OP THE HINDUS. , 35 



substance of the deity became manifest in the elements, and their combina- 

 tions : the forms into which the divine matter is thus divided, are pervaded 

 by a portion of the same vitality which belongs to the great cause of all, but 

 which is distinct from his spiritual or etherial essence ; here, therefore, the 

 Rdmdniyas again oppose the VeddntikaSy who identify the Paramdtmd and 

 Jivdlmd, or etherial and vital spirit ; this vitality, though endlessly diffusible, 

 is imperishable and eternal, and the matter of the universe, as being the same 

 in substance with the Supreme Being, is alike without beginning or end : 

 PuRUSHOTTAMA, or Narayaj^, after having created man and animals, through 

 the instrumentality of those subordinate agents whom he willed into existence 

 for that purpose, still retained the supreme authority of the universe : so that 

 the Rdmdmijas assert three predicates of the universe, comprehending the 

 deity : it consists of C/«V, or spirit, Achit, or matter, and Iswaraj or God, or 

 the enjoyer, the thing enjoyed, and the ruler and controuler of both. Besides 

 his primary and secondary form as the creator, and creation, the deity has 

 assumed, at different times, particular forms and appearances, for the benefit of 

 his creatures: he is, or has been visibly present amongst men, in five 

 modifications : in his ArchI, objects of worship, as images, he. 5 in the 

 VihhdvaS) or Avafdras, as the fish, the boar, &c. ^ in certain forms called 

 Vjjiihas, of which four are enumerated, Vasudeva, or KrI shna, Balarama, 

 Pradyumna, and Aniruddha ; fourthly, in the Siilcshma form, which, 

 when perfect, comprises six qualities : Viraja, absence of human passion j Vi- 

 mritt/u, immortality ; Visoica, exemption from care or pain j Vijighatsd, absence 

 of natural wants ; Sati/a kama, and Sati/a Sankalpay the love and practice of 

 truth ; and sixthly, as the Antardtma, or Antarydmi, the human soul, or 

 individualised spirit: these are to be worshipped seriatim, as the ministrant 

 ascends in the scale of perfection, and adoration therefore is five-fold; 

 Ahidgamanam, cleaning and purifying the temples, images, &c. Updddnamf 

 providing flowers and perfumes for religious rites ; liyd, the presentation 

 of such offerings, blood offerings being uniformly prohibited, it may be 



