mm' m mw

CORNELL STUDIES

IN

PHILOSOPHY

No. 2

BRAHMAN:
A

Study
THE

IN

History of Indian Philosophy

BY

HERVEY DeWITT GRISWOLD,

FeU<nv of the Panjab University

Forman

and

Professor of Philosophy in the

Christian College, Lahore.

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

1900

M.A.

vy

PRESS OP

Thb New Era Printing Company

Lancaster, Pa.

PREFACE.

TWO

countries share the honor of being the birthplaces of the

chief historic religions of the world, Palestine-Arabia

The one

India.

Islam

is

the ancestral

Judaism
ism, as

is

home

of Judaism, Christianity, and

Brahmanism and Buddhism.

the other, of

the mother of both Christianity

Brahmanism

is

and

Genetically,

and Mohammedan-

Buddhism,

the mother of Buddhism.

and Mohammedanism belong to the class of instituted religions, in that they go back into great creative personwhereas Judaalities, after which they are respectively named
Christianity,

ism and Brahmanism, the mother

religions of the world, are

properly characterized as spontaneous, since

they have their

The one

origin in the tribe rather than in the individual.

group

namely Judaism,

of religions,

grew up and made

conquests

earliest

its

in

allied

and Islam,

Christianity,

the region having the

The other group, represented by

Mediterranean for its center.
Brahmanism and Buddhism, appeared and spread in India-China
and the neighboring

the second ancient center of the

regions,

The

world's civilization.

sacred language of Judaism

and

linguistically

racially the

is

Hebrew,

Hence both

and the sacred language of Brahmanism, Sanskrit.

western group springs from a Se-

while the eastern springs from an

Aryan

source.

mitic

source,

Thus

the history of religion has to do primarily with two geo-

graphical centers, Palestine and India

and Ar>'an
In this

with two races, Semitic

and with two languages, Hebrew and Sanskrit.

monograph

purpose to make a special study of the

doctrine of Brahman, the central conception of Indian philosophy

and

religion.

Accordingly,

of philosophy and

in the

be genetic and comparative.

tion of

Brahman

will

it

will

It will

in

the history

The method

will

be genetic, for the concep-

be traced through the Vedas, the Upani-

shads, the Vedanta-Sutras, and the

It will

be a study both

history of religion.

Commentary of

(^ankaracarya.

be comparative, for the religious aspects of the doctrine of

iii

PREFA CE.

iv

Brahman will constantly be illustrated by the parallel development in Judaism and Christianity while the philosophical aspects
of the doctrine will, at least in their main features, be set side by
side with the corresponding ideas in the ancient and modern phi;

losophy of the West.

The importance
of

Brahman

of the conception of

Indian thought

indicated

is

by the

in

that

fact

the history

the

word

Brahman has supplied the name

Brahmans (2) a department of ancient Sanskrit literature, the
Bfdhmanas (3) the Ultimate Reality of the Vedanta, Brahma
Trinity, Brahma (5) In(4) the first person of the later Hindu
to (i) a class of priests, the

'

'

Buddhist disruption, Brahmanism, and

dian religion before the

.(6)

the

modern

It will,

theistic

Brahma Samaj.

as the

of course, be possible to deal only with the main out-

lines of the doctrine of

says, to explain in

the doctrine of

the history of

As

movement known

de^tail

Brahman.
the

For, as Professor Flint truly

how and why

of the development of

would be to write the longest chapter in

Brahman
Hindu civilization.^

regards literature,

my

largest indebtedness

is

works of

to the

Professor Deussen, especially to his Allgemeine Geschichte dcr

Philosophie, erster

Band, which deals with the philosophy of the

pre-Upanishad period, and to

Prof.

Max

his

Sechzig Upanishads dcs Veda.

Mueller's Six Systems of Indian Philosophy, and Profes-

sor Thibaut's careful translation of the Vedanta-Sijtras (SBE. vols.

XXXIV

and

XXXVIII)

have also been of very great

Jacob's Co7icordance

to

pensable to every worker

in

Col.

The method
that found in

the Upanishads

the

field

is,

service.

of course, indis-

of the Upanishads.

of transliteration used

essentially the

is

Professor Whitney's Sanskrit

Grammar.

same as
I must

consistently.

plead guilty, however, of not always following

it

Words such as upanishad, rishi, piirnsha,

come anglicized, and so I have not always

prakriti, etc.,

have be-

them

as upani-

sad,

rsi,

purusa and prakrti.

have written

written
s in

the place of visarga.

Brahman (neuter as opmarked stages {a)

well
three
by
indicated
posed to Brahman) is
the initial or germinal stage represented by the Rig-Veda, the

The development

of the doctrine of

Anti- Theistic Theories,

p.

344.

PREFA CE.

Atharva-Veda and the early prose, excluding the Upanishads

{b) the stage of creative thought represented by the Upanishads
and

the stage of system building and exposition represented

{c)

by the Vedanta-Siatras,

aS

To

expounded by ^ankaracarya.

these a fourth stage might be added, namely, that of Indian

scholasticism and theological subtlety, as illustrated
treatises,

doctrinal

These

Paribhdsd.

by the

Vcddnta Sara and the

g., the

e.

later

Veddnta

marked, not indeed by

stages, I say, are well

external chronological data, which in India are almost entirely

by what has been happily called internal chronology,

Thus even the lanthe chronology of language and thought.
guage reveals three clearly marked stages of development, Vedic,
lacking, but

Brahmanic, and

Classic.

The

absolute dates of the Rig- Veda, of

the Brdlunanas, and of the beginnings of Classic Sanskrit in the

Sutra period, are very uncertain, and yet their respective places
in the

and

development of Sanskrit

definite.

It is

are sufficiently clear

literature

to be noted that the three stages in the de-

velopment of the doctrine of Brahman, namely,

and systematic, correspond

in

initial,

creative,

general to the three periods in the

history of the language, Vedic, Brahmanic, and Classic.

only when we come to the Upanishads that Brahman

It is

Doubtless centuries of

uniformly means the Ultimate Reality.

language and thought

development elapsed before the word

idea which

brahman and the

word came to be

was

traced down from their sources

gether

finally

Two

integrated.

'

brahman

opment and flow of meaning, the other

the Sole Reality as
ture.

Or, to state

ation of the

'

variously manifests

differently,

it

this

be

we have

'

with

its

devel-

consisting of the idea of

itself in
first

the early litera-

to trace the prepar-

This
for the idea, and of the idea for the word.
on the one hand, a study of the derivation and use of

word

will involve,

the word

it

to

they meet and flow to-

until

one represented by the word

associated with

streams, then, are

brahman, and, on the other, some account of the course

'

of Vedic thought as

ception of things.

it

gradually

moved towards

a unitary con-

CONTENTS.

CHAITER
Ill-

I.

Word Bkahmax

History of the

Pp. 1-20

A. Usage of Brahman.
B.

Derivation of Brahman.

C. Connection of the various meanings of Braliman.

CHAPTER
TuK Developmkm

H.

ok thk Doctrine of U.nity

the Pre-Upanishad

in

Pp. 21-42

Literature
A. The Growth

and
B.

of the Monistic Conception in the period of the Rig- Veda

in the region of the

Panjab.

The growth of the Monistic Conception

Veda and in the region of Madhyadega.

CHAPTER
The Doctrine of Brahman

in

in the

period of the Yajur-

HI.

the Upanishads

Pp. 43-70

A. Remarks on the Sources.

B. Doctrine.

C. Consequences. J

I-

^I-

Religious.
Ethical.

HI. Eschatological.
IV. Philosophical.

CHAPTER
liii:

Doctrine of Brahman

in

the Vedanta-Sutr.'VS as Expounded hy

(^"ankaracarya

Pp. 71-^9

A. The Theology of (^ankaracarya.

B. ^ankaracarya and Ramilnujacarya.

C.

IV.

The Vedanta- Sutras.

vii

OF ABBREVIATIONS.

LIST

Ait.

Ar

Aitareya Aranyaka.

Ait.

Br

Aitareya Brahmana.

Altind. Gram...Altindische

Apocal. loh

Grammatik

Wackernagel,

1896.

Apocalypse of John.

Av

A vesta.

AV

Athan'a-Veda.

Brh Up

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad.

Buddha

Buddha:

His

Life,

His Doctrine,

His Order.

Oldenberg (Eng.

Trans, by Hoey, Lond., 1882).

Comp. Gram.... Comparative Grammar of

Eng. Trans.

Br

(^"at.

the Indo-Germanic

Languages

Brugmann.

(^atapatha

Brahmana.

(^vet.

Up
Chand. Up

(^vetagvatara Upanishad.

Essays

Essays on the Religion and Philosophy of the Hindus

Chandogya Upanishad.

H.

T. Colc-

brooke (Leipzig, 1858).

Evang. loh

Gospel of John.

(leschichte

Allgemeine Geschichte der Philosophie.

IE

Kaush.

Up

ndo- European.

Kaushitaki Upanishad.

Kultur

Indiens Literatur and Kultur

Mac

Maccabees.

Up

Mait.

Schroeder.

Maitrayana Upanishad.

Manuel

Manuel de

T
OST
O. T

New

Ps

Psalm.

N.

la

Langue de I'Avesta

De Harlez (Paris 1882).

Testament.

Original Sanskrit Texts.

Old Testament.

KV

Rig-Veda.
.'...The Roots,

Roots

guage

Verb-forms and primary derivatives of the Sanskrit Lan-

Whitney.

SBE

Sacred Books of the East.

Six Systems.... The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy

Taitt.

Up

Taitt.

Samh... Taittiriya Samhita.

Upanishads
Vdj.

Sainh

Taittiriya

Max Muller.

Upanishad.

Sechzig Upanishads des Veda.

Vajasaneyi Samhita.

Veda Oldenberg.

Veda

Die Religion des

Vedanta

Das System des Vedanta

LUMG

Zeitschrift der

Deussen.

Deutschen Morgenliindischen Gesellschaft.

viii

CHAPTER

I.

The History of the Word Brahman.

The word 'brahman

'

is

the greatest

On

of Indian Philosophy.

word

in

the whole history

Indian thought.

hangs largely the development of

The meanings assigned to it are numerous and

bewildering.

has

It

it

been explained and translated by such

various terms as worship, devotion, fervor, prayer,

incantation,

sacred writ,
priestly

sanctity,

holiness,

hymn, charm,

priesthood, spiritual exaltation,

Veda, Vedic formula, priestly order, holy work,

dignity,

inspiration,

Thus

reality, absolute.

it

force,

seems

spiritual

power,

ultimate

mean almost anything.

to

On

the principle that accuracy of thought depends upon the accurate understanding

ments of thought,

and use of the words which are the instruin other words that sound thinking presup-

poses sound philology,

we

are justified in

to determine the history of the

A.

We

word

'

taking

in order,

if

trouble

Usage of Brahman.

shall consider the actual usage of the

mology,

some

brdhnian'

possible, to be delivered

one-sided etymologizing.

word before

its

ety-

from the vice of a

First, then, the word

brahman in
According to Grassmann's Index Lexicon it octhe RV. about 240 times.
A careful study of these pas'

'

the Rig-Veda.
curs in

sages yields the following results:

frequently stands side

by

side in the

or more names for hymn,

ably as a general synonym.

These means of strength

Brahman
VI, 23,

c.

The word 'brahman'

same pdda or foot with one
(i)

g., stoma, uktlia, dJii, etc.,

presum-

E. g., II, 39, 8 {brdhma stomam),

for you,

(and) praise-song

made

{stoma brahman nktha),

i.

heavenly horsemen,

the Gritsamadas,
e.

The pressed out soma thou dost love, O Indra,

Brahman (and) song of praise (and) hymn intoned.

i.

e.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

VI, 38,

{brdhma ca giras)

Brdluiian and psalms to Indra have been offered.

VI, 38, 4 {brdJinia gira

ca viamna).

iiktlid

and soma strengthen Indra,

and hymns and wisdom.

As

sacrifice

So

also brahman, psalms

{brdhmdni nktha), VI, 47, 14 {giro

girah), VI, 69, 7 {brahmdni
brahmdni), VI, 69, 4 {brahmdni

Compare

also

80, 16

I,

liavani), etc,

The word brahman also not infrequently

against some word for hymn in a different pada
verse, doubtless in

synonymons parallelism

Hebrew and Anglo-Saxon

.

brdhma
arkdis
With a high song of

Who

same
the manner of

after

of the

E. g., VI, 38, 3-4 (dhiyd

poetry.

giras)

praise the ancient Indra

ages not, with holy

Brdliman and psalms

Oh may

stands over

'

'

(2)

hymns

to Indra

welcome

have been

offered.

the glorious song of praise refresh him.

VI, 69, 4 ijiavand niatindm parallel with brahmdni giras),

Be pleased with every cry of sacred worship.

Hearken
VII,

to

my

brahmdni and

my

praise-songs.^

61,6 {inanmani navdni parallel with brahma imdni),

May these new songs be unto you for praise songs,

May
VII, 22,

by me offered
61,2 {manmdni

please you.

these brahmdni

Compare
3

also VII,

{vdcam imdm

parallel with

parallel with brahmdni),

imd brahma), VII, 72,

{stomdsas parallel with brahmdni).

The word brdliman frequently stands in the last verse of

hymn in such a way as clearly to refer to the preceding verses,
E. ^., I, 61, 16, I, 62, 13, I, 80, 16,
e., to the whole hymn.
'

(3)

a
i.

I,

117,25,1, 152,

'

7,

IV,

6, II,

VII, 22, 9,
5, X, 54,
group IV, 16-17, 19-24, each
VII, 28,

which contains the words

(4) A limiting pronoun
whether

it

IV, 16, 2i,V, 29, 15, V, 75, 19,

6,

X, 80,

hymn

Note that of the

7, etc.

ends

in

a kind of refrain

brdhma navy am,' a new brdhman.'

sometimes added to brdhman,'
'

'

is

stands in the last verse or not, in order apparently to

iCf. Ps. CXI,

I.

" Hear vay prayer, O Lord,

And let my cry come unto Thee.

'

THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN.

make

the reference to the

Through
brahman

this brdlunan,

';

'these

brahiiidni';

'

my

II,

Agni, be strengthened';

Compare imdm vdcam

V, 54,

5,

(5)

our

VII, 70, 6

6,

II,

'

6 'our

34,

39,8 'these brdliman (and) stoma'; VI, 69, 4

'; VI,
69, 7 my brahmdni (and) cry.'

II,

The

31, 18

152, 7

I,

VII, 61,

3,

'my brahman';

18,

braJimdni (and) songs

IV, 57.

R .,!,

expHcit.

165, 14, V, 73, 10, VII, 22,

I,

brahmdni';

hymn more

I,

'

'

this

word

VII, 22,

poets are said to

3,

'

I,

40, 6,

129,

I,

IX, 97, 13.

fashioned {taks

h^LVO.

130, 6,

I,

i,

62, 13, V,

I,

73, 10, X, 80, 7) and generated {Jan II, 23, 2, VII, 22, 9, VII,
31, 11) the brdhmau, just as they are described as fashioning or
generating a' dhl or stoma or nktlia or tv?^; (I, 109, i, V, 2, 1 1,

VII,

15, 4,

amples
I,

31, II

I,

109,

62, 13

'

X, 23,

I,

Gotama has

The poets generated

stoma (song of praise) have

The word brdhjnan

'

(6)

X,

6,

I,

39, 14,

130,

new brdhmanJ

fashioned a

'

a brdhinan.'
I
is

Ex-

6).

have fashioned a did (hymn of meditation)

'I

I
'

VII, 26,

VII,

Cf.

5,

'

Cf.

VII.

A new

generated.'

joined with the verb gdyata

'

sing

'

4 and VIII, 32, 27 'Sing a god-given brahman.' In

VI, 69, 4 and 7 the gods are entreated to hear the brahmdni.
(7) The epithet new is often applied to brdhman just as in

in

I,

37,

'

'

VII, 15, 4, VIII, 23, 14 to stoma, in VII, 61, 6 to manman,dir\6.

in II, 24,

to gir.

navy am

Thus

I,

62, 13, IV. 16, 21,

V,

29, 15, VI,

brdhma
X, 89, 3. With the
song
of
the
new
passages
compare
and
other
of these

VI, 50,

17, 13,

6,

VII, 61,

'

6,

'

XL, 3, XCVI, I, XCVIII, I, etc.

(8) The adjective abraJiman (without

'

Pss.

a brdlunan^ occurs three

times: IV, 16, 9 abrahmd dasyns, 'the dasyn without a brdhLibations without a
man
VII, 26, i abrahmdnas sntdsas,
X, 105, 8 'With a hymn
brdhman do not exhilarate Indra
'

'

'

{rca)

may we overcome the hymnless

{anrcaJi).

without a brdhman {abrahmd^ does not please thee

pare abraJiman IV, 16, 9 with anrc X, 105,
(9)

The

observes,^

is

well developed in the Rig-Veda.

Com-

well.'

8.

idea of the inspiration of the hymn-writers, as

'Sing a god-given {devattam) brdhman';

sacrifice

I,

Thus,

105,

Allgemeine Geschichte der Philosophie, S. 242

Deussen

ff.

15

37, 4
Varuna

I,
'

4^

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

causes brahmani

hymn

sacred

He

{inati)

Thou

'

hymn

of the splendid

{iiianotar^

reveals through our heart {lirda) the

II, 9,

'

(O Agni) the deviser

art

[imcas)

III,

'

34,

(Indra)

showed these hymns {dhiyas) to the singer'; IV, li, 3 'From

thee, Agni, come the gifts of sacred song
from thee hymns
;

and holy texts

{inanlsds)

with such
*

brdliman as

-Si

is

Thou, Agni, wast the

(din)'

VII, 97,

'

VI,

i,

deviser of this sacred meditation

first

who

is

VIII, 42,

us, Indra,

'

'

'

'(Indra)

{dcvakrtasyd) brdliuian

hymn

V, 42, 4 Enrich
god-granted (^e-z/^/wV^w)

{iiktha)

god-made

the king of the

3

'

Varuna, sharpen

this

(d/it)'
IX, 95, 2 'The god (Soma) reveals the hidden
names (attributes) of the gods
X, 98, 7 Brihaspati brought
him the word (vac).' Note also that in II, 23, i Brahmanaspati
;

'

'

is

called

'

the great king of the braJundni

generator of bralundni,' while in X, 61, 7

gods generated brdlunan.'

Observe the

'

it

and
is

entire

in

v.

'The

written:

parallelism

regards inspiration which exists between brdliinan and

its

sumable) synonyms, mati, vacas,

vdc.

(10)

The

of din, mantra, arka,

is

'Quickened by the hymn {dInj'd

Cf.

covered the sun hidden by unholy darkness.'

Cf

I,

(Agni) upheld the heavens by means of true mantras.'

'(Brihaspati)
priests

Cf V,

smote Vala through brahman.''

IX,

soma-drops

j'litds), th.&

V, 40, 6 'Atri with the fourth brdhman

are poured forth.'

'

(pre-

'Quickened by

brdhinan {bralima jYttas), be strong in body (O Indra).'

64, 16

as

represented as similar to that

E. g., VII, 19, ii

etc.

and

din, viainsd, nktlia

brahman

efficacy of

the

'

dis-

67,

II, 24, 3

31,

4 'The

magnifying Indra with hymns [arka) strengthened him for

Note also

slaying the serpent.'

III,

'The brdhman of
VI, 75, 19 Brdhmaii
'Through your brdhman,
53,

Vi^vamitra protects the tribe of Bharata'

12

is

my

Vasishtha, Indra helped Sudas in the battle of the ten kings.'

protecting armour'

In X, 162, 12 the wish

brahman
What,
passages

brdhman

in

is

is

illness.

brdhman

in

these representative

the facts presented above

name

for

hymn, as
iCf.

expressed that Agni be united with

the meaning of

From
a

VII, 33,

is

order to expell

then,
?

it

is

it

is

evident that

used interchangeably for

Sam. VII, S-9.

THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN.

mantra,

inanuian, inamsd,

tnati,

uktha, vac, etc.,

hymns.

When

hymn

made up

as

in its earliest

used

names

re, gir,

vacas,

to the

Vedic

the plural brd/nnaii seems to refer to a

in

This suggests that

of a collection of verses.

use brdhniaii

may have

referred to a single brief

group of such utterances

utterance of the priest in worship.

might be called

stoma, arka,

dJii,

of which are applied as

all

distributively

either

brdJiinan.

The

essentials of

brdhnian.

Both

alike

brahvidni or collectively

Vedic worship were

sacrifice

and

were means of quickening and strengthen-

Indeed, both were offerings, the one material con-

ing the gods.

sisting of soma,

ghee,

etc.,

No

prayer and praise.

the other spiritual, the sacrifice of

worship was completewithout brdJnnan,

Brdlunan

the sacred utterance.

may be

rendered 'prayer,' pro-

vided that the word prayer be taken in a purely

formal sense.

ritualistic

and

not prayer in general, uttered or unuttered,

It is

"das

stated or occasional, but rather

Gebet " (Old-

rituell fixirte

enberg),^ " das ausgesprochene Gebet, sei es Preis,

Bitte" (Grassmann), or in general, as defined

Dank oder

by Roth

in

the St.

Petersburg Lexicon, "jede fromme Aeusserung beim Gottesdienst."

"the holy word"" (Bloomfield) which as used

It is

the ritual becomes about equal to " prayer."

concerned, brdlunan might be rendered by

'

prayer

'

or,

gory of prayer, as

etc.,

is

might

all

far as
'

as well as

"

stages of religion there

hymn and prayer. Both are

not so much on inner content

hymn

is

no

is

by

brdJivian, viz,

actually the procedure of Bergaigne.^

meaning

in

usage

be brought under the cate-

Muir,'' as the result of his inductive

gives the alternative

istic

hymn

on the other hand, the synonyms of

mantra, vac, stoma,

deed

'

So

In-

study of Vedic passages

or prayer."

In the ritual-

essential difference

between

chanted, and the emphasis rests

as on exactitude of liturgical use.

Secondly, brdliman in the Atliarva- Veda and the Brdhmanas.

These together with the Yajur-Veda constitute the chief

literary

documents of the Brdhmana period. The texts quoted above

under (lo) concerning the magical efficacy of brahman, indicate
1

P'eda,

*In a
'

La

S.

letter

433.

from Rev. A.

II.

religion vedique, p. 277.

*OST., Vol.

I, p. 242.

Ewing, a pupil of Professor Bloomfield.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

RV.

the transition from the standpoint of the

to that of the

AV.,

means magic formula or charm. As

in which brahman
examples note the following texts as translated by Bloomfield
From the wrath of the mighty do I, excelling in my incanI, lo, I,
\Qd.d out this man'; I, 14, 4 'With the incanta{brahman),
tation
frequently

'

... do

tion {brahman) of Asita

cover up thy fortune';

I,

23,

my charm {brahman)'
my charm {brdhthrough
thee
render
do
I
'Guiltless
II, 10,
man)'\ III, 6, 8 I drive them out with my mind, drive them out
In
with my thought, and also with my incantation {brahman).'
'

The

...

leprosy

have destroyed with

'

harmony with
is

the above texts

also called the

in order that the

the fact that the Atharva-Veda

is

Brahma-Veda,

from a schematic motive

either

Brahman-priests might have a Veda as well as

the other three classes of priests, or because

brahmdni,
6,

i.

\,

for the latter view.

4 He by
charm, brahman) renders the atmosphere
e.

g., ^at. Br.^

evil spirits'; I, 7,

to

it

Veda of
AV. XV,
The same

the

found, though less often, in the other literature of the

is

period,

is

potent texts, spells, magical formulas.

might serve as a proof text

usage

it

i,

I,

'

i,

He

very prayer (or

this

'

2,

free

from danger and

thus makes over the sacrificer's cattle

by means of the brahman.' See also Vdj.

destroy the enemies by means of brahman'
explained by the commentator Mahidhara as

for protection

XI, 82 'I

Sainh.

(where brahman is
the power of the majitra or charm).

above quoted passages that

It

is

evident from the

bibliolatry, or the superstitious use of

was common enough in the Vedic age.

Another meaning of brahman, essentially the same as the two

sacred texts,

meanings already given,

is

sacred formula or text.

Thus

^at.

Let us try to overcome one another by speech, by

Br. I, 5, 4, 6,
sacred writ {vac brahman)'; II, i, 4, lO The brahman \s speech
'

'

{vac)

';

I, 3,

yajus); IV,

5,

3,
2,

'

The brahman

is

the sacrificial formula

10 'This one he

maks
VII,

means of the brdhman, \he yajiis

the mantra'; IV, i, i, 4 'The brahman
';

i,

is

{brdhma

the sacrifice

by

5 'The brahman is
the Gdyatn'; Taitt.

i,

SBE., Vol. XLII.

"rca( ca saniani ca yajittisi ca hrahma

3

for

fit

'

As

translated by Eggeling

ca.

(SBE. Vols. XII,

XXVI, XLI, XLIII

and XLIV).

THE HISTOR Y OF THE WORD BRAHMAN.

The Gandharvas were speaking the brdhman,

gods were chanting it.' So sacred is the brahman that it con-

Savih. VI,

the

'

very speech of heaven.

stitutes the

Thus

6,

I,

we have found

far

'brahman.'

In

or Bmhma?ia,

all

Veda

Thus
of brahman that

the form and the function

it is

the

emphasis

in different texts rests

the connotation of brahman.

.in

form well wrought

like a chariot

and refresh the gods

tion to strengthen

brahman

in

Sainhitd

The emphasis,

holy word.'

in general 'the

it is

word

for the

the passages considered, whether

however, at different times and

ent elements

one meaning

really only

upon

differ-

in the

Rig-

receive the

and the func-

in the Atliarva- Veda,

while in the Brdhmanas,

it is

the power and potency of

it is

the element of sacredness due to the divine origin, antiquity,

efficacy,

and religious use of brahman.

In

fact,

we have here

moments in the Indian doctrine of Holy Scripture.

we have considered the form and potency and

three

Hitherto

sacredness of brahman, the holy word, viewed as something con-

hymn and

sisting of

But

'

the holy

word

sacred text, and so external and objective.

may be

'

taken

in a

more

internal arid sub-

jective sense, as the truth, the inner content, the sacred doctrine,

the

wisdom and theology,

resenting the

"theoretical

of the external word.

