30 HUMAN DISSECTION. ITS DRAMA AND STRUGGLE 



were deities forced upon them by conquering Aryans during the 

 second and third millenniums before Christ: the sky, air, earth 

 and several classes of superhuman beings consisting of mythical 

 heroes, priests and seers. It was the power in these that affected 

 their lives; each was conceived as a spirit, actuated by a will and 

 prompted by motives similar to those of man. There were no dif- 

 ferences in either rank or religious importance, between the gods 

 of the sky, atmosphere and earth. 



Some of the manifold demons in their world were classi- 

 fied as unfriendly, devilish, natural enemies and evil. They spent 

 most of their time harming man, in both person and property 

 and were considered to be the antagonists of the gods. Primary 

 attention was paid to these spirits. In terms of persecution, they 

 performed their deeds by black magic and could assume, at will, 

 the form of beasts or ill-omened birds. They were active at night, 

 during the dark of the moon, and could enter man easily, un- 

 beknownst to him, through his orifices, consuming his flesh, suck- 

 ing the marrow from his bones, drinking his blood, confusing 

 his speech and eventually making him mad. Outside of this, they 

 could break up marriages, interfere with pregnancy and birth, 

 swarm about the dying and haunt the houses of death. Diseases and 

 ailments of all sorts were the work of this lot. 



Besides possessing the power to attack persons individually, 

 they could also drain the milk of cows, devour the flesh of horses 

 .and defile the spots where religious rites and ceremonies were 

 held. To make themselves more potent, they were thought to 

 come out in droves, in families and groups. The defense against 

 these malignant and dreadful forces was either by means of 

 counter-magic, proper behavior, making offerings and sacrifices 

 or invoking the aid of the gods. 



The Indians began to entertain ideas of retribution in an 

 afterlife early, believing that the blessed dead have their abode 

 in a heaven of light where they have immortality with all needs 

 and wishes satisfied; by contrast, a hell existed beneath the earth 

 for the punishment of the wicked. Between about 1000 and 

 800 B.C., Brahmanism developed as a priestly part of Hinduism. 

 This religion believed in elaborate ceremonies, material offerings 

 and animal sacrifice. Tiie Brahman priests became a part of the 



