English
A passage for editorial review. A SYNOPSIS [INDU SYSTEMS AND SECTS. TRANSLATED FROM THE TAMIL, THE REV. THOMAS FOULKES, CHURCH MISSIONARY SOC1RTY, MADRAS. WILLIAMS AND NORGATE, 14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON; AND 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH. I 860 . VIVSKACHINTAMANI: OR THE WISHING-STONE OF KNOWLEDGE. Prosperity. —The title Vivekachintaraani is given to this work because it reveals the meaning of the Vedas, Agamas, Puranas, and Sastras, which are the depositories of universal truth, so that all men may clearly understand them. Prosperity. — I adore with my mind, my speech, and my bodily members, the formless long succession of spiritual teachers up to the great high-priest Brahma, who exists in the form of the primeval pillar, which is the origin of all worlds. It is very certain that every disciple, and disciple’s disciple in long and crowded succession, who enters upon the study of this work after having made that form of invocation which established rules have pre¬ scribed for such worship, shall obtain the three kinds of advantages promised to such pursuits, but which can only be realized by those who enter upon the study of these things in a proper frame of mind. This work is a translation into Tamil of a book Digitized by LjOoq le 4 | originally written in the Canarese language by | Nisagunaydgi, who composed it with the intention that persons longing for heaven, who seek to know | the right path of life in this world, and of departure ; out of it, should learn to know it without unnecessary i difficulty, and at the same time with certainty, and ; almost by way of recreation, so that they may : become free from sin ;—that so, uttering nothing of : his own, but examining and arriving at the meaning I of the valuable writings on the subject already in existence, and bringing together their true contents, whether profitable or unprofitable, into one single work, stringing them together like a necklace of jewels, and forming them into a chain of beautiful lotus-work, such persons may become familiar, after the example of men of olden times, with the different I works on morality, the sacred histories, and the great epic poems, which are founded upon the concurrent testimony of the inspired writings and sacred scrip¬ tures revealed to men as his paramount will by the Lord, the omniscient one, who is supreme over all, | because eternity, holiness, and wisdom, constitute the [ form with which he is clothed. The Oeigin of the World. j The world, existing in God in a manner incapable | of being perceived by the senses of man, is the effect of a cause, like an earthen vessel out of the hands of the potter; because it contains distinct traces of wis¬ dom, and is possessed of qualities and different con- Digitized by LjOoq le 5 stituent parts. Its efficient cause is the lord, who corresponds to the potter: its instrumental cause is merit and demerit, corresponding to the potter’s wheel and its handle: its material cause, corresponding to the clay of the potter, is the atomic nucleus of de¬ ceptive matter, with its illusory elements of virtue and vice: and it was created to enable human souls, which are portions of the supreme soul separated from it in consequence of the various deeds of joy and sorrow done in their transmigration state, to arrive at the enjoyment of happiness in this life and of heaven hereafter. The Creator of the World. To those who maintain that, not the Lord, but either nature, or a first atomic nucleus, or time, or the retributive actions of former ages, is the cause of the world’s existence, I reply, that these things are mere irrational existences, and therefore they cer¬ tainly could not of themselves create the world, since they need some rational being to operate upon them. If, again, you suppose the reasonable soul of man to be the author of creation, this too is impossible; because it possesses only limited knowledge, it is itself dependent, and is without any kind of original authority, and has other natural infirmities. Wherefore, in the absence of any other assignable cause, we may be assured that the Lord is the crea¬ tor of the world. Digitized by LjOoq le 6 His Unitt. | If it be maintained that the visible world is a j great and complicated work, and must therefore have 1 had, not one, but many authors, corresponding to the makers of the different parts of an idol-car; I reply, that such an idol-car is invariably built I according to the rules of art by some one individual j architect; and that no single work has ever been j completed by the separate and independent exertions ; of different authors, however able they may be. Wherefore the world can have but one Lord. His Attributes. Forasmuch as that one Lord