Thus, as rep-

side" (Roth) of religion, brahman

stands over against tapas 'austerity,' the practical side; just as

in

the N. T. faith (which includes knowledge) stands over against

works.
live

E. g.,

AV.

by brdhutan and
brdhman,

tapas,

science'

(/.

E. g., VI,
science

';

e.,

'

The

i,

'Truth greatness

support the earth'; Cat. Br.

II,

i,

4,

In the ^at. Br. brah-

the truth {satyani)'

in

1,1,8' He
II, 6, 4,

2-7

encompassed them.'
4, 3

VIII, 10, 25 'The seven Rishis

some passages by trayi vidyd, 'the triple

the combined doctrine of Rik, Sama and Yajus).

defined

is

is

3,

tapas'; XII,

sacrifice,

10 'The brdhman

man

VI, 133,

created

of

all

the brdhman, the triple

With the brdhman, the triple science they

For the meaning of triple science cf. I. i,
'

'

triple science is

three Vedas); IX,

first

'

3, 3,

sacrifice

'

(the great doctrine of the

14 'The Stoma, and the Yajus, and the

Rik, and the Saman, and the Brihat and the Rathantara
verses and meters of

all

the Vedas)

this,

doubtless

is

(/.

c, the

the triple

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

science'; X, 4,

21

2,

'He

the triple science, for therein

stomas, of

We

all vital airs,

and of

must now return

beheld
the

all

existing things in

all

body of

all

meters, of

all

the gods.'

Rig-Veda

the

to

From brahman (nom.

view.

is

for a fresh point of

neut. brdhma,

'

hymn

or prayer

'

brahman (nom. masc. brahmd, the man of the

brahma, the hymnist or 'prayer'). The brahma, as Muir^
points out, was at first a poet or sage (= rishi, vipra, kavi, cf.
there

RV.,

derived

is

80,

I,

lastly a

class of

then a minister of public worship

i),

particular

in general,

and

As

the

kind of priest with special duties.

Bralnndnas or Brahman-priests formed

adherents thereto began to be designated in the later

Rik by the names brahma-putra

verses of the

gradually,

itself

hymns and

(II, 43, 2, later

addition,

Grassmann) and especially bralnnand^ both meaning

'son

of

Brahman -priest.

'

"

When

the

between

distinction

Brahman and Kshatriya had been completely fixed, then as

were often designated by the abstract terms Bralima
(Sacerdotium, Geistlichkeit, Priesthood) and Ksatram (Nobility).
Thus in the White Yajiir- Veda, the Atharva- Veda and the
Brahiuanas the two designations often stand side by side
{Brahma ca Ksatram ca).
E.g., Vdj. Saikh., VI, 3, VII, 21,
classes they

XX,
II.

2,

So

I,

XXX, 5 AV., II, 15, 4, XV, 10, 3 gat. Br., Ill, 5,

'The Brahman and the Kshatra, these two vital forces.^
This meaning
2, I, 7, IV, 2, 2, 13, IX, 4, I, 7-1 1, etc.

25,

of brahman, n^-vaeXy priesthood, seems to have been derived from

both brahman and brahman.

There remains to be investigated only one more meaning of

brahman, but

it

is

the greatest of

all,

namely Brahman as the

concept of the greatest energy, the highest

istent.

In the later

manaspati

hymns

= Brihaspati)

'

of the

reality,

the Lord of prayer.

a personification of the mighty power which

the

brahman or

'

the self-ex-

Rig-Veda we meet with Brah-

holy word,' and manifests

'

This

lies at

itself in

is

clearly

the heart of
the wonder-

iQST., Vol. I, p. 243,

^Compare the O. T. name of a member of the class of 7iebhiim 'prophets,'
namely den-7iai>/ii son of a prophet' (Amos, VII, 14).
'

"Cf. Plato's description of separate priestly

445, Jowett's trans.

and warrior

castes,

Timaeus, pp. 444,

THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN.

of the sacred formulas.

ful effects

be noted that the ap-

It is to

pearance of Brahmanaspati coincides

general with the

in

already studied the doctrine of brahman external

and

rise

of

We have

the doctrine of the magical efficacy of the sacred texts.

objective as

hymn, formula, and sacred text in general, and also the doctrine of
brahman internal and subjective as the sacred truth, wisdom, and
theology

of the holy word.

Brdlunanaspdti, the apotheosis of

the/^w^rof the holy word, introduces us

to a third line of develop-

Very often in the BrdJimanas is Brihaspati identified with

Brahman, ^., ^at. Br., Ill, i, 4, 15 BrdJima vai Brhaspati.^
So also III, 3, I, 2, III, 7, 3, 13, III, 9, I, 11-14, V, I, I, II,
V, I, 4, 14, V, 3, 5, ]-%, IX, 2, 3, 3, etc. Compare also Ait.
ment.

'

6'.

Br.,

19,

I,

nificant.

mana

I,

It

Taitt.

Sainh.,

Ill, i,

i,

All this

etc.

4,

that for the theologians

indicates

period a deeper meaning

sig-

is

of the

Brdli-

word
Brahman than had hitherto been found, to wit, the same meaning as had been expressed in the ancient hymns by Brihaspati,
'

was discovered

in

the

'

the pozuer of the holy word.

the personification of
sufficient

for

our purpose to

illustrate

It will

be

deeper meaning of

this

Brahman by suitable quotations from the literature of the period.

Thus Taitt. Savih., VII, 3, 1,4 Limited are the Rik-verses,
'

limited

are the Sama-verses, limited are the Yajus-verses, but

there

no end to that which

is

'The Brahman moves

is

Brdlinian'

^at. Br., Ill,

3, 4,

17

'The
Brdlunanisthe world-order {rtam)'; VI, i, i, 10 The Brahman is
the first born {prathaviajani) of this All'
VIII, 2, i, 5 'The
Brahman is the highest of gods' VIII, 4, i, 3 'Heaven and
earth are upheld by the Brdhnian'
X, 3, 5, 10, This is the
Greatest Brahman {j'yesthain Brahman), for than this there is
no thing greater '; X, 3, 5, 1 This Brahman has nothing before
it and nothing after it,'
X, 4, 1,9 'I praise what hath been and
what will be, the Great BraJnnan {inaJiad Brdhina), the one
the gods onward'; IV,

i,

4, 10

'

'

Aksara, the manifold Brahman, the one Aksara'

X, 6,
him meditate on the Tnie Brahman {satyam Brdhma).

4,

10

man

is

'

The Brahman
the

is

S&\{-eyiis\.en\.

the truth (satyam)'

X,

6,

{siuayajnbhn); reverence be to

5,

3,

'

Let

Cf. II, i,

'

Brah-

Brahman

Note also the following passages from the Atharva-Veda

X,

7,

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

lO

24 The gods, the knowers of Brahman, meditate on the Highest

Brahman' {^jycstham Brahma, cf. Cat. Br., X, 3, 5, 10) X, 8, I
Reverence be only to that Highest Brahman
X, 7, 17* The
*

'

men who know

Thus Brahman

the

Brahman know

not merely

is

the Highest {Paramesthiri)

(i) the external /(Staw of the

word, and (2) the meaning of the sacred word, but

.'

sacred

also (3)

it is

the pozvcr which resides in the heart of the sacred word, and so in
the heart of

all

things.

Derivation

B.

The word

'

brahman

Indo-European

'

is

made up

The nomina

agcntis.

tween the meaning of the thing and the

infinitives [e.

g.,

da-mane

common

of braJi- plus the

This suffix forms no}nina

suffix -man.

and more rarely nomitia

Brahman.

of

ob-fxtvai)

actionis

actionis,

vary be-

When

action.

used as

they indicate the action

when not so used, the thing. As examples cited by Brugmann^

we have man-man thought,' vds-man covering,' dlid-7nan
'dwelling,' dd-man 'gift,' bJiii-man 'earth,' hJidr-man 'support.'
'

'

Or, to take a Latin example, flu-men

that the meaning
It is

in all

these cases

thought, raiment, house,

gift,

is

'

to be noted

It is

river.'

concrete and not abstract.

earth, support,

and

river, that

the words mean, rather than thinking, dressing, dwelling, giving,

being, supporting, and flowing.

man and
They
With

Brahman has two

bralimdn, which differ both in

are used respectively as

noun of

forms, brah-

gender and

action

in

accent.

and noun of agent.

we may compare dhdr-man (n) support,' and dharmd)i (m) 'supporter'; also dd-man (n) 'gift,' and dd-man (m)
giver.'
We know that in the case of dharman and ddman the
But brahman has exactly the same forroots are dhar- and da-.
these

'

'

We must therefore conclude that brahin every respect.

'
manner represents a true root form. Professor Hopkins
with some hesitation connects Brahman with "fla(g)men," and
sees in it "an indication of the primitive fire-cult in antithesis
There are two difficulties here. First the
to the soma-cult."
mation

in like

phonetic difficulty of connecting brah- with

1

Comp. Gra?n., Vol.

^Religions of India,

II, pp.
p.

168.

flag.

365-375.

The cognate

THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN.

II

verbs Gr. ipUyco, Lat. flagro, Skt. bhrdj, and Germ, blecken, all
seem to presuppose, the IE. bhlcg, while brh and barz go back

Again,

to bhrgh.

this

hypothesis has no support, so far as

can

brahman or of its cognates. Another

equation suggested by Dr. Haug^ in 868, and lately championed
by Wackernagel ^ is that Brahman = Baresman, the bunch of
If this be correct, then the
sacred twigs used in the Zend ritual.
root represented by brali- is bar]L-{brli) = Zend barz, from which

see, in the actual usage of

baresman

(=

bares

man)

-f

is

Before this can be ac-

derived.

Oldcepted, the change from bark- to brah- must be explained.

"
veware
^ doubts such a change and remarks
Baresman
enberg
:

disch

*barhman

But Wackernagel

mit brahman hat es schwerlich etwas zu thun."

*

shows pretty

clearly that ra or ra

stands in the place of ar or ar not only before s

also before h -f consonant, as in

There

brahman {barh

drJi).

Zend

barz, for, as Jackson" says, "

Av.

becoming

before

We may

take

it

Av.

as

sometimes

as regards root

is

to determine the original

IE. bhrgh

is

postulated as the original

There are many derivatives

barz.

= brhant)

barezista

'

'

'

(Skt. barhistha).

mountain,' Brigit

'

suffix,

meaning of the
of Skt. brh and

Zend,

c.

g.,

barezant

(?);

'

and

in

We

have also

in

the exalted' (Skt. brhatt,

Armen. /wy height ';

Germ. Bag and Burg);

barezaiti); in

'strong'

in

and

'high,' barez, bercz 'high,' barehnis barezd 'height,'

very high

bri Gen. breg

'city' (cf

brahman

as fairly well settled, then, that

The next problem

Zend

from

and he cites as examples maesinana

'with baresman' {barz =
barcsmana
and

same word etymologically, both

the Zend baresman.

root brh.

results

;"

the

is

(^

is

{iniz = mili)

'with urine'
barh).

and drahydnt

brh)

no doubt of the derivation of baresman from

{dark

sometimes

consonant, but

in

Gothic bailrgs

in

Latin

/<?;'/;>

Sclavonic bruzu 'quick'

(?).

O,

Ir,

Zend

'fortress,'

{iox forgtus)

Leaving out

and bruzu as doubtful, we see that all the other cognates

seem to have the meaning 'high,' being used primarily with

fortis

Ueber die tirspriingliche Bedeiitung des Wortes Brahman.

^Altind. Gram., 1S96, S. 213.

3

Veda, S. 342, note

2.

Altind. Grata., S. 212,

Avesta

Grammar,

fg.

1892,

p. S^-

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

12
a spatial
brh-

is

As Grassmann

RV.
side

by

gabliira

synonym.

word brhat very

points out, the

From

tion of the participle brhat)

only two

is

the causative

fundamental

The

to

'

still

we must

meaning

more

and

extend,'

is

the

mean-

Let us

test

has

It

strengthen.'

regard the meaning

fact that the

'

'

more concrete and funda-

strengthen

'

from

easily be derived

'

The most impres-

'

extend

meaning

extend

'

'

Ir.

'

extend
That, as

secondary.

'

favored not only by the sense of the Zend, O.

by the

is

root brh (with the excep-

between these two meanings, the meaning

cognates, but also

(only

be extended

form without prepositions.

meanings,

mental underlying both,

is

'

used only transitively with preposi-

Unless there be some meaning

as primary, and the

prthii

a general

great

'

and Gothic cognates.

Ir.,

this conjecture as far as possible.

in

{iirii,

as

extension upward, and this

is

ing found in the Zend, O.

and

'

depth or height.

in length, breadth,

form of extension

was

of IE. blirgli

in

often stands

the usage of br/iaf then the conjecture

meaning

plausible that the

whether

rsva 'high') evidently

'deep,'

very seldom goes with inahdt, main

It

three times).

tions

Skt. derivative from

which occurs about 270 times

brJiat,

side with certain adjectives denoting extension

'broad,'

sive

The most important

reference.

the participial form

is

primary

and Gothic

strengthen

than vice versa.

'

can

'

The

connection between extending the hand and helping or strength-

ening another

is

by

well illustrated

extension (of the hand).

the Arabic

If in three

passages

npa or sani means apparently to press

around some one),
the sense of

'

this

meaning can be

extend,' the transition in

madad help,' lit.

of the RV. brli -f-

(as the

'

arm upon or

easily derived

from

meaning being helped by

the intensive form of the verb in two of the three cases.

the meaning of

brli

was

'

to be extended

the usao-e of barJind and barhdnd

India, in
'

which the meaning

is

brli in

in

almost

'

is

the
if

That

further supported

modern

dialects

by
of

not quite exclusively

extend.'

We are now prepared to consider the cognate words Baresman and Brahman. We have seen that the root underlying both
words means
nia)i

'

to be extended,'

forms nouns of action.

'

to

We

be high,' and that the suffix

should expect then that both

THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN.

baresman and brahman,

if

used abstractly as

infinitives,

would

have some such meaning as extending, exalting, presenting,

fering

or, if

not so used, then

How

sented, offered.'

with

thing extended,

The word baresman

Harlez^

it is

mazdeen

it

occurs

'

'

almost exclusively to the Yasna or

Avesta, where

lifted up,

of-

pre-

does the actual usage of baresman agree

hypothetical sense

this

'

portion

sacrificial

As

or sixty times.

fifty

confined

is

defined

of the

by De

a " faisceau de branches de tamarisque que le pretre

doit tenir a la main, leve vers le ciel,

Thus baresman

tion des prieres."

as a

pendant

la recita-

thing extended,

'

lifted

up,

Mazdean priest. There is abundant evidence in the text of the Yasna

that the uplifted Baresman in the hand of the priest was regarded
as an emblem of adoration, prayer, and praise. Thus the following
I desire to appassages may be cited, as translated by Mills."
proach the stars, moon and sun with the Baresniaii plants and
presented,'

is

the sacred bundle of twigs in the hands of the

'

my praise'

with

(Yasna,

11,

ii);

'We

Baresman, and the timely prayer

present this plant of the

blessings

for

(XXIV, 3)
(XXIV,

'

'This plant of the Baresman (and) the timely prayer'

8)

'
;

We

present

prayer for blessings

sages the

lifting

'

this

branch

(Visparad, XI,

the Baresman, and the

for

According

2).

to these pas-

up or presentation of the Baresman accompanied

the recitation of the prayers and

hymns

That the Bar-

of praise.

esman or bunch of sacred twigs was an emblem of worship and

adoration is supported by the similar use of palm branches among

Two

the Hebrews.
I

passages

may

be

saw and behold, a great multitude

throne and before the Lamb, arrayed

in their hands

vation unto our

Lamb"

"After these things

cited.
.

white robes

and they cry with a great

God which

sitteth

standing before the

in

and palms

voice, saying, Salva-

on the throne, and unto the

The

(Apocal. loh., VII, 9-10).

scene

is

laid

in the

heavenly temple, where a great multitude of the redeemed as

white-robed priests serve
in their

God day and

night

(v.

hands and words of adoration on their

not palms of victory but palms of adoration.

presented they are emblematic of worship
^Manuel,

p. 389.

15) with

palms

lips.

These are

As

held up or

just like

2SBE., Vol. XXXI,

Baresman,

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

14

Again
,

Evang. loh., XII, 12-13 we read

in

took the branches of the palm

meet him, and cried

name

the

of the Lord."

emblems of

the hand as

in

have also palm branches borne

in

and

salutation

In fact the uplifted

praise.

are mostly variations of one fundamental attitude.

expressed

the

in

Adoration

Hebrew and

Luke, XVIII,

13), or of the

Christian Scriptures

XXIV,

or of the voice (Isa.

8),

24), or of
cf.

palm branches borne

Mac. XIII.,

What

then

and Brahman

up

LXIII,
V,

13,

hand (Apocal.

Tim.

4,

uplift-

CXXIII,
II,

Acts. IV,

VII, 9

loh.,

51).

But

'

in

meaning between Baresman

the Zend ritual

in

'

lifted up,

the thing lifted up,

Baresman or bunch of sacred twigs,

loh., VIII, 9, was an

presented, offered,' was the

emblem

by the

(Ps.,

Both mean apparently 'thing extended,

like the

(Ps.

14, 2 Chron.,

in the

the connection

is

presented, offered.

which

hands

lifts

religious salutation.

is

ing of the person (Luke, XVIII, 11), or of the eyes

I,

In saluting

hand, or presents arms, or

erect, or raises the

the voice in a ringing cheer.

It is

They

Consider the forms of modern salute.

and adoration.

one stands

to

he that cometh

is

been one of the chief ways of expressing saluta-

attitude has ever

tion

We

great multitude

and went forth

trees,

Hosanna: Blessed

out,

"A

palm branches of Apocal.

of worship, as

it

were a kind of

While

visible adoration.

on the other hand in the Vedic ritual the thing lifted up, presented, offered,' was Brahman, the 'hymn or prayer' of adoration, which like the lifting up of the voice in Isa. XXIV, 14, was
'

emblem

also an

As

there

is

no

of worship, as

it

were a kind of audible adoration.

essential difference

and a spoken and audible

betweeen an acted and

salute, so

there

is

visible,

none, as regards

worship

original purpose,

between Baresjnan acted and

through the

up of the sacred branches, and Brahman spoken

lifting

and audible worship through the

lifting

visible

up of one's voice

in

hymn

and prayer.

For

all this

rum means,
sative

it

there

like brh

means

'

to

the voice as raised

Mrim

is

a striking analogy in Hebrew.

and

lift

in

are represented

barz,

up,'

'

to be high.'

The verb

In the Hiphil or cau-

both of an offering as presented, and of

prayer and adoration.

by the two

These two uses of

derivatives tcriundli

and rbmdm.

THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN.

The former means
the ritual, and
lifting

offering as somefliing lifted

rendered

'

heave

up or presented

The

offering.'^

of the voice in adoration, an offering of

up

and

lips,'

is

rendered in the Revised Version

is

'

in

means a

latter-

the fruit of the

'

high

praise,'

and

by Canon Cheyne, lofty hymn.'^ Terumah, heave offering is

romdm, lofty hymn,' the analogue
the analogue of Baresman
'

'

'

'

of Brahman.

There
prayer

no

is

and

'

'

XXIV,

Isa.

Jer. VII,

up the voice

in

up a prayer.' Both idioms occur, the first

Acts IV, 24 and the second in Isa. XXXVII,

in

essential difference

between

'

lifting

lifting

14,

word

In fact the

16.

double meaning

'

voice

and

'

z'dc (Lat.

hymn

'

vox) in the

RV. has

4,

the

In actual usage

or prayer.'

brahman is a synonym of vac. Both derivation and Vedic usage

would be expressed if we should render 'lofty hymn.'
Before the separation of the Persian and Indian branches of the

Aryan
a

Baresman and Brahman were one word and so had

That meaning has already been referred to
meaning.

people,

common

from the point of view of etymology as 'thing extended,

get

'

religions offering

'

in

Baresman-Brahman

of

in

meanings of Baresman,

Brahman,

'

lifted

Combining etymology with usage, we

general as the most probable meaning

up, presented, offered.'

'

the offering of

The

the prehistoric period.

diverse

the offering of sacred branches,' and

hymn and

differentiations of the original

may

prayer,'

meaning of

'

be regarded as

religious offering

'

in

Another hypothesis is possible, to wit that the offering of sacred branches accompanied by hymn and prayer, as described in the Avesta, was the original meaning of BaresmanBrahman, and that while Baresman has maintained its meaning
general.

unchanged, Brahman has undergone a transference of meaning,

the custom of offering sacred branches having dropped out of

use

among

the Indians, and so

to the remaining element

hymn and

prayer.

Cf.

Ex.

first

Brahman being

applied exclusively

the ritual, namely the offering of

hypothesis seems to

me

to be the

Centuries intervened between the prehistoric period

safer one.

2Pss.

The

in

XXIX,

LXVI,

17,

27,

'The

CXLIX,

thigh of the heave offering

6.

which

Text unfortunately not absolutely

The Book of Psalms, N. Y., 1895.

is

sure.

heaved up.'

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

when Baresman and Brahman were one word with one meanins"
and the period of rehgious practice reflected

and Persian sources.

'

offering

fice (cf.

'

many

of

in the earhest

Indian

quite possible that in the prehistoric

Baresman-Brahman may have

period
or

It is

things,

e.

referred to the

'

hfting

'

the parts of the animal sacri-

g.,

Heb. terijmah), sacred branches, sacred formulae of

and prayer,

up

hymn

etc.

The dominant

explanation of the word

Professor Roth (St. Petersburg Lexicon)

originally " die als

Drang und

'

brahman

'

who makes

that of

is

to

it

mean

des Gemiiths auftretende

Fiille

und den Gottern zustrebende Andacht."

He is followed by
who says that brahman is " from the root bark exert,
strain, extend,' and denotes simply 'worship' as the offering
which the elevated affections and strained desires of the devout
Whitney,^

'

bring to the gods"

iginal

and also by Deussen,^ who defines the or-

meaning of brahman

as " der

zum

emporstrebende Wille des Menschen."

planation,

brahman

not

is

much

so

more
dence

some

primitive idea.
is in

favor of the

The

extent.

seems to

It

as

tlie

me

logical, objective.

It

question

only

is

which

is

in-

the

that the weight of the evi-

more concrete notion

is

ex-

uplifted soid^ the ex-

In the Vedic period religion was

primitive.

this

the priestly wor-

Both ideas undoubtedly

altation of the spirit in worship.

volve each other to

According to

iipliftcd voice of

t/ie

hymn

shiper in prayer and

Heiligen, Gottlichen

when we reach

as beine the
ritualistic,

more

cosmo-

the period of the

Upanishads that religion becomes psychological and introspective,

in a

word, subjective.

tions

In the course of the Upanishad specula-

Brahman undoubtedly came

to

mean something not

alto-

gether different from the " Wille " of Schopenhauer.

that this

was the

original

The

violent anacronism.

duced against

this

theory

which the word brahman

'

meaning

"

But to hold
meaning of brahman seems to me a

following considerations
(i)

'

Out of 240 or more passages in

RV. Grassmann finds the
" in only

five.

Or. &= Ling. Stud., 1S73, p. 2S, note.

Vedanfa,

Cf

Ps.

be ad-

occurs in the

Erhebung des Gemiithes

1

may

S. 1 28.

XXV,

I.

But

in

these

THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN.

passages also brahman can be interpreted without violence

as
'hymn or prayer.' The phrase braJunand vandamdna imdm

dhiyam

(III,

only here) alone gives any support to the

But it may be rendered through a hymn

18, 3

view of Grassmann.
{brahman) uttering

'

this meditation

as well as by through inward devotion {brahman) uttering this hymn.' (2) To assic^n to
brahman as its fundamental meaning the exaltation of the spirit
'

'

'

in

worship'

illustrates the

with the interpretation of

the light of
"

modern

psychological danger, in connection

ancient texts, of reading them in

all

For, as Professor

ideas.

Max

Mueller says,^

Though

the idea of prayer as swelling or exalted thought

may
be true with us, there is little, if any, trace of such
thoughts in

the Veda."

(3) The interpretation of Sdyana the great orthodox

commentator on the Rig- Veda (d. 1387 A. D.) is worth noticing.
He halts between the meanings hymn {mantra, stotra) and of'

fering {yajTia, ajina).

But

if

'

our interpretation

correct,

is

brahman

RV. is nothing else than just a hymn lifted up, presented,

offered to God in worship.
According to this, Sdyana is not so

in the

very

far

wrong

To go back
sible, as

after

all.

to the original

already hinted, that

meaning of brh {bhrgh), it is poswas more concrete than either

it

'extend' or 'strengthen.'

The meaning 'grow' would fit in

That which grows extends itself and becomes strong.

very well.

To make

to

grow

is

to

'

make

big and large.'

'

But

if

'

grow

'

was the
period,

original meaning of brh, it was dropped at

a very remote
and only the derived meanings extend and strengthen
'

retamed.

So

far as I

am

aware, brh

is

'

never used

'

in

the sense of

grow' or 'to make to grow' (of something organic).

Still the meaning 'to grow' is assumed
by the Dhatupath {irddhau)
and accepted by Haug, Max Mueller, et al. There
is no objection
either

'

to

to the hypothesis that the prehistoric

meaning of brh was to

be remembered that this meaning was
early dropped, and so cannot be supported
by actual usage in
the historic period.
For ^^r^, Jackson ^ gives the meanings
grow,' provided that

2
^

'

it

Six Systems of Indian Philosophy,

Whitney, Roots, 18S5.
Avesta Gram.,

p. 51.

p. 70.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

'grow

up,

be high,

mean high
'

'

or

Baresman, which,

The Zend

great.'

height

'

derivatives all apparently

alone, with the possible exception of

'

meaning bunch of

as

of an original meaning

to

'

grow

may

twigs,

up,' therefore

contain a hint

growth.

Connection of the various meanings of Brdliman.

C.

