gods daily. Usually this is done in the morning, as described in yesterday’s remarks. But many add the evening worship at nightfall, which, when performed with oil lamps, is called arthi. As the darkness falls you can hear the bell ringing in a private house, announcing the call to worship. The family assembles around the father. He lights the oil wicks and the incense sticks. He may read portions of scripture. He and his family prostrate themselves before the symbol, and then wave the oil lamp rhythmically before it. They make vows and say prayers, and finish up these things with more bell ringing.

But not every Hindu worships daily. Some sacrifice to the gods only twice a month at Amauwas or dark of the moon, and at Purnamasthmi or full moon. The number who follow this schedule is relatively small. A larger minority sacrifice only twice a year, in Ramnomi or the first nine days of the month of Kuwar in the fall, and of Chaithra in the spring. During these nine day sessions the people fast, recondition their shrines, and offer daily. The rituals reach a climax on the ninth day. A smaller number offer to the gods only once a year, and these people are generally low caste and in poverty. Finally, there is a surprising number who worship only once in three years, also low caste and poor folks. They say that the goddess is satisfied provided they take out the jawara or wheat sprouts with a goat sacrifice, once in three years. I have often questioned them as to why the offering to the gods is made so seldom. They say that their god is not greedy, that the cost of the sacrifice is prohibitive for them, and that they may do it any other time if trouble or calamity comes upon them.

I find there are some main types of sacrifice:

1. There is sacrifice to the gods for the sheer love of those deities, and without any hope of reward. A rather large number of people offer in this category.

2. There is sacrifice to the gods hoping for some boon.

3. There is sacrifice in fulfilment of a vow. A good number of Hindus, caught in some difficulty, go before the sacred symbol and promise the god that for his help they will make an offering afterwards. There are many stories of how Hindus have made vows and then failed to carry out their part of the bargain, always with disastrous result.

4. A really large number of Hindus offer sacrifice to the gods, not in the hope of getting anything out of it, but in the hopes of preventing something worse. The sacrifice is for the purpose of keeping the deity satisfied, lest he interfere. The assumption is that human life goes along smoothly unless some power in the unseen world interferes.

5. There is sacrifice to the gods in the case of the learned, upper caste Hindus who fulfil both the letter and the spirit of their scriptures, in a daily expression of faith, enlightenment, and respect.

Four results of this second daily sacrifice may be mentioned:

1. A hierarchy of functionaries to intercede with or manipulate the gods. These are the pandits (knowing Sanskrit and related to the Trimurti and its branches), the pandas (often illiterate and related to the lesser deities, and who supervise blood sacrifices and experience ecstasy), the astrologers (with foreknowledge of the gods and their ways and seasons), the magicians (who mix magic and religion and claim to manipulate the future to their own liking), and the sadhus or holy men (who go about teaching, healing and inspiring, wandering from place to place). The second great sacrifice has necessitated all these religious officials.

2. The second result is great uncertainty in the reckonings of the average Hindu, due to the unknown actions of the gods.

3. Third, many taboos and compulsions surrounding the sacred symbols, whether in the private house, in the fields and forest, or in the temple.

4. Fourth, a calendar full of festivals to celebrate or placate the gods, with involved rules of fasting, vigil-keeping, chastity, and pilgrimage. These set a complex pattern of religious behaviour.

Piters

The third daily sacrifice is to the ancestors. There are several reasons for this sacrifice. The more educated liberal Hindus will say: “The outer sacrifice to the ancestors is an offering of water to the older generations of our family, to our ancestors. The inner meaning is the recognition of the great debt we owe to the past, to the generations who occupied the earth before us, and who toiled and laboured that they might hand it on, improved, and enriched, to us, their posterity. No man is truly human who does not recognise what he owes to the past, his debt to the ancestors.” (Sanatana Dharma, p. 104)

The masses of Hindus, especially of the lower castes, have no such refined view. To them, it is a case of placating the spirits of the dead lest they become piqued or angry, and cause trouble. Also, the masses hope to get help from their departed loved ones, and so make them offerings.

Another reason for the sacrifice to the ancestors is the orthodox one. Monier Williams summary is apt, so I abbreviate his statement here (Hinduism, p. 65 ff.): “When a man dies his gross body is burned, but his soul cannot quit the gross body without a vehicle of some kind. This vehicle is the subtle body, the size of a thumb, invested in which the deceased remains hovering around the burning ground. As such he is called a preta, or ghost. He has no real body and is consequently in a restless, uncomfortable plight. (Unless provided with an intermediate body the ghost will become malignant. Only his descendants can provide that body which is intermediate between the earthly gross body and the subtle body).

“On the first day after death a pinda, or round ball, generally of some kind of flour or of rice and milk, is offered with libations of water, on which the preta is supposed to feed, and which endows it with the rudiment or basis of the intermediate body. Next day another pinda is offered with water, which gives it, perhaps, limbs, such as arms and legs, and then it receives hands, feet, etc. This goes on for ten days, and the pinda given on the last day provides the head. No sooner does the preta obtain a complete intermediate body, than it becomes a pitri or ancestral spirit. As such he (the departed spirit) is no longer impure or dangerous.”

