The Narayaníán are a sect of the Hindus, which holds its creed from Gosáin Haridas. He was of the tribe of Játs, from the village Kaníra, in the district of Saválik; he was a servant of Nabidás Sanyálá; which last name is that of a tribe of the numerous Rájaputs. Haridas, when hunting, shot an arrow at a deer which was with young, and brought down a fawn, which had also been pierced by the arrow. At the sight of this event, Haridas broke his bow and arrows, tore his garment into pieces, weeping and bewailing, and during twelve years had no intercourse with the society of men. Afterwards, he assembled many disciples about him. He died in the year 1055 of the Hejira (1645 A. D.). This sect know nothing of idols, nor of temples, nor of the Kâbah, nor of any sort of worship; they do nothing towards obtaining the knowledge of, or union with, God; they confine themselves to the veneration of Naráyan, or “the supreme Being,” from which they derive the name of Naráyanían. They do not occupy themselves with the affairs of the world; abnegation and solitude is their law. Some have an earthen cup to drink water in; some dispense even with this; they hurt no living being; they never pull up any grass or green herbs; they burn nothing; cook no meal; and when hungry, they go into the houses of the Hindus, and accept some food, but no flesh of any sort of animal. When one of them is about to die, he is asked: “Shall we burn thy body, or throw it into the water, or bury it in the earth?” Whichever he desires is done.
Another sect is that of the Dádu Panthians. Dádu was one of the cotton carders in the village Naráina, in the district of Marwar. In the time of the Padshah Akbár (who inhabits heaven!) Dádu devoted himself to the state of a Durvesh, and assembled many disciples about him. He prohibited his followers to worship idols, to eat the flesh of any animal, or to hurt any living being; but he did not order them to abandon woman and wife, or to withdraw from all business of the world; but he left it free to any one to give up, or to cultivate, the connection and intercourse with men. When one of them dies, they place his corpse upon the back of a quadruped, and send it into the desert, saying: “It is now better that rapacious and other animals may be satiated with it.”
The Píára panthíán hold their creed from Bábá Píára; at the time of begging, they stand before the shops and houses, without looking at any body or saying any thing; they demand nothing with the tongue; they accept what is given, and go away when nothing is offered. The Mobed says:
“The demand without the tongue is made by the eyes;
How can that which is heard be equivalent to what is seen?”
They take no notice of the Muselmans, although they so call themselves.
The sect of the Vishnavas follow the doctrine of Gosáin Jáni. We hold the information from Jogendas, that they called their master Jehan, and his followers, composed of Hindus and Muselmans, adopted the creed of Vishnavi. This is as follows: they hurt no living being; they avoid fellowship with men of another creed among the Hindus and Muselmans; they pray five times a-day, with their face towards the east; they have the names of God, of the divinities, of the prophet upon their lips, such as Allah, Míkáíl, Jzráíl, Jibrail, Muhammed, Jl, and others; they bury their dead; they confer benefits upon others to the extent of their power; a number of their Durvishes pretend to be afflicted with maladies and beg alms, and whatever they so collect they distribute to the blind and lame, and to people of that description.
Further to be noticed is the sect of the Surya-mak-han,[396] that is, of “the worshippers of the sun.” These derive their origin from an ancient nation of Hindus, and are divided into two classes. The one of them says: The great luminary is one of the divinities of the first rank; he has átmá and buddhi, that is, “soul and intellect;” the light of the stars and the splendor of the universe proceeds from him; he is the asht bhuvana loka,[397] that is, “the origin of the eight worlds,” and of all earthly beings; the sarva prabhá deva,[398] “the God of all radiance,” the chief and ruler of all divinities, the deity of heavens, the king of the stars; the Mahajyóti,[399] or “the great light,” worthy of praise; and of namaskara,[400] that is “respectful salutation,” and of adoration; and of hóm, or “sacrificial perfumes.” When the sun rises with his pure body, they stand opposite to him, and after adoration recite a Sanskrit prayer, the paraphrase of which is as follows:[401] “Whatever beautiful light and high splendor thou possessest overflows the eyes from the excessive bounty of thy manifestation; thou art that light which is not surpassed by any other in the display of splendors; thine is the first prayer, for thou art the substitute of God, and we place our hope in thy bounty; to thee we address the prayers of our wants, that we may experience and loudly proclaim thy mercy. When this light is thy face, whatever we can say of the splendor, the beauty, and perfection of the supreme intellectual soul and of the pure wisdom, is but that one light which we recognise above in thy bountiful being, which thou temperest and displayest; this light derives its glory from thee, and supplication is due to this light. Give us thy assistance in the abnegation of worldly pleasures; render us equal to thyself in the purity of light, and by thy knowledge grant us union with thee; the wish of all virtuous hearts is, that they may, far removed from all sensual delights, be made happy in the communion with those who are like thee: we abandon all worldly delights, that we may become similar to thee in splendor, and arrive to thee, and remain with thee.”