Having

finished the discussion of the derivation

and usage of

brahman, we are prepared to consider the problem of the

tion of

its

These

various meanings.

unifica-

given by Roth

are, as

(i)

pious utterance in divine worship, (2) holy formula, (3) holy

word,

holy wisdom,

(4)

(5)

holy

life

(the Brahmanical chastity),

(6) the Absolute, (7) holy order (the Brahmanical conininnit}'). Of

these meanings nos. (5) and (7) must be eliminated as of com-

The meaning

plex derivation.

'

chastity

'

(no. 5)

clearly de-

is

rived mediately through the idea of bj^ahmacarya, the

brahmacarin or theological student, of

And

required.

strict

of the

was

chastity

the meaning 'holy order' or 'priesthood,' as

already pointed out,

man and brahman.

is

to

be derived from the joint idea of brah-

Perhaps, too, brahman came to be used in the

sense of priesthood
'

Brahma

whom

life

ca Ksatram

as the correlative of Ksatra

'

ca),

i.

nobility

'

(cf.

through the working of the prin-

e.,

There remain, then,

ciple of analogy.

'

meanings of brah-

five

man to be unified. We begin with the Vedic meaning as

hymn or prayer.' How brahman came to have this meaning
'

We

has been sufficiently indicated.

that

brahman had

only afterwards
sacred word.

'hymn

first

are not justified in assuming

the meaning of

'

word

'

in

general,

which

received the specialized sense of religious or

Historically,

There

or prayer.'

we have
no

is

to begin with the

meaning

proof of any meaning

direct

'hymn or prayer,' gradually with the creation of a sacred literature came to have the
larger meaning of holy word in general. This process may be
more

primitive in Sanskrit.

from the parallel process

Here the most

toroth or

some matter

But since the

or worship.

such

the

in

primitive unit of revelation

deliverance of the priest on

life

as

'

'

illustrated

Brahman,

'

laws,'

the

word

first

is

Old Testament.
the tordh or oral

pretaining to religious

canon was a collection

Tordli

came

to have

or

more

THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN.

comprehensive sense as the Tbrdh or

'

Law

the meaning of Tordh was so enlarged that

Old Testament

The

in its antithesis to the

use of the word

Rig-Veda, or

(i) the

whole

'

Veda

'

known

Finally

covered the whole

it

Evang.

(cf.

analogous.

is

(2) all three

religious literature

New

(of Moses).

'

loh.,

I,

may mean

It

17).

either

four) Vedas, or (3) the

(or

Revelation in

as Qruti or

its

antithesis to Smriti or Tradition.

It

has already been pointed out that the

ings of

brahman may be reduced

namely

(i)

Brahman,

Xht. objective

word

as sacred

hymn, sacred

(2) Brahman, the subjective

wisdom and theology, the content and meaning
objective word
and (3) Brahman tlie hnmanent Word,
;

as sacred

of the

the energy which manifests itself in both sacred

order,

and indeed

ings of

in all

Brahman

ism and so
but

remaining mean-

and naturally to three

formula, and sacred text in general

word

five

easily

There

unified.

is

the various

fairly well

common

represented

For consider

we have

In the O. T.
(

The

Torotli or de-

liverances of the priests concerning matters of worship.

when

finally collected

meanorgan-

indeed a development of meaning,

in a sense, inevitable.

the parallel development in the West.

the three stages

way

hymn and sacred

are articulated together in one

both natural, and,

it is

In this

things.

formed the objective word.

(2)

These-

The Dcb-

message of Jahweh through the prophet, in

which there was a larger emphasis on the inner content or
doctrine of the word and (3) the Hochmah Wisdom, of Jahweh,
har-jalrweh, or

which

in Prov.

VIII,

is

especially in Stoicism,

word,'

hypostasized.

we have

In Greek philosophy, too,

{i) loyo::

evoiddszo-, 'the internal

Aoyo- ~po<forjix6-, 'the external word,' and (3) Uyo:;

a-tpno.Tu6z, the immanent word or reason of God, which works
(2)

'

'

in

the heart of

religion

These two streams, namely Hebrew

things.

and Greek philosophy,

Testament

word

all

find their synthesis

in

the

New

and so we have there also a threefold doctrine of the

and objective word (2) the

meaning and content of the word as truth' (Evang. loh.,
XVII, 17), 'spirit and life' (Id. VI, 6^)) and (3) the Adyo-: as
as

(i)

Scripture, the written

inner

'

the Divine, Heavenly and Creative

words used by Oldenberg

in

Word.

May we

another connection that

not say in

this dialec-

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

20

movement in Hebrew, Indian, Greek, and Christian thought

"has something of the calm inevitable necessity of a natural

tic

process ?"^

no wonder that some scholars have sought to provide a

meaning word as the original meaning of brahman

It is

basis for the

by

'

'

trying

to

connect brh with vrdh

verbuvi, Wort, word,

may

'to

perhaps be

from which

grow,'

The attempt

derived.

There seems to be no
can hardly be pronounced successful.
and 7rdh ; and bebhrgh
between
connection
possible phonetic
verbum,

sides even the connection of

Moreover, the attempt

ing

word

prayer

it

'

in

'

its

is

etc.,

unnecessary.

As

own way.

with vrdli

disputed.^

is

Brahman gets the meanname for Vedic hymn or

'

the course of the growth of the

came gradually in
Holy Scripture,

Indian doctrine of

to

mean

'

the holy word.'

The threefold development of meaning, as explained above, is

Any one
not at all dependent on the question of derivation.
of the

synonymous terms

for

'hymn'

or 'prayer,' as c.g.,stotra

or nianisd, might have had the same development, if stotdras or

manisinas had acquired the supreme position which the Brahmanacquired.

priests

here submit a (tentative) synopsis of the

word brahman. Its derivatives, Brahman,

meanings of
Brdlmianaspdti, and brahmacarya, must be introduced in order
to make the synopsis complete.
the

Brahman
Brahmanaspati

Brahman
(Priest)

111

Word

objective

Word
(

II
subjective

III Y

Word Immanent
(Absolute)

Theology

Hymn

2
3
Spell Text

Brahniacarya(

Studentship)
I.

Buddha,

2.

g.,

Gr. iipu

Priesthood.

2.

Chastity.

p. 29.

by Meyer {Griech. Gram., 1896,

VYtp

'to say'

/.

e.,

ver-bum.

S. 231,

320),

who

connects verbum with

CHAPTER

II.

The Development of the Doctrine of Unity

in

the Pre-

Upanishad Literature,
A.
Uie growth of the

niojiistic

and

conception in the period of the Rig- Veda

in the region of the Panjdb.

Deussen remarks that "the

people

is

and oldest philosophy of a

first

to be found in their religion."

This

preeminently-

is

true of the religion of the Rig-Veda, because of the speculative

element which was present from the very beginning.

hymns
in its

most

The sun

striking manifestations.

on the hearth,

fire

The

oldest

reveal a naive childlike conception of nature as displayed

in the

heavens, the

once beneficent and destructive, the storm-

at

winds, the thunder-bolt, the blushing dawn, the all-embracing

heaven

these were

the things which called into activity the re-

and speculative tendencies of the Vedic Aryans.

ligious

the case of

fire

{agni).

biography of Agni,^

in

by which agni

becomes

'

fire

'

with Agni
tery of
genius.

would

at

We

have, then, personification,

'

god.'

Or, to put

it

'

fire

another way, Agni, the mys-

in

seemed to demand for its explanation an agent or

Hence behind agni-phenomenal was postulated, as zve

fire,

say, agni-noumenal, the genius of

to divine honors.

anthropomorphically.
first

manifest

'

and apotheosis as processes connecting agni

and elevated
the

is

Agni god.' The principle

work together with the primi-

finally

tendency to personification.

tive

idealization

Take

Mueller has written the

which the theogonic process

seems to have been

of causality

Max

Professor

philosophy.'

Thus

fire,

who was

In the search after causes

ideahzed

was conceived

natural law
'

the gods were

A gradual change or movement

Since the gods were

'

is

discernible in Vedic thought.

an intellectual creation

'

Gesc/iichte, S. 77.

Max

Physical Religion, pp. 144-176.

Deussen,

'

of the

Mueller, Six Systems,

op. cil.,S.

79.

Aryan

p. 48.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

22

Hence

mind, the same power which made could also unmake.

successive deities rise above the horizon as

were, have their

it

Thus,

period of ascendancy and then decline.

in the

Rig-Veda Dyaus and Varuna are vanishing gods.

age of the
Indra, the

warrior god, holds the supreme place in the Vedic pantheon, the

number of hymns being

greatest

Indra

doubted and

finally

is

like Zeus,

Some

the father of gods and men.'

'

is just menYagur-Veda he

Prajapati

ridiculed.^

tioned in the Rig- Veda, but in the period of the

is,

But even

written in his honor.

of the later

Thus

Vedic gods are mere products of speculative abstraction.

Brdhmaiiaspdti

brahman
tion,

is

hymn

'

simply the hypostasis of the power of the

or prayer

'

Prajapati, of the

and Tapas of the power of

austerity.'

movement discernible
whole, a movement towards

Further, the
is,

on the

was involved

a tendency

Oldenberg says

in

power of genera-

the conception of deity

in

Such

a doctrine of unity.

the Vedic conception of nature.

" Fiir den vedischen Glauben

ist

die

As

ganze den

Menschen umgebende Welt beseelt."^ This being so, then sooner

or later speculative thought was bound to grasp the one underWe may compare early Greek
lying 'self or 'soul' of things.
philosophy, in which a hylozoistic conception of nature soon

reached

logical conclusion in the

its

Again, the use of dcva,

'

monism

epithet of the gods, seems to carry with

that

all

At any
and

the gods participate in one

rate there

fusion, all of

of the Eleatic school.

the bright heavenly one,' as a general

it

the suggestion at least

common

nature or essence.

evidence of a tendency toward classification

is

which points

in the direction of unity.

Thus,

according to their spheres of activity, the gods receive a threefold classification as

gods of the

earth.

gods of the sky, gods of the mid-air, and

The number

of the gods was apparently con-

structed on the basis of this threefold division, since they

all

represent multiples of three, as three or thirty-three or thirty-

Further, on the basis of unity of function

three million.

have the conception of 'dual gods,'

Soma, Agni-Soma, Indra-Agni,

iCf.
2

RV,

II, 12, 5,

Veda, S. 39.

e.

etc.,

VIII, loo,

g.,

we

Indra-Varuna, Indra-

according to which two

3,

X, 119,

etc.

THE GROWTH OF THE MONISTIC CONCEPTION.

gods are combined

23

the dual and then viewed as a unity.

in

Sometimes, too, the functions of

more or

less identical,

'all-gods,'

which name

ceived as overlapping and

the name Vi^ve Devas,

the gods are apparently con-

all

and so there

is

easily inter-

is

changeable with any abstract designation of the divine totality.

All of this betrays the first crude beginnings of a systematizing

and unifying

another parallel but perfectly distinct tendency,

This term deMueller has aptly called Hcnotheism.

tism and fusion,

Max

which

Closely related to the tendency to syncre-

spirit.
is

scribes the impulse of the

from

whichever deva

As Eggeling says "It

under which the human mind in

deity.

ance to

its

withdraw

to

to exalt for the time

other devas and

all

ate object of adoration,

Vedic poet

this

is

may

many

of

its

outpourings the

Henotheism may be regarded as

a kind of dim recognition of an underlying unity.

says

"

Es

all die

zu der

verschiedenen Gottergestalten im Grunde

gar nicht von einander unterschieden sind, dass

doch nur Einer

As Schroeder

die uns zuletzt hinfiihrt

eine Tendenz,

ist

Erkenntniss dass

supreme

be, into a

immcdiateiiess of impulse

infancy strives to give utter-

its

emotions that imparts to

ring of monotheistic fervor."

it

his attention

being the immedi-

sind, dass aus

dem Einen

sie

sie alle

im Grunde

sich entfaltet,

alle

eine Tendenz zum Glauben an das "iv y.ai zav, zum Paiitheis?m(s."
For we must bear in mind that the Vedic gods are rarely if ever
thought of quite apart from the natural forces and phenomena of

which they are

in

most cases mere

personifications.

As such

they might easily be thought of as only various manifestations of

the

One

in the

And

Reality, the

hymn

so

164, 46)

in all things.

is

one the sages call diversely

it

Agni, Yama, Matari^van.

may

example,

for

be conceived, as

One

is

ive

IX

S. 76.

g.,

say, not simply as a

Reality, but rather as the

Ency. Brit.,

^Kitltw,

e.

approached by the devout

would

under a special manifestation.

^

So,

They name

manifestation of the
itself

(I,

That which

when Agni,

singer, he

mystery that dwells

of Dirghatamas

Ed., Art. Brahmanism.

One

Reality

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

24

To
as

illustrate this

it is

conception of the underlying unity of things,

set forth in the

Rig- Veda,

have selected

for special treat-

ment the seven hymns which from this point of view seem to me
most important. These are hymns 72, 81, 90, 121, 125, 129
and

Of these

90 of the tenth book.

trical

The aim

translations.

and meter of the

The order

The

Hymn

the following met-

I offer

simply to reproduce the thought

I,

is

make no

of course,

after

of Creation, X, I2g.

there a sea, a deep abyss of waters

Then was nor death nor anything immortal,

No

night was there, nor of the day appearance.

Breathed breathless then in self-existence That One,

Other than
3.

it,

of any kind, there was not.

Darkness there was

Was

all this

world

and by the darkness covered

at first, a

wat'ry chaos

germ lay hidden in its' secret casing.

Which by the might of heat was born as That One.
4.

From whom in the beginning love developed,

Which is the primal germ of conscious spirit
The bond of being in non-being seeking
Poets with insight in the heart discovered.

5.

Across

all

What was

things their measuring-line extended.

above, and what was found beneath

Seed-bearers were there and developed forces

Beneath, self-power
6.

above,

its

But who knows, who is able to declare

Whence sprang originally this creation

Who

then can

How

this creation

Whether

know from whence

came

it ?
;

revelation.
it,

Afterwards came the gods into existence

7.

claim to

Deussen.

Then was there neither being nor non-being,

Nor airy sphere nor heaven overarching
What covered all ? and where ? in whose protection ?

Was
2

and

original,

literary excellence.

1.

is

it

had

its

being

into existence.

as uncreated or created

He who in highest heaven looks out upon it.

He knows forsooth, or does not even he know ?

THE GROWTH OF THE MONISTIC CONCEPTION.

Hynvi

TJic

1.

Hiranyagarbha, X, 121.

In the beginning rose Hira7iyagarbha,

Born

He,

as the single lord of every creature

too,

He who
Revered

was that stablished earth and heaven,

it

What god
2.

to

shall

we adore with

sacrifices ?

gives breath and strength, and whose instruction

by the gods and

is

all

the creatures

Whose shadow immortality and death is,

What god shall we adore with sacrifices ?
3.

He who

in majesty

O'er

all

things breathing and o'er

Who

rules two-footed

What god
4.

shall

the one

is

monarch
all

and four-footed

we adore with

things dying,
creatures,

sacrifices ?

He by whose might exist these snowy mountains,

The ocean and the stream of which they fable
Whose all-embracing arms are the world-regions,
What god shall we adore with sacrifices ?
;

5.

He

whom sky is firm and earth is steady.

whom sun's light and heaven's arch are stablished;

through

Through

Who

fixed the airy sphere twixt earth

What god
6.

He

shall

whom

to

we adore with

and heaven,

sacrifices ?

look the rival hosts in battle.

Sustained by his support and anxious-hearted

O'er

whom

What god
7.

When
Came

first

shall

we adore with

the mighty

sacrifices ?

all -pervading

waters

germ-containing, agni-generating,

Thence rose he who is of the gods the one

What god shall we adore with sacrifices ?
8.

E'en he who

Which

Who

in his

life,

might surveyed the waters.

force contain

and

sacrifice

engender

o'er the gods rules as the one supreme god,

What god
9.

he as the sun new risen shines forth,

shall

we adore with

sacrifices ?

May he not harm us, he, earth's generator.

He who with order fixed begat the heaven.
And gendered, too, the bright and mighty waters,
What god

shall

we adore with

sacrifices ?

25

A STUDY OF THE INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

26
lo.

Who

holds in his

is no other,
embrace the whole creation

May

that be ours

which we desire when

Prajapati, than thee there

Worship

The

to thee,

Hymn
1.

may we

to

off'

ring

be lords of riches.

Tapas and Sanivatsara, X, 190.

From Tapas, the all-glowing heat.

Were generated law and truth
From it was generated night.
;

2.

And

from

And

from the ocean's swelling tide

too, the swelling sea.

it,

Begotten was the circling year

Which

And
3.

ruleth all that

Which,
In order

move

fair

the sun and

He who
He

Hymn

to

has entered,

the wise sacrificer

all

earth,

light of sun.

Vi^vakannan, X,

off'

<Si.

ring, into all things,

and our

through the prayer of

Through

moon,

and the

The heavens
The atmosphere and

As

the eye

as creator, stablished well

also

Tlic

ordereth the day and night.

father

men

desiring riches,

the lower world diffused his being.

But what served as a standing place

What as a firm-set basis and in what way.

From which earth-generating Vigvakarman
With might o'erarched

On
On

the heavens, seeing all things?

mouth on

all

sides are his eyes, his

all

sides are his arms, his feet

on

all sides.

all sides.

one god he with mighty arms and pinions

Forges together heaven and earth, creating.

The

AVhat was the forest, what indeed was that

tree.

which the gods have hewn out earth and heaven

From
Ye sages

He

wise, search out in spirit this whereon

took his stand, when he established

all

things firm.

THE GROWTH OF THE MONISTIC CONCEPTION.

5.

What

are the highest mansions

And these

That teach thy friends

Strong one, in
6.

and the lowest,

O Vifvakarman,
And, O thou self-existent.

here in the midst,

off'

Strengthened by

ring offer up thine

sacrifice,

own

self.

Vi^vakarman,

Do thou thyself offer up earth and heaven

And though on all sides men in error wander.
May he be our rich lord of sacrifices.
;

7.

Him

now, who quick as thought is, let us summon,

Lord of speech Vi^vakarman, for our succour.

May

Who

he delight himself in
blesseth all

Hymn

The
1.

The

We

all

our service.

and doeth good to

to

all

men.

Brdhmanaspdti, X, 72.

genesis of the bright gods

will declare with Avonder deep,

Uttered in hymns for him

who

shall

In coming generations hear.

2.

Brahmanaspati

like a

smith

Together forged whatever

When

gods existed not as

is

Then being from non-being

3.

4.

yet.
rose.

In times when gods existed not.

Then being from non-being rose.
The spaces of the world were born,
From her they call Uttanapad.

The

earth was from Uttanapad

Born, and the spaces from the earth

From

Again from Daksha

5.

Born

Aditi arose Daksha,

first

of

all is

Who, Daksha,

Aditi.

Aditi,

thine

own daughter

is

After her were the gods produced.

The
6.

blessed

When

and immortal ones.

ye stood in the swelling flood.

Ye gods, who well established are

Then as from dancers from you whirled
Upward in mighty clouds the dust.
;

27

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

28

When

7.

ye like mighty athletes caused

The worlds, ye gods, to emanate.

Then lifted ye the sun on high,
That in the ocean hidden

lay.

Eight valiant sons had Aditi,

8.

Who

from her body were produced.

With seven she went among the gods,
While she the egg-born cast away.

With seven sons went Aditi

9.

Up

to the ancient race divine

The egg-born she surrendered

The sway of birth and now of

The
1.

Hymn

to

Vac,

to

death.

X, 125.

wander with the Rudras and the Vasus

With the Adityas and the Vigve Devas
'Tis I that cherish Varuna and Mitra,
Indra and Agni and the heavenly horsemen.

2.

The soma-plant streaming with

Tvashtar and Pushan
'Tis

3.

am

offers zealously the pressed out

of those that merit worship.

first

may

enter

all

things.

Through me it is that mankind breathe and

See what is visible and hear what's spoken.
In

me

unconsciously they have their being

Hear one and

5.

soma.

have the gods in every place established.

That omnipresent
4.

Whoever

all,

speaks,

my word
'tis I

that

Whom

am

delight in, powerful I

Make him

the speaker,

and
make him.

mortals.

Brahman, or a sage or Rishi.

too

am

he that bends the

That

his

keen shaft

eat food,

deserveth credence.

Uttering things pleasing both to gods

6.

I,

the queen, the gatherer of riches,

The knowing,

Me

juice support

support and Bhaga.

that give wealth to the sacrificer,

Who

'Tis I that stir

men

may

bow

for

Rudra,

smite the Brahman-hater.

with the joy of battle.

Both earth and heaven

I fill

with mine

own

essence.-

THE GROWTH OF THE MONISTIC CONCEPTION.

7.

In highest heaven bore

Yet

is

From

And
8.

my

with

the heaven -father,

birthplace in the ocean-waters

am

thence divided

my

29

into all things,

height reach up to yonder heaven.

wind resemble as it blows hence

Thus do I reach and comprehend what e'er is
Beyond sky yonder and beyond this earth here
So great have I become through mine own greatness.

*Tis I that

The
1.

Hymn

thousand heads has Purusha

thousand eyes, a thousand

The

earth surrounding

He reached
2.

Purusha, X, 90.

to

on

beyond ten

All this vast world

is

feet

all sides,

fingers' length.

Purusha,

Both what has been, and what

He

ruleth

Through the
3.

As

who

all

still

Three-fourths

Purusha,

is

his greatness

He

other fourth developed here

all

is.

not.

Viraj,

from Viraj too Purusha.

As soon

He

that

by food and what does

lives

From Purusha was born

And

Purusha was born,

as

reached beyond earth everywhere.

With Purusha as off' ring when

The gods prepared a sacrifice.
Spring was the

Summer
7.

immortal in the heaven.

spread himself o'er

What

6.

th'

is

this world.

is all

Three-fourths ascended up on high,

The

5.

One-fourth of him

4.

be

all-potent sacrifice.

great as this

Yet greater

will

deathless are

sacrificial grease,

the fire-wood.

The gods

as off' ring

Autumn

on the straw

Sprinkled the first-born Purusha

With him

The

the gods

Rishis

drink.

made

sacrifice.

and the Sadhayas.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

30

8.

From him
Dripped

whole burnt offering

as

off the sacrificial fat

Therefrom were made fowls of the

animals both wild and tame.

air,

And
9.

From him

whole burnt offering

as

Sama-hymns
The poems, too, were born of him.
Of him the sacrificial songs.
Rik-verses rose and

10.

Horses sprang from him and all beasts

Which have oh both jaws cutting teeth
Of him the cattle Avere produced,
Of him were born both goats and sheep.
;

1 1

When

they dismembered Purusha,

In what ways was he then transformed

What

did his

And what
12.

mouth and arms become

and

his thighs

his

two

feet ?

His mouth became the Bnihmana,

his two arms the Ksatriya ;

And

His thighs became the Vaigya-class,

his two feet the Q'tdra came.

From
13.

The moon was gendered from

his mind,
from his eye the sun was born ;
Indra and Agni from his mouth.

And
And
14.

from

Born of

his breath the

his navel

The sky was from

15.

wind was born.

was the
his

air

head brought

Earth from his

feet,

The

so the worlds were

quarters

Seven

and from

forth,

his ear

made.

sticks confined the altar-fire.

Thrice seven sticks as

fuel served

The gods prepared the sacrifice.

And bound as victim Purusha.

16.

With sacrifice- the gods made sacrifices,

These sacred usages were thus primeval

The gods, the mighty ones, attained to heaven,

Which they of old inhabit as the Sadhyas.

THE GROWTH OF THE MONISTIC CONCEPTION.

contents of these hymns, so far as they are of philosophic

The
import,

may

be summarized as follows

the origin of things (X,

(X, 129, i)?

was made (X,

God who

the

29, 6)

What

existed in the beginning

What was the material out of which the world

What was the standing-place of creation
81, 4)?

Was

(X, 81, 2)?

What was

Questions emerged.

born as 'the child of wonder.'

is

Philosophy with the Vedic Aryans as with the Greeks was

Who

the world created or not (X, 129, 7)?

worthy of

is

sacrifice

When

(X, 129, 2-9)?

questions were asked, there was no separation between

these

philosophy, the search for natural causes, and theology, the doc-

gods as

trine of the gods, for the

deified natural forces fell within

Thus the Vedic

the sphere of nature.

thinkers were concerned

gods (devdndin jdnain, X, 72, i)

at once
after the manner of the Theogony of Hesiod, and with the origin
with the origin of the

manner of the early

of things {jdtavidyd, X, 71, ii) after the

In other words, the philosophy of the Rig- Veda

Ionic School.

was a cosmology described

The

partly philosophical.

may

Philosophy
'

love

in

the

and

the

in

'

vrJtsa

be noticed

tree

The

The

in passing.
1

29, 4)

place of Kdvia

reminds us of ip(07

The use

120) of Hesiod.

(v.

of z'ana 'forest'

with reference to matter as the building material

'

of the universe (X, 81, 4)

u?:rj.

terms partly mythological and

Creation-hymn (X,

Theogony
'

in

following points of contact with Greek

is

exactly the same as that of the Greek

conception, too, of the original element as water (vid.

7-9; 190, 2; 129, I, 3) reminds one

of the theoiy of Thales and also of the similar view of the HeX, 125, 7; 72, 6-7
brews.^

name

Aditi,
for

the

'

121,

the

free,'

is

from as to be,

non-being as there
said to be

'

is

is

[jltj

ov

the
is

on the other.

no absolute

infinite,'

as a

not unlike the

interesting parallel,

asat,

how-

on the one hand, and

The

neuter participle

etymologically the same as

is

Vedic hymns, there

is

The most

between the Indian sat and

the Greek to 6v and rb

sat,

the boundless,'

primeval matter (X, 72, 4-5)

dnecpov of Anaximander.
ever,

'

antithesis

In these

oV.

between being and

with the Eleatics and with Plato

for

being

born of non-being (X, 72, 2-3) and the bond or root

Cf.

Amos VII,

4,

Ex.

XX,

4,

Gen.

I, 2, Ps.