But one problem still remains, namely, how to further the progress of the departed spirit through the various stages of the next life. This can be done by the shraddha ceremonies, including offerings of round balls of rice, flour, sacred grass, flowers, water and repetitions of mantras and texts. The assistance of a pandit is usually required for these, and the ceremonies generally take place on the bank of a sacred river. They may be done in private houses but not in a temple. By repeating these ceremonies the spirit is helped forward through the various stages of bliss. It should be noted that the town of GAYA in Bihar is the most auspicious place in all India for these ceremonies, for a shraddha performed there, takes the departed spirit at once to Vaikuntha or Vishnu’s heaven.

The departed relatives especially entitled to benefit by the shraddha rites are:

1. Father, grandfather, great-grandfather.
2. Mother, mother’s father and grandfather.
3. Stepmother, if any.
4. Father’s mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.
5. Father’s brothers.
6. Mother’s brother’s.
7. Father’s sisters.
8. Mother’s sisters.
9. Sisters and brothers.
10. Father-in-law.
11. The family guru, or spiritual guide.

The question may now be asked, “Do the Hindus sacrifice to the ancestors daily?” In our section few of them do. We have found a few low castes whose ancestors have become the household gods, greatly to be feared; to such dangerous spirits daily offerings are given. Such are rare.

The great majority observe Piterpaksh, which is a two-week period towards the end of the cold season. For fourteen days the ancestors are worshipped daily; people even stop going to the temples, and devote themselves exclusively to the departed. For the rest of the year, nothing is done on their behalf.

Most Hindus observe the scheduled ancestor rites, fixed by caste. These vary in number and kind, but the general pattern is, Daily pinda rituals for the first ten days after death. The first shraddha service on the eleventh day, and thereafter once a month for twelve successive months; afterwards, annually on all anniversaries of a father’s death.

It may be that some orthodox Hindus, especially of the higher castes, make daily obeisance to the departed.

One effect of the third great offering is that it fixes the kinship system. The gotra or family is a corporate body bound together by what may be called pinda-ship. That is, people are related if they are entitled to offer the pinda for or with each other. The pinda ball used in the ancestral rites becomes the badge of kinship, and determines the inheritance rights of the participating relatives.

Another effect of the ancestral offering is that it puts a premium on sons. Only a son can offer the pinda ball that insures his father’s progress through the stages of the next life.

Jun

The fourth daily offering is to men. There are two ways in which this may be done. First, one may provide alms to the poor, clothing to the naked; help to the sick, and so on. A good Hindu should give alms daily, either in the form of coins, or food. It is an easy matter for the rich to drop coins into the beggar’s bowl, as no social contact is necessary. Likewise, nearly any man of moderate means can drop rice into the hand of the needy and pass on his way without any personal interaction. Another way for a Hindu to perform daily almsgiving without getting entangled with undesirable individuals is to ask his servants to give out portions of food or grain each morning to the dependent. This is always possible in the village jajmani system, in which the poor work for the landowner and receive payment in kind. Each landowner is bound by inherited obligations of mutual dependence, to the landless and propertyless castes who serve him and receive payment in kind. Besides being to the advantage of both landlord and serf, and providing conditions of stability in society, the jajmani system affords the rich the means to make their daily offering to men.

The other way in which sacrifices may be made to men is through hospitality. Hospitality includes lodging and eating together. At this point there is immediate difficulty. To whom may one offer hospitality? This question is not easy to answer, because Hindu society is broken up into castes. A caste may be defined as an endogamous and hereditary subdivision of an ethnic unit occupying a position of superior or inferior rank or social esteem in comparison with other such subdivisions. The CENSUS of India records over 800 castes and outcastes, and nearly five thousand variations thereof. Each caste practices exclusiveness and restrictions in regard to social intercourse and intermarriage. Each keeps aloof from the others, and shuts itself up in its own independence. This makes the problem of offering hospitality to men, a delicate one.

You see, the aim of caste is to preserve purity of descent, along with purity of religious belief and ceremonial usage. Every caste, from the highest to the lowest, guards itself with jealous pride, and wishes to avoid any entanglement or contact that might prove disturbing. So social contacts are hedged about with minute regulations, and the whole thing simmers down to this: there are some people to whom a Hindu can offer hospitality, but there are more people to whom he cannot offer it.

The acid test of hospitality is, whether marriage between the host’s family and the guest’s family is possible. If marriage could not even be thought of, the barriers to hospitality are exceedingly high. Nowadays, endogamy is strictly enforced, not only in each caste, but even within sub-castes. For example, there are 84 sub-castes of Brahmins in Gujarat which are not allowed to intermarry, and in many of these there are more males than females.

A sharp test of hospitality is whether inter-dining is possible. The question of inter-dining can be broken down into the type of food under consideration. Food cooked with water cannot be eaten with any other, but one’s own caste fellows. But food cooked in ghee, dried fruit, and sweets can be shared with other castes provided the differences are not too wide.

The fourth daily sacrifice therefore runs into a snag when the question of hospitality is considered. It is much easier to give alms.