The other class of the Suryamakhan say: Whatever exists in the Swargaloka[402] and in the Bhúloka,[403] that is, in the upper and lower world, draws its origin from the sovereign great luminary; by his glorious appearance we fill our lojáni,[404] or “eyes,” with kalyanum,[405] or “auspicious light;” and we hear the Sanákáras,[406] that is, “the incorporeal beings;” by him we acquire buddhi, that is “intellect,” the professor of which attaches his heart to nothing exterior: on that account they call the sun natha, “a sovereign, or divine being,” and pay worship to him. Both classes abstain from hurting living beings, and are on that account called jiva dayá,[407] “compassionate of life;” they do good to others as much as they can, wherefore they are termed punyavantas,[408] “virtuous;” they keep far away from falsehood and iniquity, for which they are entitled dharmamayás,[409] “righteous.” The gríhastha, or “householder,” contents himself with one strí,[410] or “wife.” They divide the sun into several parts, which they call dyuvá murtayas,[411] “figures of the sun;” but the first class reckons among the Pandits, or “learned,” an order of men who have a system about ákása,[412] “ether,” girayas,[413] “mountains,” tárá phal,[414] “starry firmament;” about the rising of heavenly bodies and the prognostics which are connected with them; they possess perfectly the canons of the Véda anga, “sacred science,” in which the medical is comprised; and they set a great value upon buddhí, “intellect;” and áharanam,[415] that is, “the application of the thinking faculty;” and they say, that this is the mediator between what is sankhyanam,[416] “rational,” or probable, and sadhanam,[417] “substantiated,” which last is the form of things perceived; and the right appreciation of probabilities is attained by dint of buddhi and aharanam, that is, by high intelligence; this is fixing the thought of contemplation; or arriving at the science of what is perceived and what is probable or rational; this comprehends properly two sciences which are possessed by the jitèndriya loka,[418] that is, “by those sages who have subdued the senses.”
There is a class of durvishes who practise tapasya,[419] or “devout austerity,” and who, by great and difficult penances, banish every illusion from them, so that in their sleep they may not have unbecoming dreams, which they say are produced by the influence of the imagination; and they guard their eyes from the wounds and impressions which also proceed from the imagination. They climb up to the tops of walls, without fear of falling down, and go to such places as are not easily accessible, which they say is a triumph over illusion; they pretend to have the power to cause rain to fall or to cease; to attract whomever they like, and to render him obedient to their will; to give information of whatever is concealed, and to reveal the secrets of the heart; to possess the knowledge of the good and the bad hidden in the minds; as well as that of the relations and history of the world; and upon the mirror of their hearts are reflected the lights of secrets, the djoti mandalam,[420] “the splendor of the universe.” When a misfortune happens, all the pious men assemble and hold council about the removal of it; they investigate the strange and astonishing events; they keep day and night their eyes shut, and, pondering, exercise their sagacity: these are called Dhyani.[421] Those who are not occupied with exterior things are called tyagî,[422] and others who shun all intercourse with women and have no wife, take the title of Yatis; and there is a class who, with the same abnegation as the former, never mix with the people of the world, and never ask more from them than a small quantity of food: these are called Vaíragîs,[423] or Udasîs.[424] Others live in deserts and upon mountains, satisfied with fruits; the savage animals do them no harm; they are named Vanyasîs.[425] When, among them, a child is born or a marriage takes place in the house of a family-man, they do not offer him their congratulation; and when a misfortune occurs, such as the death of a friend, they do not grieve or take mourning. A desire for generation, and a relish for meat and drink, inasmuch as may be requisite, is permitted, but beyond this prohibited; and whoever desires more is excluded from their society. This order of men among them is called Grihasta; another division of them is formed by the Avach’háta,[426] “emaciated by abstinence,” who are the adepts of this sect; if I were to relate every thing of them, several volumes would not be sufficient to contain my account.