1884.] 
of Religion in the Himalaya. 
41 
popularise them or their teachings. They are less known, therefore, to 
the Hindus than the Hebrew original of the Old Testament is to the 
majority of the Christian populations of Europe. Some sects do not 
acknowledge their authority in matters of faith and practice, and they are 
in no sense ‘ a Bible’ to the masses except to a few of the learned, and 
have little practical influence over modern religious thought outside the 
same class. Though portions of the Vedas, notably of the collection 
ascribed to the Atharvans, are recited at ceremonies, and verses from 
them occasionally occur in the domestic ritual, as a rule, neither the 
celebrant nor the worshipper understand their purport. They are learnt 
by rote and those employed in the ceremony regard the words used more 
as spells to compel the deities than as prayers for their favour. Yet we 
would ask the ordinary student of Indian affairs to formulate what he 
understands by Hinduism, and he will at once answer, the religion of the 
Vedas. We must, however, accept the term Hinduism as a convenient 
one, embracing all those beliefs of the people of India which are neither 
of Christian nor of Musalman origin. But within this pale we have sects 
as divided from each other as members of the Society of Friends are from 
Roman Catholics. We have followers of the Vedas, of Brahmanism, of 
Buddhism and of the polydeemonistic tribal cults of the aboriginal popu¬ 
lations and of eclectic schools, religious and philosophical, of every kind 
and class. The religion of the Vedas never took hold of the mass of the 
people.* It was followed by Brahmanism designed to exalt the priestly 
class, but even this system had to abandon the Vaidik deities and admit 
the dgemons of the aborigines to a place in its pantheon, or otherwise it 
would have perished. Buddhism was originally a protest against sacer¬ 
dotalism, not necessarily against the Brahmanical caste, but it too suc¬ 
cumbed to dsemonistic influences, and degraded and corrupted, fell an 
easy prey to its rival Brahmanism. Both sought the popular favour by 
pandering to the vulgar love of mystery, magical mummeries, superhuman 
power and the like, and Brahmanism absorbed Buddhism rather than 
destroyed it. The Buddhist fanes became S'aiva temples and the Buddhist 
priests became S'aiva ascetics or served the S'aiva temples, and at the 
present day the forms and practices in actual use may be traced back as 
readily to corrupted Buddhism as to corrupted Brahmanism. There is 
a period of growth and of decay in religious ideas as in all things subject 
to human influence, and precisely the same rules govern their rise, culmi¬ 
nation and fall in India as in Europe. Every principle or thought that 
* By this is meant the great majority of the races of India. There have alwaj^s 
been some with learned leisure who have adhered to the higher faith in one God and 
have never bowed to Siva or Vishnu, but their principles are unknown to the cultiva¬ 
tor, the trader and the soldier, or at least only in a very diluted form. 
