THE SCIENCE OF RELIGION. 329 



The four Yedas of the Brahmans, which without doubt were 

 written before the Biblical date of the Flood, inculcate the 

 tenet of a Trinity of gods, Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the 

 Preserver, and Siva the Destroyer, worshiped as one God under 

 the name of Trimarti. They relate that Vishnu the second person 

 in the Godhead, in fulfillment of a prophecy, and to become the 

 Redeemer of his people, took upon himself the nature of a man, 

 was born of a virgin, and under the name of Chrishna led a life 

 of good works, healing the sick, raising the dead, and performing 

 many other miracles ; and finally after an anticipated death from 

 violence his body was carried by angels up to Heaven. 



The account of the transfiguration of Chrishna before his 

 disciples is given in the following words : " Then abandoning the 

 mortal form he appeared to their eyes in all the eclat of his di- 

 vine majesty, his brow encircled with such light that Ardjouna 

 and his companions, unable to support it, threw themselves on 

 their faces in the dust, and prayed the Lord to pardon their 

 unworthy weakness." The second coming of Chrishna is thus 

 announced in the same sacred books : " Some time before the 

 destruction of all that exists the struggle between evil and good 

 must recommence on earth, and the evil spirits who at their first 

 creation rebelled in Heaven against the authority of Brahma, 

 will present themselves for a final struggle to dispossess God of 

 his power and recover their liberty. Then will Chrishna again 

 come upon earth to overthrow the Prince of the demons, who 

 under the form of a horse and aided by all evil spirits will cover 

 the globe with ruin and with carnage." 



I might extend these quotations to any length. As Sir William 

 Jones says, " The prolix accounts of Chrishna's life are filled 

 with narratives of the most extraordinary kind." But I think 

 enough has been cited from the sacred books of this oldest of 

 religions to show that it was not only the precursor and source of 

 all other enlightened religions, but that it had in it the elements 

 of a high political and moral culture. It is undoubtedly true 

 that the followers of Brahma have sadly degenerated in later 

 ages, and that the faith and precepts which once led up to a high 

 state of enlightenment are now the heritage of a debased arid 