There is one more way in which the daily offering to men may be rendered, and that is by offering respect to one’s superiors. The regard of the orthodox student for his teacher is an instance of this. Not only must the student salute his teacher, but he must touch his feet, provide his every want, keep silence in his presence until asked to speak, and strictly obey his command.

Again a question arises, Who is one’s superior? The answer to this is as complicated as the matter of hospitality. Hinduism ranks people according to age, with the oldest in a dominating position. Hinduism ranks the sexes, so that the condition of women is that of subordinates. The kinship system of Hinduism is very complicated with an elaborate hierarchy among relatives. Occupational statuses are everywhere recognised. With all these considerations, it is not easy to decide to whom one may make the daily offering of respect and services. However, Hindu teachers have worked out a rule-of-thumb, which is this:

One’s SUPERIORS are: God, the king, parents, teachers, the aged, a man of a higher caste, and a saint.

One’s equals are: A husband or wife, a brother or sister.

One’s inferiors are: The young, the weak, a lower caste man, the sick, a female.

How one acts towards each of these categories is defined in detail, so that the offerings possible in any case are very finely drawn. But whether the daily offering to men is via alms (the simplest), or via hospitality (severely restricted), or via respect (minutely defined), every good Hindu should remember his fellowman each day.

Bhutas

The fifth daily offering is to creatures. Here I shall speak only as regards our part of Madhya Pradesh. The creature receiving the most attention from Hindus is the snake, especially during the rainy season, when floods of water and long grass bring nag above ground in unseen tangles of tall grass. The climax of snake worship is reached on Nagpanchmi Day which occurs either in the latter part of July or in the forepart of August. Due to the phase of the moon with which this lunar festival is associated, there is generally a few days break in the monsoons, permitting great crowds to be abroad. The Hindu revisits all the reported snake holes on his grounds, and deposits by each a small earthen saucer containing milk. He says a prayer to nag deo and retreats to his house. It is consistently maintained by all that the snakes come out of their holes and consume the milk. On this day, too, many snake charmers come into the midst of the happy crowds and exhibit their charges, playing upon reed flutes to the reptiles.

During the rest of the year the farmers give large place to snake worship. They make offerings to these creatures rather often. In the city itself there are a few ancient shrines to nag deo, that give rise to the hypothesis of age-old snake worship.

The creature receiving second place in the regard of our Hindus, is the cow. Since Independence, the butchers have not been able to supply our city with beef, as the local opposition to cow slaughter has succeeded in almost eliminating it. In the bazaars the cattle wander freely and sometimes receive handfuls of edibles from the merchants. Yet, many others drive a cow away with a stick and lose their tempers in the process. My observation leaves me with the impression that offerings to these animals are not given very enthusiastically. One or two temples keep sacred cows in the precincts, but this, too, is rare. The worshippers pay more attention to the idols than to the cows.

The books say that monkeys are reverenced by the Hindus, but I have yet to see it in Jabalpur. In all of Banaras there is only one temple, to my knowledge, that harbours these creatures. That temple excites curiosity but does not seem very popular. The adoration given to Hanuman does not seem to carry over to his troop of monkeys.

The main offering to creatures is in the form of non-violence towards all of them.

IN SUMMARY, I started out by quoting the Central Hindu College to the effect that “the five daily sacrifices teach man his relations with all around him; with his superiors, his equals; and his inferiors. They establish the harmonious relations on which the happiness and prosperity of families depend. They turn the wheel of life in accord with the will of God, and so help on the evolution of the world. They teach each individual that he is not an isolated unit, but a part of a great whole, a cell in a vast body.”

The five daily sacrifices relate the Hindu to the rishis who wrote his sacred scriptures, to the gods who help or hinder him, to the ancestors whose memories he cherishes and who depend on him for progress towards Vaikuntha, to the men around him, and to the lowly creatures of the earth.

These five sacrifices give us insights into the Hindu’s regular religious activities, a key to the Hindu-world view, and a picture of the social pattern within which he lives and moves. We foreigners who would understand Hinduism, may do well to observe these sacrifices as practised in some friendly Hindi family.

Landour Language School Lectures

The subject for today is Hindu Festivals. These surprise the foreigner by their apparent frequency and irregularity. To him, it appears that business houses unexpectedly close without warning: one day the mail man comes, another not; servants demand holidays too often, he thinks. Frequent interruptions lead him to conclude that Hindus celebrate a very large number of festivals. It is true that there are many festivals in the Hindu calendar, but probably no section of the population observes all of them. I have concluded from observation that the average Hindu celebrates fewer than fifty-two a year, which is the number of our Sundays. The number of gazetted holidays per year (holidays on which government offices and banks close) is considerably less than fifty-two, though the actual number varies from province to province. The foreigner is accustomed to having his week-days open for “business as usual”, and the closing of offices during the week creates an illusion in his mind as to the supposed unanimity among Hindus towards all Hindu festivals.