XXIV,

2.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

32
of being

The theory

discovered in non-being (X, 129,4).

is

impHed is not unlike the dynamic view of Aristotle, according to

which non-being or matter is the promise and potentiality of
being or form/
^ was conceived in three ways
as
(2) The origin of the world
a process of architecture, as a process of generation, and as a proc:

These

dismemberment.

ess of sacrificial

especially the

second and

same hymn.

The

are

third,

different conceptions,

often

combined

notion of the world-process

the

in

a process

as

of building, underlies the names Tvashtar, 'the carpenter god,'

Viqvakarman,
ordainer,'

'

the all-worker,' and Dhatar and Vidhatar,

It also

the creator.'

'

from what material

house to be

built

underlies the question (X, 81, 4)

{vaiia, vrksa, olrj) the

world conceived as a

Closely connected with this

was hewn.

forges or welds together heaven and earth (X,

we have

81,

the germs of the

'

the

is

who

conception of the world as the work of a creative smith

In these representations

the

'

72,

design

2).

argu-

'

is

But the dominant conception of the

Thus whatever is
as a process of generation.

X,

72, 3)

is

born, including heaven and earth (X, 121, 9),

sun and

moon

(X, 90, 13), the four Vedas (X, 90,

ment

in its crudest form.

world-process
{sat,

i,

original matter conceived as the infinite (X, 72, 4, Aditi

truth (X, 190,

5),

i),

190, i
and as the primeval watery chaos (X, 121, 9
as
development
empirical
itself
in
its
nay, the One Reality

(XTzzipov)

90,

5),

Tad ekam

'

that

one

121,

i),

germ' (X,
Daksha,

2),

(X, 125,

7),

'

'

(X,

90,

Hiranyagarbha

ment

is

PiirusJia,

found especially

the golden

'

'

(X, 72, 4), Vac, 'the creative

'the cosmic

man' (X,

90,

in

two hymns.

In the

sacrificial priest (hotar, v,

world continually

up earth and heaven

Such points of contact are not evidences of borrowing.

category of
2

offers

i)

'

developmental coincidences.'

Cf. Wallis,

Cosmology of the Rig- Veda,

p. 89.

who

190,

word

5).

first,

The

namely,

nature,

in creating

(v, 6),

'

dismember-

X, 81, Vigvakarman, the apotheosis of the energy of

represented as a

Sanivatsara 'the creative year' (X,

creative force

and

3),

third conception of creation as a process of sacrificial

law and

9),

10), the gods (X, 72,

the animals (X, 90,

/.

e.,

They belong

his

is

the

own

rather to the

THE GROWTH OF THE MONISTIC CONCEPTION.

body

more

still

is

clearly in

'

from which

(personified forces of nature),

ment

all

fervour' (X, 129, 3;

und Opfer,

190,

haben

Vorbild

ihr

'

heat,'

'

austerity,'

dem

in

Verhalten

Gottes

wood

they begat children

And

An

creative

built

houses of

and

sacrificial

original primciple self-existent,

From

Ekam,

this original principle

of matter ^ conceived as aditi

viraj,

'

ess, the first principle itself

'

unitary and all-com-

'that one,' X, 129, 2;

'

or as salilam, dpas,

as the third step in the proc-

underwent an empirical development

and was born of the matter which had been produced by

This explains the paradoxical statements

And
And

The

is'

(X, 72, 4-5).

again,

moments

source of this conception

Geschichte, S.

own daughter

Viraj,

from Viraj too Purusha' (X, 90, 5).

there were three

was gradually imputed

*

thine

From Purusha was born

itself.

From Aditi arose Daksha

Again from Daksha Aditi,
Born first of all is Aditi,
Who, Daksha,

Thus

force,'

was produced the chaos

the infinite

Then

the primeval waters.'^

'

in

dismemberment.

Purusha, 'the cosmic man,' X, 90, and Daksha, 'creative

4).

der

bei

and they dismembered animals

prehensive was postulated (Tad

X, 72,

the

so they conceived creation after the analogy of

architecture, generation
(3)

is

All three views of the creative process were

The Vedic Aryans

'

Bethatigungen menschlicher

suggested by experience.

sacrifice.

dismember-

As Deussen remarks: "Tapas

i).

diese beiden hochsten

Weltschopfung."

sacrificial

Closely related to this

things derive their being.^

view of creation as the result of Tapas

Kraft,

ex-

is

X, 90, where Purusha, the cosmic

represented as dismembered and offered up by the devas

pressed
man,'

This conception

of things.

as the totality

(v, 5)

33

is

in

the drama of creation

clearly to be found in the creative efficacy

{a)

which

to the sacrifice.

36.

3Cf. Hesiod Theogony, v, 115.

*

Compare the

hammayim.

three parallel terms in Gen. I, 2, viz., tbhii

wa

bhohii,

tehom and

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

34

the Original Being (transcendent),

the world of chaotic, indis-

{b)

crete matter, the primeval abyss, and

the Original Being

{c)

(phenomenal) as the First-born and Ruler of

briefly at the place

Let us glance

(4)

They

remain to the devas.

all things.^

and functions which now

are not banished, neither do they

They are simply brought into a

One Reality as effects of the One

lose their personification entirely.

relation of subordination to the

Cause (X, 129,6; 125, 1-2; 90, 13), as individual forces of the one
all-Comprehensive Force (X, 125, 3 90, 6-7 72, 6), as sharers
in the One Life (X, 121, 7), and as obedient subjects (X, 121, 2,
;

and ministers (X, 72, 7 81, 4) of the One Lord. In

capacity as subjects and ministers of a Supreme Lord the

90, 2)

their

devas are not unlike the malachim

'

angels

'

of the Old Testa-

ment.^
(5)

Thus

is

is

toward

monoThe One Reka Deva the

described sometimes in the terms of

theism and sometimes

ality

hymns

the tendency of the later Vedic

unity, but this unity

when conceived

in the

terms of monism.

monotheistically

called

is

'

Eka Pati the One Lord (X, 121,

One King' (X, 121, 3). These epithets
have a Semitic ring. They remind us of the Hebrew Psalms, in
which God, Lord, and King are frequent names of Deity. The
One God (X, 8 1
i) and Eka Rdjd

121,8),

'

'

'

'the

characters essential to a consistent

monotheism are the

personality, the sovereignty, the transcendence

(=

The

righteousness) of God.

first

hymn

to

and the holiness

three seem to be found in the

and the fourth, pos-

Hiranyagarbha-Prajdpati\iymvL (X, I2i);

sibly in the monistic

unity, the

Purusha (X,

90), according to

which

only one-fourth of Purusha was converted into phenomenal existence,

while the other three-fourths

remained, as originally,

For the idea of the holiness

of God we have to go back to the august and commanding figure
of Varuna (cf. V, 85), "the King of all" (v. i), who awakens
"immortal

in his

in

the heaven"

(v. 3).

worshippers the consciousness of sin

holds moral order {rtani) and punishes

have

in the

its

(vv.

7-8)

breach.

Rig-Veda the scattered germs of an

iVid. Deussen, Op.

2Cf. Ps. CIV, 4

cit.,

who

up-

Thus we
mono-

ethical

S. 57.

'Who maketh

his angels winds, his ministers a flaming

fire.'

THE GROWTH OF THE MONISTIC CONCEPTION.

35

ways such a monotheism might have been resingle Aryan tribe or community through the teach-

In two

theism.

ahzed.

Hebrew

ing of Rishis, having the ethical earnestness of

prophets,

might have maintained and developed the ethical conception of

Varuna, and so outstripped

Hence

all

the rest in zeal for righteousness.

might have arisen a rivalry between Varuna and

there

the Devas, just as between

Jahweh and the Baalim, with

victory for Varuna.

we know from Hebrew history,

mode of genesis for an ethical sys-

would have been a

How

tem.

the Rig- Veda

This, as

practical

was from accomplishment

far this

final

the period of

in

manifest from the words of Deussen, himself an

is

ardent admirer of things Indian, to the effect that the ethical ele-

which the

worth of a religion

ment,

in

Veda

surprisingly into the shade.^

real

Prajapati, the lord of all creatures)

in

answer to the question

new god

Or, again, a

(like

might have been discovered

What God

'

the Rig-

lies, falls in

shall

we adore with

sacri-

and then conceived as 'the One God above the gods,' the

fice ?'

older devas or gods being degraded to the position of

ing angels.'

Such

disclosed

the

in

movement towards monotheism

Prajapati-hymn.

minister-

is

the

represents

It

'

actually

highest

reach of the Vedic striving towards monotheism.

But the dominant trend of Vedic thought was towards a

Even where,

monistic conception of things.

hymn, One God

is

lutely certain that

mentioned as above

'

as in the Prajapati-

we

gods,

are not abso-

anything more than a nominal monotheism.

it is

The Eka Deva may be only

nature like the

all

Dcus

'

a theological

name

for the totality of

According

of Spinoza.

to the monistic

conception of things the one reality was viewed most consistently

as neuter
2).

But

and impersonal. Tad Ekam, ro

it

also bore other names,

ev,

'

that one' (X, 129,

which are

less

impersonal,

such as PimisJia (X, 90).

(6) It is to be noted finally that Bralimanaspati, the apotheosis
of the

power

of the

brahman

'

hymn

or prayer,' and

Vac, the

apotheosis of speech as incarnate in the Vedic words, are both

made

to

refer

to

the

ultimate reality.

greatness (X, 125) quite in the

1

manner

Op. at., S. 82.

Vac
in

declares her

own

which Sophia {Hoch-

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

36

mdh, Prov. VIII) declares

Purusha,
just as

is

an anticipation of the

Hochnidh

Logos of the

the Divine

'

New

Brahmanaspati and

Vac, like

hers.

Brahman, the One Reality,

later

Wisdom

'

is

an anticipation of the

Testament.

B.

The grozvth of the monistic conception

Veda and

in the region of

Each of

Brdhmana

when used

Samhitd

{a) the

or collection of

and

{c)

'

wider sense, has

in the

hymns,

or collection of

priestly discourses,'

hymns

the practical use of the

sacrifices,

Madhyadega.

the four Vedas,

three portions

period of the Yajur-

in the

{B)

the

which explain

connection with the various

in

the Stitra, a brief and systematic exposition of

Brdhmana after the manner of a modern cateBrdhmana as a rule contains three subdiBrdhmana in the narrow sense, consisting largely

the content of the

Further, each

chism.
visions

{a) the

of ceremonial prescriptions, {b) the

the end of a

and

the

{c)

Brdhmana,

in

Upanisad or

Aranyaka or

which the
'

'

iorest-treatise

'

at

sacrificial cult is spiritualized,

mystic doctrine

'

at the

end of the

These divisions may be illustrated from the famous

Brdhmana, which contains fourteen books, of which
thirteen make up the Brdhmana in the narrow sense, and

Aranyaka.
CatapatJia

the

first

the fourteenth the Aranyaka, while the last six chapters of the

book compose the Upanisad known as the BrhaddrThere is another analysis of the contents of
a Brdhmana, as given by Madhusudana Safasvati, the author of

fourteenth

anyaka Upanisad.

the Prasthdna-Bheda,^ into vidhi,

exegetical,

sition,'

Vcddnta

'

mythological,

prescription,' artJiavdda

dogmatical,

phy
the

and

expolastly

the end of the Veda,' both as conclusion of the Veda,

since the Upanisads represent the final stages of

and as

etc.,

'

aiin of the

The

of the Vedas.^

Brdhmana

period)

period of the

literature,

Vid. Deussen, Geschichte, S. 47-50.

With the ambiguity

of the

word Vedanta we may compare

Metaphysics [ja

both in order and in theme.

Yajnr- Ju'da (also called

understand to include whatever literature

'

in the use of the

Vedic

Veda, since the Upanisads contain the philoso-

/nera

ra (pvaiKa

the similar ambiguity

of Aristotle, as following the Physics

THE GROWTH OF THE MONISTIC CONCEPTION.

between the Rig-Veda Samliitd and the Upanisads,

falls

Z7

e.,

{.

the

Yajur- Veda Sainhiid, the Atharva- Veda SainJutd and the Brdh-

vianas in the narrow sense.

First to be noticed

is

hymns

the cleft between the period of the

of the Rig- Veda, and the time of the composition of the oldest

When

BrdJnnanas.

we

in India,

see the

B. C.) tending

hymns

their

fighting their battles,

their flocks,

is

the

period of obscurity,

shifts

of the second period, which

is

and singing

from the Panjab to the Madhyade<;a,

The

the region of the upper Ganges and Jamna.

Veda,

time

The great monument

Rig- Veda Samhitd.
Then there follows a
of migration and conflict.
The centre of

and thought

life

first

in the land of the five rivers.

of this period

Aryan

the curtain of history rises for the

Aryans (probably in the second millennium,

Yajiir-

monument

have called the period of the

the Brdlimana literature.

lections of the

great

Yajiir-

In this period the hymn-col-

Veda and Atharva- Veda were made and

probably the canon of the Rig- Veda Samhitd was not closed be-

The Bi'dhnianas as a literature may be briefly

They represent the earliest Indo-European prose.

fore this time.

characterized.

They

As

pre -suppose the Vedic hymns.

ritualistic

theological

and philosophical appendices to the Vedic hymns they bear a

relation to

ture to the

them

similar to that borne

The Brdhnianas are, as

hymns and the Upanisads.

Old Testament.

bridge between the Vedic

them symbolism gone mad.

thing

else.

symbolism.

They

Everything

ideas

were, a

We see in

the fact that ritualism thrives on

illustrate

too

it

litera-

equated with every-

is

Deussen warns us against taking

philosophical
Still

by the Talmudical

their (apparently)

The warning

seriously.^

is

needed.

the wild and incoherent identifications of the Brdhnianas

indicate, at least, the trend

and general direction of Indian specu-

lation.

Let us

now

address ourselves to the philosophy of the period,

Brdhniana
Oldenberg says, " In none of the Vedic texts can we trace

especially as revealed in the pages of the (^atapatJia

for, as

the genesis of the conception of the unity in

first

dim indications of

this
1

thought

Op.

cit.,

until

S. 174.

it

all

that

is,

from the

attains a steady bril-

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

38

which next to the hymns of

clearly as in that work,

liancy, as

the Rig- Veda, deserves to be regarded as the most significant in

the whole range of Vedic literature, the

dred paths.' "

first,

how

to see

Brdhnmna

of the Inin-

are important for our purpose,

Here two things

'

far the philosophical ideas

already discovered in

the Ri^-- Veda Saviliitd suffer modification or development, and

secondly, to summarize the steps
of

Brahman

as the

Prajapati,

who

Samlutd

One

just

the genesis of the

emerges above the horizon

power

zenith of his

in the

is

in

meaning

Reality.

in

the Ri^- Veda

in

once the mania for identification which characterizes

illustrate at

God

the Brdhinanas, and the nature of Prajapati " the great

{inahdn Deva, Cat

following

VI,

Br.,

thing

(I,

gods

(I, 7, 4,

5,

3,

mind (IV,
I,

soma
5),

i),

i,

(I,

speech

10),

i,

(II,

i,

22), truth (IV, 2,

god (VI,

i,
i,

3,

i,

42),

detect a certain

is

And

2),

RV., X, 90,

15),

name

18),

3,

and mother

i,

3,

1),

(Id.),
2, 2,

the whole

4, i, 12).

think

identification.

for the totality of things

may

be identified

manner of Purusha (RV.,

the

RV., such as

in the

yediV {Sanivatsara,

121), Hiranyagarblia

karman (RV., X,
earth,'

(II, 3,

Hiranyagarbha {Yl,

so Prajapati

God

speech {vac, RV., X, 125), the Great

de-

or with various individual things of fundamental cos-

mic import already mentioned

RV., X,

is

12), every-

and becoming, the apotheosis

'everything' in general after the

X, 90,

submit the

brahman of the

madness of

in this

clearly a mythological

viewed as the One Reality.

with

26), father

3, 16),

Prajapati, as the lord of generation

"

26), the self [dtman) {IV

and Vigvakarman (IX,

method

2, 5,

Agni

4, 13),

i,

5,

(I,

27), the

the worlds and the quarters (VI,

brdlimaniyW,

of nature,

year

17), the

5, 2,

Prajapati

Br.

(^at.

{I'dc, I, 6, 3,

21), the earth

the great

Ka (Id.),

16) of this period,

3,

heaven and earth (V,

(Id.),

we can

i,

of identifications from the

list

clared to be the sacrifice

6,

To

the Brdhinanas.

father

81).

Other

and mother,'

acter as the substance

and

/v^:

cf

(cf the

2);

of

such as 'heaven and

simply indicate Prajapati's char-

and support of

all

things.

tion of Prajapati with Atiiian (^at. Br., IV, 6,

1

190,

Eka Deva

(RV., X, 121), and Vigva-

identifications

etc.,

sacrifice (cf,

RV., X,

Buddha,

p. 25.

i,

The
i)

identifica-

and with the

THE GROWTH OF THE MONISTIC CONCEPTION.

whole Brahman (VII,

39

i, 42) is indicative of the growing inbecame

the BraJimaii-Atuian doctrine of
what
the Upanisads.
The cosmic character of Prajapati must not be

fluence of

3,

finally

He

overlooked.

especially identified with the year (Samvat-

is

sara), the ever-recurring cycle of the birth

For a

and decay of nature.

on the part of a Christian poet, com-

similar representation

pare the lines in Thomson's

Hymn

to the Seasons

" These as they change, Almighty Father, these

Are but the varied God the rolling year
Is full of Thee."
;

As

Creative Year Father

the

Prajapati

through much production and so

renewed through

therefore has to be

Agni, the returning

(especially

through the renewed

Prajapati

at

is

II,

I,

5,

Tapas

spring.^

('

Prajapati

I,

3,

offer

Hence

He
own

^at. Br., II,

creative fervour

himself

is

forces)

and

things, devas

He

the original principle.

His primal impulse

I.

austerity,'

(through the devas his

all

is

this) in the beginning,

all

VI,

the creative means.

he produces

and heat of Spring)

once the father and the son of Agni, the father

alone was here (or

;

He

which the gods

sacrifice

of the forces of. nature.

activity

and the son of the devas.

fire

his strength

loses

relaxed (in winter).

is

and

')

once

at

is

2, 4,

desire of offsacrifice are

sacrificial

sacrificial victim.

priest

Thus

and asuras (the bright and dark

Brahman, Ksatra and Vig, yea all living creaboth the " defined and the undefined, the limited

forces of nature).

He

tures.

is

and the unlimited."

From

all this

beyond the

What we

it

is

clear that there

find

irany agarbha,

is

fall

identification with

attributes of all of

Nor

is

Vedic hymns.

The Vedic

Vigvakarman, Vac, Samvatsara, Pnrusa, are

far

behind

him.

Prajapati

in his,

and

Prajapati

is

They, so to speak, lose their being

ing.

no great advance as yet

simply a change of emphasis.

mentioned, but they

through

is

incipient philosophical doctrine of the

them and so appears

in

find

all

importance.
it

again only

enriched with the

as the one

supreme be-

the doctrine of the gods essentially different from

iCf.

RV., X, 129,

4.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

40

what we have found

As

hymns

in the philosophical

of the Rig-Veda.

regards their cosmic character, the devas are viewed as the

senses of the all-embracing world-man (^at. Br.,

members and
Ill, 2, 2, 13

V,

inapati,

VII,

I,

9),

3, 3,

Varuna, as the lord of law

2, 7).
still

is

adultery sins against Varuna

" noose."

The mysticism

holy

the

(II,

2,

5,

20) and

of the Brdlnnanas

into his

falls

justified

is

oft-repeated declaration that " the gods love the mystic."

"two

are

"The

kinds of gods," divine and human.

sooth are the gods

4, 4).

by the
There

gods, for-

and the learned Brahmans versed

human gods " (IV, 3,

doctrine of sacrifice, we notice that
The sacrificial
a human character.
lore are the

[dJiar-

Whoso commits

god.

in

sacred

Coming now

to the

has at once a cosmic and

it

activity of the priests finds

antitype and justification in the sacrificial activity of the gods.

its

As

in the philosophical

world-process

is

hymns

of the Rig-Veda, so here also the

viewed as an eternal

all-embracing reality (Prajapati, X,

and
fice

Brahman, XIII,

later
'

7,

i,

i,

III, 5, 3,

because of the

sacrifice.

position and authority through sacrifice.

are delivered from "Varuna's noose."

"the most excellent work"

devotion"

"the

i,

a thing in

(III, 5, 3, 12),

(III, I, 3, 25),

(I, 7,

The gods obtained their

Through it, too, men
Hence the sacrifice is

5),

its

becoming

Gods, men, and

"the great

inspirer of

real nature "invisible"

{dtman) of the gods" (VIII, 6,

self

i,

10).

doctrine of the all-sufficiency of the sacrifice reached

climax

i,

Yajna 'sacri-

the victim.

i) is

manner of the doctrine of Heraclitus.

pitris, all exist

Purusha,

a kind of apotheosis of the eternal process of

is

after the

The

of which the one

sacrifice,

2, 2,

its

in the Bt'dlwianas,

word or two may be added with

in this period, of

a primeval matter.

reference to the doctrine,

It

does not

tially

from that which we have already found

Thus

in the

Taitt.

SaiiiJi.

that " water forsooth

was here

i,

there

watery chaos, from which

^

Salilam,

cf.

RV., X,

29, 3.

is

i,

5,

i)

we

read

(or all this) in the beginning, a

chaotic mass," ^ and that "Prajapati as wind

In ^at. Br., XI, 1,6,

essen-

the Rig-Veda.

in

(V, 6, 4, 2 and VII,

differ

moved upon

it."

also a mention of the primeval

Prajapati
2

is

yayn,

said
cf.

to have sprung,

rilah,

Gen.

I, 2.

THE GROWTH OF THE MONISTIC CONCEPTION.

Deussen
japati

In VI,

I,

we have

and phenomenal existence.

relative

a further description of the primeval matter

words

as non-being* in the

here (or

an attempt to dethrone Pra-

sees in this last passage

by allowing him only a

" In the

beginning non-being was

all this)."

So much then with

reference to the philosophico-religious

ideas of the Brdhmaiias in their relation to the kindred ideas of

the Vedic hymns.

now

only remains

It

summarize

to

briefly

Brahman as the One

Vedic hymns to the genesis of

the steps in the genesis of the meaning of

The

Reality.
this

meaning

power and
in

contribution of the

consists {a) in the development of the notion of the

Brahman

efficacy of

'

the

and

sacrificial formula,'

the apotheosis of this notion under the

name

{U)

of BrdJinianaspdti.

In the period of the Brdlnnanas, Brahman, as already pointed

out, has the

meanings

Word

[a)

objective, as

hymn, formula,

text, {b) word subjective, as sacred wisdom and theology and (c)
word immanent, as both the power which energizes in the world

and the world as the manifestation of such power.

meaning of Brahman came

Brahman

naturally, since

tha place of Purusha and Prajapati and so

fell

The

third

finally

took

heir to their con-

notation.

The

from meanings

transition

()

and

(b) to

meaning

(c)

may

be illustrated by means of several passages from the CatapatJia

Brdhviana.
ing

first

In VI,

of

all

i,

i,

8-10

Prajapati

represented as creat-

isj

Brahman, the Triple Science

c, the three

(/.

Rik, Santa and Yajns, viewed as one doctrine).

Next from Vac (= Brah-

foundation for further creative activity.

man, Veda) as a standing place he created the waters,

finally

From

Vedas

This became a

into

which

along with the Triple Science he entered as the world-egg.

this

Brahman was produced

again

born of this

all.

This

is

tlianiam pjirastdt,

first-

but a development of ideas already found in

the Rig-Veda, especially X,

in the oft repeated

empirically as the

'The Brahman

which Brahman

is

born day by day

in the east.

29.

words of VII,

4,

i,

first

similar conception
14,

is

found

Brahvia jajndnain pra-

born

in front,'

according to

described under the figure of the sun, which

Asat,

Thus
cf.

far Prajapati

RV., X,

129, I, 4.

is

and Brahman have

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

42

stood more or
as dependent

less

on a

upon

But

Prajapati.

growth of Brahman

into the

is

'The Brahman

the highest of

4,

earth are upheld

5,

10 'This

is

nothing before

sooth was

this

the

3,

world

after

conception of

9 XIII,
position of the Upanishads.
Self-Existent (X, 6,

exaltation

embracing
'

brahman

ceived

reality

5,

of

Brahman

suggests

7,

and

Piirusa, Vac, Prajapati,

Skambha

'support,'

different times,

Prdna

as

Svayamblm, the

one immanent and

why

not

why

having once re-

c.

g., in the

'spirit,' etc.

word

Rig-Veda

Atharva-Veda Ktlla

Time,'

'

These have emerged

but have always been superseded,

remained secondary.

the

There have

retained.

reality,

all-

after

the question,

in the

'

where we reach the

i),

i,

as the

been other names for the ultimate

3,

Brahman has
Brahman for-

These passages bring us

the meaning has always been

it,

2, 3,

Brahman

received this meaning, but

'

'This

XI,

';

in the beginning.'

finally to the highest

The

it

is

indicated

by the Brahman'; X,

Brahman'

greatest

and nothing

it

by

supreme principle

gods'

i,

(^at.

This gradual

increases.

such texts as VIII,

'Heaven and

described

the later books of the

in

and Brahman

Prajapati decreases

Br.

Brahman has even been

level.

at

or at least

Brahman, however, has endured as the

Why ? It seems to me

supreme name of the Ultimate Reality.

that there

man

'

is

is

no other answer except

also the

name

of the

that the

this

collective

word

'

Brah-

Brahman community,

and so Brahman, as the name of the Ultimate Reality, had the

The word Brahman, like
powerful support of the priesthood.

Brahman, Brdhiiia-Veda and Brahmana,

circle

fell

within that potent

of words and ideas on which hang in large measure the

civilization

and thought of

India.

CHAPTER

III.

The Doctrine of Brahman

the Upanishads,

in

A. Remarks on the Sources.

The word
sense of

'

'

Jipanisad' requires explanation.

mystic import,'

For example,

doctrine.'

port of the

fire -altar

word
ars,

e.

'

Jipanisad,'
g.,

secret name,'

(Jat Br.,

doubtless

The

ference of opinion.

