206 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



and the Upanishads, which contain the 

 freer religious speculations of the time. 

 By the time the latter were written 

 the simple and lofty ideas of the Vedic 

 hymns had vanished, and the worship 

 of the gods was replaced by an elaborate 

 cult. Everything was done that could 

 be done to make the people believe 

 more than ever in the supernatural 

 origin claimed by the Brahmans both 

 for themselves and .for their teaching. 

 In the Vedic period the Brahman 

 was (as the word denoted) "one who 

 prays," a "worshipper," or "the com- 

 poser or reciter of a hymn." The 

 veneration for these priests runs through 

 all the life of the Hindu peasant, and 

 takes the practical form of either offer- 

 ings or food. No child is born, named, 

 betrothed, or married, nobody dies or 

 is burned, no journey is undertaken or 

 auspicious day selected, no house is 

 built, no agricultural operation of im- 

 portance begun or harvest gathered 

 in, without the Brahmans being fed. 

 A portion of the produce is set apart 

 for their use. They are consulted in 

 sickness and in health; they are feasted 

 in sorrow and in joy. Tall, erect, proud, 

 conscious of his superior intellect, the 



Brahman walks along with an air that well expresses his inward conviction of inherent purity 

 and sanctity. 



The Brahman caste, having after prolonged struggles established its power, made a wise 

 use of it. From the ancient times when the Yedic hymns were composed, they clearly 

 recognised that, in order to rule their fellow-men in spiritual matters, they must renounce 

 temporal power a lesson which the Eornan Church has not learned even yet. They could not 

 be kings, but they did become kings' counsellors and guides. As the duty of the Sudra, or 

 menial, was to serve, of the Vaisya, or peasant, to till the ground or follow some handicraft, 

 and of the Kshatriya caste to fight, so that of the Brahman was to be priest and offer 

 up prayers and sacrifices. As their functions were mysterious and above the reach of other 

 men, so they considered must their lives be. Their whole life was mapped out for them. 

 On entering into manhood, the Brahman was solemnly invested with the sacred thread of " the 

 twice-born." Youth and early manhood were spent in learning by heart the inspired scriptures 

 from the lips of some older priest, in tending the sacred fire, or in attending to the personal 

 wants of their revered teacher. These studies completed, the young man married and brought 

 up a family, so gaining a practical knowledge of the world and of human nature. To thia 

 period the third stage in his life was a strange contrast; for he retired into the forest, feeding 

 on roots, and practising certain religious rites. The last stage was that of the ascetic or 

 religious mendicant, quite out of touch with mundane affairs, and striving to attain a condition 

 of mind which, heedless of the joys or pains of the body, is intent only on its own perfection 

 and the attainment of peace. He became one of the holy men so well described by Mr. Kipling 

 in his wonderful and enchanting "Jungle-Books" (see "The Miracle of Pimm Bhagat"). He ate 



Photo by Messrs. Watts & Skeen] 



A CORMGHI WOMAN, MADRAS. 



[Rangoon. 