Not only does the foreigner find it difficult to estimate correctly the number of these tewahars, but he is surprised and perplexed by their supposed irregularity. He is accustomed to a numerical calendar, in which Sunday arrives in multiples of seven, Christmas occurs on the same date each year, as does Memorial Day. For him the only irregular festival is Easter, with its associated observances of Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Ascension Day, and so on. The rest of the year has been regulated by the abstraction of numbers; holidays are set; festivals are fixed. The foreigner is accustomed to consistency in his calendar, and supposes the Hindu calendar to be inconsistent. As a matter of fact, the Hindu festivals have their own regularity and consistency, based on the movements of the heavenly bodies. Actually, this is more dependable in some ways than the Western calendar. For one thing, the movements of the planets and moon are as regular as any other movement in our universe. For another thing, the weather to be anticipated on each day is far more dependable than the weather on our holidays, because the phase of the moon is always the same. I have noticed that such-and-such a holiday almost always produces a break in the monsoon or a pause in the hot west wind, or a sudden change to cold. Not only is the weather rather dependable for the Hindu festival, but the leisure of the agricultural population is dependable, the amount of light and darkness is dependable, and the energy or lethargy people is dependable. There is far more regularity underlying the Hindu festivals than we foreigners sometimes realise.

I propose to deal with this subject under four categories:

1. Hindu festivals related to the solar system;
2. Hindu auspicious seasons;
3. Hindu festivals related to the Trimurti;
4. Hindu festivals related to Dravidian and tribal cultures.

1. Hindu Festivals Related to the Solar System

It is necessary for the foreigner to understand the Hindu system of reckoning time. During the second millennium before Christ there were two calendars in conflict with each other. One was the solar year, consisting of the time taken by the sun to pass through the twelve signs of the zodiac (an imaginary belt encircling the heavens and extending about eight degrees on each side of the elliptic, within which are the larger planets. The zodiac is divided into twelve parts, called the signs of the Zodiac, which formerly corresponded to twelve constellations bearing the same names. Thus: spring included the constellations of Aries, Taurus, Gemini; summer included Cancer, Leo, Virgo; autumn was composed of Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius; and winter of Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces. Of course, the Hindus had their own names for these constellations, and reckoned their solar year accordingly).

There was also a lunar calendar in vogue, which was shorter, consisting of twelve lunar months, totalling about 354 days. Naturally, these opposing systems of reckoning time created considerable confusion. So about 1181 B.C., the two were united into one, the present luni-solar year, called sumvatsara. The first day of the solar year is the day of the entry of the sun into the zodiacal sign of Aries, at the Vernal Equinox, and the actual beginning of the civil and religious year is, in general, dated from the new moon immediately preceding that day. In the sumvatsara calendar the lunar month was retained, which means that it still contains only 354 days. Obviously, the names of the month would fail to correspond to men’s seasonal expectations after as few as ten years, so the combination calendar is forced to insert some extra days every two and a half years. This intercalary month is longer than the amount of time we are required to insert at leap year, and it succeeds in keeping the names of the months in contact with the same seasons. Thus, the luni-solar year is the first concept the foreigner should get in mind, if he is to sense the underlying regularity of Hindu festivals.

The festivals are also coordinated with the ecliptic of the sun which is divided into the twelve constellations already mentioned. Each constellation is called a _rasi, and the sun appears to pass through one rasi each month. Meanwhile, the moon is going around the earth and appears to be in relation to its own asterisms, called nakshatra. There are 27 nakshatra. To the early Hindu observers it seemed that the sun was passing through two and a quarter nakshatra each month. Naturally, the extra fourth of a nakshatra produced considerable variation so that from year to year the twenty-seven asterisms were not matched by the same months. This variation is thought to have some significance in the affairs of men, and constitutes part of the speculation of astrologers.

Another consideration bearing on the Hindu festival pattern is the elliptic of the moon. The moon appears to journey through the heavens much faster than the sun, completing its entire journey in 28 days. But there are only 27 nakshatras, so it follows that the moon seems to pass through just more than one nakshatra every day. In this variation the astrologers also see meaning and significance for the present and future of their clients.

The Hindu month is divided into two parts or paksha: the fourteen-day period of the light half of the moon is called suklapaksha, and the fourteen days of the dark half are called Krishnapaksha (as Krishna was a black man). Various parts of India disagree as to when the month begins, whether with the light half or dark half, but this does not affect the actual day for the festival but only the name by which the same day is designated. The same festival will be held on the same day throughout India, but people may differ on what to call that same day.

The Hindu day is called a tithi. Because of the elliptical orbit of the moon the length of the day varies as much as four and a half hours. To us foreigners this is rather confusing. Our day, begins regularly one second after midnight, but the Hindu day may not begin at the same hour. This means that an astrologer is necessary to announce exactly when a festival is to begin if it is to conform to the date.

From the foregoing you can see why the Hindu has moveable festivals, like our Easter. He is trying to coordinate them with the luni-solar year, the eclipses of the sun, the ellipses of the moon, and with the bright and dark halves of the moon. He is trying to accommodate himself to the facts of astronomy, which our calendar allows us to forget, if we ever know them. So much for the underlying regularities governing these festivals.

The feasts related specifically to the solar system may be divided into three classes: Solar Festivals, Lunar Festivals, and Star-Planet Worship. Let us consider the solar festivals first.

