BRAHMA 



BRAHMANISM 



observatory of Uraniborg, "the fortress of the 

 heavens." There Brahe worked and studied 

 for twenty years, testing and improving upon 

 the theories of Copernicus, discovering new 

 laws governing the motion of the moon, and 

 throwing new light on the subject of comets. 

 After the death of Frederick, Brahe suffered 

 from opposition and persecution, and was 

 obliged to leave Uraniborg. In 1599 he went 

 to Prague, in Bohemia, where he was able to 

 render valuable assistance to a young man 

 destined to be a greater astronomer than him- 

 self, Johann Kepler (which see). 



BRAHMA, brah'ma, the Supreme Being in 

 the religion of the orthodox Hindus. He is 

 conceived to be the Creator of the world, 

 which is to endure for 2,160,000,000 years and 

 then be destroyed, to be recreated by him after 

 the same number of years. He is called the 

 Self-existing, the Great Father, the Lord of 

 Creatures and the Ruler of the World, but 

 he has little part in actual religious worship 

 (see BRAHMANISM), and has never been wor- 

 shiped by the common people. Only one 

 temple sacred to him is known. 



In Hindu mythology Brahma is represented 

 with four heads and four arms. Originally he 

 had five heads, but one was destroyed by the 

 god Siva. His color is red, and he rides upon 

 the Swan, which is sacred to him. Sarasvati, 

 the goddess of eloquence, is his consort. 



BRAHMANISM, brah ' man iz'm, one of the 

 great religions of the world, the faith of over 

 200,000,000 Hindus, which takes its name from 

 the priestly class of India, known as the Brah- 

 mans. It is based on ancient religious writings 

 called the Vedas (which see) , the sacred revela- 

 tions of which are interpreted by the Brahmans. 

 Unlike Christianity, Mohammedanism and 

 Buddhism, Brahmanism has no definite 

 founder. The word Brahma, so importantly 

 connected with this system, is used in two 

 ways. In its neuter form it refers to the Uni- 

 versal Power, the all-pervading essence of the 

 universe, of which the human soul is a part; 

 in its masculine form it is the name of the 

 Supreme Being in Brahmanism (see BRAHMA). 



Brahmanism is both a religious and a social 

 system. As a religion its chief doctrine is that 

 all existence is bound up in sorrow and evil, 

 and that the one way for the human soul to 

 be saved is to become merged with the Uni- 

 versal Power, Brahma. To return to Brahma 

 the soul must be purified by meditation, self- 

 control and self-denial. Growing out of this 

 belief is the doctrine of the rebirth of the 



soul (see TRANSMIGRATION OF THE SOUL). As 

 only a few reach the state of perfection in a 

 single lifetime, the great majority must be 

 born again and again. Those who are righteous 

 live again in a higher spiritual state, but those 

 who die in sin pass to a lower condition, and 

 their souls may even enter the bodies of un- 

 clean beasts. 



Brahman Castes. Socially Brahmanism is a 

 system of castes, by which the Hindus are 

 divided into distinct classes. According to an 

 ancient tradition, Brahma created four castes 

 Brahmans, soldiers, laborers and serfs. These 

 sprang from his mouth, his arms, his thighs and 

 his feet. The changing conditions of the pass- 

 ing centuries have brought about a great modi- 

 fication of this system, and at the present time 

 it is based largely on industrial conditions, with 

 the members of every trade and occupation 

 forming a separate caste. In the modern Hindu 

 society there are about 2,000 castes. The Brah- 

 man himself may now engage in commercial 

 occupations and hold office. The priestly class 

 represents the highest culture of India, and as 

 the result of centuries of education they have 

 produced a type of distinct superiority. See 

 CASTE. 



Stages Towards Perfection. To attain the 

 ideal state of perfection the Brahman is sup- 

 posed to pass through four stages. In the first 

 he begins to study the Vedas, and learns all 

 about the privileges of his caste; he is taught 

 that he has a right to ask alms, and to be free 

 from paying taxes or from suffering capital pun- 

 ishment. He is not allowed to eat flesh and 

 eggs, and must not touch leather or the skins 

 of animals. Above all, he is taught to abhor 

 sin, and he receives instruction in the rules 

 and ceremonies prescribed for his purification. 



The second stage of the Brahman begins with 

 his marriage, and he is then called upon to 

 observe many new rules regarding fasting, 

 washing, etc. When he has trained a son for 

 the holy calling, and has seen the son of that 

 son, he is ready for the third stage. The 

 Brahman who attains to this retires to the 

 forest, where he prays and meditates and 

 studies the sacred Vedas. Bathing is practiced 

 morning, noon and night, and many severe pen- 

 ances are imposed. In the fourth stage he in- 

 flicts still more cruel tortures upon himself, and 

 in the end his soul is ready to become a part 

 of the divine nature. The third and fourth 

 stages are an ideal which is rarely attained. 



The Triad. Brahmanism is an outgrowth of 

 early nature worship, practiced in the period 