'

is

X,

'

in

the

'The mystic im-

i,^

Thus

speech.'

used

hidden sense,' 'secret

i,

5,

It is

far there is

no

dif-

meaning from the

Most modern schol-

derivation of the actual

however,

is

not so clear.

Roth,^ Weber,^ Mueller,* explain

'

Jipanisad' as

mean-

ing originally the sitting at the feet of a teacher [upa-ni-sad')

But, as Professor

therefore 'session,' 'seance,' 'Sitzung.'

Max

Mueller says,^ no passage has yet been found in which the word
^

upanisad'

is

used

the sense of 'session' or in the sense of

in

Oldenberg ^

pupils approaching and listening to their teacher.

synomyn of iipdsand Verehrung,' comparing

upa-ds with npa-nisad.
The reasoning is suggestive but not conclusive.
The earliest as well as most important passage bearing
takes iipanisad as a

'

on the meaning of npanisad

is

Cat. Br., IX, 4, 3,

3.

'

He

thus

makes the common people below subject {jtpanisddui) to the

On the basis of this passage Hopkins" suggests that
the original reference of the word ^npanisad' was to "subsidiary
nobility.'

works of the

Brdhmanasy

ritualistic

another, which seems to

me

This conjecture suggests

to be better supported

by actual

usage, namely, that npanisad had the meaning of secondary sense,

as opposed to primary sense.

It is

true that the crucial passage

meaning of upanisad,

for the original

as cited above, does not

'

As

Skt.

Indische Literatiirgesch., Berlin, 1S76, S. 30.

translated

by Eggeling.

Worterbuch,

St.

Petersburg.

Three Lectures on the Vedanta Philosophy,

^SBE., Vol.

6ZDMG.,

I,

pp. Ixxx-lxxxi.

1896, Bd. 50, S. 457

ft".

''Religions 0/ India, pp. 217, 218.

p. 23.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

44

The meaning

in itself decide the question.

of upanisddin

suggests for the word

sidiary,' 'subject,' 'secondary,'

'

'

sub-

iipanisad'

a reference either to the attitude of pupils sitting at the feet of a

works subsidiary and supplementary to

other works, or again to meanings subsidary and secondary to

teacher, or to

literary

The

other meanings.

passages

earliest

namely,

formula (X,

and

'

mary and

is

in

occurs,

'

word

is

unusual interpre-

refers to

The

yajiis or sacrifi-

and the year

its

own

iipanisad,

i.

'esoteric

e.,

This seems to be the most primitive

But an

upanisad.'

interpretation,

iipanisad

'

3, 5, 12), the fire-altar (X, 5, i, i)

meaning' or 'mystery.'^

meaning of

Thus

Upanishads.

ritualistic details.

23) had each of them

2, 2,

third alone

end of the (^dndilya and Ydjhavalkya portions

at the

tations of sacrificial

(XII,

earliest

which the word

in

respectively of the ^at, Br., the

cial

The

relatively late.

is

supported by actual usage in the

the

by any

reference cannot be supported

first

quotations, and the second

esoteric meaning,

an allegorical

and secondary to the priwould therefore take the original mean-

distinctly subsidiary

natural sense.

ing of upanisad to be neither

'

session,'

nor

subsidiary works of

'

the ritualistic BrdJunanas,' but rather the secondary and allegorical as

opposed

ing found

we

in

primary and natural sense.

to the

It is

word because put there by speculative

take upanisad to be

'

supplementaiy sense

o{ 7ipdkhvdnam, 'supplementary

tale,'

'

a mean-

insight.

If

analogy

after the

then npajiisad vaight be ex-

plained etymologically as the mystic sense which resides in [)n-

sad) a word

in addition

to [upa) the

Such a

primary sense.

meaning, although secondary as opposed to the natural sense,

by no means secondary
passage

in

namely,

in the

which, so

read that the

'

as regards importance.

know, the word

far as I

iipanisad

Cdndilya portion of the ^at. Br. (X,

mystic import

important thing

in

is

the essence of this

a sacrificial formula

mystical sense, not the primary sense.

with the

'

maxim

of the

is

is

In the earliest
'

3, 5,

Yaj'us,'

occurs,
12),

we

e.,

the

i.

the allegorical and

All this

Brdlunana period that

'

is

in

harmony

the gods love the

mysterious.'

But allegory and mysticism are not confined

'

Cf.

Apocal. loh.,

I, 20,

to the

'the mystery of the seven stars.'

Upani-

DOCTRINE OF THE UPANISHADS.

common

shads, but are

the term

Brdhmanas

to the

tipanisad' restricted in

'

its

Why

also.

appHcation

what are properly the Upanishad-portions of the

too the word

'

upanisad

'

then

is

For one thing

a comparatively late word, appearing for the

it is

45

time

first

in

Then,

Br.

(^at.

seems to have been from the very be-

ginning confined to mystical speculations of a definite kind,

namely those pertaining

to the investigation of

the earliest mention oi upanisad

the same context where
greatest

'

{f^ai. Br.,

Brahman

is

X,

3,

And

greater.'

in

Kena Up. 32 we have

'

there

mysticism.

ficial

for theological as

The Indian

not be so far

wrong

as the

1)

nothing

Thus upanisad
opposed to

sacri-

interpretation of upanisad as the

knowledge of Brahman

destruction of ignorance through the

may

is

the expression Bralimi

Upanisad 'the mystic doctrine of Brahman.'

came to be the standing term

12) occurs in

5,

described (vv. 10,

(knowledge or reality), than which

'

Thus

Brahman.

after all.

Allegory has ever furnished an apparently easy way of uniting

heterogeneous worlds of thought.

means
times

Philo Judzeus used

harmonizing Mosaism and Platonism

of

and

as a

it

in recent

has been employed by Pandit Dayananda Saraswati,

it

founder of the Arya Samaj, as a means of discovering in the

Vedas the science of the present day. What then more natural
men who had been born and bred in the atmosphere of

than that

Indian ritual should seek to transcend the standpoint of ritualism

by

trying to discover a deeper meaning in the ritual itself

In

other words, the mystics of the Brdliniana period, like the author

saw in the sacrificial ritualism a

system of types and symbols, by means of which as a ladder
they sought to climb up into the sphere of eternal realities.

of the Epistle to the Hebrews,

The usage
development.

word iipanisad has undergone a

means first of all secret name, secret

of the
It

secret doctrine, rahasyani, ixoav^ptov,

in

and

in this

sense

the oldest parts of the oldest Upanishads (Brih.,

Chand.,
Ill,

I,

I,
I,

i,

I,

10,

I,

13, 4,

III, 2, 5,

Kaush.,
It

i).

containing the doctrine of

Chand.,

I,

13, 4, III, 11,

certain

'

'

II,

I,

3,

i.

found

II,

i,

Ait.

20,

Ar.,

means, secondly, verse or section

Brahman

2-3)

i,

Taitt.,

is

sense,

(Taitt., II, 9,

i.

III, 10, 6,

and, thirdly, a collection of

such

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

46

doctrines in the form of a dogmatic text -book belonging to a

particular school or sect.

The number
Weber's

contains

list^

may

may

two

classes

be mentioned.

{a)

be

Three

different periods of time.

to

into

Professor

large.

by ^ankaracar}^a, the

on the basis of their use

fall

is

of these, however,

Upanishads

classifying the

commentator, they

Some

235.

They belong

duplicates.

ways of

of such dogmatic text-books

First,

great Vedantic

orthodox or

classical

Upanishads, which furnish the proof texts for Vedantism, and

sectarian Upanishads, of Avhich

Upanishads are eleven or twelve

classical

Max

been translated by Professor

basis of the different Vedic schools,

the Upanishads of the

first

in

Mueller.^

we may

{!))

The

only a few are quoted.

number, and have

Secondly, on the

distinguish between

num-

three Vedas, which are eleven in

ber and almost entirely orthodox, and the Upanishads of the

Atharva-Veda, which, with a few exceptions, are

erodox, and relatively

late.

opment of thought

the different Upanishads,

make

think,

ishads,

five

the following classifications

number, namely,

in

Kansitaki and

Aitareya,

place, both in age

age

is

in

cumulative.

manas, and

and

importance.

in

their style

is

are

we may

integral

rightly,

First, tentative

Brhaddranyaka,

Taittiriya}

They

sectarian, het-

Thirdly, on the basis of the devel-

Upan-

Oidndogya,

These occupy the

The argument

first

for their

parts of the great Brdli-

the 'old Brdlnnana prose style.

They

present numerous illustrations of the allegorical interpretation of

the

ritual.

Each Upanishad

primary sense of the word.

tentative

truth "
truth."

and

and

inquisitive.

their

is

a collection of upanishads in the

Their method

is not dogmatic, but

Their authors appear as " seekers after

thoughts have rightly been styled " guesses at

The dialogue and the

parable are frequently employed

as literary forms.

Of these

five

Upanishads the largest and also the most impor-

tant are the Brliaddvanyaka

in

his

great

and the Clidndogya.

^ankaracarya,

work on the Vedanta-Sutras makes about 2000

^

Liter aturgeschichte, S. 171, note.

SEE., Vols.

I,

XV.

"Cf. Deussen, Sechzig Upanishads, S. 264.

DOCTRINE OF THE UPANISHADS.

Of

quotations from the Upanishads.

47

these fully two-thirds are

from the Chdndogya and the Brliaddranyaka} The second class

may be denominated the dogmatic Upanishads and includes in
general the rest of the pure Vedanta Upanishads, especially Isd,

Katha, Mundaka, Qvetdgvatara, and the poetic sections of Ketia,

Brliaddranyaka (IV,

thought
erence

is

in

4,

8-21) and Malidndrdyana}

more mature and

a

nosegays of

positive,

and

Here the

by

set forth

is

pref-

The poetic sections are in general

poetical
Vedantic sayings bound together without much redress.

ideas are in general in

Although the

Innovations appear.

gard to inner connection.

harmony

anishads, yet here and there

with those of the

may be

five oldest

Up-

detected the germs of other

types of doctrine, especially of the Sdinkhya and Yoga and of

The second

the great sectarian systems.

clearly

more developed than the

velopment than the Upanishads of the second

the third class, which

may

is

later in point of de-

Still

first.

Upanishads

class of

class are those of

Upan-

well be called the sectarian

ishads, since they are simply the dogmatic text-books of a trans-

Of the

formed and sectarian Brahmanism.

ishads,

Deussen has translated no

less

than forty

volume, Scclizig Upanishads dcs Veda.

rian

Upanishads

since

it

third class of

these

secta-

might well be reckoned the BJiagavadgitd,

has a distinctly sectarian character and

Upanishad.

masterly

in his

Among

Upan-

To sum

up, then, the

is

also called an

Upanishads really

fall

two great groups, which may be roughly described as

group of Upanishads of the

first

nishads used by Cankaracarya

three

(<^)

Vedas

tentative

the classic

and

(^)

into

(i) the

Upa-

dogmatic

Upanishads, and (2) the group of Atharva-Veda Upanishads,

which are in general sectarian, heterodox and late. The first
great group represents the creative period of Indian philosophy,

which may with some degree of confidence be assigned to the

The second great group belongs in the

Hindu Revival, and so falls someperiod covered by the last two thousand years.

period 800-300 B. C.

main to the

literature of the

where within the

1

Vid. Deussen,

After Deussen.

1900, p. 226.

Vedanta, S. 32
Cf. also

ff.

for statistics.

A. A. Macdonell,

History of Sanskrit Literature,

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

48

B. Doctrine.

We

notice a gradual change in the point of view from which

the doctrine of unity

is

Thus, as already indicated, the

treated.

standpoint of the pre-Upanishad literature

characterized as cosmological

The unity described is

The world is conceived

may

general be

in

the standpoint of common

sense.

a concrete and all-comprehensive unity.

man

as a colossal

(Purusha, RV., X, 90).

This symbol suggests an organic view of the universe as a sys-

tem of

interrelated forces

development.

and processes, the home of

All this of course

and poetic form.

expressed

is

in a

and

life

very naive

In the Upanishads, on the other hand, there

world of experience

no longer regarded as the

is

thing-in-itself.

Speculative thought probes beneath the surface of things in

quest for

even
125)

in the
is

its

This attitude was not without anticipations

reality.

Vedic hymns.

in

to

Vdc (X.

of an immanent Word, something

a force which dwells and oper-

like the Stoic Ibyoc, a7:ef)ixazr/.6^,

and

hymn

Especially in the

there the conception

ates in all things,

is

The

an attempt to transcend the common-sense point of view.

which unconsciously

men have

all

their

being.

The
This

is

great

theme of the Upanishads

beautifully expressed

BrJiaddraJiyaka UpaiiisJiad,
*
'

I,

in
3,

quest for reality.

the

is

three Yaj us -verses quoted in

27

Lead me from the unreal to the real

Lead me from darkness to light
Lead me from death to immortality "
!

Different degrees of reality are recognized.

Chand. Up.,

i,

I,

"

essence of the earth

is

The

essence of

all

Thus, we read

beings

is

in

the earth, the

water, the essence of water the plants, the

essence of plants man, the essence of

man

speech, the essence of

speech the Rig-Veda, the essence of the Rig- Veda the Sama-

Veda, the essence of the Sama-Veda the Udgitha."

1

my

In the matter of quotations from the Upanishads

obligation to different scholars.

lation

(SBE., Vols.

sen's renderings.

difficult accurately to

it is

commonly follow

and XV), but not infrequently

I also

make independent

This

Prof.

modify

Max
it

translations at times.

re-

express

Mueller's trans-

by Professor Deus-

DOCTRINE OF THE UPANISHADS.

49

gressus from earth, the coarsest essence of things, back step

step to the Udgitha, the

as represented

by

supreme formula of the Sama

ritual,

by-

and,

introductory syllable Oin, the symbol of the

its

ultimate reality, illustrates at once a peculiarity of the style of

the older Upanishads and the mystical interpretation of the ritual

Another instance of such a regressus

which characterizes them.

from the conditioned

to the unconditioned

where the world of experience

Ill, 6,

warp and woof"

like

in the

is

found

is

worlds of the sky, the worlds of the sky

Prajapati, until finally

Devas, of Indra, of

stars, of the

"the worlds of Brahman" are reached,

beyond which inquiry cannot be made.

Brh.,

Chdnd.,

I, 3,

among

of a controversy

the worlds of

in

so on successively through the worlds

of the sun, of the moon, of the

II, 14,

woven

worlds of water, the worlds of water

in the

the Gandharvas, and

ages i^Kaus.,

Brh. Up.,

in

represented as "

Again,

I, 2,

V,

in several pass-

there

i)

is

mention

the different prdnas (breaths, senses,

The controversy is
mouth {inukliya
prdna, dsanya prdna), because breathing endures when all the
powers) as to which

vital

always settled

the greatest.

is

in favor of

the breath in the

'

'

other life-powers (hearing, seeing, etc.) are quiescent in sleep or

But although the prdnas or

destroyed.

certain reality (and

yet there

rest),

are

real

I,

or

it is
'

vital

mouth

their correlatives

but the

Atman

6, 3),

real.'

'

activities

more than all the

The prdnas
name and form

'

(ego or self) which underlies

may be

instance of the search for reality

all,

given,

namely the famous Kogavidyd

in Taitt. Up., II.

'

'

the most impressive of

doctrine of involucra

have a

real than these.

and also

'the real of the

is

One more
and

the breath in the

something more

{satyani)

'

{Brh. Up.,

them

is

'

It

begins with a

statement of the order of creation, here a progressus from the

Thus "from

Atman.

from wind
plants,

fire,

from

that Self sprang ether, from ether wind,

fire

water, from water earth, from earth

from plants food, from food seed, from seed man."

ing such a genesis,

man must

ultimately from the Atman.^'

^

Satyasya satyam Brh. Up., II,

Cf.

Luke

III, 36

"Which was

I,

He

be very complex.

What

part of

him

is

is

Havderived

identical with

20.

the son of

Adam, which was

the son of God.'

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

50
his source

What

man made
'

we would

be stripped off

So with

eliminated.

(manomaya), and the

is

found

'

the vital self

may be

and worship

real self,

{vi-

may be

and so

man and in

nature

the self consisting of bliss {Anandaviayd), the inmost

This reality of

self of all.

as

the

of thought and will

self consisting

not represent the

'

man's nature

is it

(^prdnamaya), for this too

Finally, the core of reality both in

off.

in

Nor

self consisting of cognition

They do

jndnamayci).

'

say, for this aspect of

life

the

not

It is

{annarasamayd), the

an outer husk.

like

consisting of breath or

stripped

food

out of the essence of

physical man, as

may

the real man, the real self ?

is

realities

defined psychologically

is

mind of the mind, the speech of

the ear of the ear, the

speech, the breath of breath and the eye of the eye' (Keiia.,
2,

Brh., IV, 4,

IV,
is

18),

4,

8),

yea as 'the light of lights' {Brh., IV,

compared with which the

From

only secondary.

when thought

these different instances,

we

backivard toward the

one only without a second

'

'^

fire

see that
is

either

from

whom

cosmological, the search for reality

is

3, 6,

moon and

light of sun,

I,

the whole world-process begins, or iipivard to the world of Brah-

man which comprehends all

logical,

it is

real

and the unreal.

Still

we

'

is

as yet

Realty presents

being

point

'

and

it

the

non-being

'

Ego

itself as

is

psycho-

As

or Self.

distinction

between the

a thing of degrees.

the use of the old Vedic

in

harmony with the

means the
Rig-Veda
the
In

non-being.'

presents itself to the ordinary un-

the world of experience as

derstanding,
asat

'

of view, sat in

world of natural objects as

when thought

no sharp

growing difference

notice a

cosmological

but

movement imvard toward

already remarked, there

sat and asat,

worlds

we would say

while

refers to that primitive undifferentiated condition

of things which the early philosophers of both Greece and India

postulated as the antecedent of the present ordered world.

point of view

is still

maintained

world distinguished by
asat

germ

'

non-being.'

But

'

in

Taitt., II,

name and form

in Taitt., II, 6,

'

is

7,

where

said to be

sat,

This
the

born of

there emerges the

first

of the distinction between the world as empirically real but

transcendentally unreal, and

^Chand. Up., VI,

Brahman

2, i cf.

Gen.,

as empirically unreal but

I, I,

John,

I, I.

DOCTRINE OF THE UPANISHADS.

transcendentally

Thus the cosmological Brahman

real.

ordered world of experience

isaf),

ground of all

reality

is

make

to

reality

and (empirically)

The next step

Brahman is trans-

unreal.

and

done

this is

passage which well

in a

deserves to be called the monistic Confession of

the beginning there was only Being

second' (Chand. Up., VI,

by a polemic

Ill,

How,'

'

that which

Etad vai
and Oin

is

19,

This

?'

Tat tvamasi,

'

'

That

That

totality

is

reality in

man,

/.

how we

time regarding the

This

self, is divine.

is

man

in

his

is

not essen-

man is made in the

that man (Adam gen-

As

can believe

finite

Schurman says

President

spirit,

God

in

as far as

It is

so because

it is

essential

its

its

an ego."^

or identity with the divine nature,

it

may

"

am

without at the same

concerned, as identical, within the limits of

infinite spirit.

identifica-

can only mean that the core of

It

or from the N. T. doctrine

son of God.^

unable to see

in,

supreme

In the light of what has gone before,

inmost

his

from the O. T. doctrine, that

tially different

image of God

<?.,

be born of

is

{Katji. Up., 12 times),

is that,'

art thou,' so reads the

equated with God.

eric) is the

could that which

the standpoint of the later formulas

mean, as sometimes interpreted, that

cannot

II, 7,

is real.'

tion of the Upanishads.

this

is

'

'This (as described)

tad,

! tat sat,

'In

naturally accompanied

is

entertained in Taitt.,

still

'In the beginning there was non-be-

said Uddalaka,

not

namely

faith,

to ov) one only ivitJwiit a

{sat,

This

i).

2,

against the position

and Chand.,
ing.'

unknown

characterized as transcendent, undefined,

is

{sat),

(satjaiii)

as the empirically

explicit the doctrine that the true

cendentally real

as the

described as the sphere of being

Brahman

while, on the other hand,

absolute, unconscious,

is

consciousness, and

relation,

definition,

ground

is

range, with the

This participation

be noted

in passing,

the philosophical basis of the doctrine of immortality, whether

Indian,

Hebrew, or Greek.

The

great identification,

'

of another equation, namely.

man

is

Brahman' {Brh.

iGen.,
*

I, 27.

"The hope of a

That

art thou,'

Brahman

Up., II,

5,

Luke, III, 36.

future life Jesus grounds

Stevens, The Theology of the

19).

New

stated in the form

Atman,

e.

g:,

'This At-

The pre-Upanishad
^

Belief in God, ^.

upon man's

Testament, p. 99.

is

de-

22-].

essential kinship to

God"

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

52

velopment of Brahman has ah'eady been pointed

word

the

first,

as

embodied

the emphasis be objectively

out.

means,

It

hymn, formula, and text, whether

upon the word as something spoken

in

or remembered, or subjectively upon the content and meaning of

But

the word.
I,

the famous cosmological passage (^at. Br., VI,

in

Brahman 'the

i)

threefold science

Veda and Yajur-Veda)

and

as

first

born Logos

i.

is

'(/.

regarded as the

'

Logos

c, the

poured

itself forth

born of Prajapati,

Hence Brahman

were the creative programme.

it

Rig-Veda, Sama-

r.,

first

and

whole

filled this

as the

Avorld,'

and became incarnate as the

objectified itself

So we have Brahman the World standing over

world of nature.

Brahman

Word as its manifestation, in Plato's language 'the sensible God' as 'the image of the intellectual.'
But in the Upanishads, Brahman Word is not only objectified
and found in nature {c. g., All this is Brahman Chand. Up., Ill,
against

the

'

'

'

14, i),

but

is

also

as

it

'

were

and found

'subjectified'

the

in

human heart. The doctrine of Brahman in the heart appears in

many passages, c. g., This is my Atman (self or ego) within the
heart, this is Brahman (Chand. Up., Ill, 14, 4);
Consciousness
(prajfia) is Brahman
(Ait. Up., I, 3, 2);
The heart is the
highest Brahman {Brh. Up., IV, i, 7).
Or again take the second member of the equation, namely, Atman. Its derivation is
disputed.
Still the usage is clear enough.
The word has the
'

'

'

'

'

'

following meanings as correctly given

own body
body

in opposition to the

in opposition to

body, and

:"

(i)

one's

outer world, (2) the trunk of the

the limbs, (3) the soul in opposition to the

(4) the essential in opposition to the non-essential.

All of these meanings

The

by Deussen

logical order

may

be illustrated from the Upanishads.

would seem

to be

[a)

bodily

self, [b)

mental

Thus Atman is the self in the widest

sense.
The formula, 'Brahman is Atman,' would mean, then,
that the objective reality (Brahman) is the same as the subjective
reality (Atman).
As we have it in the splendid passage (Chand.
self, (c)

universal self

'

'That light which shines above

Up., Ill, 13, 7)

higher than

all,

higher than everything, in the highest world, be-

yond which

there are no other worlds, that

is

within man.'
1

This identification

TimcBus, p. 515, Jowett's trans.

is

is

the

this

same

heaven,

light

which

rendered possible, as
2

Geschichte, S. 286.

al-

DOCTRINE OF THE UPANISHADS.

53

ready pointed out, by converting Brahman the makrokosjiios into

more

a viikrokosmos, and so conceiving

it

properly as the knowing subject.

This manipulation of the old

Brahman
which we must

cosmological

as consciousness or

involves a peculiar psychological treat-

briefly glance.
ment at
The psychology of the Upanishads is thoroughly idealistic.
Thus in the dialogue between Ajataqatru King of Kagi and
Gargya' Balaki {BrJi. Up., II, i, 17-20), we are told that when a
person goes to sleep, then the knowing subject [injndnaniaya

pitrusd)

person

When

asleep the

dream, and so create for himself the worlds of dream-

which he may figure

may

his sleep

When

of reality.

as a great king or a great

be dreamless,

tween subject and object

all

the heart, having absorbed

is in

the knowledge of the senses.

all

may

land, in

Or

the ether which

in

lies

within itself

in

which case

blotted out.

is

TJiis is the

he awakes, then from the knowing

senses, all worlds, all gods, all beings,

i.

e.,

Brahman.

difference be-

all

all

very image
self

the

emerge

phenom-

ena of actual or of possible existence, even as a spider from

thread, or as sparks from

taught
'

The

(i)

the world

is

Two

fire.

essential ideality of all conscious experience,

my

idea,'

and

(2)

no

way Brahman,

this

e.,

i.

the objective world,

'life is

is

a dream.'

gods,

all

all

" no object without a subject,"

is

worlds,

all

breaths,

all souls,

may

Thus

all

things

become one

{prajhdtniaii Kaush., Ill, 3-4).

In a sense, then,

there

still

things

all

On

if

quest for absolute unity.

reality

death.
1

With

(^Br/i.

Up., II, 5>

become one

in the conscious-self,

but

This must

absolute reality was also the

For the Indian

sages, such absolute unity

were symbolized by the states of dreamless sleep and

Here there
the

the

beings,

The quest for

possible.

all

the self as consciousness

remains the dualism of subject and object.

be resolved

and

in

In

be said to be con-

tained in the self as spokes in the axle of a wheel

15).

e.^

reduced to a mere

world of ideas created by the human consciousness.

principle that there

/.

between

essential difference

the dream-state and the waking-state,

its

doctrines are here clearly

Atman

is

no duality of subject and

as the

ground of the unity of

all

Kant's doctrine of the synthetic unity of apperception.

object.

Knowledge

knowledge Deussen compares

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

54
there

indeed

is,

because he

knower

the

know

to

but " there

is

not know, yet he

the soul

is its

is

own

tween subject and

then no second, nothing else

"when

sphere

its

object, because the soul

one

free

is

from

Here

no distinction be-

is

like

is

an ocean single

Like the one reahty of Chand. Up., VI,

Brahman.

desire, free

from

2,

one without a second, be-

is

This

in

(in that condition) he does

object, or, better, there

the soul as the witnessing self

cause

30).