Whenever the sun enters into a zodiacal sign there is a festival in some part of India observed by somebody. Those most widely observed are at the winter, spring, summer, and fall equinoxes. These are called Sankranti days.

In many places the close of the rainy season is a festival, marked by the apparent entry of the sun into the nakshatra of Gaja.

New Year’s Day is a sun festival, occurring on the first day of the light half of the month of Chaitra.⁵ Further, every Sunday in the month of Sravana, the sun is scheduled ta be worshipped. In Bihar, during the month of Karttika, the sun is worshipped on Sundays. During the monsoon season people are supposed to draw the swastika each evening; the swastika is a sun symbol. On the foregoing festivals the sun itself is worshipped.

On the following festivals, other objects than the sun are worshipped, but the sun and its apparent journey regulates the dating. One such is the spring festival, called Besant Panchmi, occurring on the thirteenth of the bright half of the month of Chaitra. In India, as elsewhere, the spring celebration is associated with thoughts of growth and fertility, and the god and goddess of love are worshipped. Another is the popular GaneshaPuja, occurring towards the end of the summer, with some connection with the harvesting of early crops. Shortly after is the Gauri festival in honour of the fact that the early crops are safe.

Other festivals regulated by the sun are the anniversaries of the four Yuga or epochs of the present world cycle, called Yugadi. Even more famous ones are holi (full moon of Phalguna), dashera, diwali and Lakshmi puja. Perhaps enough has been said to indicate the importance of the sun to the Hindu religion. It not only helps to determine the dating of important feasts, but is actually worshipped on its own special days. Indeed, many Hindus render homage to the sun daily, during their morning bath. In Jabalpur there are numerous images of the sun, which are worshipped as a part of the temple service.

The second category of Hindu festivals related to the solar system, includes the lunar group. There are not as many of these, for moon worship is not as important as sun worship. Images of the moon and temples to the moon (Chandimai goddess) are, however, not infrequent.

Of course, there are many myths to account for the monthly waxing and waning of the moon, and its occasional eclipse. In the scriptures moon worship is associated with the intoxicating drink called soma. Five lunar festivals may be mentioned here. The first one is really a pair, consisting of the new moon night, and the full moon night (although the date includes both the light and dark hours of the day). The pious, orthodox Hindu worships the moon on these days. Often other festivals are scheduled for the same dates, each with their own myths. In general, other festivals having a sombre, fearful character appear on Amauwas (dark night), and those of a happy character on Purnimasthmi (full moon night).

Another moon festival comprises the parvan days (the sixth, eighth and tenth of each half month), on which fasting and sexual abstinence are observed. Again, the vinayaki days (Obstacle Removing), and samkashta days (Difficulty Days) promote moon worship on the fourth of every light or dark half. A fast is kept all day until after dark. Again, the second of every light half of the month is sacred to the moon, and finally, all Mondays likewise.

This brings us to star or planet worship. These festivals occur largely in the month of Sravana. The planet Mercury is worshipped on Wednesdays in Sravana, and Jupiter on Thursdays of the same month. Both planets are given grain and flower offerings, and designs are made on the grain bin or treasury. Venus is worshipped on Fridays in Sravana, but this is merging into Lakshmi worship. Saturn is worshipped in Sravana on Saturdays, with the object of obtaining wealth. Mars is worshipped on Tuesdays of the same month. On its full moon day all the stars and the other planets are worshipped, with the idea that the spirits of the seers are in those heavenly bodies. On this day women atone for sins unwittingly committed by reason of impurity.

There seems to be a movement away from star-planet worship towards festivals occurring on the same days, but associated with the saints, seers and gods of Hindu mythology. In my survey of Banaras in the years from 1938 through 1940 I, succeeded in finding very few temples dedicated to the heavenly bodies, but there are many to mythological figures. The hypothesis may be offered that star-planet worship is surviving in the belief in auspicious days, which brings us to the second category of festivals.

2. Auspicious Days

The planets or Graha are believed to have a special influence on the days named from them, and on the lives of men born under them. Thus, Monday is an auspicious day because of the moon. Mercury, the son of the moon, makes Wednesday auspicious. Both Thursday and Friday are auspicious. Because of Jupiter and Venus.

The view that some portions of the year are more favourable to success in any undertaking, is important in Hinduism. Men will delay a project until the astrologers name a fortunate day to begin. They tell him that, in general, the half of the year between the winter solstice and the summer solstice is more conducive to victory than the other half. Likewise, the light half of each month (from the new to the full moon) is preferred to the other half. The month of Baisakha and the Samkranti days are considered advantageous. There are four festivals especially auspicious, namely, the Dashera festival (Asvina sukla tenth), Diwali (Karttika sukla first), Varshapratipada (Chaitra sukla first), and Nagpanchami (Sravana sukla fifth). Fortunate is the child born on such dates.

Other portions of the year are thought to be unlucky. These include the Dakshinayana, or southward progress of the sun, from the summer to the winter solstice; the dark half of each month; the intercalary or Adhika month ; the days under the rule of the sun, Mars, and Saturn, i.e., Sunday, Tuesday and Saturday; and finally, the rainy season, i.e., the four months from Ashadha sukla tenth to Karttika sukla tenth. Such days are avoided.

