[124] Shani is the planet Saturn, which has an exceedingly baleful influence in India as elsewhere.
[125] The Eleatic or Materialistic school of Hindu philosophy, which agrees to explode an intelligent separate First Cause.
[126] The writings of this school give an excellent view of the ‘progressive system,’ which has popularly been asserted to be a modern idea. But Hindu philosophy seems to have exhausted every fancy that can spring from the brain of man.
[127] Tama is the natural state of matter, Raja is passion acting upon nature, and Satwa is excellence. These are the three gunas or qualities of matter.
[128] Spiritual preceptors and learned men.
[129] Under certain limitations, gambling is allowed by Hindu law, and the winner has power over the person and property of the loser. No ‘debts of honour’ in Hindostan!
[130] Quotations from standard works on Hindu criminal law, which in some points at least is almost as absurd as our civilised codes.
[131] Hindus carry their money tied up in a kind of sheet, which is wound round the waist and thrown over the shoulder.
[132] A thieves’ manual in the Sanskrit tongue; it aspires to the dignity of a ‘Scripture.’
[133] All sounds, say the Hindus, are of similar origin, and they do not die; if they did, they could not be remembered.