is the sole origin of existing things at all times and in all places, it is certain that he is eternal in his nature, and also omnipresent. Since also it is his nature to be able to know and to do all things, he is omniscient and omni¬ potent. Since also he is himself indestructible, and brings all things into being in the same way that he creates first the bud, then the flower, then the fruit, and after that the seed, he is spotlessly pure. Since also he is the searcher of all hearts, and the governor of all affairs through his judgments i; recorded in due form of law, he is universal law- ■ giver and judge. j Moreover, since he creates human bodies and other \ Digitized by LjOoq le f 7 I . . . . I | creatures distinct from himself, just as thread, cloth, | | and other manufactures, are produced by the skill ij | of human craftsmen, and then, in virtue of his right j j as Lord of all worlds, establishes his Laws over \ < them, he is the all-pervading soul, j Since also he has no rival, and is without father [ | or master, he is the sole proprietor of all things. | Since also he is the distributor of joy and sorrow, | which are the source of the retributable actions of \ | mankind, he is himself without either desires or | aversions. ! | And further, since no other being has power by ! | any other means to create the heavens and other 1 worlds, which he has created, he is finally Lord of j all. j I 1 \ The Vedas. ; j The divine writings assented to by persons of dif- : | ferent persuasions as necessary to the enjoyment of j j happiness in this present world, the abode of the \ | rational and irrational creatures of the Lord, are the i ' following : I j The chiefest of all sacred books is the Veda, which : f consists of the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama | Veda, and the Atarvana Veda. It is said to bo | self-existent, and to have been revealed by the Lord, i ; Of these the Rig Veda contains twenty-one divi- j sions ; the Yajur Veda, a hundred and one divisions ; | the Sama Veda, a thousand divisions; and the Atar- j jj vana Veda nine divisions. 1 Digitized by LjOoq le 8 The chief end of the Veda is to reveal the pre¬ cepts of a righteous life: and these are arranged under four heads, namely. Rules of morality, Hymns of praise to the deity, Forms of prayer, and Titles. i. The first of these divisions, namely the rules of morality, like the laws of a king, seeks to turn men away from doing evil, and to lead the to do that which is just and good. I ii. The division of hymns of praise corresponds j to heralds, who precede the great on their journeys j to proclaim their titles and merits, and sets forth j the praises of the deity. j iii. The division of forms of prayer corresponds to a priest who gives directions respecting the proper j method of conducting divine worship. j iv. The division of titles corresponds to a father, j who gives names to his children, and treats of the names of different sacrifices, and other similar things, j Members of the Veda. j The Veda possesses feet, hands, a face, a nose, \ eyes, and ears: and, in the order corresponding to | these members, it treats of prosody, the details of ritual worship, grammar, elocution, astronomy, and the meaning of sacred words : and these subjects are therefore called the Members of the Yeda. j i. Prosody teaches the number of letters which j enter into the composition of the stanzas of hymns, | and other poetical works. j Digitized by ^ooQle ii. The art of sacrificing treats of sacrifices and sacrificial ceremonies, according to the aphorisms of Asuvalaya, Potaya, Apastamba, and other ancient sages. iii. Grammar decides the meaning and construc¬ tion of the scriptures and scientific writings. iv. Elocution teaches the method of producing the ascending and descending inflexions, and the true articulation and right collocation of sounds, consti¬ tuting the four modes of utterance used in reciting the words and the hymns of the Vedas. v. Astrology explains the times of the rising of different stars above the horizon, the phases of the moon, the days of the week, the asterisras, the con¬ junctions of the planets, the constellations, and other matters whereby the appropriate times for the per¬ formance of religious duties may be ascertained. vi. The glossary of difficult terms explains the technical words used in the vedas, and other difficult phrases. Co-MBMBERS OF THE VEDA. The Veda has also four supplemental members namely. Law, History, Logic, and Philosophy. The nature of these will be explained further on. j CO-VEDAS. | The Veda also possesses four supplemental vedas, I namely, the veda of medicine, the veda of sacrificial j __ \ B Digitized by LjOoq le 10 materials, the veda of the art of war, and the veda of music. i.