In sum, certain days of the year, therefore, are festive simply because they are considered auspicious.

3. Hindu Festivals Related to the Trimurti

You recall that the first person of the Hindu triad is Brahma, the creator, and that his worship centres chiefly in the pipal tree. I know of two festivals possibly associated with Brahma. The first one occurs on all the Saturdays of the month of Shravana and connects Brahma and Saturn. A platform is erected at a pipal tree, and a picture of Saturn is drawn, resembling Yama. He is shown to carry a cudgel, a noose, and to be seated on a buffalo. The tree is circumambulated, and black offerings are made, such as black salt, charcoal, or a black iron ring.

The other Brahma festival is called Somavati. Whenever a new moon falls on a Monday (at any time of the year), this festival is called, and great merit attaches to fasting and bathing on this day. Women are supposed to wear silk garments and to keep silence. They circumambulate a pipal tree 108 times. Gold, jewels and fruit should be offered to the tree and afterwards to a Brahman. Anything white (like cotton or radishes) should not be touched.

The second person in the Hindi Triad is Vishnu, whose festivals connect chiefly with the ten incarnations. The myths of the incarnations lend themselves easily to festive observance, of which one example may be given. This is the Narsingh Festival on the fourteenth of the light half of Bhaisak. The story goes like this:

Once upon a time there was a young prince, named, Prahalad who was very religious. Unfortunately, his devotion was not centred on his father’s god, but on a strange god, Vishnu. The old king was annoyed and commanded his son to desist from such heretical worship, but Prahalad refused. The king then flew into a rage and commanded that Prahalad be cast down from the highest cliff. Prahalad accepted his fate with composure, and lo, while in midair Vishnu caught him and bore him safely to the ground. The king could not let this affront continue, and ordered Prahalad to be cast under feet of elephants. Prahalad resigned himself to this sentence, and again Vishnu rescued him by causing an elephant to lift the prince with his trunk, and set him on his back.

Next this cruel king commanded his son to be thrown into a caldron of boiling oil. But Vishnu made the oil to feel cool to Prahalad; indeed, a lotus flower suddenly appeared and floated about unharmed on its surface.

His father then ordered that Prahalad be burned alive in a bonfire of forty cords of wood. At this juncture the king’s sister, Holika, intervened. This virtuous woman, unwilling to disobey the order of her older brother, herself mounted the wood pile and held the young prince on her lap. The fire was then lit, and Holika perished, but the flames could not touch prince because Vishnu forbade them. This event is celebrated in the annual holi festival when Hindus build bonfires and consume the effigy of Holika, praising her and Prahalad for their devotion (even unto death) to their god.

The king now determined to end the affair himself. He let a marble pillar be heated red-hot, and then stood by with a lash in his own hand. Prahalad saw an ant crawling up the pillar unburned, and took this as a sign that Vishnu would save him. Willingly he let himself be bound to the pillar without feeling any heat. Just as the father raised his lash to strike, Vishnu leaped out of the pillar in the form of half-man, half-lion, and destroyed the wicked father, whereupon Prahalad became king.

In this myth is justification for two festivals, one of them the famous Holi celebration, and the other the Vishnu festival of Narsingh (meaning half-man half-lion). You will recall that Narsingh was the fourth incarnation of Vishnu. Each of the first three incarnations have their own myths and holidays. The first four incarnations are believed to have occurred in the first or Satya Yuga.

The fifth incarnation of Vishnu (as a dwarf) is celebrated chiefly by women. The sixth (Rama-with-the-Axe) is connected with an early war between the Brahmans and Kshatriyas in Malabar, in which Vishnu came to the rescue of the Brahmins.

The seventh is of Ramchandra, the hero of the Ramayana. This occurs during the first nine days of the month of Chaitra, and is celebrated widely in India. At noon of the ninth day the birth of Rama is announced, to be followed by an all-night vigil, and the worship of Rama, Sita and Lakshman. Ramlilas (dramas) are held as mentioned in the previous lecture. The fifth, sixth and seventh incarnations are supposed to have taken place in the second Yuga.

The eighth incarnation (as Krishna) probably has more festivals than the others. This is the only incarnation celebrated in the dark half of the month, on the eighth day, in Sravana. On the seventh of the dark half an elaborate presentation of the birth room should be made, with images of Devaka and infant Krishna, and also one of Yasoda with the baby girl who was exchanged for Krishna to preserve the latter’s life from his cruel uncle. At midnight Krishna is worshipped with mantras and offerings. A complete fast is to be kept on the eighth. At the close of this festival the image of Krishna is immersed in water and left there.

Other Krishna festivals besides his birthday, are: The nationally famous Car Festival at Jagannath, Puri (in Orissa) on Ashadha sukla second. A charming one is the Hindola or swinging festival from Sravana sukla 11th to the 15th. During these days, Krishna temples often have miniature lawn swings erected for the god and his wife, Radha, in which the idols are swung to and fro slowly. The children erect rope swings from any convenient tree and enjoy the sport. Again, there is Govinda devadasi, on Phalguna sukla twelfth, celebrating Krishna’s life as a cowherd. Besides other Krishna festivals the Rasa tatra (from Kartikka sukla tenth to fifteenth) should be mentioned. At this festival the Tamilians of our town parade through the streets singing amorous accounts of Krishna and the milkmaids. There is also considerable merriment on this day, besides dancing.