3,

seems to be implied

knowing, though he does not know."

and all-embracing.

is

the very nature of

it is

sort of transcendent consciousness

the paradoxical statement that

1,

inseparable from the knower,"

is

from him that he could know," {Brk. Up., IV,

different

Some

"knowing

for

imperishable, and because

is

which

one's true form, in

is

evil, free

from

This

fear.

is

the

highest goal, the highest world, the highest bliss {Brh. Up., IV,
3,

21-32).

It

we know

may

was

it)

be noted in passing that consciousness (as

to the

Indian thinker, as time and space to

Being was one.

Schopenhauer, the principle of individuation.

Non-being took the form of multiplicity.

Up., VI,

I,

2,

2,

being was

And

Chand.

just as in

postulated and then non-being

first

attacked, so unity was postulated in the early prose Upanishads,

while multiplicity was attacked in the later poetic sections, especially in Brh. Up., IV, 4, 19

and Kath.

Up., IV, 10, 11.

We come now to the nature and attributes of Brahman.

Up.,

28''

Ill, 9,

knowledge and
Taitt.

And

bliss."

in the

Up. the nature of Brahman

anandam

'

bliss

'

instead of

anantam

We

the change are obvious.

'

is

positive.
2, 4,

Thus

IV,

But

He

is

The

Thought, and

4,

22,

IV,

far

the characterization

passages of the

in four

5,

from everything which

*

infinite.'

is

reasons for

Brli.

Up.

Bliss."

Brah-

One only withBrahman is

further described as ekarn eva advitiyam, "

out a second."

jndnam

read with Deussen

have here clearly the germ of the

later {oxvcL\A^.sac-cid-dnanda, " Being,

man

is

famous Anandavalli of the

described as satyain

is

" Reality, Thought, and Bliss."

dnandam,

In Brh,

we read vijndnam dnandam Brahma " Brahman

of

(Ill, 9, 26,

15) the absolute separation of

changeable and knowable

is

IV,

Brahman

emphasized.

incomprehensible, for he cannot be comprehended, he

imperishable, for he cannot perish

he

is

is

unattached, for nothing

DOCTRINE OF THE UPANISHADS.

attaches itself to him.'

the

great

sage,

negatively as neti

quantity,

case

'

In a word, according to the doctrine of

Ydjhavalkya,

the Self can only be described

" no, no."

neti,

mathematical

like a

55

infinite

This

which

is

may mean

that the Self,

too great for any assignable

any assignable attribute, in which

would mean no, no,' in the sense of inadequate,
That is, all determination is limitation.' Possibly

also too great for

is

neti neti'

inadequate.'

'

'

'

Spinoza's distinction between definition

by essence may help

us here.

by genus and

then Brahman

If so,

definition

defined

is

when he (or it) is described as Reality,

Thought, and Bliss. However this may be, it is true that in
many passages of the Upanishads the same attributes, both positive and negative, are applied to Brahman as are applied to God
in the Bible.
Thus he is self-existent, unborn, eternal, ancient,
through

his

essence,

unchanging, great, omnipresent, luminous,

(cf Ka[h. Up., II, 18, 22,

Mund.

on the whole the emphasis

the

'

moral

tive rather

'

attributes,

rests

Up.,

I,

on the

i,
'

pure, bodiless, etc.

6, 7, II, 2,

natural

i-i

But

i).

rather than on

'

and these are put by preference

in

a nega-

than in a positive form.

How can Brahman be known ? The attriBrahman have been described. How were these determined ?
The Indian thinker, like Spinoza, began with the
problem of the world as a whole. The cosmological Brahman as
the world of extension in its totality, was proved by the good old
way of common-sense through external intuition. In other words,
it was simply assumed.
In like manner the psychological BrahThe

question arises,

butes of

man

as consciousness (Ait. Up.,

was proved by

I,

internal intuition.

something more fundamental

still,

3, 2,)

or the world oi thought,

But beneath consciousness was

the root of both the inner and

the outer world, the unity of subject and object.

the ground of knowing and of being.

It is called

It
*

the

is

at

life

once

of

life,

the eye of the eye, the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind

'

Whoso knows this knows Brahman. But

For 'how,' asked Ydjhavalkya in the very
spirit of Berkeley and Kant,
should one know him through whom
one knows all this ? How, O beloved, should one know the
{Brli. Up.,
it

is

IV,

4, 18).

unknowable.

'

KnowerT

{Brh. Up., II, 4, 13).

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

56

Here the way of

whether external or

intuition,

internal, avails

But we can detect the method of the discovery of

nothing.

these high doctrines.

method

Socratic

It

'

especially,

theologians

1 1,

The

i).

is

our

Brliad-

of philosophical dialogues.

is full

same

essentially the

is

five

the

It is

held a discussion as to what

'

Brahman (Chand. Up., V,

is

dranyaka Upanishad,

The method

Thus

of question and answer.

once came together and

Self and what

the dialectic of reason.

is

by which Socrates

as that

Good and Spinoza the notion of

Dcus or Substantia.
After we have been taken behind the
scenes, as it were, and have heard with our own ears thinkers
elaborates the notion of the

Ydjnavalkya and Ajdtagatm, as they argue on these high

like

themes, silence opponents, and establish

Brahman,

it is

somewhat incongruous

(especially in the Brh. Up.) long

Brahman

the doctrine of

Upanishads,

Upanishads

of teachers through

whom

is

the point of view of the dogmatic

is

a tendency to frown

which there

in

true doctrine of

supposed to have been handed down

is

This

in regular tradition.

lists

the

to find in the

upon inde-

pendent argumentation, and to make everythingof the instruction

That doctrine

is not to be obtained by
by another, then it is easy to
understand.'
Unless it be taught by another, there is no way to
it
That is, the doctrine of Brahman is
(Kath. Up., I, 2, 8-9).

of the capable teacher.

'

argument, but when

declared

it is

'

'

something to be passively received and believed.

noted that only

would the word

'

in
'

It

may be

the secondary and dogmatic stage of doctrine

upanishad

'

appropriately have the meaning of

a sitting at the feet of a teacher,' and therefore passive accep-

tance of his teaching.

The

back even to Brahman the

work of
self

lists

of teachers in the Brh. Up.

the guru or teacher was so all-important,

was considered as the

first

of

all

in

is

emphasized.

the Psalms

'

Teach me,

the

O God

Thus
Brahman. The

of the period.

So

gurus.

or post-exile stage of O. T. religion

teacher

go

when the
Brahman him-

In a period

self-existent.

to

in

the second

doctrine of
'

is

God

as

a frequent thought

sum

up,

there

are

two forms of
first or lower form is
knowable through sense perception and consciousness. We may
compare it with the nattira natiirata of Spinoza viewed as an

virtually

DOCTRINE OF THE UPANISHADS.

aggregate of

beyond

finite

form of Brahman

it

points to something

The second

As

a postulate of reason.

is

it

or higher

identical

with

can never become an object of knowledge,

and so must ever remain

in its

unity,

thought, and bliss

here

may be

that

conditioned

unconditioned.^

is

the knowing subject,

it

As

modes.

which

itself

57

inmost nature a mystery.

may

be predicated of

we must add

adequate, inadequate.'

the qualification

Being,

But even

it.

ncti, neti,

in-

'

however mysterious its nature may

be, its existence can be known.
Such an immanent reality, as the
ground of all knowing and being, is suggested by consciousness
but, more than this, it is proved by the speculative insight of the
Still,

And

ancient seers.

such

knowmg

although Brahman, the

so,

sub-

unknowable, yet the doctrine of Brahman

may

be handed down from teacher to teacher and received on

feith

ject, as

by the

is

believing pupil.

We

have already discussed the doctrine of identity in the

Upanishads.
It is emphasized in a goodly number of passages,
'

That

which

light

which shines above

within

is

Atman.'

'

That

this

man' (Chand.
art thou.'

heaven

...

Up., Ill, 13,

Whatever

is

is

the same light

'Brahman

7).

real in

man

is

or in nature

identical with Brahman and there is no difference.

Deep sleep
and death are the image of reality. In them the finite consciousis

ness as the principle of individuation has no sphere.

forms of cognition which

Brahman

is

described as

'

make

In

them the

for multiplicity are transcended.

thought.'

Regard thought

instead of quantitatively, or in Kantian

qualitatively

language eliminate the

pure forms of intuition space and time, or blot out the

finite

sciousness while

thought

is

this

is

itself as bliss.

It is

alas

from

this

con-

and

lo

high standpoint that

described as reality, unity, thought, and

according to the highest

eternally true.

But

regarding thought as persistent

seen to be one and indivisible, the sole reality, and

conscious of

Brahman

still

It is

teaching

bliss.

All

of the Upanishads

is

true for every man, yea for every creature.

most creatures are

like

people

who

'

walk again and

again over a gold treasure that has been hidden in the earth'
iCf. C/iaiui. 6>., Ill, 13, 8.

2Cf. parable of the

Hidden Treasure, Matt. XIII,

44.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

58

(Chand. Up., VIII,

Brahma-world

(in

They go day

2).

3,

deep

day

after

it.

The

their

eyes.

and yet do not discover

sleep),

Brahman remains hidden from

soul's

identity with

This

the discovery of discoveries, the supreme discovery.

is

the eternal

saying

Brahman himself made

Aham

Bralinia asini

this

discovery

am Brahman

in

Even

the beginning,

{Brh. Up.,

'

the

into

I,

4, 10).

So Brahman became what he is through knowledge. He knew

In like manner
himself as Brahman and so became Brahman.
whosoever awakes to the same consciousness, whether deva or
The way of deliverance
rishi or man, he too becomes Brahman.
He who knows Brahman attains the
is the way of knowledge.
*

highest

God

Up.,

(Taitt.

'

conceived

And

in both, albeit

'

'

am

a child of

of one's true

of

the consciousness which so speaks

with far-reaching differences, as the

result of a divine discovery, an

awakening

to reality, a realization

self.

"

The

Brahman

So speaks the profoundest rehgious consciousness

'

both India and Palestine.

is

'I am'

II, i).

C.

Consequences of the Doctrine.

older Upanishads are integral parts of the

Aranyakas or

These represent the speculations of men who,

or, in
retired from business,'
in secular phraseology, had
The
withdrawn from the world.'
religious phraseology, had
'forest treatises.'

.'

'

doctrine of the four dgranias or stages of

four castes, was of gradual growth.

Up.,

II, 23,

Aryans

i)

life,

like that of the

early notice (Chand.

mentions only three generic duties of the Vedic

{a) that of sacrifice,

austerity {tapas),

and

(r)

the house of a teacher.

types of religious

life,

study and almsgiving,

the Brahmasamstha,

'

he

{b)

that of

that of the Braliviacdrin or student in

These are brought forward as different

find their reward in the worlds

which

Contrasted with these, however,

of the blessed.

immortality.

An

who

is

stands fast in Brahman,'

the state of

who

obtains

This passage clearly dates from a time when the

between four dgranias had not yet crystallized.

In fact we have here perhaps the germ of such a fourfold division, for the three functions mentioned correspond to those of

later distinction

the grihastha, vdjtaprastha and brahmacdrin respectively, while

DOCTRINE OF THE UPANISHADS.

the Brahmasamstha as occupying the
point,

would seem

acquired during

is

a man's

the

of

anticipation

the

from active

retire

and

Knowl-

come marriage and

after that

age comes on

finally as old

hand over

life,

san-

later

twenty or thirty years of

first

(Chand. Up., VI, 1,2);

life

the duties of a householder

men

or Upanishad stand-

Three of the four stages are entirely natural.

nydsin}

edge

an

be

to

new

59

their business to their chil-

For

dren, and devote their last days to religious contemplation.

as Plato says,^ " the time

they must
lightens

raise the

all

(/.

c, 50 years) has

now

eye of the soul to the universal light which

To drop

things and behold the absolute good."

cares of a householder

most of one's time

which

arrived at

would

in the cool

in

and

the

mean

naturally to spend

leafy forest

on the outskirts of

India

the village, or to wander in oriental simplicity from settlement to

settlement of the

same Aryan brotherhood, having one's few

wants supplied by the hospitality of one's clan-people.

was no more begging than

it is

for the occidental to

where he knows that he

will

be asked to

munity the

would

often

'

superannuated,'

and

com-

warriors,

men

as they

draw near

to the

end

For them philosophy was in a very

Such discussions, however, were not confined
Women take part in them by asking questions {e. g.,
Nor were
BrJi. Up., II, 4, and Gargi, Ibid., Ill, 6 and 8).
real sense

life.^

visiting

In each

dine.

priests

go

This

meet one another and talk over the themes which

are naturally interesting to old

of

especially

'

a medi-

'

tation of death.'

to men.
Maitreyi,

they confined to the

circle

of the aged.

Just as Socrates in his

search for truth delighted in catechizing

young men

{c.

g.,

Charmides), so the thinkers of ancient India were fond of asking

young men how much they knew (Chand. Up., V,

cially

if

3),

espe-

they had just returned from the house of the preceptor,

well read and conceited (Chand. Up., VI,

their sons the doctrine of

i, 2,

Brahman (Chand.

Fathers teach

3).

Up., VI).

It is re-

markable what a prominent part the Kshatriyas played in these

Not only were there philosophical tournaments at
discussions.
iVid. Deussen in loco. [Upanishads, S. 96
'^Republic, Bk. VII, p. 244, Jowett's trans.

3Cf. Chand. Up.,l,d,,V, 11.

ff.

).

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

6o

the courts of kings,

Videhas [Brh.

e.

Up., Ill,

court of Janaka king of the

g., at the

infrequently philosophers,

but the kings themselves were not

i),

i,

Ajatagatru {Brh. Up., VI,

g.,

e.

Agvapati Kaikeya (Chand. Up., V,

Thus

4-5).

r,

i)

and

the ideal of

Plato was realized that kings should be philosophers and philoso-

There were not only Brahman sages, but Kshatriya

and the latter are often represented as better ac-

phers kings.
sages also

Brahman than

quainted with the doctrine of

Pravahana

Jaivali

Kaikeya (V,

(Chand. Up.,
It

11).

8,

I,

looks as

the former.

V,

2,

5)

3,

represented by the earliest Upanishads had derived

originally from the Kshatriya thinkers.
interesting

remember

to

From

Brahman was no

doctrine of

its

impulse

In this connection

Buddha and Krishna

that both

represented as royal sages.

movement

the philosophic

if

E. g.,

and Agvapati

all

this

is

it

it

is

are

clear that the

of a philosophic

secret doctrine

Upanishad would suggest,

coterie, as the current explanation of

but was communicated to anyone. Brahman or Kshatriya, old or

young, man or woman, who was worthy to receive

regards

its

origin,

from active

life

it

must be

referred decidedly to the class of

men who had

vanaprasthas or

and so had

stance, so far as

either partially or

know, of two young men or two

woman

takes part

Brahman sage

in

then, in Ancient India

In

'forest-dwellers.'

tionary.

It

directions.

Whenever

or a Kshatriya sage.

came from the

many

was

no

women

in-

dis-

young man or a
is

invariably

Advanced thought,'
vanaprasthas or

radical

had important consequences,

It

The

it

is

and revolu-

involved reconstruction and readjustment in several

religion of the
'

'

circle of the

respects

Self

(^Br/i.

Up., II,

(I, 4,

8).

5,

This

is

Upanishads

'Let

ethical,

is

the religion of the

Atman

or

all

beings, the king of all beings,'

man

ivorship the Self alone as dear'

the lord of

15).
is

religious,

There must now be considered.

Rcligio7is.

/.

The

a dialogue, the other speaker

eschatological, and philosophical.

Self

wholly retired

There

leisure for thought.

cussing the doctrine of Brahman.

either a

But as

it.

perhaps the nearest approach

Upanishads to the doctrine of love to God as

in

the early

set forth in the

com-

DOCTRINE OF THE UPANISHADS.

mand, " Thou

and dearer than son or wealth or anything

Self and

own

is

soul.

dear, that

The

Lord thy God."

shall love the

6
Self

because

else,

is

nearer

it is

the

manifested to the consciousness of every one as his

A wife is not
As Ydjnavalkya beautifully says
you may love the wife but that you may love the Self,
'

therefore a wife

is

dear' {Brh. Up.,

II, 4,

This

5).

is

not to be

regarded as the statement of an extreme egoism, but rather as

something involved

Vedas

ligion of the

the great doctrine of identity.

in

to be described as objective

is

spiritual.

It

a religion not of the object but of the subject.

is

God is sought not beyond

human heart. The identity
est Self

the stars, but in the depths of the

of the individual self and of the

Being able to say

recognized.

is

If the reritualistic,

must be described as subjective and

of the Upanishads

that

and

'

am

High-

Brahman,' one

becomes Brahman.

He who

the Self within himself

Beholds

as

God

Lord of the

He

immediately,

and the

future

from that time

is

past,

not afraid.

{Brh. up., IV,

The worship
But

it

of the Self looks at

would hardly be

trine of the Spirit of

fair

first

to call

God, the Holy

sight like self-worship.

The

that.

it

4, 15).

Christian doc-

dwelling in the heart

Spirit, as

of the devout believer and so creating a mystic union between

the

human and

the doctrine

in

the Divine,

is

This

question.

perhaps the best analogue of

is

Religion began with him

Apostle.

the standpoint of Paul the

when

was revealed

Christ

in

him.^

In the early Upanishads

ship of the
object or

Devas.

phenomenon

we

The
is

notice a polemic against the wor-

objections are

an

and inadequately expresses the nature

seen.

As

breathing he

metaphysical.

effect of the Self

is

and so only

thereof.

'

Self

is

un-

called breath, as speaking speech,

as seeing eye, as hearing ear, as thinking thought.

but names of his works.

The

Each

partially

Whoso
^Gal.,

All these are

worships one or other of these

I,

16.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

62
is

not wise

for the Self

is

only partially identical with any one of

Let one worship the Self alone

them.

come one

'

{Brh. Up.,

Self and his works

is

I,

4, 7).

is

to

Up.,

ship

is

is

all

antithesis

these be-

between the

and

object.

deity, thinking that the deity

To be

not wise.'

able to say,

'

am

is

one

Brahman,'

become the self of all things, yea even of the Devas {Brh.
I, 4, 10).
The same sharp polemic against the popular woris expressed in Kena I, 5
:

Unthinkable by thought is that

Through which they say that thought
Brahman know that alone to be,
Not that which people here adore.
It

him

for in

also the antithesis between subject

'He who worships another

and he another,

But the

is

thought

worthy of notice that both the sages of India and the

prophets of Israel attacked the popular worship of their times.

The former assailed

Amos

it

on metaphysical grounds

the latter

{c.

g.,

and Hosea) on moral grounds.

There was

finally a

compromise between the

religion

of the

Atman and the religion of the Devas. The religion of the Devas
flourished among the people at large, while the religion of the
Atman prevailed among the Vanaprasthas and such as came
under their influence.
The Atman was a 'jealous god,' and
tolerated

the

no second.

Atman was

Allah was

for

For the thinkers of India an

Mohammed

religiously.

up the Vedic Devas and so became

beyond the reach of mortal ken.

unknowable.

'associate' of

as obnoxious metaphysically as an associate of

As we have

By whom
By whom

it

'all

paradoxically in
'tis

knows it
those that know,

thought, he

then retired

It

all.'

The one

not thought, by him

'tis

The Atman swallowed

in

reality

Kena

was made

II, 3

thought
not.

Unknowable for
Well known by those who do not know

This sounds somewhat like the N. T. paradox of the things hidden

from the wise and prudent and revealed unto babes.

early Upanishad doctrine of the unknowableness of the

Here the
knowing

DOCTRINE OF THE UPANISHADS.

subject

is

pushed

to

63

such an extreme as seriously to encroach upon

the doctrine of deHverance through the knowledge of Brahman.

unknowable Brahman comes to be repremore by symbols. The syllable Om, the everlasting yea and amen (Chand. Up., I, i, 8), is a favorite emblem
of Brahman.
So are jyotis 'light' {^Bvli. Up., IV, 4, 16), and
But even more
/;w/^z 'breath,' 'spirit' (Chand. Up., IV, 10, 5).^
symbols
employed.And
in
the
late
dogmatic and
concrete
are
sectarian Upanishads a whole host of deities, e.g., Brahma, VisJuiu,

The

result

that the

is

sented more and

'

'

Ndrdyana,

(^iva,

etc.,

Brahman.

tions of

appear as representatives or personifica-

Thus

the Vedic deities are

first

banished and

then either they or their equivalents are recalled to act as intermediaries between
scious

self.

'

Unknown (Brahman) and

the Great

'

the con-

So there was a compromise between philosophy and

popular religion

in

the period of the later Upanishads, just as

was between prophecy and popular

Hebrews of the post-exile period.

there

religion

among

the

//. Ethical.

The

ethical

system of the Upanishads

And

is

involved

in

the doctrine

we have in the Upanishads the identity

of philosophy and religion, we may call the ethics found there
both philosophical and religious.
As philosophical, it is a deduction from the nature of Brahman
as religious, a program for
the attainment of Brahman. Brahman or the Self is the home of
of Brahman.

since

reality,

thought, and

and change.

It

is

bliss.

It

is

far

beyond hunger,

removed from

age, and death (^Brh. Up., Ill,

5,

VIII,

Whatever

7,

i).

It is

sorrcnvfnl {Brh.

immortal.

Up.,

Ill, 7,

is

We

23).

birthplace of Indian pessimism.

It

i).

sinless

is

of

it

either in the Vcdas or in the

'Compare 'God
''E. g.,

1,4.

is

light' (I

Indra in Ait. Up.,

John

I, 3,

I,

is

There

'God

the in-

referred to

Why
is

Brdhmanas.

5) and

it

stand here at the very

It is often

earlier in India ?

(Chand. Up.,

separate from

fluence of climatic and other natural conditions.

pessimism not appear

multiplicity

sorrow, delusion, old

thirst,

is spririt

It

'

then did

no clear trace

seems to

John IV,

14 [Deussen's numbering], Kaush., Ill,

me

24.
I,

Taitt.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

64

that Oldenberg

is

harmony with the sources when he

entirely in

Indian pessimism

assigns

to

origin.

There

is

dam (Chand.

Up., VIII,

tween the noumenal world which

and

deathless,

is

4,

i)

and the phenomenal world which

this side is ipso facto to

Brahman

is

be

in the state of

sorrowful.

separating be-

timeless, changeless, sinless,

It is

is

home of
To be on

the

and death.

unreality, multiplicity, decay, sin, sorrow,

other than

and metaphysical

speculative

sorrow, for everything

not that this world

the worst possible world, but that the world of

Brahman

is

is

so

much better. As Oldenberg says,^ " The glorification of the

Atman becomes involuntarily an ever increasingly bitter criticism
Weighed

of this world."

against the changeless bliss

Atman, the

best that this changing world can afford

defective.

of the

must appear

kind of pessimism has ever marked the attitude of

We

the choicest spirits toward the actual world.

Hebrew

writings of the

detect

it

in

the

prophets, and also in the words of Jesus

Christ and His Apostles, not to mention Plato and the moderns,

The pessimism

Schopenhauer and Carlyle.

is

speculative and

that of the

is

of the Indian sages

the consequence of their theory of being

Hebrew prophets

consequence of their

ethical, the

is

theory of duty.

The

logical result of the

renunciation.

The motive

be the knowledge of the

condemnation of the world was

its

of such renunciation was declared to

Knowing

Self.

this Self,

Brahmans

give up the desire of children, wealth, and the world, and wander

about as beggars

(^Brli.

Up., Ill,

But renunciation

5, i).

to be genuine involves the destruction

in

order

of desire, or rather the

destruction of desires through the realization of one supreme desire.

So we read of him who is without desire, free from desire, whose

desire is realized, whose desire is the Self {BifJi. Up., IV, 4, 6).
Such an one bears the name akdmayavidna, he who does not
'

desire.'

When

all

desires have

Which make

their

been removed,

home

in

human

hearts,

Mortal immortal then becomes,

Brahman e'en

here

is

then attained.
(^B^Iu

'^Buddha,

p. 42,

ff.

Op.

cit.,

up., IV, 4, 7.)

p. 42.

DOCTRINE OF THE UPANISHADS.

man would come after me, let

What doth it profit a man if he gain
whole world and lose his own soul."

Likewise said Christ

him deny
the

65

himself.

" If any

Not only

is

the world with

'

its

affections

and

nounced, but tmion with Brahman the Self

lusts

to

is

to be re-

'

be realized.

The name for such union \ssdyiijyazxi<\ perhaps also yoga. The
word 'yoga' occurs only once in the older Upanishads (Taitt.,
II, 4,

i),

and there

in the

'

But

devotion.'

be about equivalent to

course of time to

Two

sense of

'

means of

union.'

In the later Upanishads, however, yoga, as

means connected

actually used, refers to a very special kind of

As

with the control of the breath.

{sdyiijyd) with deity,
5,

in

such means have already been considered, namely knowledge

and renunciation.

I,

came

it

From

23.

such control

is first

way

of realizing union

mentioned

in BrJi. Up.,

the control of the breath and senses resulted

oftentimes the induction of a state of trance or unconsciousness.

As we

have

it

in the earliest

account of the developed Yoga

exists no form of Brahman,

Not with the eye can anyone behold him
But only through the spirit's high equipment,
Whoso thus knows him, he becomes immortal.

For outer sense

When the five senses quiet are,

And with them also human thought
When functions intellect no more,
This

is

known

as the highest state.

(^Kath. Up., VI, 9, 10.)

The

origin of this

method of union

is

Brahman, as the synthesis of subject and

bolized

by the

And

and death.

be regarded as
ness, too,

and of

state of

then,

object,

to detect.

was best sym-

unconsciousness as seen

in

deep sleep

Brahman had come more and more to

The finite conscioustheoretically unknowable.
as at

once the principle of individuation

In order to transcend these one must transcend

Only thus would renunciation be complete.

more natural than to seek to be conformed to the

consciousness.

What,

difficult

besides

was regarded

desire.

not

Matt.

XVI,

24-26.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

66

image of Brahman by the way of mysticism and trance through

an artificial induction of tlie unconscious or perhaps of the
state

siiperconscioiis

All this reminds one of Neo-platonism.

Ethics, then, in the Upanishads belongs to the soteriology of the

Atman. In
been distinguished, namely
religion of the

moments have

this soteriology three

/^;z<3'ze'/^(/^i'

through speculative

insight,

renunciation and mysticism.

