Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Religious Studies – Anthology
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of the Hindu sc riptures. On the contrary, I believe that our present knowledge of
these books is in a most chaotic state. I believe implic it ly in t he Hindu aphorism,
that no one truly knows the shastras who has not attained perfec tion in Innoc enc e
(ahimsa), Truth (satya) and Self-control (brachmacharya) and who has not
renounc ed all ac quisit ion or possession of wealt h. I believe in t he inst it ut ion of
gurus, but in t his age millions must go wit hout a guru, bec ause it is a rare t hing t o
find a c ombinat ion of perfect purity and perfect learning. But one need not despair
of ever knowing the truth of one’s religion, bec ause the fundamentals of Hinduis m,
as of every great religion, are unchangeable, and easily understood. Every Hindu
believes in God and His oneness, in rebirt h and salvat ion.
I c an no more desc ribe my feeling in Hinduis m than for my own wife. She
moves me as no other woman in the world c an. Not that she has no faults. I dare
say she has many more than I see myself. But t he feeling of an indissoluble bond is
there. Even so I feel for and about Hinduism wit h all it s fault s and limit at ions.
Nothing elates me so muc h as the music of the Gītā or t he Ramayana by T ulsides,
the only two books in Hinduism I may be said to know. When I fanc ied I was taking
my last breath the Gītā was my solace. I know t he vic e t hat is going on t oday in all
the great Hindu shrines, but I love them in spite of their unspeakable failings. There
is an interest whic h I take in them and whic h I take in no other. I am a reformer
through and through. But my real zeal never takes me to the rejection of any of the
essent ial t hings of Hinduism. I have said I do not disbelieve in idol-worship. An idol
does not excite any feeling of veneration in me. But I think that idol-worship is part
of human nature. We hanker after symbolism. Why should one be more composed
in a c hurc h than elsewhere? Images are an aid to worship. No Hindu c onsiders an
image to be God. I do not consider idol-worship a sin.
It is c lear from t he foregoing, t hat Hinduism is not an exc lusive religion. In it
there is room for the worship of all the prophets of the world. It is not a missionary
religion in t he ordinary sense of t he world. It is not a missionary religion in t he
ordinary sense of the term. It has no doubt absorbed many t ribes in it s fold, but
this absorption has been of an evolutionary imperc eptible c harac ter. Hinduis m t ells
every one to worship God according to his own faith or dharma, and so it lives at
peac e wit h all t he religions.
That being my c onc eption of Hinduism, I have never been able to reconcile
my s e lf t o unt ouc habilit y. I have always regarded it as an excresance. It is true that
it has been handed down to us from generations, but so are many evil prac tic es
even to this day. I should be ashamed to think t hat dedic at ion of girls t o virt ual
prost it ut ion was a part of Hinduism. Y et it is prac t ised by Hindus in many part s of
India. I c onsider it posit ive irreligion t o sac rific e goat s t o Kali and do not c onsider it
a part of Hinduis m. Hinduis m is a growt h of ages. The very name, Hinduis m, was
given t o t he religion of t he people of Hindustan by foreigners. There is no doubt at
one t ime sac rific e of animals offered in t he name of religion. But it is not religion,
muc h less is it Hindu religion. And so also it seems to me, that when c ow-prot ec tion
became an article of faith with our ancestors, those who persisted in eating beef
were excommunicated. The civil strife must have been fierce. Social boycott was
applied not only t o t he rec alc it rant s, but t heir sins were visit ed upon t heir c hildren
also. The practice whic h had probably its origins in good intentions hardened into
usage, and even verses crept into our sacred books giving the practice a
permanenc e wholly undeserved and st ill less just ified.