The eighth incarnation as Krishna is supposed to have occurred in the third Yuga.

The ninth incarnation of Vishnu Gotama Buddha is not celebrated by the Hindus, but is included in their calendars. It occurred in the present Kal Yuga. Finally, there is a festival in honour of the incarnation yet to come, but it is rarely celebrated.

Other Krishna festivals of importance are: The Ekadasi Days, namely, two days every month, on the eleventh of each half, which are strict fasts in Vishnu’s honour. Every Hindu is supposed to keep these between his eighth and eightieth years. Also, the elevenths in Ashadha and Karttika (the beginning and end of the four months rainy season) are called the Great Elevenths, and are especially important. Each has its particular myth.

From the foregoing you may conclude that the Vishnu festivals are numerous and important.

The third person of the Hindu Triad is Siva whose festivals are fewer. The most important Siva feast is Sivaratri (Shiva’s Night), occurring on the thirteenth of the dark half of the month of Magh, or at the height of the cold season. The brisk days and chilly nights are conducive to ornate preparations and all-night vigils. The celebrations are especially enjoyable during these alert days. The Siva temples are cleaned and decorated. Crowds sit up all night for scripture reading and prayers. They come wrapped in their shawls and blankets and sit about wood fires built near the temples. On this Maha Sivaratri great melas are held at the twelve chief Siva temples in India.

In addition to the main Sivaratri festival, the thirteenth day of each half of every month is especially set aside for the third member of the Triad. Vishnu is assigned the elevenths and Siva the thirteenths. But not much notice is taken of the other thirteenths than Magh.

Furthermore, every Monday is set aside for Siva worship. Women who want children fast on every Monday and worship Siva.

Siva’s wife Durga, is given the eighth of every light half. Siva’s son, Ganesha, is given the fourth of every half; his other son, Skanda or Karttika, gets only one day a year (Karttika sukla fifth). Various other Siva festivals are not so important as the above.

Perhaps enough has been said to show that the Hindu Triad accounts for some of the most important Hindu festivals (Brahma being assigned a few, Siva more, and Vishnu’s avatars the most). Because the three persons are conceivable in human terms, many myths have grown up about them, and lend themselves easily to symbolic representation on festival days.

This brings us to the fourth category.

4. Hindu Festivals Related to Dravidian and Tribal Cultures

The number of these is not known. As every tribe has its own myths and legends, there must be very many. One characteristic of Dravidian religion is the tendency to deify remarkable persons after their death, and to worship them as long as the community remembers them, only to drop their worship as the old generation expires. Thus, new deities and new local festivals are continually arising to flourish for a while, and then disappear. The majority of these deities are females, who are thirsty for blood offerings. Accordingly, many animals are sacrificed, sometimes cruelly.

In this class belong the festivals in honour of spirits. In town every dead saint has his annual celebration, usually on his death day. These spirits are also worshipped on every Thursday. Again, there is animal worship to be reckoned with (for instance, Hanuman’s birthday the monkey god). Plant worship has its own observance, such as the annual marriage of Tulsi, a goddess residing in the tulsi plant, at which a mock wedding takes place. In connection with plant worship, the neem tree and its resident goddess, Shitala should be mentioned. Shitala is the Goddess of Smallpox, having a half a dozen or more annual holidays. Finally, inanimate things have festivals, too, as when the carpenters worship their tools, and the blacksmiths their forges.

IN SUMMARY: Hindu festivals become intelligible to the foreigner once he understands their relation to the system of reckoning time. All these festivals are “moveable,” because they depend upon the apparent journey of the sun, the star constellations, the phases of the moon and its relative position to other bodies. But to say the festivals are moveable does not mean they are capricious. On the contrary, they are rigidly controlled by the movements of the heavenly bodies, and accordingly are more consistently geared into the recurring changes of weather, occupation, amount of light and darkness, and energy of the population, than is our abstract numerical calendar.

The foreigner needs also to remember the four classes of Hindu festivals, namely, those related to the solar system, the auspicious days, those related to the Trimurti, and to the Dravidian and tribal cultures.

Finally, it is well to recall that not all Hindu festivals are actively promoted in any one place. The foreigner should discover which ones are prominent in his section of India, and then join the happy throngs as an observer.

Story Section

Rohidas the Shoemaker

From Bombay State

Once upon a time in the beautiful country of the Maharashtras, there lived a shoemaker called Rohidas. He was a devotee of Vishnu whom he worshipped with intense love. So much was his devotion to his God that he gave away as present a pair of shoes to any Vishnu worshipper who came to his house. He used also to repair with remarkable eagerness shoes of pilgrims going to Vishnu Temples.

Every day, he got up early in the morning, took his food first, bathed, and afterwards, he used to contemplate on his God and worship Him. As this was not the orthodox custom, which insisted on the priority of religious rituals over bodily needs, many people used to question the sincerity of Rohidas’s religion. But he always answered them saying: “If one is hungry when sitting down to contemplate, his mind at once will begin to wander.”