III. Eschatological.

The

doctrine of transmigration

Upanishads.

It is

only with the belief

abode of Yama.
'

unknown
in

It is

appears explicitly in the

first

Rig-Veda, where we meet

in the

a continued existence after death

true that the \\ox6. punarmrtyu

in

the

Wiedertod,'

'

second death,' occurs

in

the BrdJimanas as well as in Brli. Up.,

but there

is

clearly

I,

2, 7, etc.,^

The

thinks that

it

no reference to transmigration.

metempsychosis

of Indian

origin

was borrowed from the

Gough^

uncertain.

is

aborigines, because

been shown to be a wide-spread belief among semi-savage

and, moreover, was

unknown

But another hypothesis

something

in the

has

the pre-Upanishad literature.

in

May

possible.

is

it

tribes,

there not have been

Upanishad speculations of such a character as

to give rise to the doctrine

The

doctrine

was

clearly lifted into

prominence by the vdnaprasthas, who would hardly have picked

up and cherished a non-Aryan superstition unless their own

It seems to me that
system of thought came to demand it.
the advanced thought of the Upanishads called naturally for some
revision of old eschatological conceptions.

not

leave a

man

Ydjnavalkya.

'

death

after

Name and work

'

'

sition is still further

What

is it

that does

'

he

replied,

/.

e.,

the

knowing

For a man becomes good by good

subject and his character.

work and bad by bad work

'

asked the son of Ritablidga of

?'

'

'

{Brh. Up., Ill,

developed

in

after all multiplicity of sensation

This po-

2, I2, 13).

IV, 4, 2-6, where

we read

that

has ceased at the death of a man,

then his knoivledge {vidyd consciousness of duty) and his work

(karman), yea his whole previous experience {ptirvaprajnd), lay
1

'

He

overcomes the second death,'

cf.

Apocal. loh.

^Philosophy of the Upanishads, pp. 24, 25.

II,

ii.

DOCTRINE OF THE UPAAISHADS.

6/

hold of him and lead him to another form of existence, whether

it

be that of the

Brahman

where operates

spirits'

is ethical.

the law of recompense.

is

he also

shall

Vedic teaching

The

reap.'

without regard to character, but

'

Whatsoever a man

future world of the old

no longer conceived as

is

Thus the motive

The law which every-

or of other beings.

which governs these speculations

soweth that

Gandharvas or of the Devas or

fathers, or of the

of Prajapati or of

is

the place of departed

'

broken up into

'

spheres

of recompense,' in which there are different degrees of dignity

and blessedness corresponding to

'

the deeds done in the body.*

The future state was not regarded

Each one there had his own riipa or
as

'

done with those who were not worthy of enter-

to be

ing that world?

punishment.

it

'

Brahman himself
them down-

with the very world of

at the top

What more

{BraliDialokd).
until

had not yet been invented as a place of

be remembered that the spheres of recom-

Hell

'

Let

pense began

ward

Yama had come

the blessed.
What

regarded as exclusively the world of

to be

was

natural than to extend

they include the worlds of men, animals, plants, and

According to

inorganic nature?

this view, the doctrine of trans-

migration in India began through the extension of the

of recompense,' so as to cover

me

This seems to
there

state.

form,' perhaps conceived

But the world of

body.'^

spiritual

disembodied

as
*

would be a

beings,

all

all

forms,

a very plausible hypothesis.

'

spheres
bodies.

all

Accordingly

future form and condition appropriate for every

The sage might take the form of a Deva, while the

man whose conduct had been evil would be born as a dog or a

creature.

hog

or a Oianddla' (Chand. Up., V, lo,

transmigration

conceived as a minister of justice, which assigns

is

to every creature

and destiny
desire f as
his

work

Up.,

4,

Kratu

cf.

appropriate

his desire, so

the

= both

'

'

whose body

conatus

intellect

'

is
is

his

Man

is

'

of man's nature

altogether

made of

his insight so

is

his destiny

human

Chand. Up.,
and the will to

is spirit,'

will.

is

f as

work so

true for

of Spinoza

and

The law

lot.

his insight

is

and as

All this

5).

pranatarira

^Kdma,

is

its

expressed as follows

[kaniiaii)

IV,
Q.{.

is

7).

Here, as in Plato,

'

experience and

Ill, 14, 2.
live

is

{Brh.

'

of Schopenhauer.

68

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

In Kantian language the law of

thought, but for them alone.

karman

a principle regulative

is

tive of reality.

ness which

is

of experience, but not constitu-

For as soon as the standpoint of human consciousmarked by desire and ignorance is transcended, then

both merit and demerit vanish into thin air. This, it seems to
It furme, was the earliest form of the post-Vedic eschatology.
nished a favorite field for speculation, so that very soon numerous

As pointed
proceed by way of the

modifications were introduced into the older doctrine.

out by Deussen,^ these modifications

combination and recombination of the fundamental eschatological

conceptions under the domination of different motives, ethical,
ritualistic

As might be

and cosmological.

expected, their details

cannot always be harmonized.

a well-known fact that in the later Vedantism philosophy
often conceived negatively as a means of deliverance from the
It is

is

round of transmigration.

It

cannot be too

much emphasized

For the thinkers of the

that in the beginning
earliest Upanishads, the investigation of Brahman, the one reality,
was something positive. Their impulse to philosophy was not
was not

it

so.

derived from belief in transmigration, but rather the doctrine of

transmigration itself seems to have been, if not the product of the
doctrine of Brahman, at least an ethical postulate of the

same

course of thought which led to the developed doctrine of Brahman. For it expressed the conviction of an indissoluble wedlock

between character and destiny.

IV. Philosophical.

The

doctrine of

Maya

is

the logical result of the doctrine of

like the substantia of Spinoza,

Brahman.

Brahman,

indivisible

so the speculative reason of India declared.

is

one and

But

for

There is thus a dualism beis real.'

unity the other mulaffirms
one
The
sense.
and
tween reason
first that multiplicity
very
It has been evident from the
tiplicity.
must go to the wall. The temper of the Vedanta thinkers has
sense multiplicity exists and

ever been rationalistic.

1

upanishads,

S.

139

ff.

DOCTRINE OF THE UPANISHADS.

For a long time the
unreconciled.
implicit.

It

is

From the very first,

may be stated almost

Being

school.

many.

is

non-being

human

final

side unarticulated

re-

and

however, the explanation was

the terms of the Eleatic

in

Being

not.

is

It

one

is

is

non-being

unreal.

It

is

an

Maya

it is

'

Such was

illusion.'

explanation.

The word

many

by

consciousness, not something con-

In a word,

stitutive of reality.

side

not.

is

Therefore multiplicity

accident pertaining to

the

between unity and plurality

antithesis

The two stood

mained unresolved.

69

times

'

ma

from

indyd,'

to measure,

Rig-Veda

in the

wonderful, supernatural or creative power.

'supernatural arts
14, etc.

Maya

in Brh. Up., II,

He

In the plural

it

means

or 'devices,' as in RV., VI, 47, 18, VIII, 14,

'

does not occur

5,

make, occurs

effect,

the sense of pozver, especially

in

19

found

his

the oldest Upanishads except

in

RV., VI, 47,

Thus

18).

form in every form incarnate,

him for human vision

Through magic wanders multiform wise Indra,
Yoked are his horses by the tens and hundreds.
This

is

the form of

This passage seems to furnish the starting point for the later
Indra becomes multiform through his stipernaUiral

use of indyd.
arts.

Multiplicity

here be rendered by
(J vet.

made

is
'

magic just as well

'

Up., occurs the

cosmic sense

the effect of maya, and

passage

first

From whom come hymns,

as

as

by 'power.'

which maya

is

In the

used

in

Future and past, yea

He

in

maya may

all

works, vows, and sacrifices,

the Veda-teachings,

Magician (mayin)

all this

In which the soul through mdyd

Maya know prakriti (

And as Eiichanter the
With

that

Pervaded
In this sense the

Upanishads and

in

which of
is

is

entangled.

nature) to be.

Great

'

God

his parts consists.

the entire world.

word

world created,

mdyd

'

is

the Bhagavadgita.

(IV,

9,

10.)

often used in the sectarian

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

70

We have, then,

in

the Upanishads three

moments

in the devel-

between the one and the many

opment of the

relation

thesis, unity is

(Chand. Up., VI,

2,

i), (2)

(i) the

the antithesis, plural-

IV, 10, 11), and (3) the synthesis, plurality

the illusive play of unity, the magic of Brahman the great ma-

ity is not {Kath. Up.,

is

gician (^vet. Up., IV, 9, 10).

Brahman appeared

As

in the early

while as the source of

all

the source of

Upanishads

all

sound doctrine

as the Gi'eat Teacher;

(apparent) multiplicity he appears in the

Upanishads as the Great Magician.

late

Concerning the antiquity of the doctrine of maya, Colebrooke^

" I take it to be no tenet of the original Vedantin philososays
:

phy

;"

while on the contrary

Gough ^

claims " that

maya

is

part

and parcel of the primitive Indian cosmological conception, as

Which

exhibited in the Upanishads themselves."

me

seems to

that each

is

right in the sense that the doctrine of

stated in the older Upanishads

sense that the doctrine in question

Brahman, the great theme of

1

2
3

all

maya
Gough
is

right

It

is

not found explicitly

while
is

is

Colebrooke

both right and wrong.

is

right in the

involved in the doctrine of

the Upanishads.^

Essays, p. 242.

Upanishads, p.

There

is

theologically

xi.

an interesting N. T.
is

the conception of

these were left by the

N. T.

parallel.

God

The

net result of the

the Father, Christ,

New

and the Holy

Testament

Spirit.

But

writers standing over against one another, philosoph-

and unexplained. The Greek theologians took up the problem and

by the doctrine of the Trinity. This doctrine is and is not a doctrine of
the New Testament in the same sense in which maya both is and is not a doctrine of
Neither is found explicitly in the documents in question, but on the
the Upanishads.

ically unrelated

answered

it

other hand each seems to be implied.

CHAPTER

IV.

The Doctrine of Brahman

in the Vedanta-SOtras
Expounded by Qankaracarya.

The period

of the classical Upanishads

of Indian philosophy.

It

was the

as

creative period

was naturally followed by an age of

The

exposition and system-building.

earliest

systematic state-

ment of the doctrine of the Upanishads is found in the VedantaBut these without a commentary are unintelligible.
Sutras.
This want is supplied by the famous Bhdsya of ^ankaracarya,
Here
the earliest extant commentary on the Vedanta-Sijtras.
then
cite

we must take up

We

the thread of our investigation.

shall

from the excellent translation of Professor Thibaut.

Indian philosophy began with the problem of the universe as

Purusha (RV., X, 90, 2), Prajapati (^at. Br., V, i, i,

4), and Brahman (Chand. Up., Ill, 14, i), representing respectively the Vedic, the Brahmanic and the Upanishad speculation,
a whole.

them identified with the totality of nature {idam

But this was little more than to fix the problem. It

are each of
sarvain).

remained to reduce the chaos of existence to an ordered system

through the insight of reason.

As

already pointed put, the

There

nishads recognize different degrees of reality.

is,

Upa-

however,

a tendency to employ the principle of dichotomy, to bring things

under the head of either of two mutually exclusive categories.

Not to mention the Vedic sat being and asat non-being which
only gradually came to be used

we have

in

'

'

'

in

sharp antithesis to each other,

the early Upanishads

Brahman

as

the totality of

Brahman with a form and Brahman formless,

Brahman mortal and Brahman immortal, Brahman phenomenal
and Brahman noumenal {Brh. Up., II, 3, i), Brahman defined
and Brahman undefined. Brahman conditioned and Brahman unconditioned (Taitt. Up., II, 6), Brahman as time and Brahman as
In like manner Spinoza began
the timeless (Mait. Up., VI, 15).

things divided into

with the conception of nature

in its

totality

and concreteness

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

72

(Tractatns Brevis, I, 2), but soon distinguished between NatiLva

Naturans (= Deus, Substantia, Natura/^r excellence) "^nd natiira
natiirata, the' world of finite modes.
We may also cite the

noumenon and phenomenon, and

Kantian distinction between

Schopenhauer between

that of

how

indicated

in the

many

Unity

not,

(2) Plurality

of unity.

idea.

We

have already-

Upanishads the development of the relation

between the one and the

is,

and

will

is

passed through three stages

and

(3) Plurality

is

(i)

the illusive play

Brahman

In the place of the early distinction between

noumenal and Brahman phenomenal, we have finally the distinction between Brahman and maya, in which maya takes the place
>

Brahman and

of the phenomenal

opposed

to

Being or Brahman.

regarded as non-being as

is

This

is

the standpoint of Can-

karacarya.

A.

The Theology of (^ankardcdrya.

In the introduction to his great

^ankara makes a sharp

''

ality

between subject and

distinction

The one

ego and non-ego.

work on the Vedanta-Siatras,

is

the

home

the other, of the non-intelligent and the unreal.

experience {vyavalidra)

is

object,

of intelligence and re-

Ordinary

the result of superimposing the non-

ego upon the Ego, the unreal upon the Real.

says,

'

Thus, as ^ankara
on the Self are superimposed particular conditions such as

stage of

caste,

/These

Self

On them

is

are based

ground of

are the

is

outward circumstances, and so

particular conditions are called upddJiis or

juncts.'

They

age,

life,

fictitiously

all

'

on.'

limiting ad-

the practical distinctions of

life.

By them the unity of the

Remove them, and lo the residue

multiplicity.

broken up.

pure thought untainted by the antithesis of subject and object,

or by the distinction of 'this

ydsd)
since

is

said to

it is

be

'

'

and

'

a natural procedure

involved in

all

and

on the part of man,

As such

it

It

is

the

inheres in the

as a transcendental form of cognition just as time

space, according to

But superimposition
but also one

'

functioning of the intellect.

subjective principle of multiplicity.

human mind

Superimposition {adh-

that.'

'

Kant and Schopenhauer.

is

which has

called not only

its

source

in

'

a natural procedure,'

zvrong knowledge

'

{jnithyd-

THE DOCTRINE OF ^ANKARACARYA.

jndna) namely,

We

ject.

cendental

and
'

'

'

between subject and ob-

failure to discriminate

have here a kind of metaphysical or rather trans'

total

depravity,'

which

affecting the

'

depravity

total

73

total depravity

tian thinkers.

is

of the intellect

'

once

at

'

racial

'

affecting all

thought of eveiy man.

entire

men
This

the Indian analogue of the

is

by a certain school of ChrisNescience or non-knowledge {avidya) is the name

of the

'

zvill

as held

given to this transcendental depravity of the intellect, since

persists

juncts

'

superimposing the unreal apddhis or

in

upon the one

reality,

Knowledge

multiplicity.

'

it

limiting ad-

and so creating the appearance of

{I'idya),

on the other hand,

is

the dis-

crimination of the Self from the not-self, the Real from the un-

The world

real.

of ordinaiy experience {lokavyavahdrd)

According to the Indian

garded as the sphere of Nescience.

thinker, to

know

re-

is

and such things

individuals, houses, trees,

is

to

know nothing as one ought to know. Cankara does not say

that for one who knows nothing higher such knowledge may not
have the value of
entire

reality.

Indeed, he

tells

complex of phenomenal existence

is

us plainly that

long as the knowledge of Brahman being the Self of

arisen

just as the

phantoms

true until the sleeper

wakes

of a
'

(II,

dream
i,

'

the

considered as true as
has not

all

are considered to be

And from

14).

this point

of view he refutes the idealism and nihilism of the Buddhists in

language which makes him almost seem to be a

28-32).
reality,

realist (II, 2,

Thus, according to ^ankara, there are two kinds of

the

first

practical,

phenomenal,

relative

{tydvahdnkd), and

the second noumenal and absolute '{pdramdrthika).

responding to these, there are two kinds of knowledge

knowledge

'

{luitJiydjndiid) the correlative

and perfect knowledge

'

lute reality.
is

to

To

become 'a

'

And
:

'

cor-

wrong

of phenomenal reality,

{samyagjndiid) the correlative of abso-

identify oneself with the first

or lower reality

part of nature,' subject to the law of sainsdra,

the eternal sequence of moral causation.

But, on the other

hand, to identify oneself with the second or higher reality

is

to

transcend the sphere of merit and demerit and to realize the

unity and blessedness of

The theory

Brahman

the Highest.

of the superimposition of

'

limiting adjuncts

'

leads

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

74

naturally to the doctrine of the identity of the individual self

and the Highest

jars,

'

considered

if

merged

from

apart

limiting conditions,

their

which

in universal space, so the soul,

the highest Self

which

soul,

Nescience,

is

Thus 'the Lord

7).

3,

is

embodied, acts and enjoys, and

the

in

(I,

same way

nothing else but

differs

from the

the product of

is

who

as the real juggler,

stands on

the ground differs from the illusive juggler, who, holding

hand a shield and a sword, climbs up

rope
jar'

in

his

sky by means of a

or as the free unlimited ether differs from the ether of a

(I,

I,

17).

and the highest

In short, the difference between the individual self

Self,

while valid for the lower point of view,

From

not valid for the higher.

reality

at the

'fictitious.'

it is

analogous

spirit (rrpsu/xa,

New

Before leaving

and the Divine.

human

The

spirit
'

Spirit or

We

Self.'

it is

in

Tioe~Jna

declared to

is

the N. T. some-

and sometimes the Divine

'

Spirit.^

human
is made

the link between the

is

as 'the Spirit of God,' 'the Spirit

when dtman

just as,

often enlarged to

even have

we may glance

God

reference of Tivzufxa to the Divine

of Christ,' 'the Holy Spirit'

Self,

But

spirit

by such expressions

explicit

this point

Testament doctrine.

Possessing or rather being

in the

refers to the

Parmndtman, the Highest

'

Pauline writings a kind of doctrine

of identity, namely, the personal confession of Paul the mystic

Gal.

II,

20

'It

is

is

the standpoint of the highest

John IV, 24).

times indicates the

one

to the

are

exists in all bodies,

considered apart from the limiting adjuncts,

be

is

it may be broken up into spaces by earthen jars and

As Space is to spaces, so is the Supreme Self to inAs ^ankara puts it
selfs.
Just as the spaces within

like.

dividual

if

as for Kant, space [dkdga)

But

one.

the

For ^ankara,

Self.

no longer

that

but Christ liveth

live,

in

in me.'

Perhaps the most characteristic as well as speculatively the

highest doctrine of ^ankaracarya
nature of Brahman, according

edge or of Nescience'
passages

in

would seem

The

(I,

i,

as

is

it is

11).

the doctrine of the

We

the Upanishads {Brh.,

So with

is
1-ilak

double

have already referred to

II, 3,

to furnish the starting point

doctrine in question

'

the object either of knowl-

i,

for

Taitt.,

II, 6),

such a

which

distinction.

the outcome of a consistent and

'

spirit

'

in the

O. T.

THE DOCTRINE OF ^ANKARACARYA.

75

As

thoroughgoing appHcation of the theory of hmiting adjuncts.

already explained,

we

if

only pure being which

is

think

the

there remains

iipddliis,

This

pure thought, one and absolute.

is

once the standpoint and the method of deliverance {inoksha).

at

For

away

'

as

soon

consequence of the declaration of non-differ-

as, in

ence contained in such passages as "that art thou," the convic-

comes to consciousness, the transmigratory

and the creative quality of Brahman
vanish at once, the whole phenomenon of plurality, which springs
from wrong knowledge, being sublated by perfect knowledge
tion of non-difference

state of the individual soul

'

(II,

I,

We have

22).

doctrine of
{ethically)

here at once a doctrine of scripture and a

Christian

Just as the

faith.

dead unjo

sin,

but alive unto

(Rom. VI,

scripture to this effect

to

is

God on
'

Brahman

the

'

much

for the

man

of

plurality

all

one only without a second

basis of such scripture texts as Tat

'

reckon himself

the basis of the

even so the Vedantist

1),

reckon himself metaphysically separate from

identical with

perfect

tvam

asi

knowledge

'

'

'

is

and

on the

that art thou.'

who

to

So

has attained to

the perfect vision {sainyagdargand) or intuition [pratyaksa) of the

But what of the unenlightened multitudes who

know not Brahman and yet profess to know and worship him as
God ? To answer this, we must remember that the law of the
Highest Self

tipddJiis

governs

all

as sense-perception.
'

functioning of the intellect, ideation as well

To

limiting adjuncts,' or, as

think at

all is

Kant would

space and time.

i.

e.,

God, just as much as any

out, the superimposition of

But as already pointed

idea.

the upadhis, although a necessity of mind,

its

source

in

wrong knowledge.

of intellect taints

all

is

regarded as having

This transcendental

thought and

all

is

unreal

the unthinkable alone

Unthinkable by thought

is

'

depravity'

the objects of thought, even

the highest object God, with the taint of unreality.

able

of

Ideas, then, as well as percepts obey the law of

the upddhis, and the highest Idea,

lower

to think in terms of the

say, under the forms

is real.

that

Through which they say that thought

Brahman know that alone to be,

Not that which people here adore.

is

thought

(Kena,

I,

5.)

The

think-

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

7^

By whom not thought by him 'tis thought

By whom 'tis thought, he knows it not. (Kena,

Brahman

II, 3.)

accordingly apprehended under two forms,

is

first

upon with attributes, through the

tendency of the mind to superimpose limiting con-

as qualified, defined, clothed

inevitable
ditions

'

on

'

all

the objects of

its

As such

thought.

it

constitutes

the anthropomorphic deity of popular worship, and so as an

ject of devotion

localized in heaven, in

is

Of

'no, no.'

Attributes such as
etc.,

suppose connection with a

characterization of

impossible,

mystery one can only say

that ultimate

nipotent, omniscient,

is

if this

infinite, eternal,

neti neti

unchangeable,

are inapplicable, since they

spatial or

Brahman

ompre-

all

Even the
thought and bliss,

temporal order.

as unity, reality,

point of view be held rigorously, since these

concepts derived from experience.

all

from

as separate

adjuncts whatever, as pure, unqualified, unattached,

all limiting

absolute.

are

ob-

the heart and so on.

Brahman may be apprehended

But, secondly,

'

'

In a word, as the final

product of abstraction carried to the uttermost

limits

we have

the concept of an absolute entity concerning which not a single

predication can legitimately be made.

which

The world

of experience,

usually regarded as the sphere of science,

is

is

here

made

the sphere of nescience, while that transcendent being concerning

which we can say absolutely nothing,

knowledge'!

What

then

is

is

called

an object of

the relation between the

'higher'

lower Brahman ? Both are the same and yet not the
The higher Brahman = the lower Brahman minus the
limiting adjuncts, while the lower Brahman = the higher Brah-

and the

'

'

same.

man

plus the limiting adjuncts.

thropomorphically

deanthropomorphized
Vorstelhiiig of Hegel,

imagination

the

is

is
is

Ultimate reality conceived an-

lower Brahman.

the higher Brahman.

Ultimate

The

a representation projected

the other, like the Begriff o{\\\q

by the

same

reality

one, like the

religious

thinker,

is

The lower knowledge {apard I'idyoL) is conlower Brahman as the supreme concept of re-

concept of reason.
cerned with the
ligion

while the higher knowledge {^pard vidjd)

with the higher

Brahman

as the

is

concerned

supreme concept of philosophy.

THE DOCTRINE OF (^ANKARACARYA.

We

come

77

As

cosmology of ^ankaracarya.

finally to the

al-

ready explained, that form of Brahman which, according to the

mortal, phenomenal, defined, conditioned and sub-

Upanishads,

is

ject to time

and space, namely, Brahman as the ordered world

{iiatiira nattcrata), is in ^ankara's system virtually

of experience

What

Maya.

called

^ankara says

the relation

is

one place

in

'
:

Maya

of

Although

Brahman

to

are denied to

all qualities

Brahman, we nevertheless may consider it to be endowed with

powers, if we assume in its nature an element of plurality, which
i,
is the mere figment of Nescience' (II,
31); and in another
place

By

'

is

as the existing or the non-existing.

of
its

apparent world with

true and real nature

lifted

more

it

of

the fiction

is

by name and form, which

characterized

evolved as well as non-evolved, which

this entire

which

that element of plurality

nescience, which

is

not to be defined either

Brahman becomes

its

is

the basis

changes and so on, while

in

same time remains unchanged,

(II,
i,
27); and once

at the

above the phenomenal universe'

Belonging to the

'
:

as

self,

it

Avere,

the omniscient

of

Lord, there are name and form, the figments of Nescience, not
to be defined either as being nor as different from

it,

of the entire expanse of the phenomenal world, called

power

Smriti the illusion {jndjd),

Lord

of the omniscient

'

(II,

i,

[gakti),

14).

the germs

in (Jruti

and

or nature [prakriti)

These passages give the

we may briefly sum-

cosmological theory of ^ankara, which

marize as follows
1.

The

same

Brahman nor

as

prakriti

universe consists of something which

'

matter

'

and gakti

'

is

neither the

Objectively considered,

different.

it

is

But matter and force, while

force.'

true for experience, cannot be true in the sphere of absolute reality

paraindrthatas).

universe

is ^^-/V/;'^

world as

idea,'

As

Therefore,

'nescience'

2S\d.

subjectively considered, the

indyd 'illusion.'

which has no existence except

It

is

'the

for consciousness.

consisting of the aggregate of the upddliis, the world of ex-

perience belongs to the nature of the lower Brahman,

man
2.

as 'fictitiously connected with

maya

Between the world of the upadhis or

lower Brahman

there intervene

'

i.

c. Brah-

(II, 2, 2).

'

'

finite

name and

modes

'

and the

form' {iidmanipc),

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

78

which are conceived both

ation

(I, I, 5) in

as ideally present even before the cre-

the knowledge of (the lower)

Brahman as Creator,
With the In-

and as the highest categories of human experience.

name and form we may compare Spinoza's

Thought and Extension, which are regarded as

dian conception of

two

attributes of

'

'

bridging the gulf between the one

distinction

is

also acquainted with the

between individual {vyakti) and species {dkrti

The former he
eternal

Substance and the

infinite

^ankara

multiplicity of finite modes,

(I, 3,

=eioo(^').

regards as coming into existence, but the latter as

The dkrtayas

28).

of (Jankara are analogous to the

Hence on
we might arrange a

Ideas of Plato and possibly to the Essences of Spinoza.

the basis of relation to the world of experience

manner of the Gnostic emaThus (^a) the higher Brahman separate from maya,
nations.
{b^ the lower Brahman connected with maya, {c) name and form,
series in a

descending scale

after the

the revelation of maya,

Maya

3.

ing.

