BRAHMA—THE VEDAS.
Ques. What are the Vedas?
Ans. The Vedas are the Sacred Books of the Hindoos, and are much reverenced by them. They maintain that they were composed by Brahma, the Supreme Deity, at the creation.
Ques. When do the Hindoos think that the world was created?
Ans. At an incredibly remote period; they say the present arrangement of the Vedas was made by a sage named Vyasa, some five thousand years ago.
Ques. What is the more correct opinion?
Ans. That they were written in the second thousand years before our era, a little later, probably, than the Books of Moses.
Ques. Had the Hindoos then conquered the country which now bears their name?
Ans. No; they were only crossing the borders of India.
Ques. In what form are the Vedas written?
Ans. In poetry. The principal Veda contains ten thousand double verses. These works are heavy and uninteresting, but very important to historians.
Ques. Why so?
Ans. Because they throw light on the early history of the Indian and European races.
Ques. What do the Vedas teach of God?
Ans. They teach one supreme deity, called Brahma, and like the Persians seem to have some idea of the Trinity, speaking of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, as one God. The modern Hindoos, however, worship them as distinct divinities.
Ques. What are the offices of these gods?
Ans. Brahma created all things, Vishnu preserves them, and when the end of the world is come, which the Vedas say will occur in about twelve million years, Siva will destroy them.
Ques. What is there peculiar in the history of Vishnu?
Ans. His Avatars, or incarnations, which are numerous, but ten are more especially celebrated.
Ques. What was the first Avatar?
Ans. The first Avatar was when Vishnu assumed the form of a fish, and saved Manu, the father of the human race, from a universal deluge.
Ques. What is the ninth Avatar?
Ans. In the ninth Avatar, Vishnu appeared in the form of Krishna, a sort of Indian Apollo; the last of the Sacred Books is that which contains the life of Krishna.
Ques. What is there remarkable about this life?
Ans. So many circumstances closely resemble corresponding events in the life of our Saviour, that it is impossible the coincidence should be accidental. It is supposed this book was written after our era by some one who had heard imperfect accounts of the life of our Lord.
Ques. What is to be the tenth Avatar?
Ans. The tenth Avatar is called Kalki, in which Vishnu will come to judge the world, destroying the wicked and rewarding the good.
Ques. What do you say of Siva?
Ans. Siva, or Mahadeva, as he is more generally called, has a vast number of followers. His worshippers and those of Vishnu form two distinct sects. Brahma, having finished his work, has but one temple in India. It is doubtful whether the worshippers of Juggernaut belong to the sect of Vishnu, or of Siva.
Ques. What do the Hindoos believe of the soul?
Ans. They think that every soul is a part of Brahma, as a spark is a part of the fire, and that finally all souls will be absorbed into Brahma, as drops of water are lost in the ocean. They also believe in metempsychosis.
Ques. What is metempsychosis?
Ans. The transmigration of souls. The Hindoos believe that if a man lead a pure life, his soul will pass, after death, into another human body, but that if he has been wicked, it will enter into the body of some unclean animal. They think the soul will transmigrate many times before being finally united to Brahma. This belief makes many of the Hindoos afraid to kill animals for food, lest they may possess human souls, and be perhaps their own friends or relations.
Ques. What are Castes?
Ans. They are different classes into which the Hindoos have been divided from the earliest times.
Ques. How many castes are there?
Ans. Four; the Brahmins or priests, who sprung from the head of Brahma; the Warrior caste, which issued from his arms; the Agriculturists and Traders, who came from his thighs, and lastly, the Sudras, or laborers, who sprung from his feet.
Ques. Is there much distinction between the castes?
Ans. Yes; they cannot under any circumstances intermarry; nor can a member of a lower caste ever pass to a higher. Only, if he lead a good life, he may console himself with the hope of being born in a higher caste the next time.
Ques. Is there any caste lower than the Sudras?
Ans. No regular caste, but there exists a most unhappy race called Pariahs, who are treated with the utmost contempt, and employed only in the vilest offices. They cannot enter the house of any one belonging to a pure caste, and they are not only unclean themselves, but are supposed to contaminate everything they touch. Different accounts are given as to the origin of these Pariahs.
Ques. Are the Hindoos allowed to eat flesh?
Ans. The three higher castes are forbidden it altogether. The Sudras may eat every kind but beef, but the Pariahs are under no restriction whatever. The idea seems to be that they are so vile that no kind of food could pollute them.
Ques. Are the castes ancient?
Ans. So much so, that it is impossible to say when they were first established. The Pariahs are being gradually raised from their degradation by the efforts of Christian missionaries.