Because he was a leather worker, all the materials of Rohidas’s worship were of leather. He sat on a leather mat. His water bottle was made of leather. His sacred bag and basket also were leather. Only the idol of Vishnu was not of leather.

One day a Brahman came to explain the calendar. When he saw the shoemaker worshipping the idol of Vishnu in a leather bag, he (the Brahman) was filled with righteous indignation and asked Rohidas how he had dared to place the idol of Vishnu in a dirty leather case. The shoemaker answered saying, “What object have you ever seen which has not leather connected with it? Musical instruments have leather. The sacred cow has leather. The holy Brahmans and their children have leather.” The Brahman was angry beyond measure and shouted at Rohidas saying “You are a hundred times a fool! Only Brahmans invested with the sacred thread have the right to worship Him. If without the thread you attempt to worship Him you will be committing sacrilege.” Hearing this Rohidas replied, “Oh! Lord, I will show you my sacred thread”. Then with a sharp tool he ripped open his stomach and showed the sacred thread to the Brahman. When the latter saw it, he had to admit the sincerity and excellence of the worship experience of Rohidas. Let the Marathi poem tell what the Brahman said: “You are indeed a Bhakta of Vishnu, I was thoughtless and I persecuted you. Gold is cast into the furnace and thereby its value is increased. In persecuting you I have increased your glory. Or just as experts bore a hole in a coin in order to test it, thus in persecuting you I have only increased your glory. If sandalwood is rubbed on the flat stone its full fragrance is at once known. So in persecuting you I have but increased your glory. When iron comes in contact with touchstone it at once turns into gold. So in persecuting you I have but increased your glory. Or as a stone is shaped by a chisel and then the idol of gold is firmly placed, so in persecuting you I have done, what I did ignorantly. You are a supreme bhakta of Vishnu.” So saying, the Brahman went away home.

Note: Most of the quotations are from Mahapati’s_ Marathi Bhaktavijaya translated into English, by Justin E. Abbott and Narahar R. Godbole p. 405.

Book Reviews

Jaina Sahitya Samsodaka Studies

Edited by Jina Vijaya Muni Parts I, II, and III. Available from Gurjara Grantharatna Karyalaya, Ahmedabad, Price Rs. 2 each part.

Jainism is trying to revive and propagate its doctrines vigorously. The publication of these is a good instance of this missionary enthusiasm. Jina Vijaya Muni, the editor, is the honorary director of Bharatya Vidya Bhavan Bombay, a well known figure in Indian politics. He is to be congratulated for getting first-rate scholars to write authoritative monographs for these studies.

Part I of these studies is entitled Studies in Jainism. Really it is a reprint (at least the first two essays) of Dr. Hermann Jacobi’s earlier articles. The first essay Jainism is the one contributed by the author for the article on Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. The second one is similarly a reprint of his contribution to the Third International Congress for the History of Religions. The third essay The place of Jainism in the Development of Indian Thought is printed for the first time in this book. Though written at different times between 1920 and 1945 these essays have an inherent connection among themselves. The Editor claims that he has brought out this volume mainly for the benefit of research and lay students of Jainism.

Part II is Short Outline of The History of Jain Literature by Dr. Maurice Winternitz. The author’s thesis is that the Jains have contributed their full share to the religious ethical poetical and scientific literature of Ancient India. This essay attempts to give a brief outline view of Jain Literature, and its account of the various principal and subordinate parts of Jain literature is at once authoritative and mature.

The Third Part is a small brochure entitled Jainism Studies by Dr. Otto Stein, professor of Indology in the University of Prague Czechoslavokia. The essay was probably written in 1923 and deals with the cultural features that are evidenced by remarks and allusions in ancient literature. For a layman this part will not be very helpful. A fair knowledge of the original tongues is needed to appreciate fully what the author deals with in this book.

The booklets are scholarly and especially the first two parts will be found very helpful to the beginner. We hope the editor will publish many more volumes of this nature,

Arhat Dharma

By Shri Kirti Vijayaji Maharaja (Bombay, A.K.L.S. Jaina Jnana Mandir, 1954)

This is a popular booklet on the doctrines of Jainism. However, we are not able to give this work the kind of appreciation we have given to other Jaina books reviewed in this issue of the Pilgrim. The author is no doubt an extremely popular teacher and has many sincere men and women as his disciples. But we are afraid that excessive zeal for his religion has swept him off his feet and has carried him away from accuracy in his statements, several times. For example, here is a statement we would like to question - “Our ancestors have already explained in the sashtras all about … the potency of sound, radio and atom bomb” page 46.

But the book seems to be very popular. It has already been translated into four languages and the English edition seems to have had a reprint. Conversion is the only motive the author has for writing this booklet. “It is the keen desire to propagate Jainism that induced me to take up this work”, says he in his preface. It is only fair to say that the author has taken pains to be simple and concise in his expression and the book is easy to read.

Printed by Rev. W.W. Bell at the Lucknow Publishing House, Lucknow - (200) - 708 -3-1955.