It is

sich

nor

{cC)

is

it,

{pijgakti

I,

Brahman

We

Without

'

it

Lord

the highest

of an illusion

it

is

'

causal potenti-

the highest Lord could not be con-

become active if he were desSuch causal potentiality

titute of the potentiality of action.'

'

Ding an

have here to do with the Vedantic

^ankara speaks of a

ceived as creator, as he could not

has

as the

4, 3) as the antecedent condition of the present

ordered world.

'

individuals.

on the other hand, absolutely unreal, since

doctrine of development,
'

{c) finite

neither being nor non-being, but rather a becom-

is

not identical with the pure

real to consciousness.

ality

eternal species,

for its

{indydmaji).

'

substratum

'

and

is

'

of the nature

Here then we have the doctrine of

a world-process grounded in Brahman as the highest Lord, real

for sense, but unreal for reason,
sory.
is

It is to

ipso facto the lower

related

and so

in its

deepest nature

illu-

be noted that Brahman when related to the world

Brahman

Brahman, as opposed to the higher or un-

thus, as the first term in the world-process

(noumenal A), the lower Brahman quite properly bears the name
of Parajnegvara,

'

the highest Lord.'

as real and just as unreal as the

part and parcel of

it.

It

is

The lower Brahman

is

phenomenal world, since

just
it

is

the ultimate causal abstraction to

which thought naturally and inevitably tends.

Like

Kant's

THE DOCTRINE OF gANKARACARYA.

Lord

Ideal of pure reason, the concept of the highest

great

cause has vahdity only as a principle

first

thought, not as
striking
'

virtually

'

'

There

of reality.

For Kant the concept

difference.

regulative

'

as the

regulative

of

'

however, a

is,

God,' while only

from the standpoint of speculative reason, becomes

'

constitutive

But

reason.

tical

constitutive

'

'

79

for

'

when viewed from

^ankara there

the standpoint of prac-

no way of making the con-

is

cept of a world-cause or a world-ground any

phenomenal world

more

than the

real

But the world-process, such as

itself

is,

it

serves as a sphere for the self-revelation of the highest Lord.

'

The

Self

reveals itself in a graduated series of beings,

so appears in forms of various dignity and power'

'

Wherever there

is

to be worshipped.'

(I,

and
ii).

i,

excess of power, and so on, there the Lord

'

The

highest Lord may,

assume a bodily shape formed of Maya,

thereby his devout worshippers

(I,

'

is

pleases,

order to gratify

in

Such

20).

i,

when he

(Jankara's

is

explanation and justification of the Indian theory of different

incarnations.
4.

We

have then

the system

in

Brahman and Maya standing over

pure thought and
'

This

matter.'

Maya

at first sight

But (^ankara saves his

avidyd

Nescience.'

'

texts as
all

'

The

and,

it

reference

be light

is

terms

'

mind

it

'

and

'

matter.'

the creation of the world out

'

support

is

perhaps found

clearly to Gen.

and there was

is

light.'

I,

'
:

And God

The thought

so great that

He

were, easily as a
Cf. Gita,

man
X,

41.

said.

In like

is

manner (Jankara
things

all

sends forth his breath'

2

Let there

of the Psalm

can create as easily as a

being can speak or breathe.

>

such

in
;

speaks of the highest Lord as having created

as

as

nature,'

word of the Lord were the heavens made and

them by t/ie breath of his mouth. ... For he
was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.^

that God's power

human

'

the

the host of

spake,

Brahman

energy,'

monism by making Maya the synonym of

A word with reference to the analogous

Its best scriptural

By

'

looks like a speculative dualism, a

doctrine in Christian theology of

of nothing.'

^ankara the absolute

as the hypostasis of

rendering of the

transcendental

of

against each other.

Pa.

XXXIII,

(I,

6, 9.

i,

in

sport

3).

For

'

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

8o
'

although the creation of

undertaking,

difficult

unlimited'

world appears to us a weighty and

this

mere play

it is

to the Lord,

whose power

God

the Sanskrit suggest primarily the lack of effort with which

creates,

and also possibly the unreality of the creation

pared with the immense reality of the Creator.

realism and the Indian doctrine
effect

would both seem

may

ever this

be,

it

to

God and

is

But the Hebrew

of the identity

be against the

com-

as

of cause

and

How-

last conjecture.

certain that for the mediaeval theologians

is

the world was created out of

&carya the world

is

These passages both from the Hebrew and

(II, i, 33).

just

'

nothing

Maya

'

and that

'illusion.'

for (^ankar-

In the

the world stand over against each other

system

first

in

the second,

Brahman and Maya. The monism of both systems is saved by

making the second term in each antithesis, namely the world
and Maya,

derivative, secondary,

nay

in the

deepest sense juireal.

B. Qankardcdiya and Rdmdnnjdcdrya.

^ankaracarya lived
In

the

twelfth

eighth century (788-820 A. D.).

in the

century, however, another great

exegete

and

theologian flourished, the famous Rduidmijdcdrya, likewise the

author of a commentary on the Vedanta-Sutras and the founder

The

of a school of thought.

text of his

erally accessible, nor does the

work

commentary

is

not gen-

exist in a complete transla-

know. For the purpose in hand it is necessary

compare only the chief tenets of Ramanuja with the corre-

tion, so far as I

to

The fundamental

sponding views of ^ankara.

doctrines of the

system of Ramanuja are presented with admirable brevity and

clearness in Professor Thibaut's learned introduction to his trans-

On

lation of the Vedanta-Sutras.^

the basis of this sketch the

following points of difference between the two systems

indicated
I.

of

As

to the unity of

a qualified

be

Brahman, Ramanuja was the exponent

non-duality

duality of ^ankara's

as

system.

be absolutely homogeneous.
in itself

may

opposed

The

the

objection that

elements of manifoldness,' that

1

to

absolute

non-

Cankara conceived Brahman to

SEE., Vol.

XXXIV.

'

'

Brahman has

as the tree

has

many

THE DOCTRINE OF gANKARACARYA.

Brahman

branches, so

ness are therefore both true

II,

I,

and that

the phrase

having

'

common

origin

its

of plurality
inal
i^''

'

assume

sense,
'

(II,

I,

31),

all

in the

it is

speech

in

If we,

'

only because of that innate and

we

the other hand, Ramanuja,

There

no

is

orig-

So ^ankara taught.

as already hinted, held that mulits

ally

and comple-

share in the reality of the One.

between the One and the many.

real antithesis

unity of Ramiinuja

'

are compelled to view

not the foe of unity, but rather

The many somehow

ment.

r,

on the basis

Brahman an element

nature of

unity under the disguise of multiplicity.

On

manifold-

Ramanuja,

(Chand. Up., VI,

'

effects.

depravity of intellect by which

tiplicity is

unity and

(the very position of

'

4-6) declares the unreality of

of

'

mentioned only to be rejected on the ground that

is

14)

many powers and emergies

possesses

dependent on these powers,'

The

a concrete all-embracing unity rather than

is

an abstract, naked, characterless unity such as ^ankara taught.

For Ramanuja the world is not unreal, but as composed of acit

and cit, matter and souls,' it constitutes the body of the Lord.
The universe is one vast organism whose body nature is and
God the soul.' The connection between Brahman and the world is
'

'

'

Hence

real.

fied

there

and a lower or

no

is

distinction

qualified

between a higher or unquali-

Brahman.

Hence, too. Brahman as

the cause of a real world has the attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence,

Moreover, there

is

God than is displayed

... is all-merciful
;

to

all evil."*

etc.,

which are involved

his nature

In a word, the

animating and governing

As

"

relation.

'

The Lord

fundamentally antagonistic

inner guide

in nature

and

'

in

a personal

is

{^BrJi.

Up., Ill, 7)

man, permeating,

by his spirit.
between Brahman and the

all

to the relation

is

Brahman of Ramanuja

everywhere immanent both

2.

such a

the system of Cankara.

in

God, who as the Antarydmin or

is

in

a greater emphasis on the moral attributes of

things

individual

Ramanuja proclaimed a qualified identity as opposed to

by ^ankara. For ^ankara the individual soul is Brahman limited and disguised by the upadJiis*
For Ramanuja, on the other hand, the inthe offspring of Maya.
soul,

the absolute identity held

Thibaut, SBE., Vol.

XXXIV,

p. xxviii.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

82

As

dividual soul has a relative but nevertheless real existence.

finite

personality

it is

just as real in

God.

nite all-embracing personality of

in the reality of

absorption

in,

Brahman.

its

own sphere

It is real

as the infi-

because

shares

it

Loss of separate personality through

or recognition of identity with, the highest Self

The

the ideal of ^ankara.

similation to the nature

preservation of personality and

and character of Brahman

Raman uj a.
3. As regards cosmology

is

its

is

as-

the ideal of

both Ramanuja and ^ankara ad-

mit the doctrine of a world-process consisting of evolution and

But

dissolution.

for

^ankara

standpoint of common-sense,

and reason an

illusion.

this process,

is

while true from the

from the standpoint of Scripture

For Ramanuja, however,

it

is

a real de-

velopment, a real modification of the substance of the Lord.

Thus the theory

of

Maya

is

accepted by ^ankara, but rejected by

Ramanuja,

Thus there are two types of the Vedanta,the Vedanta of(^ankara

The former is abstract, idealistic
and far removed from common sense while the latter is concrete,
realistic, and much nearer the standpoint of common sense.
The
watchword of the former is unity without multiplicity, all multiplicity being due to Maya.
The watchword of the latter is iinity
and the Vedanta of Ramanuja.

in multiplicity, the upadhis being regarded as real forms of existence.

The one

proclaims a doctrine of identity

the other, a

The Brahman of ^ankara is properly

transcendent as transcendent as the God of Deism whereas
the Brahman of Ramanuja is immanent, dwelling in all things as
doctrine of emanation.

the Antarydmin or

'

inner guide.'

represents Indian orthodoxy

C.

I,

2).

Their purpose

Upanishads.

excelloice.

The Veddnta-Sutras.

These consist of 555

were on which to string
(I,

par

Finally the system of ^ankara

brief aphorisms,
'

Bible, furnishes a

'

threads

'

as

it

the flowers of the Vedanta-passages

is

'

to systematize the doctrine of the

The Shorter Catechism

fession of Faith, so far as

mere

it is

of the Westminster Con-

a resume of the doctrines of the

modern analogue of the Indian

Sutras, although

THE DOCTRINE OF gANKARACARYA.

83

by way of question and answer. We

compare the aphorisms of the Novum Organum, and the

the latter do not proceed

may

also

propositions in Spinoza's Ethics.

The

Siatra style

extremely condensed, but not otherwise

is

there

is

an exception

prior Minidinsd

part

in

the case of the two Mhndj'nsd-Siityas, the

and the

Mhndmsd, which

later

the work-part

spectively

in-

All writers agree, however, in affirming that

trinsically obscure.

and the knowledge-

{karjuakdndd)

(^jndhakdnda) of the Veda.

" Scarcely one single Sutra

is

systematize re-

Here, as Thibaut remarks,

intelligible

commen-

without a

As an illustration of the combined brevity

and obscurity of the Vedanta-Sutras, we may cite Sutra, I, i, 3,
(^dstrayonitvdt, which may mean either
Because (Brahman) is

tary" (pp.

xiii-xiv).

'

the source of Scripture,' or

Because Scripture

'

the knowledge of Brahman).'

(or authors) of the Vedanta-Sutras

make

is

the source (of

Deussen thinks that the author

was influenced by the

desire to

the secret doctrine of the Upanishads as stated in the Sutras

inaccessible

except through the oral

comment

of a qualified

teacher.*

There are two ways of approaching the Vedanta-Sutras

either

by way of the Upanishads whose doctrine the Sijtras are supposed

to sum up, or by way of the commentators, the earliest and most
important of which are ^ankaracarya and

Raman ujacarya, both

recognized doctors or teachers of the Vedanta as the epithet

Acdrya

indicates.

It

might be inferred on a priori grounds that

the Sutras set forth the same type of doctrine as

the Upanishads, since their sole aim

matic form the teaching thereof

sibility

is

is

found

in

to reproduce in a syste-

But, not to mention the pos-

of there being different types of doctrine in the

Upan-

we have already seen that the two systems

of ^ankara and Ramanuja which differ on the most fundamental points, have been built upon the interpretation of the same
Sutras.
Both interpretations can hardly be correct. We must
ishads themselves,

look for the true meaning of the Sutras either

tion of (^ankara or in that of

Professor Thibaut

is

the

first
^

in

the interpreta-

Ramanuja, or possibly

to attempt to penetrate

Vedanta, S. 28.

in

neither.

beyond the

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

84

interpretations of the

to the

scholiasts

meaning of the

Sijtras

This he does by instituting a careful comparison of

themselves.

the interpretations of ^ankara with those of Ramanuja.

His

conclusions touching the type of Vedanta set forth in the Siatras

"

are exceedingly important.

says, " that they

do not

lower knowledge of Brahman

it

that they

Brahman and

the distinction of

must give

my

as

opinion," he

set forth the distinction of a higher

and

do not acknowledge

Igvara in ^ankara's sense

that

they do not hold the doctrine of the unreality of the world

and that they do

tity

not, with

of the individual and the highest Self "^

These conclusions,

by any one who

as they are, can hardly be gainsaid

startling

Cankara, proclaim the absolute iden-

carefully follows Professor Thibaut through his line of research

The result to which we seem to be brought,

Ramanuja is the more faithful exponent
(^ankara is a more trustworthy guide to the mean-

and argumentation.
then,

is this,

that while

of the SiJtras,

But

this implies that the Si!itras

do not

respects adequately represent the doctrine of the

Upan-

ing of the Upanishads.

in all

How

ishads.

are

we

to account for this

history of Christian theology

religion

A parallel

help us here.

its

set forth

/.

e.,

in his

system under which the Apostolic Church mostly

Roman

conquests throughout the

degeneration set

from the

Paulinism,

and theology as conceived by Paul and

Epistles, was the

made

may

The theology

in.

Empire.

But soon

of the middle ages was equal

to the theology of Paul neither in religious depth nor in spiritual power.

Finally the Reformation

to the sources,' with

its

came with

its

cry of

'

Back

The

of the theology of Paul.

revival

foremost representative of the Reformation on

its

theological and

philosophical side was Calvin, just as the foremost representative,

so

far as

we know,

of the

Hindu

Revival, at least on

things in

common,

lative type of

^ankara

is

its

philo-

The two men have many

sophical side, was (^ankaracarya.

the exponent of the most specu-

Vedantism, while Calvin represents the most spec-

Both

ulative type of Christian theology.

alike

were great

in

ex-

egesis as well as in theology, in fact they were great in theology

partly because

they were
1

great

SEE., Vol.

in

exegesis,

XXXIV,

p. c.

^ankara wrote

THE DOCTRINE OF (^ANKARACARYA.

commentaries

Sanskrit on most or

in

expounded

ishads, while Calvin

kara, just as

modern

is

The momimentnin acre pere^inius

*

his BJidsya

work

the

is

work
'

in the field

of ^ankaracarya

on the Vedanta-Sutras, while Calvin's most famous

^

InstitiUio CJiristiance Religionis.'

ticing that neither writer even in his

tive

But

Biblical exegesis begins with Calvin.

the fame of each rests primarily on constructive

of theology.

Upan-

of the classic

all

Latin nearly the whole of the

Indian exegesis really begins with ^an-

Scriptures.

Christian

in

85

most

It is

original

worth no-

and construc-

work altogether forsook the role of a commentator. The

is a commentary on the Vedanta-Su-

BJidsya of ^ankaracarya
tras, just as

the

'

Institutio

'

of Calvin began as an exposition of the

Ten Commandments, Lord's

raments.

prayer, Apostles' Creed, and Sac-

But the important thing

is this,

that ^ankaracarya,

than Calvin, conducted his exposition in the light of a

less

hand knowledge of
gether,

first

all

no

first-

Put two things to-

the sources involved.

the inherent obscurity of the Vedanta-Sutras, and

second ^ankara's thorough knowledge of the Upanishads as the

sources of the system expounded in the Sutras, and
see

how ^ankara might

interpret the

it

is

easy to

system through the sources

rather than the sources through the system.

This conclusion

is

independent of the question whether he followed an exegetical

and philosophical

It

through the

has already been remarked that

Sijtras

later system.

doubtful whether the

it is

adequately represent the doctrine of the Upanishads.

would be not
any

Ramanuja, however, seems

tradition or not.

to interpret the earlier sources

strange,

at all

creative period,

whether

The work

they should not.

if

or in philosophy,

in religion

is

It

of

so

unusual that the succeeding age always seems to be marked by

As

degeneration.

instances of creative epochs take the period

of the great prophets

in

India, of Socrates, Plato,

His Apostles
Schelling,

in

Israel, of the

and Aristotle

the time of the

and Hegel

in

modern

were succeeded by reaction.

religious

New

in

classic

Upanishads

in

Greece, of Christ and

Testament, of Kant, Fichte,

times.

All of these periods

In each case the mountain peak of

or philosophic intuition very soon sank

nearly or quite to the old level.

down

again

There are two main reasons

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

86

why

the Vedanta-Sutras represent a less developed point of view

than the Upanishads.

First, as

already pointed out in the dis-

cussion of the philosophy of the Upanishads, there was before

Atman and
"The pure doc-

very long a compromise between the religion of the

As Thibaut

the religion of the Devas.

ancient Brahmanical

those

of

trine

says

underwent

treatises

at

rather early period amalgamation with beliefs which most prob-

ably had sprung up

monument

a literary

altogether different communities."

in

of such amalgamation Thibaut cites the

But, secondly, every system of thought

Bhagavadgita.

termined not only by the positive content which

press, but also

Now

As

by the antagonisms which

it

is

de-

wishes to ex-

it

forced to meet.

is

evident both from the text of the Vedanta-Sutras and

it is

from the testimony of both (Jankara and Ramanuja that the

Sdu'ikhya doctrine

enjoyed especial prestige at the time of the

composition of the Sutras.

In fact the great antagonist of the

Siitrakara or author of the Siitras was the Sdinkliyavadin.

Sdi'nkliya,

while

existence of

in

form a dualism affirming the eternal

both matter

and souls

(^prakriti)

i^piiriislias),

nevertheless, so far as the origin of the world

materialistic

Hence the

monism.

the duel between

monism

it

is

is

cording to the one the world-ground

It is

The Vedantin
Brahman
pradhana.
Ac-

the intelligent

the non-intelligent

according to the other intelligence

is

by nature

for the

intelligent

a late product of evolution.

is

remarkable that the system of Schopenhauer

such unbounded admiration

concerned, a

of the Vedanta,

Brahman and Pradhdna.

claimed that the cause of the world

the SduikJiyavddin, that

was

doctrine of the Sdinkhya was

the natural foe of the spiritualistic

Hence

is

The
self-

Upanishads,

who

is

professed

more nearly

akin to the materialistic side of the Sdinkhya than to the Ve-

We

danta of either ^ankara or Ramanuja.

have

in the conflict

between Sdinkhya and Veddnta the Indian phase of

struggle between materialism and spiritualism.
that

the refutation

telligent

pradhana was

felt

At

the time he wrote

it

of the

'

refutation of all heresies.'

was probably by no means

Op.

Sijtrakara

Sdinkhya doctrine of a non-in-

virtually the

the* eternal

The

cit., p.

cxxvi.

certain

what

THE DOCTRINE OF gANKARACARYA.

But

the issue would be.

and

this

is

8/

the important point

the

very fierceness of the antagonism which the Siitrakara was compelled to meet could not have been without influence on his

mode

The

of statement.

hypothesis of a non-intelligent principle

of the world required the counter hy-

i^pradJidnd) as the cause

pothesis of an intelligent principle (Brahman), likewise conceived

as the real

This

cause of a real world.

Siatrakara according to

all

the position of the

is

probability as well as the position of

Raman uja.

comparatively

realistic interpretation

of the Sutrakara was also

Buddha was

dhism.

losophy of
left

Hume

out, so "

Brahman
most

left

in

demanded by

Buddhism

is

As

'

an additional reason

why

wrote.

The

in

Hume,

This,

is

al-

say,

is

the SiJtrakara should have conceived

it

Buddhism was alive

was virtually dead

Hence ^ankara could

revive the older

Buddha

the way.

date of the Vedanta-Sutras

solutely sure of

God

the philosophy of the Upanishads with

idealism of the Upanishads, since the later idealism of

no longer stood

Bud-

the phi-

a result the system of Buddha was

days of the Sutrakara, but

when ^ankara

As

Hume.

as the real cause of a real world.

in India in the

the part

the antithesis of

a sense an Indian

as pure a nihilism as the system of

Brahman

Brahman on

simply the philosophy of Berkeley with

is

out."

of

that they

is

uncertain.

All

we

are ab-

between the time of the oldest

fall

Upanishads (perhaps 400 B. C.) and the time of ^ankaracarya

(800 A. D.).

But the Sutrakara

to

make

" a

it

refers to earlier teachers,

Bddari

Agniaratliya, Aiiduloini, Jaimini,

et al., in

c.

g.,

such a way as

pretty clear that the Sutras occupy, as Thibaut says,

strictly central position,

ries of early literary

summarizing, on the one hand, a se-

essays extending over

many generations, and

forming, on the other hand, the head spring of an ever broadening activity of commentators as well as virtually independent
writers."

"

The

Vedanta-Siitras, then, will hardly be earlier than

the beginning of the Christian era and possibly later even than
that.
1

Gough, Upanishads,

Introduction to

p. 1 87.

SBE.,

vol.

XXXIV,

p.'xii.

A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

88
If time

had permitted, a chapter might have been added on

the work of the later theologians, the authors of dogmatic treatises

such as the Veddnta-Sdra the Veddnta-Paribhdsd and the Panca-

These carry on the work of ^ankaracarya and are related

dagi.

him much

to

the later

as

Amesius and Zanchius

Protestant scholastics Turretinus,

render the abstractions of ^ankara

An

In a word, they

are related to Calvin.

able criticism of the

in

still

Vedanta of the

more

abstract terms.

later theologians

is

to

be

Nehemiah Goreh's Rational Refutation of the

Hindu Philosophical Systems as translated by Dr. Fitz-Edward

found

in

Pandit

Hall.

The systems of Cankaracarya and Ramanujacarya are related

somewhat as Galvanism is related to Arminianism.

to each other,

Galvanism
empiricism.
side

religious

is

The one

Arminianism

rationalism.

manward side. The one

more human, A similar

the other, from the

logical

the other, the

is

There

to be made.

as

the Upanishads,

the Siatras, from only one point of view, which

in

be called (although not quite accurately) the point of view

^ankara, on the other hand, adopts a double

of experience,

point of view, the standpoint of

proper standpoint.
is

Ramanuja

however, an important qualification

Ramanuja construes the theology of

summarized

may

is,

Godward
the more

difference in

point of view separates the systems of ^ankara and

from each other.

religious

is

construes theology from the

Dr. Shedd,

Ramanuja

my

own

as well as his

honored teacher

in

theology,

reported to have once said in the course of conversation: "

Bible

is

a Galvinistic book,"

thought, "but

it

has a good

and then apparently as an

many Arminian

texts in

The

after-

This

it."

is

exactly the position of ^ankara with reference to the Upanishads.

For him the doctrine

of the Upanishads

was the doctrine of the

higher Brahman, and yet he saw clearly that

the lower Brahman.

So by

many

texts refer to

his doctrine of a higher

Brahman, the Brahman of philosophic

intuition

and

lower

and the Brahman

of religious belief and experience, he sought to do justice to both

With ^ankara's distinction between the higher

and the lower Brahman we may compare Spinoza's distinction
between the god of philosophy as expounded in the Etliica, the
classes of texts.

THE DOCTRINE OF CANKARACAR\A.

object of a passionless

amor

'

ticus.

It

may

and the god of the-

mtellectualis'

ology or revelation as described

in

89

the Tractates TJieologico-Poli-

be doubted whether the distinction between a

higher and a lower Brahman in ^ankara's sense

But that

nized in the Upanishads.

me

noblest utterances seems to

it is

fairly

is

formally recog-

implied

in

some

of their

clear.

At any

rate, as

Thibaut says, "the adoption of that distinction furnishes the

terpreter with an instrument of extraordinary

power

in-

for reducing

by the
not only more pliable, more

to an orderly whole the heterogeneous material presented

...

old theosophic treatises.

It is

capable of amalgamating heterogeneous material than other systems, but

mony

fundamental doctrines are manifestly

its

in greater har-

with the essential teaching of the Upanishads than those

To

of the other Vedantic systems."^

venture on another com-

parison, the monistic Vedanta of ^ankara bears about the same

relation to the qualified monistic

Vedanta of Ramanuja that supra-

lapsarian Calvinism bears to sublapsarian Calvinism.

In the Rig-Veda Brahman

the system of ^ankara
these two limits

Brahman, the word,

comes

as

it is

we have
is,

the absolute, the unthinkable.

'

on the one hand,

in the

is

to separate

objectified,

world of nature.

subjectified' so to speak,

Between

and so be-

It is,

on the

and conceived as the

in-

The
Brahman from everything knowable or

dwelling reason or self of things.

abstraction

In

the following scheme of development.

were incarnate

it

other hand,

simply 'hymn' or 'prayer.'

is

last step in the

process of

thinkable.

Our
vert,

task

is

done.

The primary aim has

but to understand.

throughout.

been, not to contro-

An objective attitude has been maintained

upon historical exposition, and
by premature objections. The deof Brahman is interesting not only

Criticism should wait

not complicate

its

processes

velopment of the doctrine

from the point of view of Indian history, philosophy, and theology,

but also for the light which

it

throws on the psychology of the

Indian mind.
Op,

cit.,

pp. cxxiii, cxxiv.

j^

.t>

DATE DUE

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in

the history of

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